Pre-Event/lead up Dakar 2014 thread (moto & quad)!!!!

Happy Christmas, Gian !!

Get that Beastie to the Red Lake. Send us photos of the trip. What a lovely bike.

Bonne Chance on your Quest.

Full factory!!! (Google is great eh Troy!)

It's NOT pink - it's lightish RED !

You found an old NTX 850 Guzzi from the 1986 Wynns Safari...

Barreda will perform depending on how well he is managed, Dakar 2013 I witnessed several very poor management decisions which either impacted or had the potential to impact on Barreda and reduce his chances of a podium...............I was very surprised at the level of strategy employed by his team................something that the KTM team excels at

Water carriers in the modern age...a few things maybe not mentioned...

Marathon days...help with bike maintenance, engine swaps (wc takes penalty day before and swaps in a new one just in case his number one guy requires an engine).

Really in this day and age...factory teams could hire a nobody who could service the pro's bike, fetch him dinner, donate his blanket, etc

All sounds silly but in 9000 km race that often comes down to mere minutes if not seconds...litterally every minute counts.

Having the luxury of an extra hours sleep on the marathon days or the warmth of an extra blanket could possibly make a difference.

Knowing if you have to swap engines, you are getting a nearly fresh one...

Little things, but little things can add up

Now.....i disagree with the mentality of cutting your top guys loose to race team mates to see who plays wc.

First off, whoever becomes wc is gonna be pissed off. Having pissed off team mates in camp is not a good thing. Moral and focus are key...

I don't know....just seems like a risky strategy...lots could go wrong.

That being said, I believe this year the first few days are gonna make a big difference. No more being conservative when there are so many fast guys attacking right from day one.

Maybe that's hrc's tactic, force the aliens to make potential mistakes. Don't let them race their race...force them to race hrc's race. Power in numbers kind a thing...

Who knows...all just babble

Ive always wondered how well the low and rear tanks feed the bikes. Did they use a electric pump for the carb bikes like the efi bikes use? Do all the tanks have a pump or is there just one that they all feed to? Is it an automatic transfer or does the rider have to turn a petcok?

You have PM.

I am guessing that the red trim on the seat means that we will not see the funky KH-7 color scheme and graphics that were on view during her promo photo shoot. Maybe something to do with Honda Europe/Spain since we saw the HRC press release describing the bike going into production for commercial sale.

An oh, that carbon rear subframe is to drool over.

Thanks for the info, Bulebull.

That sand looks really firm (and fun!)
<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/82075271" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/82075271">Dakar 2014 Broadlink KTM Rally Team</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/flymachinefilms">Flymachine Films</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

I just want to acknowledge Myway for finding all this Dakar esoterica. I'm always surprised at the stuff he digs up (or she, sorry?)

Also, Weird Troy Carpentovich continues to haul the mail, pre-f5 style
anybody seen mischa?

Probably writing code!

Ok... Gotta know.

Protetive covering for shipment?
Mock up for new parts?
Wrong Photo?

Or the latest modifications for cheap and infinitely available replacement parts on the side of the road....

I'm thinking the rear tank might leak a little.

Gerard Farrés, Marc Guasch, Dani Oliveras and Miguel Puertas

http://offroadchampions.com/html/body_gg.html

You must see the three pics behind each other

Jean Azevedo biketent and on what bike it is made for measurement.
http://advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23052599&postcount=780
And real honda's in the seat built shop must be round the corner where the bikes are built.?

Here works the seatmaker

http://a-seat.jp/

Quit a list ............................ see it


So what is het adress the HRC are made?

I guess the king of seat needed a mock-up rally bike to make the fancy factory look bike covers.

And +1 : thank you Myway!

Edit: Ahrgh: my 1st 205 of 2014 :)

There will be another one in the Feb edition of Bike - which may be out by the end of December!

He certainly has much more respect for the guys now, but that first rally nearly 3 years ago now was pretty eventful - at Interview David Fretigne said that "Sunderland came past me like he was riding motocross" - one comment I'll never forget

Sam is very humble with his lot and very grateful also for the opportunities he has had to date, but believe me he has worked very hard for them and we will have to work hard to keep him out of the gym or off the bike (one form or another) on Xmas day and will probably fail

well noted Carlos, many thanks