On Track off Road

allyers
For once it seems that Honda have gained the
upper hand in image and styling. In a week
where both HRC and the KTM factory rolled
out photos of their new motorcycles to tackle
the FIM Cross Country Rally season, starting of
course with Dakar in the fi rst hours of January,
the CRF450 Rally was the subject of numerous
gorgeous studio shots.
As OTOR is published this week the OilLibya
Rally launched and some of the progress the
manufacturing giant has made with their new
fully fl ung re-entry to rally will be seen. Honda
came back into competition after almost a
quarter of a century of keeping events such
as the Dakar at arms-length. Their prototype
effort earlier this year turned heads but for the
most part left stopwatches unmolested. Now
this new basis for the production bike is hoping
to take the battle to all-dominant KTM who
have made the Dakar their own with victory in
the past twelve editions.
The Austrians have responded to the presence
of HRC with a totally new single cylinder 450
Rally. The previous versions of the orange race
bike had been modifi ed to fi t changing regulations
that have rested on a 450cc capacity.
“We always wanted to make a lighter, slimmer
and easier to handle motorcycle but with the
same power,” said CEO Stefan Pierer earlier
this year on the project.
“Before when we put that [450cc] engine
inside the 600 chassis we still won. However
the chassis really is too big and heavy for that
smaller engine, so we have done it like motocross
with a nice bike that looks good and
hopefully Marc Coma will bring it to the fi nish
line fi rst.” The Catalan will be racing the 450
Rally for the fi rst time this week. It all means
that Rally and the Dakar are once more home
to some fruitful investment as well as technological
design and ideas. A big shot in the arm
for the discipline.