With TVS teaming up with Sherco for the 2017 Dakar motorcycle rally, the collaboration is expected to open new opportunities for desi motorcycling enthusiasts to prove their capability in dirt track/off-road racing
All pics/TVS Racing
Tvs Racing is among the few manufacturers to have given motor sport in India the importance it deserves, nurturing local talent and giving them international exposure. The tie-up with Sherco, the French high-end performance motorcycle maker for Dakar, is another feather in its cap. Fortunately, we also got a brief introduction to the global preview of the Sherco TVS Rally factory team's 2017 Dakar motorcycle, the Sherco Baja RTR 450.
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Dakar-TVS collaboration
In early 2015, TVS became the first Indian factory team to take part in the Dakar rally: the longest and toughest rally in the world. Although the Sherco TVS Racing team has been participating in the gruelling cross-country Dakar rally for a couple of years now, 2017 will be a special year as the team will be joined by local lad Aravind KP. He is the first Indian to win an overseas Motocross Championship in Sri Lanka, apart from winning 15 National Championships in Dirt Track, Rallies and Motocross.
Sherco Baja RTR 450
The TVS Racing-Sherco collaboration began with an unsuspecting meeting back in 2013 when Arvind Pangaonkar, head of TVS Racing, caught up for a casual chat with Sherco founder Marc Teissier. And before you knew it, TVS had imported a few Sherco bikes to India and worked to compete in Dakar, one of the most challenging motor sport events globally.
Within months, TVS engineers got a chance to visit and work at the Sherco factory in Nimes in France, not far from the scenic city of Marseilles. Although this partnership is between two big racing departments, Sherco Racing Team and TVS Racing (the motor sport arm of TVS Motor), the learning from here would surely trickle down to future production models eventually.
Officially to be known as the RTR 450, the new Dakar bike will have the same engine as last year but will feature a range of improvements, including an all-new crank. This new modification has been made in an effort to make the bike more durable and will benefit the Sherco TVS Racing team, as it hopefully won't need an engine change throughout the rally.
The engine is expected to produce 60 PS at 10,500 rpm
We expect the 2017 bike to produce a little more power than last year, bringing it close to 60 PS at 10,500 rpm. With some changes to the ECM, TVS Racing says that torque will be made available through the entire power band. It also boasts of an AkrapoviÄu00c2u008d exhaust system complete with a titanium header pipe and a titanium muffler.
In the last two years of participation the rally team has managed to complete the Dakar, which, for a newcomer, is by no means an
easy task.
For now, the head of TVS Racing, Arvind Pangaonkar (not to be confused with the team rider, Aravind KP) looks optimistic. “We are more hopeful for 2017 because we have a good team, are very well prepared and, more importantly, the experience of last two years has added to the learning curve.”
Ride Experience
The factory team's Dakar bike is based on Sherco Baja RTR 450. The four-stroke 449-cc motor cranks up at the push of a button. Interestingly, there isn't a kick-starter; Sherco hasn't been using one for years now. Smart designing like this has made the motor surprisingly compact and light.
And the bike is really tall with a 970-mm saddle height. Upfront you get chunky 48-mm WP forks that travel up to 17 inches, while the rear suspension does close to 12 inches. This gives a ground clearance of 355 mm.
Going off-road is a completely different ballgame. The RTR 450, with its impressive 21-inch off-road wheels in front and 18-inch rear ones, claws through the gravel, stones, and pebbles with its tail slipping and sliding like a fish. Feed gas and the rear slides out aggressively. Let go of the throttle and you're in for more trouble. And God help you if you happen to even tap on the front brake.
Both the nature of the bike and the track are very different from what a city-dweller is used to. With every passing lap on the Fontcouse rough terrain, one can understand what the bike was trying to communicate.
Sherco hasn't shared the power output of the Baja RTR 450 till the time of going to press. It could be 50 PS, because the Dakar bike, which is based on this, produces close to 60 PS. The enduro comes with a six-speed gearbox but hardly does one gets an opportunity to shift above third.
Aravind KP will be participating in the forthcoming Dakar 2017. He has to ride much faster Dakar bikes, in extremely severe weather and on demanding terrain for close to two weeks at a stretch. Elicits instant respect, doesn't it?
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