So I'm reading some rally news from around the world, and I run across this article in the Punjab Newsline. Sounds cool. I had no idea that India hosted a rally race. Scroll down for the (weird?) bikes that won this race last year.
The event is open for cars and motorcycles. Most of the top ranked national rallying teams have entered the event. ... There 4 women drivers the 4 wheeler category while 5 foreigners have entered in the 2 wheeler category riding Indian made motor cycles. The total number of entries received for the vent stand at 135. This number of entries is an all time record. In the 4-wheeler category there are 36 entries, including 59 for the Adventure Trail and 40 in the 2-wheeler category.
And then I notice this paragraph:
Klaudia Honeder, from Austria is the sole woman motorcycle competitor who finished 5th overall, in last years Raid. She will be riding a Suzuki 660 DR.
What is a Suzuki 660 DR? I can't find one. It must be the DR 650. Yup. Klaudia rode one in her 2007 fifth place finish. Here's a 2007 model:
Other riders in the 2007 race rode some odd bikes. I'm not totally certain that the links represent the exact bikes ridden in the race. You'll have to judge for yourself. But you gotta admit this is one funky list of bikes for a rally in the Himalayas...
- First Place: Hero Honda Karizma (also see the Hero Honda site)
- Second: Bajaj Pulsar 200
- Third: Royal Enfield A 500
- Fourth: TVS Apache RTR 160
- Down in Seventh place, we find a KTM LC4 640
The Hero Honda Karizma
The Bajaj Pulsar 200
The Royal Enfield 500 A
The burning question? What kind of course do they run on these bikes???
Update: The official Raid de Himalaya web site is INFECTED WITH A VIRUS!!! Here's some photos from FlickR that seem to be OK.
You see the new BMW 450?
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/firstrides/122_0809_bmw_g450x/index.html
Posted by: John | September 17, 2008 at 12:56 AM