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.
