Thursday
Jun252020
Wednesday
Jun242020
First look: Yamaha Ténéré 700 Rally Edition
Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 10:31AM
Yamaha are celebrating their iconic Dakar Rally 1980s heritage with a special ‘Rally Edition’ version of the hugely popular Ténéré 700 Adventure bike.
Since Yamaha launched the Ténéré 700 it has quickly established itself as the best-selling middleweight adventure bike in Europe with over 8000 units sold to date. At Enduro21 we don't spend a lot of time on Adventure bikes but from the time we have, the latest Ténéré has a character which stands apart from the other big capacity bikes on the market – this ain’t no dirt bike but it sure doesn’t suffer from the same girth issues some have. It’s also a good price by comparison to its rivals in the showroom.
Yamaha is building on that success of the new model Ténéré 700 with this Rally Edition model celebrating those iconic years of Dakar Rally in Africa and arriving with a host of additional components to up the off-road anty.
Ténéré 700 Rally Edition highlights:
- · Iconic heritage colours with historic Dakar factory race bike influence
- · Enhanced Rally feeling from Rally Seat, tank grip pads and off-road handlebar grips
- · Lightweight Akrapovič slip-on muffler
- · Extra protection from the heavy-duty skid plate, radiator guard and chain guard
- · Durable LED flashers front and rear
- · 689cc, four stroke, CP2 engine delivering high levels of linear torque
- · Lightweight and durable double cradle tubular steel frame
- · Slim, compact and ergonomic body
- · Aggressive rally-bred face with 4 x LED headlights
- · Adjustable long-travel front and rear suspension
- · Tough and lightweight 21 inch/18 inch spoked wheels with adventure tyres
- · Switchable ABS for on the fly adjustment
Launched in 2019, the Ténéré 700 is the result of one of Yamaha's most intensive development programmes that involved some of the world's leading rally raid riders testing and evaluating the prototypes in a wide range of terrain all over the world. With its compact and agile chassis as well as a characterful and torque-rich, 689cc, CP2 engine, this best-selling middleweight adventure bike delivers off road performance with long distance comfort on the highway.
Proudly assembled in France by a dedicated workforce alongside the Ténéré 700, the new Ténéré 700 Rally Edition features a special blue and yellow livery that pays homage to the Yamaha race bikes ridden by JCO and Serge Bacou in the '83 and '84 editions of the Dakar rally.
Yamaha lovers will recognise the iconic design from the XT600Z of 1983. Black Yamaha speedblock graphics reinforce the historic look, making this an authentic tribute to the men and their machines that inspired so many riders to travel beyond the next horizon in their search for new adventures and lasting memories.
Increased protection
The Ténéré 700 Rally Edition has a higher specification as standard including a 4mm aluminium, heavy duty skid plate protecting the engine and lower frame tubes, and which also features a tool box mounting point. The black aluminium radiator protector is designed to prevent the ingress of small sticks or stones – and the laser-cut aluminium chain guard enhances the premium style of this special edition model.
Rally Seat
The exclusive one-piece Rally Seat runs straighter under the rider and gives a 20mm higher riding position at 895mm. Its dual material construction also has the white Yamaha logo complements the iconic heritage colours.
Akrapovič slip-on muffler
The 689cc, CP2 engine is fitted with an Akrapovič slip-on muffler emitting a richer and throaty sound that Yamaha says enhances the high-torque sensation when accelerating. This lightweight can is fitted with carbon heatshields.
LED lights
The Ténéré 700 has distinctive headlight configuration as standard and the new Rally Edition adds compact LED flashers at the front and rear for a sleek look to this edition.
Grip pads
Special rubber grip pads on the tank sides come as standard on the Rally Edition. They provide added knee and inner thigh grip while riding. The new model also has more off-road spec handlebar grips.
Yamaha got the apps to match
Yamaha’s free MyGarage app is a quick and easy way to build a virtual Yamaha online and experiment with different combinations of Genuine Accessories and see which components work best for you on a bike. Using the MyGarage app anyone can create their dream version of the Ténéré 700 Rally Edition and view it in from any angle in high definition.
The MyRide app enables Yamaha riders to track every ride and record a variety of data including lean angle, acceleration, top speed, elevation changes and distance covered. Images can be added to the trip data and shared on social media, and information can be saved and stored under the customer's own account. It's the best way to add another dimension to every ride and allows riders to rediscover their favourite journeys.
Colours: Sky Blue and black speed block only.
Price and availability: The Ténéré 700 Rally Edition will be available at Yamaha dealers starting in July 2020. Contact your national Yamaha dealers for more information on the local price.
Wednesday
Jun242020
Tuesday
Jun232020
KTM 2021
Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 4:02PM THE 2021 KTM SX RANGE REACHES NEW LEVELS OF TECHNOLOGY AND PERFORMANCE Drawing on feedback from elite racers, the 2021 KTM SX introduces carefully considered refinements and performance updates across its range.
Monday
Jun222020
New Honda CRF450R???
Monday, June 22, 2020 at 3:37PM
For a few months now, we’ve known Honda’s planning to debut a new 450 motocross machine. Now, we know what it looks like, thanks to a set of design drawings Honda’s filed to protect its visual copyright for the new CRF450R.
When Honda debuted its offroad motorcycle lineup for the year, there was no new CRF450R. What’s up, Big Red, are you planning to abandon the 450 MX segment? Not likely, as Honda’s factory MXGP team has been flogging a new big-bore bike this season … or at least, they were, until the season shut down two rounds in (the UK and Dutch rounds were completed, and then the coronavirus pandemic happened). But the MXGP machine is a race bike, and therefore you’d expect some changes with the production version.
So what do we see? Lo and behold, Honda’s gone and re-routed the exhaust, from a dual-canister setup to a single muffler. What does that mean? Um, lighter weight, probably, but who knows what else? Honda hasn’t dropped any details about the engine yet, although a change in exhaust likely means a change in tuning. What else can we spot? The keen-eyed scribes at Motorcycle.com point out the machine in this photo has a hydraulic clutch, not the cable clutch that’s on the current-production CRF450R.
Monday
Jun222020
ROCKSTAR HUSQVARNA’S 450SX PODIUM SWEEP
Monday, June 22, 2020 at 3:19PM Zach wins his first 450 Supercross!
Zach Osborne was third early in the race and he passed his teammate Dean Wilson to get into the second place. Then, he caught up to his other teammate, Jason Anderson, but he wasn’t able to pass him. Finally, on lap 23 of 25, Zach got around Jason for the win. All three of the Rockstar Husqvarna riders spoke briefly about Husqvarna employee Scott Burtness on the podium. Scott passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, the day before the race. After his win, Zach Osborne said:“we lost a really valued coworker at Husky yesterday and this one is for him.”
Anderson and Wilson fill out the podium!
Jason Anderson led for the majority of the Main Event, but when his seat fell off, he wasn’t able to maintain the same pace and Osborne was able to get around him. Although he hasn’t won a Supercross since 2018, Jason was still classy on the podium and maintained his light hearted personality.
Dean Wilson’s podium finish was a bigger surprise. Dean has been riding well this season, but his starts hindered him from getting on the podium. He was emotional on the podium and explained that he wanted to win, but also that he was happy to be on the podium and to gain experience leading laps.
Monday
Jun222020
Supercross: Chad Reed's 'Last Ride' Might Not Be the End
Monday, June 22, 2020 at 3:02PM
The 38-year-old Aussie considers coming back for a few Supercross events once fans are in the stands again.
By Joey Barnes
Chad Reed isn’t quite ready to call it quits.
The 38-year-old Aussie was set for “one last ride” entering the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, but that was before the coronavirus pandemic interrupted his plan midway through. Now, instead of making his farewell in front of fans on the back end of the schedule, Reed's final seven races are happening behind closed doors at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Sunday will mark the final round of 17 in the championship (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN; 4 p.m. on NBC), but it might not officially mark the last time Reed’s iconic No. 22 plate will be at the gate.
“For me, I never trusted myself,” said Reed, during a Zoom call on Thursday. “It was always, 'This is the end of a full-time racing career.' I no longer have that burning desire to want to work year-round to do a 17-round series anymore. But yeah, just jumping in and doing some races, whether that's here in the U.S. or Europe, Australia, whatever.
“Obviously, with the ending that we're currently experiencing, it's far from what I pitch it as my last seven races, and that doesn't need to be a negative. It's not that I'm talking like these races suck or anything like that, it's just a very different feeling. I decided to race this year fully based on the fact that I wanted to kind of say my goodbyes and enjoy multiple stadiums around the country, and I didn't get that opportunity. We're really six stadiums short of what I originally had planned out to do.”
After his professional career began in 1998, Reed came to the United States in 2002 and has become one of the most decorated—and notoriously gritty—riders in the history of the sport, amassing 44 premier class wins (fourth all-time), 132 podiums (most all-time), 264 starts (most all-time) and he is a two-time Monster Energy Supercross champion (2004, 2008). He is also the only international rider to win titles in both 450cc and 250cc.
Over the past couple of years, though, he has caught the four-wheel bug and run events in Lamborghini Super Trofeo, even winning at the World Finals in Jerez, Spain, last year. Although his eyes have moved toward sports cars, there is still a desire to not let Sunday be the final chapter of his storied Supercross career.
“As I sit here today and I'm in shape and I'm racing, I absolutely want to come back and race,” said Reed. “As I start to phase out and start looking at car data and racing four wheels and all these kinds of things, do I have the motivation to want to get back into shape and the work that it takes to qualify and race these races? That's the unknown.
“Sitting here today, emotionally, physically, I don't want this to be the end right now. I really want to race some races next year. I think that'd be really fun to experience fans again. What I get from racing in front of fans and when they turn the lights off, do opening ceremonies, the fireworks, the anthem, all those things, that's what I want to experience one last time.”
Anaheim, Daytona and Indianapolis were among the list of potential venues he mentioned returning to. Looking beyond his riding career, Reed sees the appeal of emulating Roger De Coster, who earned five motocross championships in the 1970s before retiring and finding a prominent second career running programs for Honda, Husqvarna, KTM and Suzuki.
“I mean, I love it,” said Reed. “I feel like a lot of people retire—there's a few reasons—a lot of people just don't want to travel anymore. It's a gnarly schedule. The schedule doesn't scare me. I'm probably most fearful of not being able to pack my bag and get on a plane 17 times a year. I actually have more fear from that than anything. I love it. I would love the position (of a) Roger De Coster. If I was to put effort and to go and do something, you'd want to be Roger, because it's so hard being and seeing what I've seen and knowing what I know and running my own race team—seeing what makes a team successful and what makes a team fail.
“I think that you have to be in the position of a Roger to be the guy that if you make bad choices, you fail, and then if you make good choices, you win. Anything in between that line is probably where I struggle the most with every individual in our sport, so I wouldn't want to be that person. But I would have a huge desire to take over a factory race team at the highest level.”
That notion isn’t so farfetched, considering Reed is familiar with being in a team ownership role and has represented six different manufacturers throughout his career. Although there is one that he is partial to, it all comes down to whether the manufacturer is willing to provide the resources it takes to win.
“Give you the resources and give you the reins to be successful,” stated Reed. “Don't give you just enough reins to hang yourself, give you enough to go out and get the job done. It's always hard to talk about this while you're still racing, but I mean, never really shied away, but I think that Yamaha probably needs my help the most. It's near and dear to my heart. I have a lot of successful years. The years that you look back on and think, 'Man, they were the cool years. They were fun,' I was riding blue. So, to see them at the level that they're at now is less than the highest level, in my opinion.
“Yeah, I’m retiring, but I didn’t have the thought process of a retiring athlete, yet. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
“Yeah, a team like that would be fun, but we're saying that you want to be involved in a company that's thriving to build rad motorcycles and people that are producing motorcycles at near the weight limit and pushing that envelope like KTM, Husky [Husqvarna] are. Roger's got himself a fun project.”
While the idea of Reed in that type of role is fascinating, there is no timeline for when that might come to be.
"I really haven't given it any thought,” said Reed. “There's so many things, it still hasn't sunk in if I'm honest. It hasn't. Obviously, doing these kinds of things and the opening ceremonies at the beginning of the season, they hit home. But right now, I still feel very amongst the racing and training and riding, and we've still got one to go. I can't wait to get home and ride my two-stroke.
“Yeah, I'm retiring, but I don't have the thought process of a retiring athlete, yet. I don't know if that's good or bad.”
Sunday
Jun212020
Eli Tomac SX Champion 2020
Sunday, June 21, 2020 at 9:58PM
Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac has won the 2020 AMA 450 supercross championship and finally put his name amongst the indoor legends of the AMA supercross championship. It was a night of taking it easy as the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna riders dominated the podium with Tomac finishing fifth in the main event and showing again signs of an all new Eli Tomac.
"I mean," Tomac said. "It is unbelievable and I think about everything we went through with the team and so many ups and downs and it is unbelievable. We didn't even know if we were going to race here."
Veteran Zach Osborne passed early leader Jason Anderson to win the main event, while Anderson lost his seat during the main event and handed the lead to his team-mate to finish second and another Husky rider Dean Wilson finished in third place. A Husky triple treat.
Major contenders Ken Roczen finished seventh, and Cooper Webb eight while retiring veteran Chad Reed finishing in 10th place.
In the 250 East and West it was Chase Sexton and Dylan Ferrandis who won, after red flag restarts and major crashes cost their opposition.
In the 250 shootout Austin Forkner looked likely to win the West Coast championship and Shane Mcelrath led the race and was looking a good bet to win the East Coast, when Forkner went down hard and forced a red flag restart. Out of the running the title was the Frenchmans, and in the restart Chase Sexton ruled the roost and won the main event and retained his East Coast championship. Drama, drama, drama!!
Sunday
Jun212020
Sunday
Jun212020
5 minutes: Joachim Sauer – KTM Off-Road Product Manager talks 2021 EXCs
Sunday, June 21, 2020 at 1:04PM
On the back of KTM launching the 2021 EXC and XC-W Enduro models, Enduro21 caught up with Off Road Product Manager Joachim Sauer to talk about the new bikes, who wins the two versus four stroke fight club and what future EXCs might look like…
The people behind the bikes coming out of Mattighofen in Austria are a many varied bunch but few can have invested as much time in the orange machines as Joachim Sauer. KTM’s Product Manager for Off Road Motorcycles may, by his own admission, be getting on a bit in years these days but he has a passion and history racing Enduro most of us would be proud of. He is also mad enough to have once attempted Erzberg on a 500 but more on that later.
Who better then to dig deeper into the newly released 2021 EXC Enduro bikes and to get a bigger picture of the off-road market in this current climate than Jochi? While on the line we also asked burning questions like whether two-strokes are more popular than four strokes and what the future might hold for KTM enduro bikes – electronic suspension anyone?
Hello Jochi, how has Coronavirus affected KTM and did it have any impact on the 2021 EXC models?
Joachim Sauer: Honestly, so far this year we can see sales are more or less the same level as they were at this time last year. We don’t know how that will change as the year progresses, so let’s see, but for now it is ok.
As far as the new model development is concerned the bikes were changed quite a lot last year so there are no big steps to improve this year. We did some suspension tests and development but, in the end, decided we couldn’t make it work and leave it as it was last year. All-in-all we are at a good level with these bikes already.
We got positive feedback from all our markets around the world and it also gives us time to develop next generation models. Before we launch a bike we are already working on the next generation.
Can you just run us through the changes to the MY21 EXC and reasons behind them?
We have an upgrade to the fork preload adjuster on all standard models which honestly was a request of the market, the customers. It is a feature we already have on the SIX DAYS models and we had the request to have it as standard. It has a simple benefit for riders who can make an adjustment on the side of the track or at the start of a special test.
And the new graphics are a little bit of a departure from normal this year…
Yes, this year we decided to make a more visible change on the bikes to bring new graphics and colours to show more of a change and bigger differences to the previous models – a new feel, colour and appearance to the bikes.
Has anything changed with the fuel injection systems and TPI software this year?
No, no changes there. There are always little updates happening but in terms of maps there are no changes since the 2020 model launch. I spoke with the R&D guys only yesterday to check this detail in fact and they assured me there are no changes.
Last year when the bikes came on the market there were some small software updates that the first bikes needed installing but that was already one year ago now.
Looking at the 150 EXC TPI, can you explain the concept behind this bike compared to a 125 and also the update for 2021?
The change for 2021 is the cast instead of forged piston which is a reliability thing and nothing to big really. Even though people would estimate the forged piston is stronger, but it is not the case. A cast one is more reliable in this bike.
The 150 is a model for younger riders and also for the people who do not want to race, they don’t want or need the high-end, super performing race bike. The engine characteristics are not like a high revving 125 carburettor engine, there is more torque and it works well on the hills – say if you stop or stall on a hill it will start up and pull away again. A 125 two-stroke race bike struggles in this situation so it is more friendly and this is the concept.
For those who want small, lighter bikes the 150 has the same engine base, the same light handling character and so on. Plus it has all the ease of use the fuel injected bikes bring so no worrying about jetting or mixing fuel and so on.
We also can’t make a 125 anymore because of homologation reasons it is as simple as that.
Over the whole world what bikes are popular? Is the 350 4T champion or is it the 300 TPI? What are people buying?
In total with all the models we sell as many four strokes as two-strokes. Within that the 300 is very popular model and that makes up the numbers on the two-stroke side.
In America we sell a different kind of bike generally. The numbers are pretty equal between the XC (based on the motocross bike) and the XC-W (based on the EXC) if we look at the 300 two-stroke for example. The two-strokes are pretty strong and also the 500, dual-sport model over there is very popular.
What is popular goes in waves but since we introduced the fuel injected bikes the two-stroke is more attractive because life is easy with it in terms of maintenance and running costs. And for many a two-stroke is more comfortable and easier to ride in general.
I remember back in 2000 when we launched that generation of four stroke, everybody said it was the future and the two-stroke would die out. I even went to Erzberg on one, I was 40 that year after in 2001 and wanted to race Erzberg one time. I took a 525!
There was a clear wave towards four strokes but then we saw the two-stroke come back especially in model year 2008 when we mounted the electric start on the 300 it proved very popular again and from then on into the TPI era.
One thing to remember is that we who love racing, and the media surrounding the WESS events like Erzberg, are all seeing the 300 two-stroke all the time. Everybody is riding that bike in these events and in the videos and so on. But in reality not everybody is riding like that. We still see a high percentage of KTM Enduro riders don’t even race, they ride for fun. Many of the EXC customers are older riders and they don’t race anymore. They have the bike for riding with friends in the mountains and so on. What we see on social media doesn’t represent the whole market.
Does that represent a problem then? How do you attract younger riders?
The older guy watching Lettenbichler doesn’t want to do those doing stupid things [laughs] with his bike but the young riders are inspired by it and that makes our bikes attractive to the younger riders. The traditional enduro doesn’t attract many young people anymore but for sure WESS riders are impressive to many.
Does it get harder to achieve the big development changes to bikes?
Yeah, really. I don’t see the big development steps coming in the next five or 10 years. I don’t see a supercharger or whatever. If you compare a 2030 bike with 2020 it will be a big step but year-on-year it is a small evolution. Looking back the TPI was a big step but looking forward I don’t see any sensational developments coming.
If you compare the four stroke produced in 2000 to the one produced today the big change is the fuel injection. Apart from that there is just a steady evolution. There was never any big step especially on the four stroke side. The fuel injection was a bigger step on the two-stroke simply because it was always harder to set the two-stroke carburettor where the four stroke once it was set it was no problem.
Riding a 520 of 2000 compared to a model year 2020 obviously feels completely different in terms of ergonomics and suspension and the type of racing has changed in that time as well of course. Now it is much more about the special tests and not so traditional enduro as it was.
What I hope and think will change in the future will be more electronics, more connectivity. Currently it is not allowed to use semi-active suspension but in the future for sure we will, I hope, be able to see more electronically controlled suspension. This made a big difference on the Adventure bikes but the FIM doesn’t allow us any solutions like this on off-road bikes. I’m pretty sure once the industry tells the FIM the systems are reliable enough then we can change the rules.
You launched the Freeride E a while ago now, why hasn’t KTM followed that up with a ‘proper’ electric Enduro bike by now?
Honestly speaking it is still the conflict between the expense and the limited range of the bikes. It is that simple. An off-road bike is not an ideal base bike for electric drive – a scooter for example is a better bike where you have much more space to put a battery and you do not have such a conflict with price and mileage.
Two years ago we increased the battery on the Freeride E by 50% but it is still not enough for off-road. You still need more capacity to run for two or three hours without any change in performance when it comes to an EXC. At the moment the technology is not there for a bike holding a battery for that amount of time riding. If we could, people would not buy because it would be too expensive. Battery capacity is expensive.
If one manufacturer makes it work then we might see a quicker move from everybody else but at the moment I am not convinced, especially for enduro.
I hope that the kids sitting on our SX-E bikes today, when they want to sit on a full-size bike in eight or 10 years time, will want to sit on an electric bike. They will be our future customers for sure because they will be used to the cleaner bikes, less noise pollution and so on. Noise is our biggest enemy when it comes to off-road racing. They will grow up with a different attitude and for sure the technology will have changed in 10 years.
For now I do not see it coming from KTM in the near future. We saw a lot of noise around Alta but the battery capacity was a weak point and also the price – so far no one can make profit on electric motorcycles. We are moving to invest always in the future. There will be products coming in the near future but focused on the young kids.