Works KTM Rally 450. Matthias Walkner and Toby Price will be riding these beauties....
Transmoto interview with Price:
Compared to your previous rally bike, what was your first impression of the all-new KTM 450 Rally?
TP: My first impression was that there’s a big difference in the look and feel. It’s thinner, lighter and a lot more rideable compared to the old bike. And it handles a lot better. A step in the right direction for sure. It’s pretty rad.
With it being a completely new build, and around 10 kilos lighter, tell us what it was like riding it for the first time.
First time on the bike, it didn’t take long to get used to. It’s still a big bike, but you can feel the difference with the 10 kilos dropped. It’s lighter and more nimble, which helps when crossing technical sections – such as riverbeds and sand sections.
Did you notice a big difference with the way the engineers have transferred the bike’s weight forward and lower?
The biggest advantage with the weight loss and weight distribution I noticed came in turns; because with the weight shifted lower, it’s less top-heavy and feels more stable, especially when you tip in to a corner. With the ‘old’ bike, when you’d move past the balance point, it felt heavy and wanted to drop in. The new bike feels much lighter in this regard; it feels more like riding a motocross bike.
Do you think this new 450 Rally will be safer to ride in a race like Dakar because of its reduced weight and handling characteristics?
Yeah, for sure. I feel this new KTM 450 Rally bike is going to be safer to ride due to it being lighter and better-handling, which hopefully means it will be less fatiguing on you at the end of a big day at an event like Dakar. There’s been so much time and development put into this bike, which will be seeing us through the next few years of Dakar, where we’ll make refinements as we go. It’s exciting to reveal it (and for me, hopefully race it) at the 2018 Dakar Rally and find out how it really performs.
Will you be good to go for Dakar 2018?At this stage, everything is on track for Dakar 2018. I’m pretty damn certain on making that start line. With no races under my belt, my preparation isn’t going to be as good as I would have liked, but mentally I’m in a good place at the moment. It’s really taken a long time to get my leg fixed up properly and get back on track. It’s just the way it is with the femur being the biggest bone in the body, and the time it takes to heal. I’ll be focusing on keeping my fitness up in the lead-up to Dakar, and also polishing up on my navigational road book skills in the office. I’ll make the call by the start of December, but I definitely don’t want to miss it; that’s for sure!
Topic: Dakar 2018 (Read 57789 times)
