IMPORTANT Dakar have hit me with a copyright strike so ive had to delist some of the videos just in case i guess they got pissed that mine were better because of the MOTOGP one before xmas that means im really vulnerable now and the channel could be removed at any time I have set up this backup channel so please go and follow it NOW, this could all be removed at any moment now so it is critical to stay in touch via the backup channel here ruclips.net/channel/UCCSl6i-tZJNC5DQ38vgCtvw sorry for this if i get another strike it wipes out all my work all my old videos will be removed I wont be posting anything much on the new channel unless this goes down but this is a just in case because it really could go down at any point the videos are still visible if you have a link so if you have problems message me for links so you can still watch them, if you follow the channel and this one gets taken down you will be able to find me there sorry if thats a bit garbled ive just woken to this but i guess i could have had the channel taken down already so i should be thankful ride free everyone
pre orders are being taken in the US UK and Europe now for delivery may. If you want any more details theres a contact page on my website below where I can put you in touch with the relevent distributers if you cant find them, cheers for watching
I stumbled across the Kove rally bikes late last year and followed then at the Dakar. A great result getting all 3 starters to finish and hopefully a good omen for the brand. I’ll be keeping an eye on them and looking forward to them coming to Australia soon.
@@amelica5502 yes the prices are UK £, the KTM in question is their ready to race Rally bike, they dont make a full production version, it is a special made for competition use www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/ktm/ktm_450_rally_factory_21.html
I have owned a 640 Adventure since 2006 and still have it because there is just nothing like it. This thing gets my interest going. It has everything. Super low weight, long travel suspension and a ton of fuel. All things KTM has neglected. The 640 was an odd duck back then and now is a unicorn. Guys have to dump a ton of money into a 690 or 701 to get the range needed to make a real adventure bike. And the 790/890 are not dirtbikes. So you give up so much going to this platform over the old dinosaur 640. There is a shop in Utah selling the Kove so I think I need to check it out. Maybe not get the first year but second year version. Good goal for me for next year! As with all Chinese stuff I wonder how their parts network will be? So many brands fail here with all sorts of products. If you break a shift lever do you just throw your bike in the garbage? No joke this happens with stuff like electric bikes and skateboards.
The 640 was a special bike, i do think this is too though, parts are on 1 week dhl orders from factory until dealers have stocked up so they are thinking about it, we will see in time i guess
@@CoachSteve4u 3 tanks actually lol, 2 upper side tanks at the front and then another at the rear under the seat. the rear tank forms the rear subframe and holds almost 15 litres
Wow , Well Done Kove 👏👏👏 , that’s a very impressive feat , 3 starts , 3 finishes . It could open a whole new world for budget rally racers or just the Adventures in us all 👍👏👏
Depending on what they end up retailing for in Aus, these could be very tempting as a second bike. Wouldn’t want to rely on one full time, but they look like awesome value for money.
Now that this bike has popped up I'm actually torn between my original choice of the GasGas ES 700 and this KOVE 450. Stock standard out of the box they're both great bikes. I believe I'd be happy with either of them but still kinda leaning towards the GasGas only because of the previous proven platform it has been based on. Although that extra fuel range might tip the scales for me. We'll see once they make it to Australia.
Well, 450 rally proved itself on Dakar rally, all of the bikes made it to the finish line without mechanical failures. The rally was also a testing ground for the regular street aproved bike. It is ment to be a light adv bike at the beggining, plus benefits of rally tower and enormous fuel tanks. Just look at it as a modern suzuki drz, with all changes ( suspension,gearing,power,fuel capacity,brakes..) to the better
the gas gas is a great bike but much more of a short range point and shoot bike than the Kove will be i think. if i hear anything on a distributer in Australia I'll let you know, cheers for watching, ride free
The engine and the chassis of the es700 has been around for a long time and has been gone through many improvements over the years , so it already has proven to be very reliable, I have the same bike on the 690 version and am getting average of 60mpg or 200miles per tank, on the other hand the 450 looks very promising but only time will tell, I hope they get a wide dealer network here in the states as well, because that will be a major key
If you buy a Chinese bike you’re un-Australian. The Chinese government blocked billions of dollars of Aussie exports. Only a fool would send them money.
I'm in Philippines and have a 2022 motorstar msx 150 Sr II, China bike. uses cg150 engine parts. Other parts and pads not available and if you try to get them from motorstar not available You have to get parts from other motorcycles. Big headache and all metal bolts rust faster than big 4 and frames also. Mine has a big bore kit I had a machine shop set it up, he had to trim cylinder block because stoke is only 49.5. price is good, finding parts is a head ache. A lot of the parts are copies from Honda xr200, Honda tmx 155. If they started using stainless steel bolts it would be nice. For the price a little more than half the price of Honda XR 150. Good deal but you will have to put in a little work to get the bike the way you like it. Mine had 10.3 HP. After big bore 65mm kit. Yoshimura china version copy and flat slide carb the HP is around 15hp, have no Dyno to test but it's a guess. It moves along good now. When I got it the bike was slow. Parts will always be an issue with china bikes. Have a mechanic here that knows what parts from other brand motorcycled will work. My suggestion is to buy name brand unless China finally sets up part stores locally or online where all parts are available.
I'd be interested to see a comparison of this to the AJP PR7. I didn't catch the weight or number of gears on the Kove. It is a shame it still has such a short maintenance interval for the oil of adapted to adv touring. But sweet looking bike I'm sure I'd enjoy the hell out of.
PR7 engine in lower state of tune but they are fairly comparable in most ways. the PR7 just isnt Rally spec unless you are talking they off unlimited class races, Im not sure if they are being overcautious on the oil changes, will be interesting to see what experiences are after first few services
@@barebonesmc in terms of adv touring, I really don't care about rally specs. A lower state of tune in a 600 probably puts the PR7 pretty close to this 450, but less high strung and less oil changes, which is perfect. For those of us who don't live where we can practice riding a 500-700 pound motorcycle off-road like it's a martial art, it would be awesome to have something this weight so the bike isn't constantly working against us. But changing the oil every "2-3000km, depending on use" is a little ridiculous. And a 6 spd is clutch. The PR7 doesn't have those issues.
@@ResilienceOnPurpose as a tourer id agree the PR7 MIGHT be better. manual for Kove 450 states 4-6k on oil changes though, and that is the newest literature i have
The only spec problem I currently see for the "unicorn" seeking light ADV buyer: the super narrow gear ratio. The Fantics spreads is wider so at least an alternative set of gears is available for modding.
It was at EICMA but didnt get the coverage the big boys do. the Dakar finishes for all 3 bikes has got a lot of people more excited 🙂 cheers for watching
Competition among manufacturers is the best thing ever in the motorcycle business. They force each other to better themselves in price and quality and we the riders are the winners. Some of the western builders have just sat back year after year with their new colors and stickers and priced us riders out of the market with hardly any new offerings. Hell, they even use primer grey as a color and that is ridiculous. I'm not a big fan of China but I say bring it on guys it looks real nice.
As in a previous message, these bikes need to make the jump to thailand, massive off road market here, they will sell, they WILL change the view of Chinese bikes, there needs to be the bike, the marketing and most important the service and customer back up for them, start in the major cities, Bangkok, phuket, chiang mai, it will change the thai market for sure, ride safe
@@barebonesmc not in the rally bike way, of course there are honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati etc, mainly honda have the best aftersale service then Yamaha, off roading, enduro is very popular in thailand, I think it would be a great market for both thai and western expats, but got to have the back up and service centres, dont have to have them everywhere, but phuket and Bangkok or chiang mai, I think this bike is going to put the Chinese bikes on the market, they have made headway, but still not there, this would be a great time for COVE to do this, the western would follow. ride safe
@@badbadgerretiredinthailand if Honda have a big presence maybe there are still contractual limitations, Hero seem to be slow expanding out of India, but im sure they will do it sometime before too long have a good weekend my friend
I Love these bikes. I saw them on the Dakar Ralley. I am impressed. And i am interrested in owning one of them. 👍👍👍👍👌👌👌👌 Hope they will come to Germany too in a street Legal Version
I would buy the bike immediately if it were available. Our importer told me that it will be available next year. I've ridden the Kove 500x and it's great. It's exactly the bike I've always wanted and nobody makes it. It's agile, super handy, good off-road performance and relatively light. Everything that makes it an ideal mid-range touring enduro.
I wouldn't call the Zongshen 450 engine "ultra reliable" in the context of dual sport and adventure. At 52 hp it is not far from other 450 enduro bikes. On the Caballero, Fantic purposely kept the power low in order to extend its maintenance schedule and longevity.
Kove have done a lot of redesigning with the twin cam head and completely new counterbalancing system and I guess we will see. servicing looks better than your average enduro or dual sport but not as long as something like a klr. 6k on valves 2-3k on oil depending on use
@@barebonesmc It sure is a step in the right direction. I really hope they live up to the hype and can shake the adventure market, as we all want lighter and cheaper motorcycles.
@@Marco81323 me too, it needs a shake lol, the new vstrom was the last straw for me lol, more stupid bikes that as middleweights are heavier than the heavyweights were just 5 years ago lol
I have been watching this bike over the last couple of months,fantastic to finish 3 bikes in dakar, this could certainly be the unicorn bike people are wanting, honda could of gave us this already but seam unwilling to do so, look forward to some more reviews from people who purchase this machine,
@@barebonesmc Honda promised new Dominator 500, but nothing found. New Transalp is a joke for terrain compared to Kove or others in that sense. Same way the new Hornet is a joke compared to original one. But they are good in keeping price low, but that's it. Is nice for sure for pure road riding then other jap variants at least. And Suzuki? Meh they are dead except SV and V-Strom 650. Even scooters they are trying sell globally those made for India while even in India they are too small for many 🙂
I swear Yamaha + Kawasaki would sell millions or dollars of extra motorcycles if Kawasaki Mounted the 2023+ version of their Z400/Ninja 400 twin cylinder engine in their KLX300 chassis. *These engines + chassis are already street legal + the current generation 400 has an awesome slipped clutch to allow for technical off-roading on a street focused engine. *Down the road Kawasaki could get people to upgrade by offering a 560cc version (using the bore of the Ninja 650 dimensions). Or Yamaha mounted the WR450 engine in the WR250R chassis and tuned the engine to be street legal *adding a 6 speed transmission and/or boring out the engine a little would increase on-road usability without any significant downsides. *If the engine doesn't run nicely when it's tuned for compliance; Yamaha could accidentally leak warranty approved tunes that were designed for "emissions exempt countries", "supermoto tracks", or "off-road only" tunes and primarily sell the bike in countries/states/provinces that don't test motorcycles for emissions compliance.
hmmm, i think the KLX 400 cross sounds like it would be an interesting bike 😁 I do think in some ways the old KLE 500 was ahead of its time. A newer lighter version could tick a lot of boxes. Personally i think the WR450 engine would be harsh on long journeys. A cross plane 500cc twin sounds much more inviting to me 🙂 cheers for the comment mate, its nice when someone comes up with an idea i hadnt thought of. ride free
absolutely interested in this 450 Rally bike. Unfortunately, it might take long before any dealer will bring it into the country. The engine has a limited power that would give me confidence that long adventure trips will not end up with engine faillure. So, if I get one, I'll go for it.
@@n6rcan good point, and yes, that would be a shame, I guess it would be a good way for one of the big boys to instantly take a chunk of the Chinese market. but with Loncins backing and support from Zongshen too I don't think they will be short of funding. cheers for watching mate
@@n6rcan not sure about that one mate. I dont know the complete share structure but its a common misconception that every Chinese company is state owned. The 2 companies I did work for had no state shareholding and one of them was very much not a fan of political interference at all
As promising as this looks, having seen the efforts from Chinese based car manufacturers to provide quality products and fail spectacularly, I will wait to see how this product responds to real world riding without mechanics on-site, dealership support? and product longevity.
Really stupid comment. Look at all the shit vehicles produced today by so called Legacy manufacturers that have no quality and fail spectacularly etc etc
Interesting! I would want a bike that can be used as a TET and ADV long distance bike, capable of being used bare bones on an enduro track or in a rally or , with some light baggage, as an all round dual sport ADV bike. Posssible?
id disagree mate, regardless of the bike I wouldnt finish, one of the riders rode 11 hours one day because of a mishap. but he still finished 🙂 ride free
@@robvanduren761 Made a mistake of riding in a group of Lifan and CFMoto (back then it's called Chunfeng) to the trip from Shenzen to Yanbin/Russian Frontier back in 2010...it did not go well. Pretty much all Chinese made bikes in my group did not do well in the trip. (while a Korean guy who rode Suzuki had a fantastic time). I heard CFmoto's gonna build KTM...
@@barebonesmc , jmpoulsen is correct. And, you opened the political door by promoting a Communist-made bike. I can asuure you that support for Kove or ANY Chinese company will not end well for the West. G'Day.
@@barebonesmc NOTHING that comes from China is free of political significance. China has a history of stealing technology, cloning it, and then undercutting the original product's price with cheap labor. Every business in China is tied to the Chinese Communist Party. Somethings are more important in the long run that a cheap price in the short run. Also, it is NOT racist to be opposed to a government's business practices. Ironically, it is the person who sees racism in every action and around every corner who is the actual racist.
It's great to see China step up to the plate where they are not stealing ideas or pushing garbage. They have always had the capability to be a viable and honest product. The owner of this company seems to be legit and actually wants the best he can produce and to top it off for a decent price. I wish these guys the best as they are actually trying to deliver the best.
I agree except for the "not stealing" part .. all the manufacturers steal and reverse-engineer ever model of their competitors .. if KOVE did not steal , they wouldn't compete properly .. why reinventing the wheel when you can start where everybody finished ?
Some of the pics are from testing and racing, they may have been trying different options or would be using mousses if racing or in the sand. I will go through the spec sheets again when I get chance, I may have made a mistake, cheers for watching
@@barebonesmc I have seen tubeless listed somewhere else....I assume them mean they were using mousses for Dakar as everyone else does...I would assume you will need them or tubes so not really tubeless...but would like to see that confirmed somewhere. Rumor is bike is supposed to be 50 state legal in the near future which would be REALLY sweet. If they can get it 50 state so I can license in my state I will order one.
@@willgixer750 I got the users manual yesterday and just going through it it looks like the Rally Pro is fittted with mousses and the standard models are tubed. thanks for highlighting the mistake, there has been a lot of data flying around and it has been updated a few times now, thanks again
@@willgixer750 literally just been through another spec sheet that came at the same time and it clearly states tubeless on the standard and low seat versions, so I guess we have to wait and see what lands
@@barebonesmc thanks for the follow up ! This sounds the most realistic to me. Do you have one on order, I can't wait to see this bike in person and the first few 3rd party reviews. I think it is between this bike or an AJP PR7 for my next bike..but if they make the Kove 50 state legal, that really tips the scales in it's favor!
i recently saw a video of zhangxue, from way back in 2016, he was only 19 year old kid back then. he's got the fighting spirit and the right stuff man. i'll be working on a project in china for the next few years, when i get the chance, ill get my hands on a kove 800x, and kove 450 rally, and then ride thru mongolia and far east/siberia of russia. i'm stoked about this
I preffer my Honda CRF300 with millions of aftermarket TOP QUALITY parts for make by yourself your own perfect bike. The Kove only can buy parts in Aliexpress.
Holy cow. I think the KTM 690 Enduro R and Husqvarna 701 have now got a run for the money. Being a very tall rider, I love that they have 2 versions - short and tall - the Rally Pro would be my choice - I don't need brake assistance. Kudos to Kove and their passionate team for producing a rider's bike - a real motorcyclist's bike - the unicorn we've all been waiting for, but which fell on deaf ears of all other manufacturers.
@@barebonesmc Yes - Do you know what the differences are between the tall and short versions of the Kove standard rally? Is it that the forks are longer? And is it true that the low and tall versions cost the same? Which I think will be $8,999 in the US?
@@CoachSteve4u the lower seat version has shorter suspension and it does loose the rear tank too from what i understand. Re the price, thats what I understood too from GPX UK and in the US, but being honest that makes no sense to me. If it is right the standard Rally is the best value for sure. Better suspension and a bigger tank for the same price?
André over at Peak Motorcycles has just taken delivery of his Kove 450 Rally!! He's posted an interesting walk-around video & there'll doubtless be more content coming.
I know he was getting one, hopefully we can meet up, trying to organise something with the distributers at the minute, cheers mate, if you know him put him in touch?
If the Chinese have the capability to build a space station, I trust they can build a really amazing rally bike to rival the established brands. Time will tell.
I was wondering if this was related to the big pool of Chinese bikes that all source the same parts, and after I heard the Zongshen NC450 it is. GPX has been trying to produce this version of theirs for 2 years. Kayo, SSR, Orion all use the same hive company you mentioned. Motors, frames, suspension...pick a set to put together, send in your brand name and logo and they build them. Iv had the SSR450 {exact CRF450X clone} and Kayo K6EFI which was copied KTM frame with the Zongshen dohc NC250 motor {awesome motor, extremely impressive power w/ low maintenance}. To me their biggest downfall was by saving a ton of money using heavier materials, but if u are not racing 25lbs wasnt that crucial. And a lot of the copied tech didnt always fit together like a glove...But their quality keeps going up and up. If their prices stay low, its a win
its not quite the same. most parts built in Kove Factories not Loncin, Loncin are just the parent company. Kove redesigned the engine with a twin cam head and new balancer system. As you can see theyve not used heavy components to build this one. its been 4 years of research and development and there are even some post Dakar upgrades being implemented on the first run so it is being constantly improved. I think it will shake the big 4 and some of the european manufacturers up a lot and the industry needs some young blood with fresh ideas, cheers for watching
@@barebonesmc KOVE didnt....the originator of the NC engines are updating their motors. Big difference. Its not KOVE, they are just using parts available and several other brands are "making" the exact same bike with different stickers.
@@tieoneon1614 The new engine is not the same and is built in house by Kove. It is a twin overhead cam not single cam, has a completely different balancer shaft system and several other design changes that are solely the IP of Kove
Racing is rarely a smooth upstroke. And he quit he wasn’t fired. He is still a major shareholder. Last word was the U.K. bound 800x we’re on the boat here but heard nothing since and I’m away on tour till July. I will chase things again then
cheers for the comment, I think the dakar excersize shows their long term commitment and determination if nothing else, but getting 3 rookie riders to finish on 3 new bikes is pretty awesome you got to admit that
Been following the brand’s development for some time and totally agree with you and my compliments at putting together a very succinct video well done 👍 Looking at franchise opportunities in East and Southern Africa environments that will totally suit this bike!👌
good luck with the venture my friend and keep me updated. it will be great to hear about that sort of use and the long term impressions from someone like you. ride free and thanks for the complements
Always said that this unicorn motorcycle, that every adventure rider is waiting for since too long, and the Japanese or Euro brands refuse to build, will come from China. There it is. You can just compere the Kove 450 rally and the "new" 2023 KTM 390 adventure. They are just incomparable, and the impression that I have is not in KTM favour. It's more the impression that KTM is trolling as :) Welcome Kove, waiting in France!
Will they be coming to the US? If so when and where? How about parts? What kind of choices besides the full on racer and grandmas bike? Will the regular bike be street legal in 49 states? Sounds like a great bike. I wish you a huge success. I want you to sell out right after I buy mine!
lol, im not the manufacturer or distributer mate I just found them and all theyve done has really impressed me. GPX are bringing them to the states. should arrive mayc, theyve passed euro regs but we will have to see on the 50 state legal bit i guess, ride free
I’ll test one in the Australian safari rally. I’d love to own one. Three bikes enter Dakar and finish it, they want to make changes before production. That sells itself. This company seem to want to build bikes not make them selves rich.
@@barebonesmc look at rolls Royce n Bentley Mercedes bmw. They make a solid unit so the money comes with it.., these guys are gonna do really well. Look at Kia started out really bad but they had the right idea. Today there huge.
I lost both my legs after hitting a high voltage powerline carrying 19,000 kva I took it : times over 11 seconds I should’ve died a few times haha. I have prosthetic legs for motocross called motoknee2 and versafoot 2. I haven’t given up on riding and never will.
Nicely presented video 👍 certainly looks and sounds the part. Fingers crossed for them. The market really needs a young upstart company to shake things up. Maybe less drive by a board of directors & profit margins and more engineers and enthusiasts 🙏🤞
@@tinolino58 as with any other race or culture. using such a broad generalisation is rarely completely true. yes i am sure they are there to make money. it is how they go about that that counts to me. create a good solid product and be passionate about it sounds good to me
Not convinced it's an adventure bike ..I see it as a competition bike with some good range ccm went down the route of using a 450 and it didn't go well... would love to be proved wrong though and an unbelievable result getting all three to finish in Dakar this year in the motor killing deep sand...will keep my eye on them
@@barebonesmc as much as I like market competition, I don't like Chinese brands because of the government behind them. I can't wish them anything else but a change of regime and politics.
@BAREBONESMC I figured that much but politics are dealt with at the local level, that of the individual. I take responsibility on my consumer behavior. I don't want the baddies getting stronger. I don't buy (as much as I can help it) Chinese products.
some clever guy already working on a big bore barrel and piston set ? Will be very interesting what they can make out of the suspension not making it bad on purpose to trick customers in upgrades ....
i think thhe AJP PR7 covers that niche 🙂 and the suspension really does seem top drawer, I had heard of YuAn but did some digging and they know their stuff for sure
@@barebonesmc have been looking at ajp for quite some time , but its not close to the kove package. big minus is the low power legal on the road in the papers. very curious about what rpm there will be cruising at highway speed with the 450 engine..... gearing spread is essential for the bike that can travel to the alps and then climb the stairs there in the rocks ....
@@edivollgas719 not sure exactly what your regs are there, the AJP is an older engine and the package of the Kove is probably better on a like for like basis but they are both great bikes, cheers again bud
@@edivollgas719 no need for bog borinig kove 450 rally, the kove 800x will fill that gap. As far as ajp pr7 goes, nothing wrong with older and well prooved engine, and a racing kit ( exhaust and maping ) from factory is a must..it transforms the bike. Teoreticly speaking they both ( kove 450 and pr7 ) bellong to same category as a light adventure bikes, kove450 beeing more nimble,lighter feeling,and pr7 more gruntier.
I'd buy one if it wasn't for maintenance and parts. even if nothing major goes wrong, say no warranty issues, what happens the first time you need to replace a screw? order it from the factory and wait three months for it?
actually. like AJP all bolts and bearings/seals seem standard sizes and are listed in owners manual so you can just buy the fasteners etc anywhere, but until dealer stocks are built up anything direct from factory comes on a 1 week dhl service so it is being thought about
Watched the review from dirt bike USA. They said the general build is very nice, but fasteners and bolts are cheap and should be replaced (they said bolts only last about 5 uses before threads are ruined etc)
The bikes in the Dakar were as ‘production based’ as all the other hand built bikes there 🤣🤣🤣 This video sounds just like an advert. I hope they paid you well 😂😂😂
I feel anyone who just dismisses a product because of the country its manufactured in. Is the height of ignorance & arrogance. Instead of believing proven liars (politicians) about nations. People should learn to thi k for themselves, there's far too much BS spread by less than reliable people in the world today. Anyways I find it unbelievable people will say they love a certain BMW or KTM, that's built in exactly the same country, a lot of the time in the exact same factory by exactly the same people that they insult. Look at Royal Enfield, they're smashing it currently gaining more respect & more owners than ever. It's not to long ago they were seen as a joke. I can only speak from experience & some of the motorbikes I've been lucky enough to have a ride of a few Chinese built bikes. I can say hand on heart, it's staggering how quickly they correct any faults or discrepancies in their bikes. Chinese bikes are the fastest improving bikes on the planet. Royal Enfield aren't far behind, I think people need to realise the amount of people who ride bikes in these 2 countries. It's astronomical, meaning it's totally in their interests for any future success to constantly improve because if they do their sales will be off the scale. Its simple build a good reliable product & you'll make a fortune. Within the next decade Chinese & Indian built bikes will challenge the Japanese bikes mark my words.
couldnt agree more. it wasnt the poor quality of british bikes that killed the industry as much as an arrogant attitude and an unwillingness to change, we could all learn lessons from that one. And I do feel like the big 4 and certain European manufacturers are riding on past reputations now. Thry havent been listening to customers in general for far too long
...uhm , this looks to have the potential to worry the competition. Will be interesting to see how it goes when introduced in Europe. Nice video, well impressive.
Orders are going in fast since the Dakar, New groups already popping up on facebook too. why buy a fantic with a worse engine thats built in China anyway at twice the price? I'm looking forward to the shake up thats coming. Cheers for watching mate
As the CCC (China homologation) is based on the ECE homolgation i am really tempted to see them over here in Europe.....Fingers crossed they do not loose too much power....question is about the retailer network and service points and also parts availability. They really impressed me at Dakar 2023...the engine withstand the 8500km torture without any failure.....i will definitive test drive one of them! KOVE build what many begged KTM and Honda to build but never did! Honda showed off for several years a 450 L Rally version on EICMA and other fares but never build it. KTM build a street 390 Adventure and is now coming up with a offroad version in spring (?) 2023......way too late!! I´ll keep an eye on KOVE.....the CEO also puts a smile on my face...like his mind setting.
Hope Kove 450 Rally is logistically quickly delivered worldwide and more manufacturers wake up and understand the demand for reliable reasonably priced 450-650 Enduro-DualSport + ADV-Rally bikes with low weight long service intervals. For ex Yamaha WR500/550R Tenere 500/550 T5 Honda (XR) CRF500/550L + Rally version. NX500 Dominator Updated Suzuki Drz450S Dr650SE with Efi Abs Husqvarna Norden 501+501 Enduro KTM 490 Adventure R + Enduro R Hero 500 Xpulse Rally and so forth!
@@tieoneon1614 says who? the engine is built in house and is a development of a Zongshen unit, yes some of running gear is proprietory, but so is most of it on many bikes, styling isnt like anyone elses either, so what isnt their own?
@@dirtrider9268 see other comment, the engine is built in house and is a development of a Zongshen unit, made under licence, so what are you talking about in relation to IP? what parts or design?
They need a more street biased, dual sport version. Fast. I would buy one. As it is, this is too small a market, being pure off-road competition focused. That said, great achievement, and all three machines finishing the Dakar was not mere luck.
Let's see if they can meet the emissions standards of the US and Euro...without it, it ain't going to be a legal dual sport...except in those area with no emissions standards...
@@ПётрМамаев it passes euro 5 regs and will be available as a road registered bike in the UK and I believe most of Europe. In the states I can't comment but I dont see why it shouldn't be. other countries it may depend on local guidelines and rules. where are you?
@@ПётрМамаев I will ask but i haven't heard anything about a Russian distributor yet. If not would it be possible to import and register it yourself? I don't know what the regulations are like in Russia, cheers for watching anyway mate and i will see if i can find anything out
I wonder how many of those bashing Chinese products posted via a Chinese made smartphone. If anything these bikes will be great for the competition, the customer wins either way :)
It all sounds great, but it will take them a long time to establish a reliable dealership network. Before that happens, hopefully, the most established brands will wake up and start giving us what we really want, and that's not 200+kg adventure bikes with unnecessary electronically muffled horse power.
would be boring if we were all the same mate but in reality there are probably chinese sub assemblies or products all around your car, bike and home. even if branded otherwise
I share your reservations about the Chinese state, but have to admit I find this team and the company boss enthusiastic and genuine. I want to see them succeed. Usually I avoid Chinese products, but I would consider owning one of these bikes.
@@RealHooksy Yep that is true and I am aware of it. It is virtually impossible not to purchase a product that doesn't have some sort of Chinese input into it. When it is an obvious Chinese concern though, my wallet won't open for them. Nothing against the ordinary Chinese person but I believe their Commie government are not our friends and would think nothing of doing us harm if it suited them.
@@barebonesmc there is a difference between components and a full-fledged brand where all profit and all decisions are in China. If China takes over all manufacturing we're f...ked, also politically and militarily
Yes, know them. Yes, following them. Yes, I want to buy it (probably standard version as I look more for dualsport use on bad back roads) once I get rid of one of my big machines. Market really need fresh view on this category and no matter from which country it is. Japan, Austria, Spain or Italy are offering nothing for long years there for normal people and I know plenty of people who looks for DRZ replacement 🙂 Only other more civil alternative will be this year Himalayan 450 and that's it. As said by others in comments suits/managers/business owners know nothing about what people really want. They feed us with over 1 liter engine craps like BMW with its R1250 which was now confirmed that it is not for terrain and recall for about 250.000 units coming (for lucky ones, rest, like EU will see middle finger and just SW update which will limit engine to not brake HW components 😀)
hmmm government subsidies . you mean like we have in the west? Nissan's whole factory on tyneside was built with government subsidies and money from UK Taxpayers and thats just 1 example
@@barebonesmc yeah, it has been happening in many places. Not a critisism, just an observatation. There are other thing about China worth critisising, but thats for another day.
If i were in the market for a 365lbs wet modern dual sport it would be between this and the 690 enduro R. Too bad they couldnt bring this down to 310lbs wet.
that would be hard with such a big fuel tank. the 690 R is a great bike but I would get sick of planning rides around fuel stops 🙂 cheers for watching mate, enjoy the ride
@@barebonesmc Right, im referring to the 15 L version (the shorter one), which is roughly the same capacity as the 690. I believe u can get safari tanks aftermarket w the 690, but the weight will scale up and be similar weight to the larger capacity kove.
just saw that KOVE dialed the service intervals back to 1000 miles /30 hours for valve checks and oil changes.. this bike is not living up to expectations for dual sport riders.
i think it will depoend on riding you are doing, but interesting, ill check it out, not seen that here so far, but here i think it is seen less as a dual sport and more of a lightweight ADV bike, and i have heard good and bad, ill be talking to them again soon and hopefully we can organise some testing
@@barebonesmc correct… 1200 mile/30 hour intervals for normal/light riding and 600 miles/ 15 hours for racing/harsh conditions. Says it right in the maintenance schedule. Keep us posted on what you hear from them. Maybe you can chat with them about making a detuned 3000mile or 5000mile interval variant w more oil capacity if need be. Id be happy w 45hp and extended intervals. As its designed/branded now it seems this bike is more ready for dakar than an adventure tour. Wish they could just make a proper lightweight dual sport for those of us who dont want to race and just want adventure.
@@Weltbummler23 hmmm thats not good in my opinion, especially considering the initial aim was for close to 5K km. I will talk to them when im back, and with a guy who has one which i know will be due an oil change see what comes out
@@Weltbummler23 just spoken to them and heres the reply The factory designed their published service schedule around their largest market , the USA . There the Kove Rally riders are predominantly non road riders , riding hard in the desert and taking part in time trials and rallys etc. They downgraded the service scheduling for THAT reason as it was like competition. Now that homologation has been received for the EU , and they foresee more bikes being ridden in a more cross section of uses on this side of the pond, they are changing the published service schedules back to what they were originally 3000 mile oil changes and 5000 valve checks. This revision in the handbook will appear soon.
@@barebonesmc great, thanks for digging into it. Glad to know they are going to change the manual back again. I don't understand the need to swap the manual back and forth tho. Seems like if you are a mixed use rider, 50+% on road then stick with the 3k mile / 5k mile, doesnt matter whether you are in the EU, US, AUS or anywhere else. If you put it in a truck or trailer , doing trials and primarily off road, do the 1k intervals, if you are rallying, then the 600 mile intervals. This should apply to all locations, possibly with an adjustment based on very dusty/desert riding. Hopefully they update the manual for all regions to include more accurate intervals based on the usage. Will see what comes out, Im in the states and hope the US maintenance schedule is updated as well to more accurately reflect the usage.
I Love this MotoRally Kove Motorcycle Bike I am more interested owning my own Kove Rally the Bike I want To Ride on this Highly motivated Acclaimed Super Cool Motorcycle for fun and join on the Rally Team Ive got some awesome new Aero dynamic model designs to share and do some Signature Art 🎨 design for this Awesome Dirt bike
You mentioned reliable talking about a Chinese made motorcycle. You also said its reliability has been proven beyond doubt after one Dakar rally. Bold statement... Chinese are good at one thing, stealing and copying other companies things and making them without any reliability at all.
thats just as much of a bold statement. generalisations rarely have more than a grain of truth in them. i dont see much copying going on with this bike though
8500 is a bloody brilliant price and this bike looks amazing on paper an in life - tell you what, the rest better watch out - if i am Kove i am already making the 450 in an EXC format as that market is even larger than the 'really' crowd, imagine how much of a bargain that model would be 🙂
I will have a bit more of a look into this bike I'm sure it is a mongrel to service not hard just awkward and time consuming not sure if this is the right bike yet but it's so it's awkwardly engineered to change an oil filter and do a service
As a rally bike I would have thought it would be easy to service. Honestly (again I’m not sure you get them or spares availability) if you are tall. I think the ajp pr7 is a damn good bike and would suit the desert. They deliberately used standard sizes on bearings n seals etc so they can be sourced pretty much anywhere. They even include actual sizes in manual not just part numbers too 😊💪 small Portuguese company n great build quality. Worth looking if you have long legs😊
@@barebonesmc remember I'm about your height and wait. 6.1 110 kgs. And I am sorry my friend I looked and I could not find that bike after going onto Facebook I did find a group so my apologies I will have to find a dealer and have a look I just do not like the service I mean it's not hard but who wants to wear gloves on a hot exhaust pipe just to change the oil filter and change your oil seems a bit of a engineering plunder little bit too many nuts and bolts in the wrong place I think it's the exhaust, having to separate that just to get to your oil filter I believe that would just get all harder as the exhaust gets older other than that I would not mind having a look at one I'll see if I can find a dealer near me possibly Perth I would say there are many bike shops also in Victoria Park I used to do motocross with Kim Britton who owns the biggest motorbike South of Perth Kim is semi retired but his son's have taken over awesome shop but not my favourite it used to be a small friendly business not anymore but if that bike exists they should have it🙂👌
@@Bok2022st does seem a faff if you have to strip exhaust but can’t see that in rally so I bet there’s a workaround 😂 I’ll have to have a look but mad mad busy at min lol
@barebonesmc KTM go to court on the 24th hopefully they can sort things out they've got 700 million dollars worth of help from investors so I hear. So hopefully they will come back stronger I hope so for the workers and the bike riders
@@Bok2022stsome news incoming. What’s the January court case? They have 2 cases already running. One on the tpi tech and the other relating to the lc8c cams. Letters of intent but no investment yet as far as I know. But long video deep dive later or tomorrow 😊
IMPORTANT
Dakar have hit me with a copyright strike so ive had to delist some of the videos just in case
i guess they got pissed that mine were better
because of the MOTOGP one before xmas that means im really vulnerable now and the channel could be removed at any time
I have set up this backup channel so please go and follow it NOW,
this could all be removed at any moment now so it is critical to stay in touch via the backup channel here
ruclips.net/channel/UCCSl6i-tZJNC5DQ38vgCtvw
sorry for this if i get another strike it wipes out all my work
all my old videos will be removed
I wont be posting anything much on the new channel unless this goes down
but this is a just in case because it really could go down at any point
the videos are still visible if you have a link so if you have problems message me for links
so you can still watch them,
if you follow the channel and this one gets taken down you will be able to find me there
sorry if thats a bit garbled
ive just woken to this but i guess i could have had the channel taken down already
so i should be thankful
ride free everyone
Please take my money right now! This bike looks amazing, and what an achievement at the Rally!!
pre orders are being taken in the US UK and Europe now for delivery may. If you want any more details theres a contact page on my website below where I can put you in touch with the relevent distributers if you cant find them, cheers for watching
I stumbled across the Kove rally bikes late last year and followed then at the Dakar.
A great result getting all 3 starters to finish and hopefully a good omen for the brand.
I’ll be keeping an eye on them and looking forward to them coming to Australia soon.
cheers for watching mate. Theres a lot of people waiting in anticipation
@@barebonesmc Are the prices given in British pounds? What KTM 450 is over 30,000 pounds? Confused....
@@amelica5502 The Rally Race bike used by competitors
@@amelica5502 yes the prices are UK £, the KTM in question is their ready to race Rally bike, they dont make a full production version, it is a special made for competition use www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/ktm/ktm_450_rally_factory_21.html
I have owned a 640 Adventure since 2006 and still have it because there is just nothing like it. This thing gets my interest going. It has everything. Super low weight, long travel suspension and a ton of fuel. All things KTM has neglected. The 640 was an odd duck back then and now is a unicorn. Guys have to dump a ton of money into a 690 or 701 to get the range needed to make a real adventure bike. And the 790/890 are not dirtbikes. So you give up so much going to this platform over the old dinosaur 640. There is a shop in Utah selling the Kove so I think I need to check it out. Maybe not get the first year but second year version. Good goal for me for next year! As with all Chinese stuff I wonder how their parts network will be? So many brands fail here with all sorts of products. If you break a shift lever do you just throw your bike in the garbage? No joke this happens with stuff like electric bikes and skateboards.
The 640 was a special bike, i do think this is too though, parts are on 1 week dhl orders from factory until dealers have stocked up so they are thinking about it, we will see in time i guess
31 liters on the Rally version is awesome. Three tanks on the Rally version! Very impressive in all factors.
@@CoachSteve4u 3 tanks actually lol, 2 upper side tanks at the front and then another at the rear under the seat. the rear tank forms the rear subframe and holds almost 15 litres
@@barebonesmc You're right - I saw that - wow - that's great.
Wow , Well Done Kove 👏👏👏 , that’s a very impressive feat , 3 starts , 3 finishes . It could open a whole new world for budget rally racers or just the Adventures in us all 👍👏👏
Depending on what they end up retailing for in Aus, these could be very tempting as a second bike. Wouldn’t want to rely on one full time, but they look like awesome value for money.
Fair enough!
Have been watching a lot of your vids recently.
Most impressive is the achievements of Kove motorcycles. Thank you for your fascinating programs.
:-) Cheers for watching mate and thanks for the comment, enjoy your weekend
La passione e la tenacia di tutto il team kove ha premiato! Bravi!❤️
Speriamo che la passione continui e che il marchio ottenga ciò che si merita 🙂 I hpe that is right 🙂
Now that this bike has popped up I'm actually torn between my original choice of the GasGas ES 700 and this KOVE 450. Stock standard out of the box they're both great bikes. I believe I'd be happy with either of them but still kinda leaning towards the GasGas only because of the previous proven platform it has been based on. Although that extra fuel range might tip the scales for me. We'll see once they make it to Australia.
Well, 450 rally proved itself on Dakar rally, all of the bikes made it to the finish line without mechanical failures. The rally was also a testing ground for the regular street aproved bike. It is ment to be a light adv bike at the beggining, plus benefits of rally tower and enormous fuel tanks. Just look at it as a modern suzuki drz, with all changes ( suspension,gearing,power,fuel capacity,brakes..) to the better
the gas gas is a great bike but much more of a short range point and shoot bike than the Kove will be i think. if i hear anything on a distributer in Australia I'll let you know, cheers for watching, ride free
The engine and the chassis of the es700 has been around for a long time and has been gone through many improvements over the years , so it already has proven to be very reliable, I have the same bike on the 690 version and am getting average of 60mpg or 200miles per tank, on the other hand the 450 looks very promising but only time will tell, I hope they get a wide dealer network here in the states as well, because that will be a major key
@@ferkuzuel we will see 🙂
If you buy a Chinese bike you’re un-Australian. The Chinese government blocked billions of dollars of Aussie exports. Only a fool would send them money.
I'm in Philippines and have a 2022 motorstar msx 150 Sr II, China bike. uses cg150 engine parts. Other parts and pads not available and if you try to get them from motorstar not available
You have to get parts from other motorcycles. Big headache and all metal bolts rust faster than big 4 and frames also. Mine has a big bore kit I had a machine shop set it up, he had to trim cylinder block because stoke is only 49.5. price is good, finding parts is a head ache. A lot of the parts are copies from Honda xr200, Honda tmx 155. If they started using stainless steel bolts it would be nice. For the price a little more than half the price of Honda XR 150. Good deal but you will have to put in a little work to get the bike the way you like it. Mine had 10.3 HP. After big bore 65mm kit. Yoshimura china version copy and flat slide carb the HP is around 15hp, have no Dyno to test but it's a guess. It moves along good now. When I got it the bike was slow. Parts will always be an issue with china bikes. Have a mechanic here that knows what parts from other brand motorcycled will work. My suggestion is to buy name brand unless China finally sets up part stores locally or online where all parts are available.
thanks for watching mate, ride free
I'd be interested to see a comparison of this to the AJP PR7.
I didn't catch the weight or number of gears on the Kove.
It is a shame it still has such a short maintenance interval for the oil of adapted to adv touring. But sweet looking bike I'm sure I'd enjoy the hell out of.
PR7 engine in lower state of tune but they are fairly comparable in most ways. the PR7 just isnt Rally spec unless you are talking they off unlimited class races, Im not sure if they are being overcautious on the oil changes, will be interesting to see what experiences are after first few services
@@barebonesmc in terms of adv touring, I really don't care about rally specs. A lower state of tune in a 600 probably puts the PR7 pretty close to this 450, but less high strung and less oil changes, which is perfect.
For those of us who don't live where we can practice riding a 500-700 pound motorcycle off-road like it's a martial art, it would be awesome to have something this weight so the bike isn't constantly working against us. But changing the oil every "2-3000km, depending on use" is a little ridiculous. And a 6 spd is clutch. The PR7 doesn't have those issues.
@@ResilienceOnPurpose as a tourer id agree the PR7 MIGHT be better. manual for Kove 450 states 4-6k on oil changes though, and that is the newest literature i have
@@barebonesmc ok, great, thanks for that.
@@ResilienceOnPurpose no problem mate
The only spec problem I currently see for the "unicorn" seeking light ADV buyer: the super narrow gear ratio. The Fantics spreads is wider so at least an alternative set of gears is available for modding.
We shall see, on this and many other points 🙂
I’ll buy this bike no problem 👍. The price point and quality is unbelievable. People are sick and tired of paying for overpriced bikes from Europe
Theyll be landing soon now
When are they coming to Australia, I've been watching these bikes for a while and want one!
talks underway so i am told
Cool! Looks like a nice bike . Never knew about the 450 rally
all new mate. first bikes land soon
More exciting than anything at EICMA.
It was at EICMA but didnt get the coverage the big boys do. the Dakar finishes for all 3 bikes has got a lot of people more excited 🙂 cheers for watching
Competition among manufacturers is the best thing ever in the motorcycle business. They force each other to better themselves in price and quality and we the riders are the winners. Some of the western builders have just sat back year after year with their new colors and stickers and priced us riders out of the market with hardly any new offerings. Hell, they even use primer grey as a color and that is ridiculous. I'm not a big fan of China but I say bring it on guys it looks real nice.
the market does need a shake up for sure 🙂 cheers for watching mate
As in a previous message, these bikes need to make the jump to thailand, massive off road market here, they will sell, they WILL change the view of Chinese bikes, there needs to be the bike, the marketing and most important the service and customer back up for them, start in the major cities, Bangkok, phuket, chiang mai, it will change the thai market for sure, ride safe
I imagine its a competitive market, Are Hero big players there?
@@barebonesmc not in the rally bike way, of course there are honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati etc, mainly honda have the best aftersale service then Yamaha, off roading, enduro is very popular in thailand, I think it would be a great market for both thai and western expats, but got to have the back up and service centres, dont have to have them everywhere, but phuket and Bangkok or chiang mai, I think this bike is going to put the Chinese bikes on the market, they have made headway, but still not there, this would be a great time for COVE to do this, the western would follow. ride safe
@@barebonesmc they are not here, they need to be
@@badbadgerretiredinthailand if Honda have a big presence maybe there are still contractual limitations, Hero seem to be slow expanding out of India, but im sure they will do it sometime before too long have a good weekend my friend
I Love these bikes.
I saw them on the Dakar Ralley. I am impressed.
And i am interrested in owning one of them.
👍👍👍👍👌👌👌👌
Hope they will come to Germany too in a street Legal Version
No European distributers signed up yet but I will keep you posted when I get any info. cheers for watching
How do you buy one of these in the USA?
gpx taking first orders now for delivery april/may
Looking forward to early adopter reviews! This sure seems like the unicorn we have been waiting for! 🏍🕺🏻
Theyll be landing soon so yes, we will see 🙂
Yea. Unicorn. Kove get us adventurers. Hope they will be in the philippines when I retire in couple years!!!
@@moontides7220 I would think you will be getting them, thanks for watching
I would buy the bike immediately if it were available. Our importer told me that it will be available next year. I've ridden the Kove 500x and it's great. It's exactly the bike I've always wanted and nobody makes it. It's agile, super handy, good off-road performance and relatively light. Everything that makes it an ideal mid-range touring enduro.
where are you? first production run in on the way and should be shipped april or may this year, cheers for watching, ride free mate
Fromm Switzerland
@@walterburge8872 Thierry in France will have them before then if the regs in Switzerland allow import from France?
I wouldn't call the Zongshen 450 engine "ultra reliable" in the context of dual sport and adventure. At 52 hp it is not far from other 450 enduro bikes. On the Caballero, Fantic purposely kept the power low in order to extend its maintenance schedule and longevity.
Kove have done a lot of redesigning with the twin cam head and completely new counterbalancing system and I guess we will see. servicing looks better than your average enduro or dual sport but not as long as something like a klr. 6k on valves 2-3k on oil depending on use
@@barebonesmc It sure is a step in the right direction. I really hope they live up to the hype and can shake the adventure market, as we all want lighter and cheaper motorcycles.
@@Marco81323 me too, it needs a shake lol, the new vstrom was the last straw for me lol, more stupid bikes that as middleweights are heavier than the heavyweights were just 5 years ago lol
@@barebonesmc Couldn't agree more!
Our is ultra reliable. Not one engine engine failure
This bike will shake the bowl
I agree completely, 🙂 cheers for watching
I have been watching this bike over the last couple of months,fantastic to finish 3 bikes in dakar,
this could certainly be the unicorn bike people are wanting, honda could of gave us this already but seam unwilling to do so,
look forward to some more reviews from people who purchase this machine,
Honda and Suzuki mate, I think they both missed the point with the DE800 and transalp, no one gave them the memo about why the tenere did so well lol
@@barebonesmc Honda promised new Dominator 500, but nothing found. New Transalp is a joke for terrain compared to Kove or others in that sense. Same way the new Hornet is a joke compared to original one. But they are good in keeping price low, but that's it. Is nice for sure for pure road riding then other jap variants at least. And Suzuki? Meh they are dead except SV and V-Strom 650. Even scooters they are trying sell globally those made for India while even in India they are too small for many 🙂
@@puffybodie5282 couldnt agree more my friend
I swear Yamaha + Kawasaki would sell millions or dollars of extra motorcycles if
Kawasaki Mounted the 2023+ version of their Z400/Ninja 400 twin cylinder engine in their KLX300 chassis.
*These engines + chassis are already street legal + the current generation 400 has an awesome slipped clutch to allow for technical off-roading on a street focused engine.
*Down the road Kawasaki could get people to upgrade by offering a 560cc version (using the bore of the Ninja 650 dimensions).
Or Yamaha mounted the WR450 engine in the WR250R chassis and tuned the engine to be street legal
*adding a 6 speed transmission and/or boring out the engine a little would increase on-road usability without any significant downsides.
*If the engine doesn't run nicely when it's tuned for compliance; Yamaha could accidentally leak warranty approved tunes that were designed for "emissions exempt countries", "supermoto tracks", or "off-road only" tunes and primarily sell the bike in countries/states/provinces that don't test motorcycles for emissions compliance.
hmmm, i think the KLX 400 cross sounds like it would be an interesting bike 😁 I do think in some ways the old KLE 500 was ahead of its time. A newer lighter version could tick a lot of boxes. Personally i think the WR450 engine would be harsh on long journeys. A cross plane 500cc twin sounds much more inviting to me 🙂 cheers for the comment mate, its nice when someone comes up with an idea i hadnt thought of. ride free
@@barebonesmc A 500cc cross-plane sounds amazing but I'm worried it will weigh almost 20% more than the Ninja 400 engine...
@@chrishanlon9831 the only reason for that really would be if they just sleeved down the Tenere 700 engine 🙂
absolutely interested in this 450 Rally bike. Unfortunately, it might take long before any dealer will bring it into the country. The engine has a limited power that would give me confidence that long adventure trips will not end up with engine faillure. So, if I get one, I'll go for it.
where are you? the network of distributers is growing 🙂 cheers for watching mate, i do think they will make an impact
@@barebonesmc Switzerland
@@markusm.4069 im not sure how easy that would be to import via French distributer? i will let you know if i hear anything, cheers for watching
Motorcycle world taking a turn
lets hope so, it needs a shake 🙂
High hopes that this time no Giants will buy them out
@@n6rcan good point, and yes, that would be a shame, I guess it would be a good way for one of the big boys to instantly take a chunk of the Chinese market. but with Loncins backing and support from Zongshen too I don't think they will be short of funding. cheers for watching mate
True that, and its a State owned.
@@n6rcan not sure about that one mate. I dont know the complete share structure but its a common misconception that every Chinese company is state owned. The 2 companies I did work for had no state shareholding and one of them was very much not a fan of political interference at all
As promising as this looks, having seen the efforts from Chinese based car manufacturers to provide quality products and fail spectacularly, I will wait to see how this product responds to real world riding without mechanics on-site, dealership support? and product longevity.
we will all have to wait and see on that one but I like the philosophy with this company
Really stupid comment. Look at all the shit vehicles produced today by so called Legacy manufacturers that have no quality and fail spectacularly etc etc
Don’t forget atrocious resale value. Chinese bikes are for chumps.
Interesting! I would want a bike that can be used as a TET and ADV long distance bike, capable of being used bare bones on an enduro track or in a rally or , with some light baggage, as an all round dual sport ADV bike. Posssible?
Sounds like this is the bike for you mate :-) Im waiting for the 800X, my pillion wouldnt appreciate this one lol
Kove is a good design, but I still have doubts on the quality. Just finishing Dakar really doesn't say much these days.
id disagree mate, regardless of the bike I wouldnt finish, one of the riders rode 11 hours one day because of a mishap. but he still finished 🙂 ride free
You better buy a shit box KTM so your doubts about quality are fully realised.
@@robvanduren761 Made a mistake of riding in a group of Lifan and CFMoto (back then it's called Chunfeng) to the trip from Shenzen to Yanbin/Russian Frontier back in 2010...it did not go well. Pretty much all Chinese made bikes in my group did not do well in the trip. (while a Korean guy who rode Suzuki had a fantastic time).
I heard CFmoto's gonna build KTM...
@@LooxJJ They already do. They've produced all 790 / 890 models to date
Yes I'd definitely consider one...
When you buy a Chinese bike, don't complain when you lose your job when others choose the cheaper Chinese service- or product-option.
leave politics at the door mate, 🙂 cheers for watching
@@barebonesmc , jmpoulsen is correct. And, you opened the political door by promoting a Communist-made bike. I can asuure you that support for Kove or ANY Chinese company will not end well for the West. G'Day.
@@captainamerica9353 thanks for the comments mate
@@barebonesmc , yes, well the Captain is here to help, as always, cheers.
@@barebonesmc NOTHING that comes from China is free of political significance. China has a history of stealing technology, cloning it, and then undercutting the original product's price with cheap labor. Every business in China is tied to the Chinese Communist Party. Somethings are more important in the long run that a cheap price in the short run.
Also, it is NOT racist to be opposed to a government's business practices. Ironically, it is the person who sees racism in every action and around every corner who is the actual racist.
It's great to see China step up to the plate where they are not stealing ideas or pushing garbage. They have always had the capability to be a viable and honest product. The owner of this company seems to be legit and actually wants the best he can produce and to top it off for a decent price. I wish these guys the best as they are actually trying to deliver the best.
couldnt have said it better mate, ride free
I agree except for the "not stealing" part .. all the manufacturers steal and reverse-engineer ever model of their competitors .. if KOVE did not steal , they wouldn't compete properly .. why reinventing the wheel when you can start where everybody finished ?
@@mujahed1969 copies of copies of copies 🙂 ktm kopied husqvarna, husqvarna copied husaberg and back we go lol
@@barebonesmc sounds like you're agreeing with me
@@mujahed1969 yes pretty much mate, ride free
4:30ish mark, did i catch that right that it comes with tubeless rims standard? Look like regular spoke rims, so how are the sealing them?
Some of the pics are from testing and racing, they may have been trying different options or would be using mousses if racing or in the sand. I will go through the spec sheets again when I get chance, I may have made a mistake, cheers for watching
@@barebonesmc I have seen tubeless listed somewhere else....I assume them mean they were using mousses for Dakar as everyone else does...I would assume you will need them or tubes so not really tubeless...but would like to see that confirmed somewhere. Rumor is bike is supposed to be 50 state legal in the near future which would be REALLY sweet. If they can get it 50 state so I can license in my state I will order one.
@@willgixer750 I got the users manual yesterday and just going through it it looks like the Rally Pro is fittted with mousses and the standard models are tubed. thanks for highlighting the mistake, there has been a lot of data flying around and it has been updated a few times now, thanks again
@@willgixer750 literally just been through another spec sheet that came at the same time and it clearly states tubeless on the standard and low seat versions, so I guess we have to wait and see what lands
@@barebonesmc thanks for the follow up ! This sounds the most realistic to me.
Do you have one on order, I can't wait to see this bike in person and the first few 3rd party reviews. I think it is between this bike or an AJP PR7 for my next bike..but if they make the Kove 50 state legal, that really tips the scales in it's favor!
Great video shared to everybody I know. 👍🏻
Nice one my friend, much appreciated, glad you enjoyed it 😀👌👍
i recently saw a video of zhangxue, from way back in 2016, he was only 19 year old kid back then. he's got the fighting spirit and the right stuff man. i'll be working on a project in china for the next few years, when i get the chance, ill get my hands on a kove 800x, and kove 450 rally, and then ride thru mongolia and far east/siberia of russia. i'm stoked about this
let me know how it goes mate, where in China will you be? I spent some time working in Guangzhou and Enping, cheers for the comment, enjoy the ride
I preffer my Honda CRF300 with millions of aftermarket TOP QUALITY parts for make by yourself your own perfect bike.
The Kove only can buy parts in Aliexpress.
good on you mate, if its got 2 wheels as they say 🙂 they are a very different bike but we all have our preferences, ride free
You say it RELIABLE....how do you know?
They cleared dakar but how many spare parts dod they have to change?
probably roughly the same as anyone else, time will tell
@@barebonesmc yep...but the Chinese is getting closer in their quality control
@@Motoinc i thnk its pretty even with the better companies in different countries but as a generality youre probably right
Holy cow. I think the KTM 690 Enduro R and Husqvarna 701 have now got a run for the money.
Being a very tall rider, I love that they have 2 versions - short and tall - the Rally Pro would be my choice - I don't need brake assistance.
Kudos to Kove and their passionate team for producing a rider's bike - a real motorcyclist's bike - the unicorn we've all been waiting for, but which fell on deaf ears of all other manufacturers.
i do agree of the not listening bit 🙂 what I see now is the same sort of arrogant disregard for customers I saw from Triumph in the 70s and 80s
@@barebonesmc Yes - Do you know what the differences are between the tall and short versions of the Kove standard rally? Is it that the forks are longer? And is it true that the low and tall versions cost the same? Which I think will be $8,999 in the US?
@@CoachSteve4u the lower seat version has shorter suspension and it does loose the rear tank too from what i understand. Re the price, thats what I understood too from GPX UK and in the US, but being honest that makes no sense to me. If it is right the standard Rally is the best value for sure. Better suspension and a bigger tank for the same price?
@@barebonesmc Exactly. They will probaby adjust the price a few hundred dollars but even then, it would still be a great value.
@@CoachSteve4u I think on a bang for your buck basis it comes way out on top
André over at Peak Motorcycles has just taken delivery of his Kove 450 Rally!! He's posted an interesting walk-around video & there'll doubtless be more content coming.
I know he was getting one, hopefully we can meet up, trying to organise something with the distributers at the minute, cheers mate, if you know him put him in touch?
@@barebonesmc Will do
If the Chinese have the capability to build a space station, I trust they can build a really amazing rally bike to rival the established brands. Time will tell.
very true 🙂 on both points. cheers for watching mate
I was wondering if this was related to the big pool of Chinese bikes that all source the same parts, and after I heard the Zongshen NC450 it is. GPX has been trying to produce this version of theirs for 2 years. Kayo, SSR, Orion all use the same hive company you mentioned. Motors, frames, suspension...pick a set to put together, send in your brand name and logo and they build them. Iv had the SSR450 {exact CRF450X clone} and Kayo K6EFI which was copied KTM frame with the Zongshen dohc NC250 motor {awesome motor, extremely impressive power w/ low maintenance}. To me their biggest downfall was by saving a ton of money using heavier materials, but if u are not racing 25lbs wasnt that crucial. And a lot of the copied tech didnt always fit together like a glove...But their quality keeps going up and up. If their prices stay low, its a win
its not quite the same. most parts built in Kove Factories not Loncin, Loncin are just the parent company. Kove redesigned the engine with a twin cam head and new balancer system. As you can see theyve not used heavy components to build this one. its been 4 years of research and development and there are even some post Dakar upgrades being implemented on the first run so it is being constantly improved. I think it will shake the big 4 and some of the european manufacturers up a lot and the industry needs some young blood with fresh ideas, cheers for watching
@@barebonesmc GOOD! Give the Fat Cats a run for their money. They need scared.
@@Rene-up1dl They do definitely need a shake
@@barebonesmc KOVE didnt....the originator of the NC engines are updating their motors. Big difference. Its not KOVE, they are just using parts available and several other brands are "making" the exact same bike with different stickers.
@@tieoneon1614 The new engine is not the same and is built in house by Kove. It is a twin overhead cam not single cam, has a completely different balancer shaft system and several other design changes that are solely the IP of Kove
So are we getting an update now the heroic CEO has been fired and the latest Dakar works bike turned out to be a disaster?
Racing is rarely a smooth upstroke. And he quit he wasn’t fired. He is still a major shareholder. Last word was the U.K. bound 800x we’re on the boat here but heard nothing since and I’m away on tour till July. I will chase things again then
There are 2 updates that came after this. This was from last year. Details of the resignation are in one of them. Just search the channel for kove
Congrats Kove! A beautiful, impressive and now desirable bike!
i agree mate
Might have to get one of these for out in the Philippines where toads can be rough and villages very remote 👍looks almost as good as the price sounds
just started landing so we will start to see :-) Cheers for watching mate and thanks for the comment, enjoy your weekend
@@barebonesmc it is my pleasure, love your channel, you really put out some great content👍
@@stethesteguy2093 i do my best mate, cheers, enjoy the ride 🙂
André from Peak Motorcycles has one on order. He'll doubtless post a review on his channel in due course.
👌🤞👍
Told André about your post too. Bit of YT synchronisation for you😉.
@@mrsilbo6499 cheers, that would be great
I am cautious about using The Dakar exercise as proof of a production model, but interesting none the less thanks for posting.
cheers for the comment, I think the dakar excersize shows their long term commitment and determination if nothing else, but getting 3 rookie riders to finish on 3 new bikes is pretty awesome you got to admit that
Been following the brand’s development for some time and totally agree with you and my compliments at putting together a very succinct video well done 👍 Looking at franchise opportunities in East and Southern Africa environments that will totally suit this bike!👌
good luck with the venture my friend and keep me updated. it will be great to hear about that sort of use and the long term impressions from someone like you. ride free and thanks for the complements
Always said that this unicorn motorcycle, that every adventure rider is waiting for since too long, and the Japanese or Euro brands refuse to build, will come from China. There it is. You can just compere the Kove 450 rally and the "new" 2023 KTM 390 adventure. They are just incomparable, and the impression that I have is not in KTM favour. It's more the impression that KTM is trolling as :) Welcome Kove, waiting in France!
I know if I had to choose the KTM would stay in the showroom 🙂
Lack of competition keeps things evolving SLOWLY.
@@Rene-up1dl or devolving 🙂
3:33:
8 valve engine?
no 4 valve twin cam
@@barebonesmc Ain't it a single thumper?
@@maranthonyfrancisco903 yes, a twin cam so sorry 4 valve, i was having 2 conversations and the 8 valve comment was about the 800X sorry
It sounds like a pretty awesome bike.
fingers crossed, they should be landing soon, :-) Cheers for watching mate, and enjoy the ride :-)
I hope this gives other manufacturers like Honda or Kawasaki a good bump to get it going…..
They need a shake up 🙂
@@barebonesmc very much indeed, i am about 2 h away from signing a contract for the tenere world raid........
@@DisableMe123 fingers crossed, keep me posted 👌🤞👍
Will they be coming to the US? If so when and where? How about parts? What kind of choices besides the full on racer and grandmas bike? Will the regular bike be street legal in 49 states? Sounds like a great bike. I wish you a huge success. I want you to sell out right after I buy mine!
lol, im not the manufacturer or distributer mate I just found them and all theyve done has really impressed me. GPX are bringing them to the states. should arrive mayc, theyve passed euro regs but we will have to see on the 50 state legal bit i guess, ride free
8 Valve??
no, its 4 valve sorry, i was having 2 conversations and it got mixed up lol
I’ll test one in the Australian safari rally. I’d love to own one. Three bikes enter Dakar and finish it, they want to make changes before production. That sells itself. This company seem to want to build bikes not make them selves rich.
Im sure they want to make money too, but i agree, they do see to have the right attitude
@@barebonesmc look at rolls Royce n Bentley Mercedes bmw. They make a solid unit so the money comes with it.., these guys are gonna do really well. Look at Kia started out really bad but they had the right idea. Today there huge.
@@nothinyaseehere9449 yep 🙂
@@barebonesmc if ya speak to em put in a good word for me I’ll make us all famous.
I lost both my legs after hitting a high voltage powerline carrying 19,000 kva I took it : times over 11 seconds I should’ve died a few times haha. I have prosthetic legs for motocross called motoknee2 and versafoot 2. I haven’t given up on riding and never will.
Nicely presented video 👍 certainly looks and sounds the part. Fingers crossed for them. The market really needs a young upstart company to shake things up. Maybe less drive by a board of directors & profit margins and more engineers and enthusiasts 🙏🤞
cheers mate and yes. less accountants and beancounters were involved in the design of this bike 🙂, thanks for watching
In a nutshell, you got that right James.
Don’t project idealism. Money is the biggest thing in chineese society.
Check the front disc: it is far to light for frequent use. Not enough material for a heat sink!
@@tinolino58 as with any other race or culture. using such a broad generalisation is rarely completely true. yes i am sure they are there to make money. it is how they go about that that counts to me. create a good solid product and be passionate about it sounds good to me
Not convinced it's an adventure bike ..I see it as a competition bike with some good range ccm went down the route of using a 450 and it didn't go well... would love to be proved wrong though and an unbelievable result getting all three to finish in Dakar this year in the motor killing deep sand...will keep my eye on them
Its a borderline bike for sure but I hope it succeeds, cheers for watching mate
@@barebonesmc as much as I like market competition, I don't like Chinese brands because of the government behind them. I can't wish them anything else but a change of regime and politics.
@@C_R_O_M________ Theres times to leave your politics at the door mate. its not a politics channel
@BAREBONESMC I figured that much but politics are dealt with at the local level, that of the individual. I take responsibility on my consumer behavior. I don't want the baddies getting stronger. I don't buy (as much as I can help it) Chinese products.
@@C_R_O_M________ companies are people, and people arent politics. politics is just shit whatever flag it hides behind in my honest opinion
Are you sure your 100% cotton t shirts are strong enough to handle being used while riding a Laverda?
pmsl yep, as a SF2 and Zane owner I can assure you they are perfectly strong enough lol
@@barebonesmc bold claim and a bold strategy, cotton. Get it. Because cotton.
@@Fee.1 ?? youve lost me 🙂
Looks Promising.. awesome video. Got the right mind set. Awesome job China 🇨🇳
Thanks for watching
some clever guy already working on a big bore barrel and piston set ?
Will be very interesting what they can make out of the suspension not making it bad on purpose to trick customers in upgrades ....
i think thhe AJP PR7 covers that niche 🙂 and the suspension really does seem top drawer, I had heard of YuAn but did some digging and they know their stuff for sure
@@barebonesmc
have been looking at ajp for quite some time , but its not close to the kove package.
big minus is the low power legal on the road in the papers.
very curious about what rpm there will be cruising at highway speed with the 450 engine.....
gearing spread is essential for the bike that can travel to the alps and then climb the stairs there in the rocks ....
@@edivollgas719 not sure exactly what your regs are there, the AJP is an older engine and the package of the Kove is probably better on a like for like basis but they are both great bikes, cheers again bud
@@edivollgas719 no need for bog borinig kove 450 rally, the kove 800x will fill that gap.
As far as ajp pr7 goes, nothing wrong with older and well prooved engine, and a racing kit ( exhaust and maping ) from factory is a must..it transforms the bike. Teoreticly speaking they both ( kove 450 and pr7 ) bellong to same category as a light adventure bikes, kove450 beeing more nimble,lighter feeling,and pr7 more gruntier.
Yep, very interested!
We will start to see soon. first bikes should be landing in the US and UK in May so fingers crossed, cheers for watching mate
yes i am very interested in the 450 rallye
I'd buy one if it wasn't for maintenance and parts. even if nothing major goes wrong, say no warranty issues, what happens the first time you need to replace a screw? order it from the factory and wait three months for it?
actually. like AJP all bolts and bearings/seals seem standard sizes and are listed in owners manual so you can just buy the fasteners etc anywhere, but until dealer stocks are built up anything direct from factory comes on a 1 week dhl service so it is being thought about
KTM is no different. 4 months for a part.
Hmmm. Strange thing to say. The importer will have parts.
@@gpxmotoukgpxmotouk4002 sure, when there will be importers
Watched the review from dirt bike USA. They said the general build is very nice, but fasteners and bolts are cheap and should be replaced (they said bolts only last about 5 uses before threads are ruined etc)
The bikes in the Dakar were as ‘production based’ as all the other hand built bikes there 🤣🤣🤣 This video sounds just like an advert. I hope they paid you well 😂😂😂
Looks perfect.......if it was made by Honda.
lol, would be around 30k though and unless they reworked the engine you would never get 4k oil changes
It’s an 8 valve single cylinder?
no, 2 conversations at the same time so i made a mistake, it does say in the comments but its a 4 valve single. i can't get everything right 🙂
I feel anyone who just dismisses a product because of the country its manufactured in. Is the height of ignorance & arrogance. Instead of believing proven liars (politicians) about nations. People should learn to thi k for themselves, there's far too much BS spread by less than reliable people in the world today. Anyways I find it unbelievable people will say they love a certain BMW or KTM, that's built in exactly the same country, a lot of the time in the exact same factory by exactly the same people that they insult.
Look at Royal Enfield, they're smashing it currently gaining more respect & more owners than ever. It's not to long ago they were seen as a joke. I can only speak from experience & some of the motorbikes I've been lucky enough to have a ride of a few Chinese built bikes. I can say hand on heart, it's staggering how quickly they correct any faults or discrepancies in their bikes. Chinese bikes are the fastest improving bikes on the planet. Royal Enfield aren't far behind, I think people need to realise the amount of people who ride bikes in these 2 countries. It's astronomical, meaning it's totally in their interests for any future success to constantly improve because if they do their sales will be off the scale. Its simple build a good reliable product & you'll make a fortune.
Within the next decade Chinese & Indian built bikes will challenge the Japanese bikes mark my words.
couldnt agree more. it wasnt the poor quality of british bikes that killed the industry as much as an arrogant attitude and an unwillingness to change, we could all learn lessons from that one. And I do feel like the big 4 and certain European manufacturers are riding on past reputations now. Thry havent been listening to customers in general for far too long
...uhm , this looks to have the potential to worry the competition. Will be interesting to see how it goes when introduced in Europe. Nice video, well impressive.
Orders are going in fast since the Dakar, New groups already popping up on facebook too. why buy a fantic with a worse engine thats built in China anyway at twice the price? I'm looking forward to the shake up thats coming. Cheers for watching mate
As the CCC (China homologation) is based on the ECE homolgation i am really tempted to see them over here in Europe.....Fingers crossed they do not loose too much power....question is about the retailer network and service points and also parts availability. They really impressed me at Dakar 2023...the engine withstand the 8500km torture without any failure.....i will definitive test drive one of them!
KOVE build what many begged KTM and Honda to build but never did! Honda showed off for several years a 450 L Rally version on EICMA and other fares but never build it. KTM build a street 390 Adventure and is now coming up with a offroad version in spring (?) 2023......way too late!!
I´ll keep an eye on KOVE.....the CEO also puts a smile on my face...like his mind setting.
@@riscracing5538 the CEO's smile is infectious it is so genuine, as you say it is an attitude i can get behind. ride free my friend
This video is an ad, not a review.
lol, id say a informative analysis. its not a review because no one has had their hands on it yet, cheers for watching
Hope Kove 450 Rally is logistically quickly delivered worldwide and more manufacturers wake up and understand the demand for reliable reasonably priced 450-650 Enduro-DualSport + ADV-Rally bikes with low weight long service intervals. For ex Yamaha WR500/550R Tenere 500/550 T5 Honda (XR) CRF500/550L + Rally version. NX500 Dominator Updated Suzuki Drz450S Dr650SE with Efi Abs Husqvarna Norden 501+501 Enduro KTM 490 Adventure R + Enduro R Hero 500 Xpulse Rally and so forth!
thats a list and a half :-) and yep, fingers crossed, the industry needs a good shake up :-) Cheers for watching mate, enjoy the ride
Amazing how a new company can produce a competition grade motorcycle.....china ....where PATENT'S and TRADEMARKS mean less than their HUMAN RIGHTS
leave politics at the door mate, its a bike channel
Hes right. Almost none of this is their own tech or R&D.
@@barebonesmc you may be conflating crimes with politics. IP is real, i would expect content developers to appreciate that fact.
@@tieoneon1614 says who? the engine is built in house and is a development of a Zongshen unit, yes some of running gear is proprietory, but so is most of it on many bikes, styling isnt like anyone elses either, so what isnt their own?
@@dirtrider9268 see other comment, the engine is built in house and is a development of a Zongshen unit, made under licence, so what are you talking about in relation to IP? what parts or design?
Bring it on, I say!
couldnt agree more
Bring what on, Chinese world domination? Going by the comments, I guess that's what people want.
Very interesting TX 👍👍
cheers mate :-)
Now I just need to be able to ride like that 😂
you and me both lol
Never heard of them before .but what a lot of bike for the money . good luck to them all the outher manufacturer,s must be scratching they arses .🤔😃
They need a more street biased, dual sport version. Fast. I would buy one. As it is, this is too small a market, being pure off-road competition focused. That said, great achievement, and all three machines finishing the Dakar was not mere luck.
the 800X is a more adventure bike with 100hp on tap for faster runs :-)
Let's see if they can meet the emissions standards of the US and Euro...without it, it ain't going to be a legal dual sport...except in those area with no emissions standards...
Euro regs are all passed already. GPX US are looking at full 50 state compliance too ive been told
Good to hear...a 450 with that much fuel capacity...and street legal would be cool.
Мотоцикл классный! А ПТС есть?
Thanks, What is PTS?
@@barebonesmc technical means passport. Is it possible to drive on public roads or is it a sports equipment
@@ПётрМамаев it passes euro 5 regs and will be available as a road registered bike in the UK and I believe most of Europe. In the states I can't comment but I dont see why it shouldn't be. other countries it may depend on local guidelines and rules. where are you?
@@barebonesmc I'm from Russia
@@ПётрМамаев I will ask but i haven't heard anything about a Russian distributor yet. If not would it be possible to import and register it yourself? I don't know what the regulations are like in Russia, cheers for watching anyway mate and i will see if i can find anything out
I wonder how many of those bashing Chinese products posted via a Chinese made smartphone. If anything these bikes will be great for the competition, the customer wins either way :)
🤣🤣🤣 never was a truer word spoken 😁😁
It all sounds great, but it will take them a long time to establish a reliable dealership network. Before that happens, hopefully, the most established brands will wake up and start giving us what we really want, and that's not 200+kg adventure bikes with unnecessary electronically muffled horse power.
couldnt agree more :-)
If its Chinese I wouldn't by it. I try not to give my money to the CCP if I can avoid it.
Good luck with that.
Most things have something Chinese in them nowadays.
would be boring if we were all the same mate but in reality there are probably chinese sub assemblies or products all around your car, bike and home. even if branded otherwise
I share your reservations about the Chinese state, but have to admit I find this team and the company boss enthusiastic and genuine. I want to see them succeed. Usually I avoid Chinese products, but I would consider owning one of these bikes.
@@RealHooksy Yep that is true and I am aware of it. It is virtually impossible not to purchase a product that doesn't have some sort of Chinese input into it. When it is an obvious Chinese concern though, my wallet won't open for them. Nothing against the ordinary Chinese person but I believe their Commie government are not our friends and would think nothing of doing us harm if it suited them.
@@barebonesmc there is a difference between components and a full-fledged brand where all profit and all decisions are in China. If China takes over all manufacturing we're f...ked, also politically and militarily
Yes, know them. Yes, following them. Yes, I want to buy it (probably standard version as I look more for dualsport use on bad back roads) once I get rid of one of my big machines. Market really need fresh view on this category and no matter from which country it is. Japan, Austria, Spain or Italy are offering nothing for long years there for normal people and I know plenty of people who looks for DRZ replacement 🙂 Only other more civil alternative will be this year Himalayan 450 and that's it. As said by others in comments suits/managers/business owners know nothing about what people really want. They feed us with over 1 liter engine craps like BMW with its R1250 which was now confirmed that it is not for terrain and recall for about 250.000 units coming (for lucky ones, rest, like EU will see middle finger and just SW update which will limit engine to not brake HW components 😀)
cheers for watching mate, much appreciated
This seems to be the moment the game changes completely....
It needed somebody to shake the industry up :-)
I didn't know Tony Fleming did bike reviews!
i would say who, but i just looked 🙂 i can do a mean curry lol
I would buy one. Chinese products are the best now. It will stand out from the crowd.
thanks for watching and ride free mate
The price levels says Government subsidiaries or workers being paid very little for working, or both....Race to the bottom for all..
hmmm government subsidies . you mean like we have in the west? Nissan's whole factory on tyneside was built with government subsidies and money from UK Taxpayers and thats just 1 example
@@barebonesmc yeah, it has been happening in many places. Not a critisism, just an observatation. There are other thing about China worth critisising, but thats for another day.
@@pgkr67 yep, i try and keep politics out of here tho as much as i can, purely 2 wheels 🙂 ride free
Yes yes yes.. kove 450 rally Unicorn.
Look fantastic yes I would by two great promo
cheers, as I say though im not affiliated in any way, Its an info piece more than a promo id say. or maybe they should give me a job lol
If i were in the market for a 365lbs wet modern dual sport it would be between this and the 690 enduro R. Too bad they couldnt bring this down to 310lbs wet.
that would be hard with such a big fuel tank. the 690 R is a great bike but I would get sick of planning rides around fuel stops 🙂 cheers for watching mate, enjoy the ride
@@barebonesmc Right, im referring to the 15 L version (the shorter one), which is roughly the same capacity as the 690. I believe u can get safari tanks aftermarket w the 690, but the weight will scale up and be similar weight to the larger capacity kove.
@@Weltbummler23 sounds about right
just saw that KOVE dialed the service intervals back to 1000 miles /30 hours for valve checks and oil changes.. this bike is not living up to expectations for dual sport riders.
i think it will depoend on riding you are doing, but interesting, ill check it out, not seen that here so far, but here i think it is seen less as a dual sport and more of a lightweight ADV bike, and i have heard good and bad, ill be talking to them again soon and hopefully we can organise some testing
@@barebonesmc correct… 1200 mile/30 hour intervals for normal/light riding and 600 miles/
15 hours for racing/harsh conditions. Says it right in the maintenance schedule. Keep us posted on what you hear from them. Maybe you can chat with them about making a detuned 3000mile or 5000mile interval variant w more oil capacity if need be. Id be happy w 45hp and extended intervals. As its designed/branded now it seems this bike is more ready for dakar than an adventure tour. Wish they could just make a proper lightweight dual sport for those of us who dont want to race and just want adventure.
@@Weltbummler23 hmmm thats not good in my opinion, especially considering the initial aim was for close to 5K km. I will talk to them when im back, and with a guy who has one which i know will be due an oil change see what comes out
@@Weltbummler23 just spoken to them and heres the reply
The factory designed their published service schedule around their largest market , the USA . There the Kove Rally riders are predominantly non road riders , riding hard in the desert and taking part in time trials and rallys etc. They downgraded the service scheduling for THAT reason as it was like competition.
Now that homologation has been received for the EU , and they foresee more bikes being ridden in a more cross section of uses on this side of the pond, they are changing the published service schedules back to what they were originally 3000 mile oil changes and 5000 valve checks. This revision in the handbook will appear soon.
@@barebonesmc great, thanks for digging into it. Glad to know they are going to change the manual back again. I don't understand the need to swap the manual back and forth tho. Seems like if you are a mixed use rider, 50+% on road then stick with the 3k mile / 5k mile, doesnt matter whether you are in the EU, US, AUS or anywhere else. If you put it in a truck or trailer , doing trials and primarily off road, do the 1k intervals, if you are rallying, then the 600 mile intervals. This should apply to all locations, possibly with an adjustment based on very dusty/desert riding. Hopefully they update the manual for all regions to include more accurate intervals based on the usage. Will see what comes out, Im in the states and hope the US maintenance schedule is updated as well to more accurately reflect the usage.
I Love this MotoRally Kove Motorcycle Bike I am more interested owning my own Kove Rally the Bike I want To Ride on this Highly motivated Acclaimed Super Cool Motorcycle for fun and join on the Rally Team Ive got some awesome new Aero dynamic model designs to share and do some Signature Art 🎨 design for this Awesome Dirt bike
you would need to contact Kove direct about that 🙂Cheers for watching mate, Ride Free
I'll take a 450 air/oil cooled Himalayan. Matches how I want to adventure.
The himalayan has made plenty of people take notice. I do wish they made a bigger version for 2 up touring though
The 450 himi is water cooled
@@slakk5093 , that’s too bad. If I have to buy liquid cooled, I am buying Japanese.
You mentioned reliable talking about a Chinese made motorcycle. You also said its reliability has been proven beyond doubt after one Dakar rally. Bold statement...
Chinese are good at one thing, stealing and copying other companies things and making them without any reliability at all.
thats just as much of a bold statement. generalisations rarely have more than a grain of truth in them. i dont see much copying going on with this bike though
I have known and want one. Might even give up my Africa for it.
First ones should be landing soon so we will begin to see :-) Cheers for watching mate :-) Ride Free
I am not convinced of the reliability. The dialog is mostly assertions.
we will see :-)
8500 is a bloody brilliant price and this bike looks amazing on paper an in life - tell you what, the rest better watch out - if i am Kove i am already making the 450 in an EXC format as that market is even larger than the 'really' crowd, imagine how much of a bargain that model would be 🙂
Theres a 250 dual sport they make that looks great and I imagine a 450 will follow too. Heres to the shake up of the market 🙂 cheers for watching
I will have a bit more of a look into this bike I'm sure it is a mongrel to service not hard just awkward and time consuming not sure if this is the right bike yet but it's so it's awkwardly engineered to change an oil filter and do a service
As a rally bike I would have thought it would be easy to service. Honestly (again I’m not sure you get them or spares availability) if you are tall. I think the ajp pr7 is a damn good bike and would suit the desert. They deliberately used standard sizes on bearings n seals etc so they can be sourced pretty much anywhere. They even include actual sizes in manual not just part numbers too 😊💪 small Portuguese company n great build quality. Worth looking if you have long legs😊
@@barebonesmc remember I'm about your height and wait. 6.1 110 kgs. And I am sorry my friend I looked and I could not find that bike after going onto Facebook I did find a group so my apologies I will have to find a dealer and have a look I just do not like the service I mean it's not hard but who wants to wear gloves on a hot exhaust pipe just to change the oil filter and change your oil seems a bit of a engineering plunder little bit too many nuts and bolts in the wrong place I think it's the exhaust, having to separate that just to get to your oil filter I believe that would just get all harder as the exhaust gets older other than that I would not mind having a look at one I'll see if I can find a dealer near me possibly Perth I would say there are many bike shops also in Victoria Park I used to do motocross with Kim Britton who owns the biggest motorbike South of Perth Kim is semi retired but his son's have taken over awesome shop but not my favourite it used to be a small friendly business not anymore but if that bike exists they should have it🙂👌
@@Bok2022st does seem a faff if you have to strip exhaust but can’t see that in rally so I bet there’s a workaround 😂 I’ll have to have a look but mad mad busy at min lol
@barebonesmc KTM go to court on the 24th hopefully they can sort things out they've got 700 million dollars worth of help from investors so I hear. So hopefully they will come back stronger I hope so for the workers and the bike riders
@@Bok2022stsome news incoming. What’s the January court case? They have 2 cases already running. One on the tpi tech and the other relating to the lc8c cams. Letters of intent but no investment yet as far as I know. But long video deep dive later or tomorrow 😊
You cycle through the images too quickly. Gave me a headache.
sorry mate, not my intention 🙂 cheers for watching
IF (!) it will appear uphere with EURO5 emission and full power engine it would be sold like free icecream in germany. IF ........
Thierry the Dakar team manager will be handling European distribution and will be based in France