We all know Pol Tarres isn’t your average pro motorcycle racer. The phenom set the internet on fire four years ago when he first broke onto the ADV scene with ‘The Seeker’ — a short film showcasing the ex-Trials champ’s gravity-defying maneuvers on a Yamaha Tenere 700.

Since then, Pol has been pretty busy breaking altitude records riding up South America’s highest volcano, making history at Erzbergrodeo and Romaniacs hard enduros aboard his T7, and even adapting his slow-speed technical skills to the high-speed world of Rally Racing. All along, the talented Spaniard has continued to pump out ‘Seeker’ films (now on its third edition) that blow up the internet with his superhuman feats. 

Pol has carved out quite a niche in the motorcycle world, inspiring us mortals by constantly raising the bar for what’s possible on a twin-powered machine. But there’s much more to this remarkable athlete than his jaw-dropping stunts. Recently, we got a chance to meet Pol during a media mixer and presentation held at the REV’IT! Gear Story and US headquarters located in the hip RiNo district of downtown Denver. The 6,200 square-foot shop not only showcases REV’IT!’s full line of gear but also acts as a community hub, regularly hosting group rides, meetups and presentations from influential riders.

During our day hanging out with Pol, he revealed many interesting things such as which motorcycle manufacturers turned him down, his top mods for the T7, details about a new upgrade kit he will be launching soon, and more. Let’s dive in.

1. The Idea Came After A Few Beers

It’s often true that after having a few drinks with friends, thinking freely and talking freely, it can result in some of our best ideas… and sometimes our worst. 

The concept for ‘The Seeker’ film definitely fell into the former category. While hanging out with his crew (TRECE Racing Society), after a few cold ones, they began throwing around the idea of doing something with adventure bikes. “Javi Echevarría, my manager, asked me if I was able to do what I do on an enduro bike with an adventure bike. I said ‘yeah’ but honestly I didn’t know anything about the Tenere or anything about adventure bikes at this moment. I didn’t even like these types of bikes,” Pol recalled. 

Days after their ‘meeting,’ the team continued to discuss the idea in more practical terms. This happened during the middle of the Covid pandemic when aggressive lockdowns were still in place in Europe, which gave them a lot of time to think about it and put together a plan. Eventually, this would lead to a 400 km drive to the north of Spain for their filming location.

Getting there was an adventure in itself with petrol stations closed and police checkpoints everywhere during the pandemic. “Honestly, when I did the first video I didn’t expect that I could do this on a T7. I knew my skills were really nice on an enduro bike but I couldn’t imagine riding at this level on a T7.” 

In the middle of shooting the film, they sent Yamaha a few video clips of Pol in action. Their immediate response was, “OK, before you finish the video, you will have a contract,” and the rest is history. Since then, Pol and his crew have continued to use this highly-effective brainstorming technique for all their projects.

2. KTM Said No

We all know the story of Ewan and Charley and how before going to BMW they shopped their ‘Long Way Round’ documentary film to KTM and were rejected. The Long Way movies would go on to become one of the most influential forces in the growth of Adventure Touring worldwide. A huge blunder no doubt and likely one of KTM’s biggest regrets. 

Just like Ewan and Charley, Pol and his teams’ first stop when they conceived the plan for the first ‘Seeker’ extreme big bike riding video was the Austrian manufacturer. “We started with KTM because at this moment I was a Husqvarna rider,” said Pol. “We told them we just needed a bike. We explained our plan that we would make a movie that we think will be crazy popular around the world. It’s perfect timing because everyone is at home because of Covid, they want to travel, they want to go out, they want to be with friends…  and they said ‘no, no we are not interested.’”

But the rejections didn’t stop there. “Then we called BMW and they didn’t really want the project. Then we called Honda and they said yeah we already have Toni Bou.” 

Not knowing a lot about adventure bikes at the time, Pol didn’t even think to talk to Yamaha at first. Instead, Pol decided to purchase a KTM 790 Adventure R from a local dealer with his own money, which he planned to sell immediately after the project (‘lightly used!’). Just before the pickup was supposed to happen, Pol’s manager Javi called with news that Yamaha was interested in the project and had a loaner T7 they could use. And this is how the relationship with Yamaha started. 

While KTM, Honda and BMW may be living with regrets that they turned down the project, looking back on it now, Pol is very pleased he ended up with Yamaha out of all the brands. “Honestly, the T7 was the best bike. The T7 finished Romaniacs in silver with no failures over 5 days. No other bike on the market could do that. Impossible, impossible, impossible.”

3. No Practice On A Small Bike First

When many people see the incredible stunts Pol performs in his Seeker films or social media posts, they assume he must practice the trick on a small enduro bike first before moving to his big twin-cylinder machine that weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 420 pounds. 

We asked Pol about this and he responded, “When we started, we tried first with an enduro bike, then we changed to the T7. But then we see that it’s not a good idea because with the 450 it’s a  completely different bike. So I prefer to ride directly on the T7.” 

He now avoids training too much on a small bike because when he inevitably switches back to the T7, it can take him a couple of weeks to adapt his skills. “For training during a small period of time, it’s ok to ride. But now I’m always on the T7. Probably now I feel better on the T7 than on an enduro bike. So this is really good because I get a lot of confidence with the bike.”

4. Where Are All The Outtakes?

While you’d expect there to be a long reel of outtakes at the end of Pol’s videos from all the times he failed to nail one of his mind-blowing tricks. No he’s not hiding them. The truth is, there are very few. “People think that I repeat a lot of my tricks. But if I had a lot of failures, I wouldn’t be here anymore. Usually, 99% of my tricks, with difficult moments, I have one or two shots and usually I’m not failing. If I’m failing, it’s not good.” 

Tarres knows the trick to preventing frequent trips to the hospital is training hard and staying super fit. “It’s difficult because I’m not at home a lot, it’s hard to have a routine. But I always try to train a lot. When I’m home alone, I am super focused on that, probably obsessed with that. A lot of gym, cycling, running, dieting, sacrifice, and more sacrifice. No friends sometimes, no parties… you can not do it if you want to be one of the best.”

5. Speed Didn’t Come Natural

As a Yamaha factory rider on the T7, Pol was given the opportunity to try the high-speed world of Rally Racing for the first time. “Yamaha gave me the opportunity. Well they said, you have to do this type of rally racing. It was really strange, because it was not my plan.” 

At first Pol was reluctant to take on this new challenge, knowing very well the dangers. Going up against other highly experienced rally racers was humbling and it was difficult to accept not being a top competitor at this stage in his career. “Rally for me was difficult. When you are a Trials rider, you will always be a Trials rider. You have things in your head that are impossible to change. From one side it’s amazing, because we are spontaneous, we see a lot of different lines, different options, but on the other side, we aren’t born with the speed.” 

His first few races didn’t go so well. “I didn’t know anything about the desert, speed or navigation… My third race with no experience was a complete disaster honestly.” But like any great champion, his desire to be successful and win would take over and drive him to dig deep and push harder. He would spend many hours alone training in the desert, learning speed and getting help from other top riders on his navigation skills. This would eventually lead to a steady improvement in results, including a stunning ‘overall’ victory at the 2024 Morocco Desert Challenge against rivals on specialized 450cc Rally machines.

6. Pol’s Top 3 Mods For The T7

Pol explained his first stint on the T7 during the first Seeker film was on a completely stock machine on loan from Yamaha of Spain’s demo fleet. Since then, he’s developed and tested quite a few mods for the T7 he performs his stunts on, which he calls his ‘Extreme Bike.’ 

When asked what are his top 3 upgrades that make the most difference on the Tenere 700, he explained, “Suspension. It’s like black and white. But suspension begins with triple clamps and linkage. It’s the key. The other one is the wheels. I use skinny enduro wheels with enduro tires and mousses.” 

Removing anything he thinks is unnecessary to shed as much weight as possible is also at the top of his list. “All the lights, mirrors. All the stupid things they put on the bike because they have to, but you don’t need it. Maybe you can remove around 15 kilos (33 pounds).” 

Pol’s Upgrade Kit Launching Soon

Pol also shared that he has an upgrade kit for the T7 ready that they’ll be making available soon. “If you build this bike, you have the best bike right away.” Some of the things he mentioned that will be included in the kit are suspension, triple clamps, rear linkage, wheels, single front disc brake kit and a rear brake upgrade. The full kit, once available, is expected to cost around €12k Euro or $13k USD but you can also buy individual parts depending on your needs. We’ll share more details on the kit once it becomes available.

7. He’ll Be Spending More Time In America

When we met with Pol, he was fresh off a week trip riding Moab, Utah as part of a tour put together by “Ready To Ride Tours.” This was his first taste of riding the T7 on US soil but it won’t be his last. Pol says he’s looking forward to exploring more here in the states in the coming year, spending one or two months at a time. “What’s nice about the country is that there is not just one place to explore,” said Pol who also mentioned he enjoys just riding the easy stuff too. 

But his main plan is to enter some of the more popular races on this side of the globe, astride his Tenere of course. He mentioned the Baja 1000 and Tennessee TKO Extreme Enduro as potential options but it’s still in the planning stage, and certain races might not be the best for the T7. “The thing is, not all the hard enduro races are good for my bike. So I have to choose which ones are the best. For example, big bikes don’t do well in rivers. I’m not afraid to do it, but I know the limit of what the bike can do,” explained Pol. So keep an eye out for Pol at your next big race or perhaps on your local trails!

8. 50 Is Just A Number

Pol Tarres turned 31 the day after our meeting, which is a young man in life but quite old for a Trials rider. “For me it was not easy, imagine at 26 or 27 you have to decide to create something new, you have a good career, but you have to move on,” Pol shared. 

There was a lot of pressure on young Pol to continue competing in Trials being the nephew of seven-time world champion Jordi Tarres. “I felt like a monkey in a cage. I needed to feel free.” In 2016 at the age of 24, Pol decided to quit the sport. His hunger for something more would lead him to new challenges in the world of Extreme Enduro and Superenduro racing where he would thrive and quickly become a top competitor. 

But even in those disciplines, you’re lucky if you are still able to race at a high level past 30 or 35. Where he really seems to find his passion was in making extreme riding videos, which started on enduro bikes and would later evolve into films with the T7. “For me what we are creating now is like art. What you are doing is what you feel.” 

Pol Plans to Bring Hard Enduro Racing On Adventure Bikes to the US

But he’s far from done with racing. For the last few years, he’s been competing exclusively on the big twin-cylinder Yamaha. Pol has also been instrumental in the development of a Hard Enduro championship for big bikes over in Europe. Now he wants to do the same here in the states. “If motocross is popular, why not adventure bikes? I know a lot of good riders who are super interested in doing it.” Pol mentioned both Kevin Gallas and Cody Webb as riders he’s been pushing to join him. “If we did it in Europe, we can do it here too.” 

Pol sees this new racing series as a next step and a new opportunity for racers that would allow them to add perhaps 10 or 15 more years to their career. “You can still race over 40 or 45 with adventure bikes. And why can’t we ride until 50?If you feel good, if you feel fit, with energy and power, you can continue. My teammate Bittori on the Rally Bike is 49 and he’s riding with me. And he’s pushing!” 

Keep an eye out for more adventure bike classes at extreme enduro races and rally. According to Pol, “It’s coming hard!”

9. He’s Been Racing On The 2025 Tenere 700

Turns out, Yamaha’s been hiding the updated 2025 Tenere 700 in plain sight and we completely missed it. Pol has been very involved with the development of future Tenere 700 models, as you’d expect from a factory rider whose name is so closely associated with the T7. 

He shared that they’ve been working on the bike for the last year and a half, and they’ve even been using the updated machine during his Rally races. “We already rode it in the Rallies but nobody knew,” said Pol. 

He explained the new model has some significant updates but that there are even bigger changes coming around 2027 or 2028. “The new bike will be better but we are already working on the next one. It’s completely different.” 

We hope to get an announcement about all the new changes coming for 2025 at the upcoming EICMA show next month.

10. He Gets Inspiration From The World Of BMX

Along with Trials, Pol got his start on two wheels riding BMX when he was just a kid. So it makes perfect sense he would see the terrain in front of him through a similar lens now as an adult. Look closely and you’ll see many BMX-like moves as he dances his 450-pound motorcycle over rocks, trees and roots.

Pol mentioned, “I really love BMX videos. I’m really inspired by BMX riders. Also, downhill and freestyle but always cycling because they ride really sweet with a lot of flow. What I love is doing something that is really difficult but making it look easy. So that is what I try to do with my T7.” 

Seems like more often than not he nails it.

Photos by Javi Echevarría.

Author: Rob Dabney

Rob Dabney started a lifelong obsession with motorcycles at the age of 15 when he purchased his first bike – a 1982 Honda MB5. Through his 20’s and 30’s he competed in off-road desert races, including the Baja 250, 500 and 1000. Eventually, his proclivity for exploration led him to dual sport and adventure riding. Rob’s never-ending quest to discover what’s around the next bend has taken him on Adventures in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and throughout the American West. As a moto journalist, he enjoys inspiring others to seek adventure across horizons both near and far.