KOVE FSE450R Rally | Dirt Bike Test
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- Опубликовано: 16 июл 2023
- Jimmy Lewis and Matt Mattoon give you all the details of the KOVE FSE450R Rally after adventure touring 1500 Miles and ripping it around Nevada rally training grounds. How good is it? Can the new breed of Chinese-built bikes take on the more recognized brands? Not just another feel-good impression, DBT tells it like it is.
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Развлечения
THE no BS reviewer. Thanks guys 🏁
Thank you guys for an excellent longer term look at the Kove 450.
I'm your average lifelong motorcycle rider in my late 50's.
I demo'd the Kove 450, might have been the same bike, at the Giant Loop Rally in early June. I was totally impressed with the bike, especially for an early version of the bike.
No matter what a person's view on Chinese products here is THE positive factor, other manufacturers should either be worried or start giving us what we want in a lightweight ADV type bike. A lot of us have been clamoring for this bike for years now and the manufacturers haven't come close in providing the market with our unicorn. Well Kove has and you don't have to spend an additional $2500 on a tower, $500 for an IMS/Acerbis/Safari extended capacity fuel tank, or carry a bladder or can...
Bring on the street legal version and I could sell my 501 and 890 Adventure.
We will be going live on our RUclips Channel shortly to answer your question and others. If you miss our livestream you can find it on our RUclips channel under the title 'Kove Q&A'. Hope to see you there!
If that isn't a vote of confidence for this bike, I don't know what would be. Direct, no fluff review by two riders who flogged it harder than 90% of us would ever try to do.
Thanks for the review. I really hope these kick off a trend of more bikes like this from other manufacturers.
No need for other manufacturers, its here ans alive already
Awesome review! Good to have someone of Jimmy's caliber giving us his opinion along with his protege. I've got a deposit on one arriving with the 2nd batch probably October. 😅
Glad it was helpful!
Just what I was hoping to hear. Thanks for the review and straight shooting as always.
Been waiting on this from a review I can trust🍻
Thanks guys. If nothing better comes along by next summer, and reviews remain pretty positive, this will be my next bike.
DBT is always the best reviews....Start here when wanting to know about a dirt/offroad bike.
Finally I a review that does not add all that icing into the cake,
Thank you guys for telling it as it is.
Honest review. I believe Gary has had the low speed throttle glitch corrected now. Kove seems to be addressing issues that come up really quickly. I’m in the first order group and looking forward to it.
I took jimmy’s dirt bike class and he made me work hard to complete it. Great review!
Thanks for another great review! Cheers from Brasil!!
I got a chance to demo one at Touratech and took it for a few laps on the course in the forest. It felt like a heavy dirtbike(I am used to riding a Beta 300) and that's it. Would've never thought it was 350 pounds. I went a couple turns into the course and did not like the ABS. A quick switch to turn off the ABS and it rode perfectly.
I was surprised it weighs as much as a 701/690.
really good review. That bike sounds pretty good.
Solid non biased review! Hopefully they actually get these approved for street use, and the dealer network is halfway decent
Damn, it's like sitting down and having a chat with a legend. Thanks guys!
We'll answer on Tech Talk show #202
Great video. Very informative for me, thats thinking of buying 1 of these. Very honest from obviously experienced riders..
Glad it was helpful!
A very good review.
love you guys !
Great review 👍
Great to hear. Will fit perfectly between my 990 and my 250 and a looks like a great bike to bring to Pahrump. Thanks!
Better get a fantic 450 rally ;)
@@chillon2922X Yeah, I wish! Or I could get one KOVE, all the upgrades worth having, 2 weeks of focused instruction from Jimmy, and have money left over to help keep my 990 running....hmmm. :)
Great review. Good to see it being tested as most people would use it. 👍
Aye G'day again Mr Shonk. Do you reckon this will get to Australia anytime soon?
@@jarrodwatson7933 I believe there is one coming to an importer for evaluation. Hopefully they will be able to get it through the Australian ADR requirements.
Great review as is the custom with Jimmy's work.
Glad the return trip home was safe.
Guys, it is the unicorn!
Yes and underdog - I really wish Kove the best of success ...
and of course buying one ....
Thanks Guys
You guys set a great example for the Dirt Bike magazine guys to follow for their test and video. It’s too bad they couldn’t offer the expertise, insight, and quantifiable data that you did many months prior to their video. Great job! Keep up this quality content. 👍
Thanks,
I'll point that out to the @cyclenews guys tonight on the Tech Talk show.
From the sound of it, perfect for a all day bike.
It’s a 450 with another 40kg of weight compared to a 450excf(which I own).
It’s not gonna drag race equally.
Compare it to a DR650 or 650 Kawasaki and it’ll lose them easily.
450ktm flameout badly due to emissions lean fueling which is all fixable too.
The suspension cannot be any worse than the xplor junk on my 450excf, even after tuning it, it’s still shit.
All abs on dirt is junk that I’ve experienced.
Back in the 80s, the British thought Japanese bearings were junk but we know that was BS now.
Once the ignorance goes away, progress will be huge cos who wants to pay 35k for a ktm rally bike to ride daily ?
Great review lads 🤙
I also think they will make a kill , and rightly so , because big and famous brands don't listen and don't care ....
I wish them the best of success ( and of course I am buying one ).
I appreciate the honest review. However, I'll be more likely to buy into the positive reviews when they're tested on actual random production run units, rather than specific promotion run units.
Hit the copied nail on the head, preproduction units will be the best of the run . When slave labor are making them with indifferent sloppy parts it will be different. Copyright and intellectual property do not translate apparently .
@@eflanagan1921Slave labor….you mean like underpaid indians or mexicans on day to day hire ?
Good content fellows.
From the reviews I've seen, and generally positive reception, it's going to be hard to beat this bike. At the price there's really no competition. A few programming pains they'll have to iron out, and what else is there to complain about? I'd guess you could start to wonder what you'll do for parts when it comes time to do a top end or fork rebuild. I'm sure someone will figure out what Japanese/European parts these were cloned after. At least on my TSE250R I get Yamaha top end kits and WP fork parts. And Gary is just knocking it out of the park lately. He really listens to his audience and improves on his products as much as he can. That's something we don't get with the Japanese and European brands. This bike is only going to get better.
Really promising, loving what you get for the money. Koves section on EICMA 23 show looked great. Brand is definitely going places, it's just a matter of time. Great review! Thnx! In Finland they just got through emissions so the normal 450 rally can be registered for street use. I think the more tuned Rally spec did not get certified.
One thing that worries me is that they have to play by US patent laws. If they copied too hard that could be trouble. Hopefully none of that happens because we really need this bike! It's incredible for the price and it's the unicorn we've been waiting for.
And also, wait until the aftermarket gets ahold of it. Gonna be awesome to watch what they do!
Copy who?
If you are afraid of copies, dont buy Specialized, GT, GM, HD, others….
@@davidvitan3590 Various parts will be copied on this bike from other main brands. For instance the air filter looks like a KTM one, the forks look to be Showa copies...I'm sure along with the forks the wheels are Honda copies. Not necessarily a bad thing but China also doesn't copy the more complicated items 100%. Like the forks may look identical to Showa forks but may use different thread pitch on certain parts where true Showa parts wouldn't work and a normal suspension tuner may not even look at these, it's just the way China works. This can be good for owners sourcing parts...or can be a pain for owners sourcing parts.
@@hahayouareanoobWell with shocks/forks the pistons and shim stacks are what's important and are mostly what are modified...
Everide sent me... So glad for your review!
Thanks for coming
Stoked to see this test ride. The bike looks great and economical. I guess the biggest thing for me, is going to be the availability of parts. It might be hard to get parts for a Showa clone fork or internal engine parts like valves, pistons, cams, etc.
No, the importers will cover you
I have a 10 year old chinese pit bike. Parts are not a problem to get. I just did a top end rebuild on it, and they have upgraded the cast iron cylinder to allow. All went together well and runs well. The Zongshen engine is well established, so I can not see parts being an issue.
Tyler/Everide sent me. Great review, sub'd.
Thanks for the sub!
Brilliant and competent content, moreover also inviting to take into serious account this Kove 450 and chinese bikes more in general (speaking of preconceptions to be overcome)
Ciao
Thanks
Wow 🤩
Great review fellas. I think this bike could make a similar impact as the 750 Africa Twin.
The typical GPX bike is 2016 KTM frame, WP/Showa suspension outside but other brand internals and Honda wheels,brakes, sprockets etc. Those NC motors are reliable too
Thanks for your clear and precise review. I'd try it, but there is neither a German importer nor a Euro 5 homologation. You'd have to live in the US or UK. Maybe there will be good news for Europe after the EICMA show in Milan next month. All the best, Günter/Nürnberg
Did they open up the skid plate and make more room for the shifter?
Ace! Question is if Kove 450 Rally replaces the 1 & only DSB - ADV Rally canvas KTM 500 Exc according to Tech Talk Taco Tuesday # 9 :->
Jimmy, why no front disc guard on that thing?? :)
Great review
Finally a review where we see the bike properly ridden in anger! good honest review. The bike looks great for proper fast trails and open gravel road! A wide ratio gearbox is nice too. I'm a bit disappointed in the steering lock tho, i hated my 690 because of it. Makes the bike feel much heavier and clumsy in the woods/ slow stuff. Do you think the aftermarket will have a solution to ''fix''' the issue , or is the movement limited by the frame or suspension design ?
We will be going live on our RUclips Channel shortly to answer your question and others. If you miss our livestream you can find it on our RUclips channel under the title 'Kove Q&A'. Hope to see you there!
Jimmy, what kind of mount for the Trail Tech is that? Is it available ?
Hi Jimmy, thx for this great summary, Short question, die you use the MOSKO 40 (sideways)? Thx Form Switzerland - Urs 😊
Don't think so, it was the standard setup.
It was the Chinese Dakar bike that done so well, they decided to put it out on the open market.
Here in the UK they are gaining a real following.
1. They are very good.
2. The Fuel. It’s 8 gallons for you guys in the States an 31 Ltrs for us in the UK 🇬🇧.
Looks like it’s goin to be a giant killer from the reviews before the 2024 shows here in UK an Europe.
Enjoy guys
Do you have any data on fuel consumption ? Surely must do better than 40 miles / gallon.
i wonder what the model without the cat&emmissions compliant set up runs like ??
When we ride it we will let you know.
Great review. At the same time, I'm far from convinced on ever considering one.
We’re the three Kove 450’s that completed the Dakar Rally stock with just knobby tires or were they modified somewhat???
My 2023 gpxfse250e has had the ignition cut out and put me on the side of the road about 7 times in the 400 miles i put on it, seems to be heat related. All connections tight. Guess i'll start replacing the ignition boot, wires and plugs and coils. Also had/have extreme fork stiction, but not from the seals. I don't know how I would be able to trust a kove.
It's funny that I always seem to get "the bad one" while all the youtubers get "good ones". Oh well.
The promotional videos all claimed the dash could be used as a sat nav linking with think rider app - off road gpx files could then be viewed through the dash whilst speed and basic info were still retained but not showing so prominently nobody is covering this - does it work???
At this price range, I would appreciate it . 🎉
Nice review as usual. Cool project ride. Fastace suspension? Is the motor counterbalanced? Brakes look like a Nissin copy. They make their own CPU? Remapping? Swapping critical bolts out for high quality ones would be an easy upgrade and cheap insurance.
BTW I rolled by the Touratech gig (was staying at Lake Wenachee) and waved at you but you totally ignored me from your training field ha ha ha. -Kelly
Suspension is similar to older showa's, Motor is counterbalanced, brakes are actual Nissin brakes (as mentioned by eveRide) with a possibility of changing to brembo brakes in the future. CPU I don't know about, remapping is possible. There will be a performance tune for the ecu available that comes standard on the race model.
We will be going live on our RUclips Channel shortly to answer your question and others. If you miss our livestream you can find it on our RUclips channel under the title 'Kove Q&A'. Hope to see you there!
I am honestly thinking of selling my F800GS which is my current ADV bike and my RR125 Beta which is my enduro bike, and get this for both...
Where the power band is kinda?under powered is another way of saying slow compaired to the rest.plus how viable is it in 20 years?or do you throw it away ?
5 to 6k rpm and up is where you find the power. Rally bike power curves. I can safely say that the engine is good. It's a Zongshen 450 engine with a different top end (which only Kove uses). Having ridden bikes with the normal version of the engine (sohc instead of Kove's dohc), I can say that it'll last really long.
Re: "...but that's not the way you're going to be riding this bike." - I think you're underestimating exactly why people want a lightweight dual purpose bike. I know most of us want something that can truly ride off-road (which is very different from unpaved roads) and still pound pavement all day. We want to be able to ride a road long distances, paved or not, and not just looking at side trails with longing to know how fun it is or where it goes, while wishing we were on a dirt bike. How did it compare to, or compete with, the T7 in different situations?
We will be going live on our RUclips Channel shortly to answer your question and others. If you miss our livestream you can find it on our RUclips channel under the title 'Kove Q&A'. Hope to see you there!
T7 is more of a road bike ( adventure ) , Kove is 50:50 dual sport ( unicorn ).
Looks like Mason Klein will be a Kove team rider soon .
Many people are hoping to see that.
I looked at the manual for it a couple days ago.. how do you check the oil level on this bike?
We will be going live on our RUclips Channel shortly to answer your question and others. If you miss our livestream you can find it on our RUclips channel under the title 'Kove Q&A'. Hope to see you there!
Kove want to offer ABS as it's required equipment in some markets if you want to make a bike road legal ;-)
Standard version has ABS.
Unfortunately in Australia we wouldn’t be able to get it unless it has ABS , that’s why we didn’t get the KLX 300 , and the Honda CRF300 and Rally only come to Australia with ABS.
Well the standard version is said to have abs.
18:55 mentions the ABS
Your country has gone insane!..smfh..mines not far behind!...from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸👋🤠
First of all i must say you gave a very optimistic and hopeful review good job. But.
Nigel…. God that made me laugh 😂😂😂
HeyJimmy, could this replace the Tenere in the stable? If you had to pick one for dual sport and adventure? I have a T7 and the Kove on order along with a WR250R, YZ 125 and 250 2 smoke and a Versys 650. As much as I like all my current bikes, the Rally may help me to clean out the stable. Looks like this bike is at least as good on the dirt as a WR250R. Thanks in advance and looking forward to the podcast tonight!
We will be going live on our RUclips Channel shortly to answer your question and others. If you miss our livestream you can find it on our RUclips channel under the title 'Kove Q&A'. Hope to see you there!
Could you / would you race BITD on this bike?
We will be going live on our RUclips Channel shortly to answer your question and others. If you miss our livestream you can find it on our RUclips channel under the title 'Kove Q&A'. Hope to see you there!
Do you think this bike would be too much for a rider who is new to off road riding but has street experience? Or should I look at something more like a 300 dual sport?
We'll answer on Tech Talk show #202
It's ideal.
Why choose a Kove instead of a 690 or a 701? The Kove have better fuel capacity but if you’re not riding through the Sahara?
We will be going live on our RUclips Channel shortly to answer your question and others. If you miss our livestream you can find it on our RUclips channel under the title 'Kove Q&A'. Hope to see you there!
Kove has way better suspension than 701, and it is way easier to ride in the dirt.
690/ 701 super high compression ratio of 13 : 1 is for sure shortening life span and reliability - and the engine is unnecessary too powerful .....it is all nice and fun pulling wheelies on some gravel road - but it's a nightmare on single track.
I made a comment on a FB 300L/Rally page the other day where someone ask if the Honda 450 or 300 would be right for him and he gave some parameters. I suggested he look at the Kove 450 rally. One guys response was ""it’s very “rough” very un refined more dirt/rally bike than dual sport imo b"". What are your thoughts.
Probably talking about suspension. Guy probably rode without adjusting to his liking.
Just comments from someone who did not actually ride the bike….
It's the best on the market 50 : 50 dual sport bike ( and novice friendly ).
The best way to take care of the cat is to take it off. Great review.
Your answer will be on Tech Talk Taco Tuesday #203
What do you guys weigh?
Does this really have wide ratio gearbox? Couple months ago manual specs were as wide ratio as in suzuki drz thats achilles heel is close ratio gearbox
No, he was joking when he said the 6 speed wide ratio was gappy in a good way, could go 100MPH and was going to be a good fit for dual sport and ADV. Sorry, for being sarcastic but he covered this thoroughly.
@@steveh1510 If it was a joke then a really bad one i would say.
I assumed that kove changed to wide ratio for regular version making it nearly perfect ds bike.
1st gear is way too tall and 6th too close for dual sport riding. Primary drive ratio is really strange leaving with only bigger rear sprocket(max +3 teeth) option to slow it down
@@Jay-hv4lb Sorry, my comment may have been a little harsh, but his description of the transmission sounded like the opposite of a DRZ's close ration 5 speed. Also dropping a tooth on the front or what you mentioned is an easy way to fine tune the gearing.
How does it do for highway time?
Watch the video and listen to what we say?
Great review.
just one thing
Mosko Moto are not russian, nor is it bovine. Mosko, like moss-co. Not moscow, or moss-cow.
Drivin' me nuts. haha
What is the brand of the rims and suspension? Any known brand?
Front Suspension is Yu-an, tires I'm not sure. Suspension seems to be quite well made. They are similar to older Showa forks. Front and rear suspension are fully adjustable, so thats nice.
We will be going live on our RUclips Channel shortly to answer your question and others. If you miss our livestream you can find it on our RUclips channel under the title 'Kove Q&A'. Hope to see you there!
All sounds good but we need 2 yr of hard use with a list of failures, costs would be nice too.
You'll know in two years... we can't speed up time.
Went to the Kove web site. All Rally bikes are listed as "competition off road use only". If they come with an off road title there is no way to title it for street use in Indiana.
Move. Lol
Looks cramped for a taller rider, what do you say?
@4:04 Gatooooooo!!!!!!!!
Everyone copies and tries to improve on everyone elses designs,the chinese are probably the worst for it tho.i have noticed the china bikes have been getting much better and more competitive to the current brands we all love.must remember when the Japanese bikes came out everyone said the same exact thing about them then as we do the china bikes now.
Correct
Gee, I guess Honda completely screwed up and built a Transalp instead of an Africa Twin JR. Well, if Kove hadn't I guess someone else would have.
The same with Yamaha elephant of Tenere... not only heavy, but top heavy .....
I was hoping for baby Tenere .... but I guess it will be Kove....
EVERIDE sent me.
Tell them thanks!
Puckin railing that thing.
So, can we say that this bike is pretty good?
Why this over the honda crf450l ?
Your answer will be on Tech Talk Taco Tuesday #203
I hope they do well! If only they could get that weight down to the 320 mark!
Why? Nothing touches the weight of this bike already thats not a big brand race bike. Chuck some dubyas on it and Ti bolts if you're concerned and let er rip! Remember lighter weight will make the price sky rocket. I believe Jimmy's weight was a wet weight anyway.
@@PARKCITYDUALSPORT exactly. Any less weight and it would be miserable to ride on the open highway. With any amount of wind, a 320lb dirt bike would get blown around like a wind sock at an airport.
@@machupikachu1085 I dunno. My 701 weighs that and it's comfortable at 80.
@@dznnf7 80 on the freeway, or 80 on the hiway in the middle of Kansas?
You don't have to put 8 gallons in the tank. 6lbs per gallon.
+ Everide.
To be fair, how many of the other brands are made in China now
Your answer will be on Tech Talk Taco Tuesday #203
Nearly all our phones, lap tops, PC, car brands like BMW and VW , bikes like Yamaha, Honda .... just to name few ...
OMG🤑🤑🤑
海外版画好看多了，比在中国销售的版本漂亮
Perhaps 2 teeth up on the rear sprocket might help the bottom end ................. 🙂
Newer models will be remapped for more bottom power....
I'll stick with my Honda!
Fair to judge AFTER riding it...but the description of a perception of being junk is not an unfair bias, but based on experience! All chinese bikes HAVE-BEEN comparative junk. Chinese making better better bikes helps us all, forcing competition to up their game.
Kove is handing these things out like candy to every RUclips influencer. Of course everyone is going to have a great first impression. So it's a 450 with the power of a 350 and weighs 350lbs. Knockoff everything.
We tend to agree but the praise is earned.
Other dude can barely get a word in lol
There is no way that a Chinese bike is worth $9000. Especially when the competition is close in price. A 2023 NC750X DCT is $9,399.00. Yes I know that is not a true off road bikes but it can do off road. A 2024 CRF450RL is $10,999. There's no way Chinese quality even comes close to that. You're getting ripped off for substandard garbage like always.
it's a few days your sentence is bouncing around in my head ...and I think your right: no more than 8K...LoL
@@mase886 Thanks. Now if I could just get my wife to admit that I sometimes get it right.....😁
Yup 9k is insane for a Chinese junker, this is just a phase with fools here on RUclips shilling this junk, it won’t be known in a couple years.
To that, i will say there was a time when people were saying the same thing about japanese cars and motorcycles. Now look where japanese bikes are. Of course the chinese are way behind, but they will progress. I have heard the Lifan and CF Moto bikes are among the best china makes atm. I have heard CF Moto makes engines for ktm. The japanese big 4 werent successful overnight, it took time and dedication and building their reputation, the chinese must do the same. I will say the japanese culture seems more suited to excellent quality control however.
@@keithquinn5624please keep in mind that this bike actually finished the Dakar Rally with all entries, far from dead last. That rally literally is designed to break man and machine alike. Having ridden bikes with the same engine (though those were SOHC versions, Kove uses a different top end) I can safely say it's solid.
How can you mention Japanese and KTM in the same sentence as if they had similar reliability? Lolz.