I think this is true for any bike who's rider seriously intends to finish, regardless of brand. Reliability wise, the PA is still an unknown quantity and this will be a great acid test for it. In fact, I doubt there's a "standard bike" on the entry list!
Maybe perhaps the rider WANTED it lowered for his comfort? That'd be a pretty darned good reason to me.
Because it's always been in the rules, as seen in this copy from the 2019 Rulebook:
No doubt, as a number of much more unlikely bikes have been allowed and have finished in years past.
The IBR rules are completely different from the rules associated with Iron Butt Association certificate rides. Rallies have very little to do with cert rides except riding miles. The rules are posted in the link to the daily reports if you would like to read them. In a nut shell, riders changing bikes during the IBR will lose 50% of their points at the end, but not toward finisher status. If they should change bikes again, there is no additional penalty beyond the original 50% reduction in points at the end of the rally. In some of the earlier IBRs a rider changed bikes 4 or more times before arriving at the finish. In pre-internet days, you bought the closest bike you could find and afford to continue on. Riders changing bikes are required to return to the point at which the original bike died or was left, then may continue on with the rally.
Word is he picked it up from the dealer about 4 days before trailering it to the start. The dealer did some prep work. It is a 2019, as I understand, so I have no knowledge of if he's had it for a while and only took it to the dealer for some prep work or if it's new leftover stock. In my opinion, it was not prepped for the IBR. No aux lights, no fuel cell, no oil cell, three dry bags strapped to the bike for luggage. I'm not sure if he had a tank bag even. Or a GPS, though I would expect him to have at least one.
That is interesting info. I have not ever been in an event where you can switch bikes. Heck man that opens up a whole new opportunity. If I was ever to do one of these I could care less about the points I would be happy to just finish.
Those service intervals are standard for most any dirt bike. My Beta is the same. I'm well over 10,000 miles and 300 hours on mine engine has never been opened except for one valve adjustment. Most KTM 300's go in excess of 500 hours on bottom end. As long as he has a spare piston to change out and is geared to the moon the bike should be able to finish.
I hear you there. Over 10,000 miles in 10 days has to be a feat for a human to endure.
Except, there is a minimum points value to finish. You can ride the entire rally, all 11 days, and not be a finisher. It happens every year. It's not the miles, it's the points. That's part of what endurance rallies are about, scoring bonuses and accruing points. You need to figure out the theme, figure out the tactics to earn points, plan a route that maximizes those points, and have to be able to actually ride the plan and do the paperwork correctly to claim the points.
Perhaps you have forgotten, back then they only needed to get to the checkpoints and finish. No minimum points required, so the shortest, most direct path between checkpoints worked fine. In 2019 a 1974 Suzuki GT750 made it through to the end, but was DNF for points. That's the last 2 stroke bike that survived the miles. Over twice the displacement and that rider really knew his bike well, and had prepped it extremely well. His downfall was not having any rally experience.
He finished Gold in '07 on a '08 BMR R1200RT, again in '11, (Gold), on a '08 Honda ST1300, then again in '17 with a HD Sidecar rig and his wife and daughter, (12 years old), along for the ride. He knows how to ride and how to rally. The nut-job choice of this KTM makes no sense to me. And apparently not much to him either, since he was a whisper away from trailering it home the day before the start. I know him personally, I like him and his family and I wish him the best. But that bike is not prepared, nor is it a suitable rally bike for the IBR. Just testing it out on a shorter rally would have proven that out. Clearly he has not had the chance to do that.
No I have not forgotten the rule change. My comment was directed to those who think a 2 stroke can not finish the rally . Matin rode 8451 miles with 25,521 pants to earn silver medal in 1997. Paul rode 7712 miles with 33,286 points for a finish. To me thats impressive for a 125cc and a 175 cc motorcycle.
MotoGP is an other event where switching bikes is allowed. Typically a spare bike will be tuned and outfitted for rain and the rider can change from a wet to a dry set up bike (or vice versa) if conditions change during the race.
I live a sheltered life. Every form of racing and event I have entered gives you a big DQ if even a hint of riding another bike is suspected. Interesting to know.
...and not a one of them has a butt.
Butt, they weren't riding motorcycles either. I can drive for hours in a car. . . . ride on a bike, not so much.
