‘I knew it had to be a KTM or a Husky’
Knight has ridden for a host of different manufacturers from BMW to Kawasaki, but he remains synonymous with KTM, who not only have a legacy of winning the gruelling race, but a long history of providing race-ready Dakar bikes and comprehensive support structure to privateer teams. “I knew from the start that I had to be on a Husky or KTM. There were options to ride other bikes and get help but there is no point in putting in that much effort and it’s all over with a mechanical after five days. It’d be like spending a load of money to go and do a British Enduro round and using inner tubes instead of mousses and retiring with a puncture. “Because I’d not done it before I was short shifting everywhere. On the fast stuff I’d get going then be on 50% throttle going 20kph slower than I could be. I’m like that because I’ve always worked on my own bike and I’m thinking ‘how the hell can a little 450 single survive a race like this?’ But they are unreal, absolutely bullet proof. My mechanics said the engine could do two Dakars without an issue. You think surely it’s going to break when you’re flat out doing over 100mph, but probably 70% of the field are on KTMs or Husqvarnas and I never saw one broken down. At the end of the race my bike started the moment you hit the button and it honestly still sounded brand new – sweet as a nut. Impressive.
“We changed the oil every day and we put one clutch in it a couple of sets of chains and sprockets – oh and a few front rims from where I hit big rocks when I was looking down at my roadbook to navigate!”