It continues to remain one of the greatest mysteries of the ADV universe: why, oh why, don’t the big bike brands make production replicas of the exotic single-cylinder rally bikes they race in the Dakar Rally? Look at Honda. They spend millions upon millions of dollars getting back into racing Dakar, and they finally win it with Ricky Brabec, yet the closest bike we Aussies can buy to their exotic 450 rally racer is the softly-sprung and mildly-performing CRF300 Rally. Please, Mr Honda, where’s the CRF450 Rally?
And what about KTM/Husqvarna/GasGas? The Austrians probably go closest to actually making the bike we’re crying out for, and their 450 RFR Rally is indeed a true race replica but with a price tag to match! Surely a dumbed-down volume production version of that bike isn’t too much to ask for? We’d all buy one, right? C’mon, Mr Pierer, there are sales to be had right there!
Perhaps the only salvation comes with the rather more obscure Chinese brand Kove, which has in recent times been contesting international rally events with its own 450cc rally bike that is set to become a production machine. Only problem is, we’ve not heard any whispers of a Kove importer in Australia stepping up to the plate. So the wait goes
