Remember way back in 2020, when trials rider Pol Tarrés made a short film in which through woods, quarries, and drainage tunnels? Remember one year later, when ? If you’re at all a fan of off-road riding, you likely saw at least one of the Seeker series of videos. But did you know Tarrés also uses the middleweight Yamaha in one of the world’s most grueling enduro races: ?
See, that Yamaha is only a middleweight when you compare it to other adventure bikes — your 1250GSes, Multistradas, Africa Twins and even Yamaha’s own Super Ténéré. The Erzbergrodeo, by contrast, is built for lightweight, nimble enduros. Tarrés is tearing up Austria aboard 450 pounds of two-cylinder ADV, while his competitors are ripping around on little street-legal dirt bikes.
Yet, the difference never seems to phase him. Sure, there are times when he drops the bike through technical low-speed terrain, but those same drops happen to all of the other riders in the Rodeo. The only difference is that Tarrés takes a second longer to pick up the heavy ADV — and is a touch more winded after doing so.
Tarrés’ YouTube channel has nearly an hour and a half of uncut footage from the Erzbergrodeo, pure point-of-view beauty as the T7 winds its way through the Austrian woods. In fact, the video only seems to end when the GoPro battery dies — despite the hour and 22 minute runtime, the single video doesn’t encompass the entire Rodeo. What’s in the video, however, is impressive as hell — and a nice reminder that your own bike is probably a little more capable than you’d think.