The airbag revolution continues in the motorcycle industry, as Alpinestars has just released its Tech-Air Off-Road airbag system to professional rally-raid racers.
Used by Alpinestars-supported riders since 2018, the new consumer-facing version is being offered to all professional racers now, just ahead of the Dakar Rally mandating airbags for all of its entrants.
Episode 29 of the Brap Talk podcast is now out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and as always, it is packed with some interesting motorcycle discussions.
This show has a bit of racing commentary, as we discuss the 2020 Dakar Rally, which was still taking place at the time of recording, as well as the ongoing saga with Andrea Iannone’s doping problems.
We also give some discussion to the pricing for the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, which we now know will cost $28,500 in the United States.
It is with a heavy heart that we report the death of Paulo Gonçalves, who died Sunday while racing Stage 7 of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.
Always one of the riders to watch each year at The Dakar, Gonçalves was competing this year under the Hero Motorcycles factory team banner, making his 13th start at this iconic and grueling race.
As we expected, the Dakar Rally will head to the Middle East for its 2020 edition. The move is a radical departure from the South American continent, which has hosted the iconic race for the last 11 years.
Perhaps over-staying its welcome, the Dakar organizers could only convince Peru to host the 2019 race, and for next year, a new host was picked, with Saudi Arabia’s bid winning out.
As such, the Dakar Rally will be in the Middle East for the next five years, with the 2020 race being exclusively in the country of Saudi Arabia. And now this week, we get our first glimpse of the route for next year.
Multiple rumors and reports are suggesting that the Dakar Rally will be headed to Saudi Arabia next year, with the iconic rally raid signing a five-year deal with the Arabian country.
This news will mean that the Dakar Rally will leave South America after 11 years, when the race moved from Africa amongst concerns of terrorism.
For the past 17 runnings of the Dakar Rally, one name has stood above all the others in the motorcycle class: KTM.
Now with another victory in the most grueling motorcycle race on earth, the Austrian brand can add race win #18 to the tally, thanks to factory rider Toby Price.
Crossing the finish line Lima, Peru today, Price was clear of his nearest rival (last year’s winner, Matthias Walkner) by a comfortable margin of 9 minutes 13 seconds.
With three KTM bikes in the Top 3, and the Top 5 consisting of only KTM and Husqvarna brand machines, the Austrian conglomerate can rest easy in 2019 after securing another year of its legacy, but don’t mistake this year’s edition of the race as a blowout.
Do you have eyes on starting your rally raid racing career? If so, we suggest KTM’s updated privateer model, the 2019 KTM 450 Rally Replica. There is one slight problem, however…it’s already sold out.
Built off the same machine that took Matthias Walkner to the winner’s circle during the 2018 edition, the Rally Replica model is still built for racers only, but it keeps in mind those who are competing without the budget of a factory team.
For 2019, KTM says that it has redesigned the Rally Replica from the ground up, to provide an excellent racing platform for the company’s racing customers.
As such, the 2019 KTM 450 Rally Replica has a completely new chassis, which has improved mass centralization.
Race officials for the Dakar Rally have just released their initial plans for the 2019 edition of the grueling off-road race, and next year Dakar competitors will compete in only one country: Peru.
The news is a bit of a shock, since in the past The Dakar has found hosts in multiple South American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, & Chile). But, South America’s hospitality has been on the wane, which leads us to our next bit of news…
There is a growing idea that the Dakar Rally could be headed back to Africa for the 2020 edition and onward. Boom goes the dynamite.
Episode 71 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is our first recording in 2018, and the show is an absolute classic. It is also the first show where I’ve left in all of Quentin’s constant throat-clearings, just so everyone knows why it takes forever to edit this things (not really, I’m just lazy).
The show catches us up on some recent industry news, namely a bevy of stories from Harley-Davidson, including the closure of the York plant and the upcoming electric motorcycle from the Bar & Shield brand.
We also talk a bit about Triumph’s recently revamped motorcycles, as well as the results from this year’s edition The Dakar race in South America. We then get into some blasphemy, and discuss why the Britten V1000 might be the most overrated motorcycle in two-wheeled history.
The show finishes with a look a Honda’s partnership with Forever 21 and what it could mean for the US motorcycle industry.
It’s an entertaining and interesting show, with a plenty of topics that we think will spur some conversations in the comments section. So, bring a bulletproof vest, and brace for impact.
You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well.
We hope you will join the conversation, and leave us some audio comments at our new email address: twoenthusiasts@gmail.com.
On Monday, Sam Sunderland was at the top of the leaderboard in the 2018 Dakar Rally, on his way to securing KTM’s 17th-straight Dakar Rally victory. By the next day however, Sunderland’s fortunes were much more different, with the treachery of the Dakar showing itself.
Taking a massive crash during on Tuesday, Sunderland’s Dakar Rally was over, thus ending his hopes for a back-to-back winning of the iconic off-road race.
The crash occurred during the timed “special” of Stage 4, with Sunderland’s KTM 450 Rally apparently crashing into a large hole. The crash was so severe, Sunderland worried that he had broken his back, with him unable to feel his legs after remounting and riding several more miles.
Thankfully, Sunderland has been cleared of any life-changing injuries, having suffered “only” two crushed discs in his spinal column.
Track days are winding down, the new machines for next year have already been revealed, and the cold of winter is upon us. For the motorcycle industry, this is the low-point of the season.
There is something to look forward to in the off-season, however, and it’s the Dakar Rally.
In just about one month’s time, the world’s top off-road racers will take part in what is called the most grueling motorcycle race on the planet.
The 2018 Dakar Rally is the 40th edition of the iconic rally raid, and once again it will take place far from its namesake, with competitors racing through Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.
This year’s route will take racers to the Pacific Ocean, through the Huacachina sand dunes, and beyond, until they finish in Córdoba.