2009 Dakar-winning bike lobs in Oz

You probably won't believe me, but I've just been sitting on the factory KTM 690 Rally which won last year's Dakar Rally under the shrewd guidance of Spanish champion Marc Coma. And I'm not visiting the KTM factory.

Instead, the 690 is currently sitting on the floor of Bolton Motorcycles in Kyneton, about 90km north-west of Melbourne, minding its business among of slew of production KTMs.

So how did the trick piece of kit get there? According to former enduro star Matt Fish, who works at Bolton, a bloke simply walked in off the street last year and asked "about where he could buy one of the bikes they use in the rallies"?

It was a question that Bolton staff - quiet understandably - couldn't answer, but some follow-up calls to KTM Australia, which then contacted the KTM factory, set the train in motion.

And that's where we are today, with the Rally sitting at Bolton awaiting its new owner to turn up with a ute and trailer to pick it up.

We're not sure what he had to fork out for the privilege of ownership, but we're tipping it'd be well over $50K -- but that'll be just between him and his insurance company.

The bike is in the same spec as it finished last year's Dakar, which saw Coma clinch his second win in the iconic event (but he won't make it three this year, as he's just been hit with a six-hour time penalty for an illegal tyre change and is languishing way off the pace in 12th spot).

The LC4 engine on Coma's souped-up single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine has been bored and stroked out to 770cc, up from 654cc. It produces around 70hp at 7500rpm and 70Nm at 6000rpm, mated to a six-speed gearbox. It runs a 41mm carburetor.

The wet, multi-disc clutch is hydraulic, the chassis is made of tubular chromium-molybdenum alloy, and WP suspension is used at both ends. The discs are 300mm and 220mm respectively, and the wheels are 21 and 18-inch respectively, working in concert with Pirelli rubber. Ground clearance is 320mm.

The bike carries about 36lt of fuel in multiple tanks, and weighs about 162kg. If you're after a rally thoroughbred, look no further.

Coma action pic: D Castilho