ATVs in Dakar Rally 2010

I was working on vacation ATV trips for this summer when I came across Dakar Rally story which was in concluding stage. The Dakar requires not only top-notch riding skills, but also endurance, determination, and a lot of preparation. This could be only Rally with so many different varieties of vehicles. Participants on Cars and Bikes get most exposure and media treats the competitors in ATVs, Buggies and Trucks as stepchildren.

The second edition of the Dakar in Latin America ended on 16th January 2010. Only 14 of 25 ATV riders finished the competition. It shows how difficult and demanding the race was. The ATV category was won by Argentine’s Marcos Patronelli. Surprisingly, the second place was taken by his older brother, Alejandro. This year the route in the ATV category was 8,937 kilometers long and divided into 14 stages. Of this 4717 km came under special timed stage and 4220 km under transport / connection stages. Marcos Patronelli was the leader almost all the rally and won 4 of the 14 stages. It took him 64h 17m 44s to go through dunes, camel grass, mud and rocks averaging more than 73 km per hour.

This years winner Marcos Patronelli has this to say - :

One thing is sure: I would never have imagined this, not even in my wildest dreams. It’s incredible that two brothers finish first and second of the same raid! This Dakar was very hard. I cannot say more than that, except that I must thank my team. We are a family pushing hard, doing what it takes. I am also happy for my brother: it’s his first Dakar and he finishes second! Who wouldn’t be proud? The toughest part in this edition is really the stages in Northern Chile: Antofagasta – Copiapo, Iquique – Antofagasta. They were endless and very complicated. Navigation was hard there. We had to be really focused with all the way points. I am thrilled and I think that the fact that two brothers finish first and second is just making history. We will celebrate that!

This video on Marco was made while the Rally was progressing.

Life in the Dakar is tough enough on a bike or in a car, but you have to be an absolute lunatic to endure the pain of doing it on quad. Watch this video and get a behind the scenes look at what they have to endure on a daily basis

This is another good video that gives some ideas about preparing a Yamaha ATV for Dakar Rally. They can carry 47 litres of fuel and the top speed of this ATV is 140 km – these figures gives some more insights about the preparation.

This Rally passed through the very remote areas that can be called middle of nowhere. Here you simply make the tracks as you go. There are no signposts. Apart from the road book that gives instructions on the route, GPS was also extensively used.

A T V Prices need not be so expensive

A month back, on 7th  December 2009 -  kannada daily Vijay karnataka carried a news story on ATVs.  Like most stories in this newspaper, this has attractive sensational packaging but hollow inside when it comes to hard facts. There is considerable misinformation in the story.

ATV is unfortunately having  a bad start in India. This is a versatile machine that can be put to use in numerous ways but this continues to be plaything   limited to rich and famous here. The very small market coupled with fat margins are hindering the market growth.  

I made a honest effort to popularize this. Unfortunately reaching people from remote location is difficult thing. The above story mentions the cost as INR 120 K but it should be never more than 90 to 100K for this machine. Having imported & using past two years, I know what I am talking about. I am sure this can be made available @ 60 percent of the mentioned cost as I mentioned in a earlier blog post and  I have two surplus pieces in stock now. 

There are  committed  dealers in different parts of India who do import and sell the similar machines below or at INR 100 K but rich continue to patronize the dealers who wants to keep the prices HIGH.

ATV carrying fodder grass

After familiarizing myself with the ATV I set out on task of doing what this is capable of. I got a carrier and a trailer built in local mechanic shop. The carrier was able to carry about 40 kg very easily. We couldn’t load more as there is risk of toppling over. Here is a old clip of bringing grass fodder from our garden. Since I needed workers to load and unload - it did not prove as useful as anticipated.

Basic ATV Handling

ATV with small footprint is not very stable vehicle and some weight shifting is necessary for safe handling. The enclosed pix to some extent emphasis the message

The long seat is to help in weight shifting and not for carrying passenger. When we climb rapidly it may result in the lifting of front end as it happens in bajaj scooters and so it is safer to shift weight forward when climbing. Lower climbing speed will lesson the hazard and weight shift may not be necessary.

Descending is not so hazardous as the centre of gravity will be within vehicle. Still we shift the weight backward for better stability.

ATV has rigid axle at the back that do not allow the rear wheels to move at different speeds. The wear and tear on tyres are more so in hard surfaces. So while taking a turn at higher speed, we allow controlled slip by lifting one of the rear wheels. This is pretty easy once you know how to ride them. The picture illustrates one wheel lifted from ground.

Getting ATV ready to ride

Recently a friend suggested we bring out another ATV following  day. I replied   That is simply  impossible. I need a week to get  that machine ready. In perfect situation, we can open the packing and get ATV ready in four hours. I need much longer time because of my location and circumstances.

My farm workers are regularly irregular in turning up for job. They need to come to get the box out to the yard.

First the packing has to be opened and put all the four tyres on. The machine has to be lifted sufficiently to install the tires. Here is a small hitch. The tyres tends to loose air during storage and tubeless tyres get disengaged from Rim. It is not possible to pump air with hand pump under such circumstances. Large quantity has to be pumped quickly to seal the gap and we can easily do that with compressor. Nearest Petrol pump is ten km away. Recommended air pressure is just Ten pounds.

Handle bar is to be lifted into strait position and four bolts tightened. There is small chance the brake fluid drained on transit from the container on the handlebar. We have to ensure sufficient brake fluid.

The battery has to connected after making sure it is fully charged.

Next comes the critical tuning part. There is no clutch lever and the clutch is indirectly controlled by engine speed. So perfect tuning is a must with  smooth engine humming at idle speed. My local mechanic has to be free enough to come and do the job.

Standard tools that came with ATV are not sufficient. The front wheels need a box or barrel spanner of Size 12. Plug spanner that came from China is very delicate and do not last long. Naturally to put together the tools I use takes some time.

Talking to Chinese about ATV Tow hook

Chinese comprehension of English is very poor. They are very polite and try to help you but many times will not able to grasp exactly what you mean. Here is a example of what I expected and what I got.

  I knew that my Chinese manufacturer fabricate the frame shown in a earlier blog post   and get most components from outside and assemble ATV. So it was possible for them to reinforce the appropriate parts to make frame stronger. I had made it clear to them that I need a tow hook if possible in the backside and given certain parameters like strong support at lowest possible point so that traction is not compromised. I had sent a marked photograph to emphasis my point. I did not know exactly how much this ATV can pull but needed a strong hitching point.

When I got the ATVs delivered I found there was nothing in the back but a  hook strapped to high position in the frame in the front   It was pretty useless accessory that I got as a compliment. They simply failed to understand my explanation.

I had numerous confusion about faulty import papers too. Many Emails were exchanged. The crucial document - Bill of Lading they sent did not mention Container number. This document  should be perfect in all respects.   So searching right container in vast Mumbai port was like looking for a needle in haystack. Luckily I was able to overcome all of those hurdles and get those ATVs home.

50 km ATV ride along seashore.

Being very familiar with the route ahead of us, Rohit assumed team leadership as soon as he turned up. He briefed our First pilot Anil about Do and Donts during the ride assuring him that he will be constantly in touch with mobile phone. He also gave precise hints what constitute a landmark.

I had decided who will ride on different legs depending on accessibility with us on support vehicle. Road by the side of beach mean Twelve year old Sunil will be rider and lesser access with us mean Sixteen year old Anil will be rider. Anil rode major portion as Sunil had stomach upset that morning. Rohit’s little son Abhinav rode as a kangaroo rider for around 40Kms along with Anil.

Unexpected encounters Anil had on the beach was landmines. Our pilot kept on liberally blasting those bombs and showering his jacket with dirty stuff. The sanitation awareness and availability was extremely poor on the coastline. We had been forewarned by Rohit about this but it was not grasped by Anil. Moreover first 750 meters was very clean and Anil must have assumed the same thing all along and raised the speed.

Rohits friend Yathish Baikampady stopped Anil at Chitrapur. Anil first asked them for water to wash himself. He liberally applied Mysore sandal soap to get rid of the foul smell. Luckily Abhi who was sitting in the front was not bombarded with this. Beach cleaning kara seva was going on and we too were  given Tiffin and tea.

Seashore near Surathkal was full of rocks. ATV had to come out of the beach to cross that gap. By that time I picked up Anilkumar who arrived by bus and we rushed to beach near Sasihithlu. Anilkumar who took over driving Omni and handling camera did unburden my task considerably.

Anil and Abhi on ATV mostly had direct passage ahead of them whereas we on support vehicles had to take make more circuitous road and many times they reached the ,meeting point ahead of us. Rohit was engaged in multitasking - briefing Anil about the passage ahead, taking photographs till they are almost out of sight and rushing back to drive his car to next meeting point. He found time to click some birds too which is his favorite hobby.

Nibeesh on motorcycle was with us till afternoon and proved to be great help. It is difficult to make out once we reach next meeting point if kids on ATV had passed by or are behind us. Nibeesh helped us with locating the ATV team.
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After Sasihithlu next Six km the beach and road were parallel and within 100 m to each other. Sunil rode this part both ways. Finally we reached the beach edge at twelve thirty where the confluence of Nandini and Shambavi rivers join the sea.

I had confusion about crossing the rivers all along. Rohit said follow me and drove his car in NH 17. Anil was riding ATV and Anilkumar and myself was following them in our Omni. With so much potholes in national highway we can surmise that it is more suitable for ATV and not vehicles. The puzzled look of the onlookers on the road when they suddenly see ATV presented good entertainment to me and Anilkumar. Finally our procession stopped in front of a hotel in Mulki for lunch.

All children applied sunscreen lotion and escaped being roasted by Sun. The sunburn did not happen to us as we were not continuously under sun. The beach sand appears very similar all over but their structure varies considerably from place to place. When we compare dry or wet sand of various places we noticed the grip it gives to the ATV tyres do vary. This did upset my timetable as the sinking factor was more in some places.


I had made a list of spares and consumables and carried most of them along. As the sand thrown up by tires plays havoc on chain, I had carried spare chain and links. No component failed us on the except CD unit, that may be influenced by moist contacts caused by previous day wash. Now I have tested that CD unit which is also performing well. Good news is that Hero Honda CD unit works well with this ATV. The sockets perfectly fits each other.

High tides caused made us to take diversion in two places. Near Padubidre we had to come back to highway. Anil was able to climb to fisheries road near Uchila and cross that point. So homework we make with wikimapia.org is dependable only  to some extent. There is permanent cloud cover and shadow near Bhatkal is another example.

Finally Anil – Abhi reached Kaup lighthouse at four thirty. The google picture showed the bridge but I was not sure of approach road till we reached there. The dense vegetation had hid the road and our support vehicles went without problems.

I decided to do some riding after Five and hopped on ATV. A huge wave hit me within fifty meters that immobilized the engine. ATV rider had mobile phone all the way till then but I had neglected on this minor detail. So couldn’t communicate immediately with our team and lost some time.

Our team came back after waiting ahead for a while. Then it was getting dark and the rains started. So we decided to load the ATV into Omni. There was heavy rain by the time we hit highway & we came back via more roundabout Mudipu route.

 Next day I could make out the corrossion effect by sea water and ATV was given good wash by Sampath so that the salty layer was peeled off.