Other News

Rebel X, Yamaha Italy release Dakar-ready rally machine

October 23, 2014

Yamaha Italy and Rebel X Sports have teamed up to build a Dakar-ready version of the WR450F that you can purchase, as long as you’ve got the coin.

The WR450F Rally incorporates many improvements over the basic WR450; most notably, there’s a bunch of extra bodywork up front to make mounting space for navigation instruments. To make trailside repairs easier, or to convert the bike back to an enduro racer, the navigation tower is only held by two easily removable bolts. There’s an electronic trailbook holder and an RNS Tripmaster in the tower and provisions for other gadgets; the instruments are controlled by buttons on the handlebars.

Desert racers need lots of fuel capacity, so the WR450F Rally has an 18-litre tank in front and an auxiliary 10-litre tank in back. That should be good for a 300-km range.

Dakar racers also need to carry tools and plenty of water; the WR450F Rally has been cleverly designed to hold water and tools underneath the skid plate, keeping weight low.

The front headlights are 50-watt LED units; the bike’s battery has been upgraded to a 14 ah lithium ion unit to power all the extra electronics. The rally navigation equipment runs on its own circuit, so if riders want to convert their bike back to enduro use, it’s simple to unplug.

The front brake has been upgraded to a 270 mm wave disc, there’s a new exhaust to provide better airflow (and re-tuned ECU to match). It’s unclear whether the engine itself has been worked on.

If you’re interested, these bikes will be available to customers; a complete machine will cost you €13,490 (around $19,000 CAD), but you can simply buy the kit (it’s probably easier to get into Canada that way) for €5,690 (around $8,000 CAD). Other upgrades (cush drive, different seat, etc) are also available at extra cost. You can get more information on the bikes from Yamaha Italy or Rebel X Sports.