Big-Bore ADV Bikes Gone Racing

[advrider]

Back in April of last year, when I was riding the newly unveiled and untested Harley-Davidson Pan America at the RawHyde Ranch facility for our review, we put the new machines through its expected paces: sand sections, technical training courses, and open-road blasts.

But the most fun occurred when we giddily ran the bikes around a small MX course that included multiple jumps. Could we send the 540-pound PanAm like a 450 motocross machine? While some of the riders (ahem) were able to get a wee bit of air under the bike (and it lands with applaudable control), other riders with a lot more experience in motocross, rally riding and off road competition were able to coax a surprising amount of hang time – and speed – on the technical track. Which, of course, begs the question: Stripped of panniers, farkles and anything else that adds additional ounces, how would an adventure bike do in a real race?

We are now finding out, as races move to include the big bikes and riders push not only the Pan America but several not-really-made-for-racing big-bore adventure machines to their limits in actual competition. Here’s how some have fared lately:

Motorcycle: Harley-Davidson Pan America: 1,250cc, 540 pounds as stock  Race: Baja España Aragón (Spain)  Rider: Juan Pedrero Garcia

Results for the Aragon event were not posted at the time of publication, but news around the water-cooled water cooler is that Garcia did indeed finish the race on a bone-stock PanAm (mirrors and all), and was leading the inaugural big-bike “Maxi-Trail” and “Trail ” category at one point before four flat tires set him back in the standings. What place he ultimately came in isn’t exactly clear as of yet, but the fact the bike finished at all despite the flats, 100-plus temps, choking dust and just the rigors of racing speaks well to how much abuse it will take – and to rally vet Garcia’s mad skills. Here’s some coverage and photos from Spain’s Super7Moto site.

Motorcycle: Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro, 888cc, 443 pounds as stock  Race: Baja España Aragón  Rider: Ivan Cervantes

And we have a winner! Team Triumph took first place in its class at Aragon with five-time Enduro World Champion Ivan Cervantes on the bike. The 900 got some tweaks before the race (also: no mirrors), and actually finished 11th overall against all motorcycle entries – an impressive result no matter who’s counting. This marks the first year of production for the “Rally Pro” Tiger 900, which will also happily ferry you and your gear across continents if need be. The team also took the checkers at the Bassella Race earlier this year. Check out their video of the bike in action:

Motorcycle: Yamaha Ténéré 700, 689cc P-Twin, 452 pounds as stock   Race: Erzberg Rodeo  Rider: Pol Tarres

You could say madman Pol Tarres kind of got this whole adventure bike racing thing going with his string of race entries aboard a heavily prepped T7. But, taking on the insane Erzberg Rodeo is perhaps the most challenging race we’ve seen someone attempt. Tarres was able to make it to the 17th of 27 checkpoints before the four hour time limit of the Erzberg course, finishing (perhaps somewhat appropriately) in 77th place. Only eight of 500 riders completed the course in the time allowed. Here’s a short clip (below) of Tarres riding at Erzberg, and you can ride with him via his helmet camera. Tarres also rode the T7 in the Red Bull  Romaniacs hard enduro, but finished down near the bottom of the rankings.

Motorcycle: KTM 690 Adventure R,  692cc, 326 pounds as stock     Race: Trefle Lozerien Enduro    Rider: Xavier de Soultrait

Xavier de Soultrait’s KTM 690 Adventure R is perhaps the most race-bikeish race bike of the recent adventure bike entries, and it fared well, finishing 43rd out of some 600 bikes at the Lozerien event. Of course, it helps to have deep Dakar rally experience in the saddle with de Soultrait, and of note, this was his personal Katoom that he bought just two weeks prior to the race. Prep included a fork swap, bash plate and Akky exhaust upgrade, and a full ABS delete. Other than that – pretty much stock. De Soultrait says the bike will race again – and get him around day to day. Here he is making it work:

Good times! And there’s more to come, as there are also reports of riders entering Ducati 1260 Enduros in events and Triumph’s 1200 Tiger triple has also been scaring the competition. And while some may scoff at even entering these bikes into races typically featuring mounts far more suited to competition riding, it’s clear that in many cases the bike makers are all in on the adventure, as valuable information can be gleaned from the success – or failures – of these bikes in a race environment. That eventually benefits all adventure riders as OEMs tweak design and technology on future production bikes for a wider envelope of riding performance – something anyone who points an adventure bike into challenging terrain should be thrilled about.

Want to race your adventure bike? Tell us all about it in comments!

 

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