1602 DT final

and overall feel. Most factories are now focusing on
this, along with building smaller bikes that are under
180kg, which is the current weight of the KTM RR
450 Rally Replica. Even with the final weight of the
RRR500XC-RALLYE fully laden at 150kg, the lower
mounted tank has made such an improvement, that
the bike still feels like an enduro model. Now most
would ask, “Won’t the low tank get damaged”, well
after 10,000 Km of rally km, on 2 bikes and even after
a big G-Out with Dutch rider Simon Schimmel who is
2m tall and 100kg, all he damaged was the alli plate,
that we could repair, and he was on his way the next
stage. This setup also allows the rider to control fuel
weight from top to bottom depending on how long a
stage is.
roberts racing also fit braided hoses on the fuel
tank which prevents vapour locks in the fuel systems.
Comfort
The other area we focused on was none other than
the “chafed arse”, may not sound important, but
when you doing 150km of liaison on tar and a 580km
Special, riders develop what we call “Monkey Butt”
and Fissan paste is much needed to soothe the raw
cheeks. Roberts Racing Rallye has used a Tall Soft
seat for the past 2 years which worked well but did
not cover the entire area as it is still as narrow as a
stock seat. Our new seat design is still a Tall, Soft
seat to allow the rider comfort and vision over the
Navigation Tower, but most importantly a much wider
area towards the rear of the seat for more improved
comfort over long stages….was most certainly a win
in our riders eyes!
Navigation
The Navigation equipment, Roberts Racing Rallye
fits 2 RNS XL Tripmasters which is the OEM on the
Rally Replica, and a RNS Cap Repeater, as well as
the Migtec Road book designed and Manufactured
by HRC HONDA Rally Team Chief mechanic Miguel
Nabais… and yes all crash tested by Bareda and it still
got him home! The RNS Cap Repeater is essentially a
digital compass that displays the degrees in the same
size as the trip meter, instead of using a small gps
screen to get the cap heading.
RNS also supplies us with a multi switch controller
housed in a solid alli-casing, that controls 2 trip
masters and the road book all in 1. All this Nav
gear wiring goes through a central fuse box and
independent switches so that the rider can isolate
and solve a problem without affecting any other nav
equipment. Wiring the nav gear is the bulk of our
work, to design the wire harness and make up the
harness by hand, and ensure that it is protected with
special braided sleeving, and routed to avoid any
possible friction which is a rally bike’s worst enemy.
All the controls and a detail of the nav tower.
A side view of the Nav tower, note the clearance...
Check this cool fairing - LED Headlamps. Hyde protectors.
Nav. Tower
The tower is handmade in Italy, along with the screen
and faring which creates a much better vision through
the Nav Gear, and because of its flexibility has way
more protection over some of the old fibre glass
fairings. It can be removed in less than a minute in 1
piece with quick release clips.
50 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2016
1602 DT Roberts Rallye bike.indd 50 2016/01/24 9:39 PM