Hi Onepot,
Get your self to the 2nd International XT500 meeting at Baskerville Hall Hotel Clyro Nr. Hay on Wye May 14-16 2010, you might see a couple of Dakar replicas in the flesh. 1 of them infact completed the Dakar route as part of the 30th anniversary of the first XT win at the Dakar in 1979.
I will put a post on the meeting section shortly but hope some of the guys from the forum may come along.
Will