The KTM 450 Rally is KTM’s response to changes which initially threatened to stall its 10-year dominance of the Dakar rally.
While Aprilia proved in the last edition that it knows how to build a competitive 450cc bike with its Aprilia RXV 4.
5, KTM’s first reaction was to drop out.
Rather than having a little tantrum though, the company luckily came to its senses and started to develop its own 450cc model.
After all, it’s one of those companies you’d expect would be able to innovate and adapt.
Which means we can now see Cyril Despres putting the new KTM 450 Rally through some teaser paces in this video.
What’s more, KTM has been intelligent about the way it’s going to develop its new bike, concentrating not just on its offroad characteristics but also what it needs from a touring point of view to get it through the tough Dakar.
KTM is therefore probably looking at a chassis option of a steel trellis frame similar to the 690 Enduro as it would be better able to fit additional equipment.
In this video Cyril Despres tries out the new KTM 450 Rally on his private track in the Pyrenees before it debuts in October at the Rally de Maroc.
We might get to see it at the 2010 EICMA, too.