No rules Dakar

Rally racers are restricted to 450cc singles. Imagine if they had 160bhp V-twins… No need, Roland Sands has already got the job done

As you read this, the 2023 Dakar rally has just finished and you’ll probably have enjoyed multiple clips of bikes skimming across dunes and thrashing river beds. But, and best not to mention this to any Dakar riders you bump into, the bikes are a bit wheezy. Modern Dakar rules limit competitors to 450cc singles, which in full-factory spec put out about 70bhp and get them to about 110mph – impressive for a little single, but clearly no way near enough. What they need is the 160bhp and 150mph provided by this Dakar-inspired road-legal KTM 1290 Super Adventure R. It was built by American customiser Roland Sands Designs (RSD). ‘The motivation was to build the ultimate Paris Dakar big bike in memory of the times before 450s dominated the desert,’ says Cameron Brewer, who project managed the build at RSD. It’s more than just a pretty paint job too. The rear side panels, for example, are hand-made from aluminium. ‘We made them to try and mimic the factory KTM 450 Dakar bikes which have fuel tanks under the side panels,’ says Cameron.

‘This is the sort of bike that the more you look at it, the more you see,’ he says. ‘We hit up the guys at Billet Racing Products and used their handlebar riser system that takes out a little of the vibration and allows us to fit a Scott steering stabiliser [damper]. There’s no bracket available for this KTM so we fabricated one.

‘I got Three Brothers Racing to unlock the electronics, so it’s got the full rally pack. It’s so rad, you can adjust everything – whether you want ABS on the front, rear or both, plus all the traction control, throttle response, slip adjuster etc. It’s awesome.’ The 450cc single rules were introduced in 2011 to try and reduce speeds and the potential for accidents, so – realistically – a 160bhp behemoth weighing almost 100kg more than the current bikes is probably not a good idea. However, RSD boss Roland Sands has form for this sort of nonsense – he came up with the Super Hooligan dirt track class, where instead of riding lightweight 450cc singles, you have road-bike-based over-750cc twins. And that’s now one of the most popular classes in the sport…

BRAKES Upgraded with Brembo floating wave rotors and Brembo nickel GP4RS calipers. ENGINE Largely standard, which is 160bhp and 101 lb.ft from the 1301cc V-twin. This bike might make a sniff more than that thanks to an SC Projects titanium exhaust and Rottweiler tuned velocity stack and intake kit. TRINKETS They’re everywhere – carbon fibre case protectors, billet levers, Samco hoses, auxiliary foglights… and loads of KTM Factory parts. WHEELS The standard bike has a 17-inch rear wheel but RSD used an 18-incher so they could fit rally-esque Dunlop Rally Raid tyres to the Excel rims.

Aftermarket steering damper

Vital for 160bhp, in the desert, in the dark