The 2024 KTM 450 Rally replica has been launched, the latest edition of the ultimate production rally racing bike.
There’s little doubt that the Dakar Rally is the pinnacle of motorcycle rallying. Whatever your opinion of the challenge of the event in its modern form based in Saudi Arabia, it’s the rally that every top rally rider wants to win.
Over the past 20 years, most of the top rally riders have ridden for KTM – and/or one of its sister brands in the Pierer Mobility Group – and in Mattighofen they have found perhaps the best rally bike in the world.
The combination of top riders and a top bike has led KTM to dominate the Dakar in the 21st century. It won every edition of the Dakar between 2001 and 2019, and also won the last two editions in 2022 and 2023.
Well, more or less. GasGas is one of those sister brands of the PMG company and won the 2022 edition with its own version of KTM’s 450 Rally, the RX450F, driven by Sam Sunderland. That victory brought with it GasGas’ own rally racing production model, but for the time being, the 2024 model year is only available for KTM.
Only 80 are being manufactured, making this one of the most exclusive 2024 bikes as early as September 2023, but it’s clear that it was built with a very specific purpose in mind.
As you’d expect, since they’re also part of the Pierer Mobility Group, WP supplies the suspension. Specifically, the 2024 450 Rally replica gets 48 mm WP XACT Pro Cone Valve forks and a WP XACT Pro shock absorber with full adjustability. There’s also an Akrapovic exhaust system connected to the 450 cc SOHC engine and a competition-derived frame, as well as the same gearbox as the factory race bike.
It’s not completely factory, but it’s as close as you can get without a factory contract. But, as Mason Klein discovered in 2022, it’s still a bike worthy not only of finishing the Dakar, but also of making the top 10.