Looks pretty sweet. With the ASO now banning bikes over 450 cc in the Dakar this year people are probably starting to kit out the 450 off-road bikes in rally trim. The 450's have always competed and done ok in races like Dakar, but they are not the preferred steed of the top riders and are not very competitive against the 650+ bikes - they are just not designed to be run wide open for the 8, 9, 12 hours a day required for Dakar like the long distance rally bikes. This year will be interesting for sure. Well funded teams will be swapping and rebuilding engines every night. The 450s just won't hold up otherwise. Unless they change the Dakar into the IFDE - International Fifteen Day Enduro. They are designed for short bursts of wide open, but mostly weaving and flying through the woods. That's a lot different than wide open for hours on end in the sand and dunes. So if this year is an IFDE, they'll likely do ok. But if it is a more traditional Dakar type course, I think we'll see a lot more than usual that don't finish due to mechanicals.

 

It amazes me the lc4 power plant has been esentially banned from the Dakar....wtf.....its old technology that just works real good. I Guess they just dominate too much.

450s are going to be interesting .

Makes me luv my adv even more.

 

I don't get the low front fender on these bikes. For starters it looks terrible but it seems ineffective on an off road bike. The long range tanks are nice though.

M

 

It's a speed thing! Try 150 Kmh with a stack MX fender and you'll get the idea.

 

It's a speed thing! Try 150 Kmh with a stock MX fender and you'll get the idea.