29/08/2025
Cual prefieren para correr el Dakar
1. 2025 KTM 450 Rally Replica
The word “replica” in the title of KTM’s 450 Rally Replica is used in its most literal sense—these limited-production machines are genuine competition bikes aimed at owners who want to use them in anger and are essentially identical to the company’s factory racebikes. The new 2025 450 Rally Replica ups the ante with a new engine, chassis, and bodywork as a one-for-one facsimile of the latest-generation works KTM 450 used in this year’s Dakar Rally.
KTM may not have won the 2024 Dakar—this year’s event fell to Ricky Brabec’s Honda’s CRF450 Rally—but successive generations of the company’s 450 Rally have won 10 Dakar Rallies since 2011 and the mechanically identical GasGas 450 Rally took an additional win in 2022. In fact, KTM has only been off the top step at the Dakar four times since 2001, with a total of 19 wins and 235 stage wins on its résumé. In short, the 450 Rally Replica should give its buyers the closest experience possible to that of a top-level works bike.
The company says the 2025 450 Rally Replica, limited to just 100 machines, is the biggest update that the model has had since 2020. The changes start with a heavily revised engine that’s based on the fuel-injected single from KTM’s 450 enduro and motocross bikes, with a new SOHC cylinder head with redesigned ports and titanium valves, plus a beefed-up clutch and tougher transmission than previously. For the 2025 bike, KTM has also added a new dual-radiator cooling system that works better than the previous single-radiator design as well as giving a layer of redundancy should one radiator get damaged during a stage. Like previous Rally Replicas, the engine breathes through a Keihin throttle body and an Akrapovič exhaust, the latter hydroformed to maximize ground clearance and minimize weight.
Hydroforming is also used for the first time on the 2025 Rally Replica’s frame. Instead of the conventional steel trellis of previous generations, the new version uses hydroformed steel sections that can be made to meet specific targets for strength and flexibility, all hand-welded together to form a complete chassis. At the back the seat subframe doubles as a self-supporting 4.2-gallon fuel tank, which is complemented by two additional front tanks—2.4 gallons and 2.5 gallons, respectively—for a total capacity of 9.1 gallons. Two fuel pumps let the rider choose between the front and rear tanks.
The swingarm is new, too, die-cast from aluminum and bolted to a WP Xact Pro 7750 shock via a rising-rate linkage. Up front, a 48mm WP Xact Pro 7548 fork is mounted in billet triple clamps. It’s all wrapped in redesigned bodywork that includes a carbon fiber “navigation tower” at the front to hold the roadbook, and a narrower nose to reduce wind resistance and turbulence. An LED headlight, 33 percent brighter than its predecessor, sits behind the transparent nose bodywork, and while the bike comes with a conventional paper-based roadbook system, it can also be fitted with a modern, digital alternative.
With only 100 units to be made, there's a good chance they've all found buyers by the time you read this, though the price tag is likely to be $31-$40k.
2. Honda CRF450RX Rally
Redmoto have announced they will build and sell the Honda CRF450RX Rally, the HRC and Dakar developed customer rally bike, in a limited edition 50 run in Europe. Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) will finally make the CRF450RX Rally bike available to buy this year. For customers in Europe that reality gets one step closer with Honda’s European right arm, RedMoto, as they announce HRC will supply the kit parts to the Italian company, who will then be responsible for assembling and selling the complete bike with European homologation.
For the first year of production and sale, the units available will be limited to 50 units and only available via pre-order. The CRF450RX Rally will carry European homologation.
Between the second half of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, six riders have been racing aboard the CRF450RX Rally prototypes, with technical assistance from RS Moto, another Italian company specialising in rally and support at the races including Dakar.
The CRF450RX Rally prototype made its debut at the 2024 Rally of Morocco with Romain Dumontier (the only HRC rider with this bike), and other riders lined up at the 2025 Dakar Rally including Jacob Argubright. With the bikes essentially the same as you see here, Dumontier finished 12th overall and third in the Rally2 class and Argubright 22nd overall.
HRC say they will also consider partnership opportunities with potential rally teams to offer support to riders who intend to compete in events like the Dakar with the CRF450RX Rally. We don't know the situation regarding the CRF450RX Rally in other parts of the world, including North America (but rest assured we'd be crazy if HRC didn't do the same with its US partner).
RedMoto (the team behind Steve Holcombe in the EnduroGP World Championship) is limited to 50 units, which we understand, with a guide price of €35-40k / $40-46k (depending on your country/shipping, etc.).
The brief is to be as close as possible to the factory version and be a race-replica specification machine. The CRF450R frame is used as the base, though altered significantly for stiffness we understand, plus featuring a dual fuel tank (front/rear) with a total capacity of 9.5 Gallons.
The Showa suspension features dedicated damping settings and springs with different elastic constants (honestly, we’re not sure that “elastic constants” means – Ed). The forks are equipped with oversized titanium tubes with a Kashima surface treatment (Travel 310mm) while the shock absorber has a titanium-coated piston rod to reduce friction, just like the CRF450R Works Edition.
As on the CRF450R Works Edition (MX model), the combination of stiffness and strength has been optimized using components jointly developed by XTRIG and Honda. The bike is also equipped with a steering damper.
Specifically developed by HAAN, the hubs are CNC-machined from solid aluminium, while the rims are made by Takasago Excel.
The rear wheel features a cush drive, added to absorb heavy impacts, improving shock absorption, enhancing riding comfort, and reducing rider and component fatigue.
Honda says “the entire internal combustion unit has been designed for a single purpose: Rally racing.”
Delivering a maximum power of approximately 58 hp, it has a six-speed gearbox with long gear ratios allows for rideability and control but with “exceptional thrust” across the entire rev range.
It also features an oversized radiator integrated into the technical package to lower oil and water temperatures, preserving the engine’s overall reliability even in extreme conditions. Approximate top speed is 160 km/h.
