These 2 Maniacs Just Did The First Ever Dakar Rally Route On Vintage Yamahas

Do a pair of Yamaha XT500s still have what it takes, 40-plus years later?

By: Janaki Jitchotvisut

Feb 13, 2025 at 8:14am ET

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There's a concept I like to refer to as 'temporal context' whenever I'm thinking about things like motorcycles, sporting events, or even movies. What do I mean by that? To put it simply, here in 2025, things are going to look a certain way to me since this is the time I'm living in.

But if I'm thinking about, say, the first-ever running of the Dakar Rally, what I think I know about motorcycles in the current day doesn't really apply. That's not where rider's heads were at, nor where technology was. In 2025, the Dakar Rally is currently held in Saudi Arabia. Back in the day, it ran from Paris to Dakar (which is the capital city of Senegal and is nowhere near Saudi Arabia).

When you're talking about historical events, it's essential to consider temporal context. Riders back then didn't have a lot of things we take for granted on even pretty basic modern motorbikes. Sure, ABS wouldn't really matter for this type of riding, and would likely even be detrimental. But advances in materials manufacturing, as well as the eternal argument over whether fuel injection is superior to having to fiddle with a flaky, ancient carburetor out in the middle of the Sahara desert? Those are things that matter, and need to be considered.

To kick off 2025, two riders and friends named Llewelyn Pavey and Isaac Johnston just shared a one-two punch of videos documenting an incredible trip they took to the site of the 1979 Dakar Rally. Lucky for everyone, they not only brought along a pair of 1979 Yamaha XT500s to do the deed; they also brought along a whole photo and video team to document the journey.

What do you think?

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Pavey has a full-length feature film about the trip on the Brake Magazine YouTube channel, while Johnston has a more informal, behind-the-scenes outtakes type of video up on his channel. The Brake Magazine video is a full hour-long experience, so you might want to store it away in your queue for next time you're looking for a good movie. Johnston's video is much shorter, and is good for next time you need a little break from whatever you're doing, to kind of reset your brain.

If you had the chance to do something like this with a buddy, would you take it? What bike(s) would you choose? Tell us your Dakar dreams in the comments!