Rallykit for BMW G450X
In 2009 Dutch Dakar rally ace Frans Verhoeven contacted BERRT as he was interested to ride Dakar 2010 on a BMW G450X. A plan was made and sponsors were attracted, main sponsor was BMW Netherlands. As the stock G450X obviously wasn’t suitable for Dakar, Frans and Bert Duursma made a plan for converting the G450X into a competitive Dakar machine.
The idea for a single fueltank, close to the centre of gravity, came from Frans. It was Bert’s task to finance and manage this very tight development project (only 3 months from start to a finished product!). To do this job, a.o. Jos van Bergen of Behego was hired to work on the prototype, make the moulds etc. He is a genius and did an excellent job, together with the tank manufacturer Kumagaya (Holten, Netherlands) and a small company called Startwin where the drawings and all the metal parts were made.
Dakar 2010 was the first time the tank was being used. Because Frans Verhoeven won the 11th stage, a lot of interest was gained. Soon after Dakar 2010, Frans and Bert/BERRT were invited by Speedbrain to discuss a Dakar project with involvement of BMW Motorrad Germany where “our” G450 Rallykit concept would have to play a major role.
So it happened that the Speedbrain-BMW Dakar team used our kit in various rallies and also in Dakar 2011 with 4 riders (Frans Verhoeven (first rider), Paolo Goncalves (RIP) and 2 others)
Speedbrain and BERRT sold these rallykits all over the world. The kits were supplied to Speedbrain through BERRT, being responsible for sourcing all the parts and the logistics. The intellectual property rights of the kit are with Bert and Frans Verhoeven, the original investors in this project.
In 2012 Speedbrain pulled the plug, but we continued to sell the kits.
After 10 years of production we have decided to stop production of the fueltank and the other parts, as demand is too low.
End of a very interesting era, and proud to have been part of it!