After a wait of just 18 months, :
I took this baby out for a ride
Backtrack quickly: In June 2012 I was blessed enough to able to purchase a 2012 KTM 450 Rally Replica from Erik Kofmann in Holland. This bike one of just 70 of its kind built that year and is the sister of wilddog markdiver's beauty, which was Erik's friend's bike. They both raced the 2012 Dakar on these bikes. It's the bike of choice by KTM and has been in use since 2011, replaced now with the newer 2014 model we have seen in the Dakar this year.
It arrived in Lima in September, and sat in Peruvian customs for no less than 8 months because Eric's ownership papers got lost in a river on stage 12 and it took a long time to sort that out. When it arrived, all I could do was stroke it because I broke my leg at the end of the previous year. I promised myself a year -2013- for full recovery before I consider riding at race speeds again and it took about that long to learn how to walk properly anyway.
Got the bike cleaned up and sent her in to check valve clearances, cleaned the tanks out, and serviced the carb on Friday.
On Monday afternoon, after 9 months of just looking at the bike in my garage...I finally got my chance to take her for an 80km spin, from sea level to about 2,000m altitude along a rough, rocky road - a glorified two track that has not been maintained for 7 years. Here is a pic of the route, looking back towards Lima, you can just make out the dust trails of two trucks in the distance.
Oh, my SOUL, ,,,,, this bike is so AWESOME!!! :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky:
I had a massive grin on my face the whole time. Sorry about the pics, blame Nokia.
A shameless selfie, I could not help myself.
First impressions: Grin factor - Totally off the charts. :biggrin:
I suddenly understand why these bikes are so damn expensive. Its outrageous, which is why I could only afford a really used one that had finished the Dakar. They are so amazingly forgiving and easy to ride. Make no mistake they racing breed machines, not meant to be ridden slowly. They are designed some serious neck-wringing most of the time and you have to ride them like that to really appreciate their full potential, but still , even as a weekend off road, this thing is simple beeeaaauttiful to handle in the dirt.
I have ridden a few rally bikes now, so I know what they are like. I love my Yamaha race bike. But this KTM is on a whole different level. Seriously. I'm stunned how good it is. When Mark was talking about his, I thought yeah yeah, but now I see what he meant. I thought maybe it was just because I have not been riding much, but I have taken my BM in the dirt and I have been pottering around on the same route using my wife's 450 EXC just a week ago, so I think my eye is more or less in.
The throttle response is something to behold. Standing next to it, I thought it was a big bike - and it is a big bike - my toes hardly touch the floor and I'm not exactly short. But once you are moving on it it becomes amazingly...agile and nimble. Of course on tar it is no great shakes, the dirt is this bike's home. I asked them to send the suspension in to the factory in Europe to be setup for my weight before it was shipped, and I'm so glad I did.
That was money well spent. It took me a bit of getting used to but you can hit a pavement ledge or a rock as big at 100km/hr and the bike just flinches. The brakes..well brakes are brakes for me but these brakes can be rolled on really easily and do not have any bite to them which just helps the control. The back is unbelievably whippy. I'm not a great rider by any means but I found myself sliding that bike around the hairpin switchbacks without even trying. I had to stop a couple of times and check that there was nothing wrong with the mousses, but it was just me getting used to it. :laughing4:
I am running 15/48 gearing on this bike (as it came) and I topped out at about 120km/hr. Okay it was on a rough uphill road, so I guess I still need to check what it will do on a straight on a smoother road. I didn't go much faster coming back down the mountain because I am still a little bit nervous.
Now for the worrying factor: My injured leg still needs to toughen up a lot! 80km of hard stuff and it was really sore even despite the plush suspension. I have a really long way to go to get back into the swing of things.atch:
But I'm happy....you guys have no idea how happy I am :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky:
If any of you get out here, you're welcome to try it out for yourself - But bear one thing in mind, that I take no responsibility for: You may end up with a divorce and no place to live so you can buy one for yourself! :deal: :lol8:
I took this baby out for a ride
Backtrack quickly: In June 2012 I was blessed enough to able to purchase a 2012 KTM 450 Rally Replica from Erik Kofmann in Holland. This bike one of just 70 of its kind built that year and is the sister of wilddog markdiver's beauty, which was Erik's friend's bike. They both raced the 2012 Dakar on these bikes. It's the bike of choice by KTM and has been in use since 2011, replaced now with the newer 2014 model we have seen in the Dakar this year.
It arrived in Lima in September, and sat in Peruvian customs for no less than 8 months because Eric's ownership papers got lost in a river on stage 12 and it took a long time to sort that out. When it arrived, all I could do was stroke it because I broke my leg at the end of the previous year. I promised myself a year -2013- for full recovery before I consider riding at race speeds again and it took about that long to learn how to walk properly anyway.
Got the bike cleaned up and sent her in to check valve clearances, cleaned the tanks out, and serviced the carb on Friday.
On Monday afternoon, after 9 months of just looking at the bike in my garage...I finally got my chance to take her for an 80km spin, from sea level to about 2,000m altitude along a rough, rocky road - a glorified two track that has not been maintained for 7 years. Here is a pic of the route, looking back towards Lima, you can just make out the dust trails of two trucks in the distance.
Oh, my SOUL, ,,,,, this bike is so AWESOME!!! :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky:
I had a massive grin on my face the whole time. Sorry about the pics, blame Nokia.
A shameless selfie, I could not help myself.
First impressions: Grin factor - Totally off the charts. :biggrin:
I suddenly understand why these bikes are so damn expensive. Its outrageous, which is why I could only afford a really used one that had finished the Dakar. They are so amazingly forgiving and easy to ride. Make no mistake they racing breed machines, not meant to be ridden slowly. They are designed some serious neck-wringing most of the time and you have to ride them like that to really appreciate their full potential, but still , even as a weekend off road, this thing is simple beeeaaauttiful to handle in the dirt.
I have ridden a few rally bikes now, so I know what they are like. I love my Yamaha race bike. But this KTM is on a whole different level. Seriously. I'm stunned how good it is. When Mark was talking about his, I thought yeah yeah, but now I see what he meant. I thought maybe it was just because I have not been riding much, but I have taken my BM in the dirt and I have been pottering around on the same route using my wife's 450 EXC just a week ago, so I think my eye is more or less in.
The throttle response is something to behold. Standing next to it, I thought it was a big bike - and it is a big bike - my toes hardly touch the floor and I'm not exactly short. But once you are moving on it it becomes amazingly...agile and nimble. Of course on tar it is no great shakes, the dirt is this bike's home. I asked them to send the suspension in to the factory in Europe to be setup for my weight before it was shipped, and I'm so glad I did.
That was money well spent. It took me a bit of getting used to but you can hit a pavement ledge or a rock as big at 100km/hr and the bike just flinches. The brakes..well brakes are brakes for me but these brakes can be rolled on really easily and do not have any bite to them which just helps the control. The back is unbelievably whippy. I'm not a great rider by any means but I found myself sliding that bike around the hairpin switchbacks without even trying. I had to stop a couple of times and check that there was nothing wrong with the mousses, but it was just me getting used to it. :laughing4:
I am running 15/48 gearing on this bike (as it came) and I topped out at about 120km/hr. Okay it was on a rough uphill road, so I guess I still need to check what it will do on a straight on a smoother road. I didn't go much faster coming back down the mountain because I am still a little bit nervous.
Now for the worrying factor: My injured leg still needs to toughen up a lot! 80km of hard stuff and it was really sore even despite the plush suspension. I have a really long way to go to get back into the swing of things.
atch: But I'm happy....you guys have no idea how happy I am :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky:
If any of you get out here, you're welcome to try it out for yourself - But bear one thing in mind, that I take no responsibility for: You may end up with a divorce and no place to live so you can buy one for yourself! :deal: :lol8:
