One of the major reasons why people are attracted to rally racing is the involvement of motorcycles.
Since the inception of the Dakar Rally in 1978, manufacturers have vied to build the best, most competitive bike on the planet, aiming to give their factory riders the best chance of success in the longest and toughest race in the world.
Many enthusiasts remember the big bore twins of the 90s (such as the Africa Twin, KTM 990, etc.). However, these were eventually "banned" by the Dakar organization after KTM's dominant performance in previous years with their powerful twin-cylinder bikes. This raised safety concerns and promoted a shift towards smaller, more agile single-cylinder motorcycles.
For the 2005 Dakar Rally, regulations introduced a limit of 450cc for twin-cylinder motorbikes. Single-cylinder motorbikes were still open class with no capacity limit (consider the KTM 690 and BMW 650). As of 2011, the engine displacement limit for all motorbikes competing in the Dakar Rally became 450cc. This brought the rise to dominance of the Factory 450.
Manufacturers began building the ultimate rally machine for their factory riders. These machines were almost impossible to buy, containing proprietary and experimental technology, not to mention their astronomical cost if you were lucky enough to buy one.
However, KTM identified a gap in the market, and the RFR (Rally Factory Replica) was born. This is the closest thing the average public can buy to what factory racers are using. However, it comes with a roughly $35,000 price tag, and they only produce very limited numbers (around 70) each year, so you have to pre-order and pre-pay.
This bike is essentially built for the sole purpose of the Dakar Rally, representing the gold standard in ultimate racing pedigree. Many of us dream of owning this bike (or one like it, such as the HRC Honda 450, Hero Rally 450, etc.), and for many, the bike is the reason they want to go to Dakar.
For me, if it has two wheels and an engine, I am happy to ride it. This brings me to my point: we often get so hung up on the bike, the kit, or the tech that we do not ride enough.
I have never owned an RFR, and I don't think I ever will. My first rally bike is a 2012 KTM 450 EXC, built/converted to a rally bike with bigger tanks, a home-built tower, etc. I saved up for a very long time to buy that bike, and when I did, I was the happiest man alive. I still have that bike today and just spent two weeks training on it.
We named her Katie, and she went on to participate in two Kalahari Rallies, several Tankwa Rallies, and all the routes for all the Crono Rallies. She was initially owned by Terence Ellis, who used her in the Amageza Rally. Then Johan de Villiers bought her, and I bought her from Johan.
She even played a small part in the "From Para to Dakar" story of Joey Evans when Terence was towing his teammate, Mark Krober, through the deep sand that was synonymous with the Amageza rallies. Mark had a seized motor, and Terrence could not leave his friend and teammate in the middle of nowhere, so he decided to tow him roughly 60km to the nearest tarmac road. They came across Joey Evans, limping along with a massive hole in his back tire, which was held together with wire and cable ties. Since neither Mark nor Terrence were still in the running for a good position, Terence offered up Katie's back wheel to Joey, so that he could continue racing. Joey went on to finish the race in 5th place overall.
Today she has 665 hours on the clock, and before she had the counter, she probably did 200 hours, so let's say 900 hours in total, and still going strong (one bottom end and two top ends were done).
I love that bike dearly, and while I am looking forward to getting the "once in a lifetime" opportunity to ride an RFR during Dakar, I will get onto Katie today and happily compete in any rally in the world. My point is, you don't have to spend $35,000 on a bike to do a rally; use what you have or find a more affordable way. Just take that first step, which is buying your bike, then register for your first rally, and make some lifelong memories on that bike that you will come to love.
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