A Challenge For Those Who Go.
A Dream For Those Who Stay Behind.
That's the concept of Dakar race founder, Thierry Sabine,
something that holds true especially as we prepare for the
40th running of the famous rally raid.
The stats behind the Dakar are astounding, something
to contemplate while watching over the two week event.
The number of vehicles competing is 337; 190 of which
are motorcycles & quads. Distance covered is almost
9,000 kilometres of which half is competitive. Competi-
tors come from 54 nations, 11 of them are women.
Motorcycle manufacturers come from Hero, Honda,
Husqvarna, KTM, Sherco, Yamaha and GasGas.
Settle in and watch the Dakar coverage, if for nothing
else but the stunning vistas of South America.
DAKAR HERO ENTERS NEW BIKE
Hero MotoCorp Ltd gave a hint at the recent EICMA
show in Milan that they will enter the adventure motorcy-
cle market by displaying a concept for the market called
the Xpulse.
Coinciding with the launch of their 2018 Dakar attempt,
Hero MotoCorp Chairman, Manageing Director and CEO,
Mr Pawan Munjal, said he is confident with th direction
Hero are headed and using the experience they are gain-
ing from racing to develop new and exciting bikes.
The Hero Motorsports Team Rally will use the new bike
in the 2018 Dakar event and hope to build on their already
growing presence outside of India.
SYDNEY MOTORCYCLE SHOW A SUCCESS (AGAIN)
While the EICMA motorcycle show saw the worldwide
release of many new models, the success of the Sydney
Motorcycle Show, hosted by Troy Bayliss Events, gave the
Australian public a chance to see the new machines and
get some idea of when they'll be available in Australia.
Darling Harbour was a perfect location for the show,
held just a few weeks after EICMA, and even allowed Rob-
bie Madison to show off some of his waterborn antics.
2016 Dakar winner, Toby Price, was present at the KTM
stand, and seemed excited about his prospects in the 2018
event.
Surprising, while all manufacturers were represented,
Suzuki decided not to attend, instead opting for a series of
travelling roadshows.
TRAVERSE
BABY AFRICA TWIN
Rumours abound that Honda are working on a smaller
version of their Africa Twin to capture some of the middle-
weight adventure bike market.
Honda have denied the suggestions however, given that
the new Euro 5 emmissions rules come into play in 2020
and the next Tokyo Motor Show is in October 2019, we be-
lieve the smaller bike, possibly a 650, will be released then.
TOURATECH CONTINUE ON IN TRANSPERANCY
With insolvancy proceedings stepping up, Dr Dirk Pehl
of Schultze & Braun has been appointed to take care of the
administration of Touratech AG.
In a show of transparancy Dr Pehl has been quite open
with regards to the proceeding, even attending the EICMA
show to speak with customers and investors. He con-
firmed that a multimillion dollar order, spanning a few
years, has been placed by a customer indicating there's
still great faith in the motorcycle accessory manufacturer.
Dr Pehl is confident investors will be found and the
name Touratech will survive with no job losses.
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