Thank you very much for your video and the subtitles in Spanish. In a few months we will see the Kove in Spain, the market is based on preferences and here they arrive late. A cordial greeting.
For the last few years, I suspected the Chinese would provide the unicorn bike, but I expected a much poorer initial implementation from CF Moto or something on par with a Raven or Brozz 250. I lost faith in all of the major name brands because it was clear that they heard us yelling that we wanted a lightweight off road oriented adventure bike in the 400 to 600 cc class that would comfortably cruise on the highway when needed. It wasn't a matter of them not knowing what we wanted. It was painfully obvious they knew but acted as a cartel to subvert consumer demand. Why? My best guess was that they wanted to keep selling us big, expensive ADV bikes. They completely missed the point that we were willing to pay for a quality lightweight adventure bike. We're not buying ADV bikes by the pound, trying to get the heaviest bike for the lowest cost. They didn't want to sell us a good lightweight ADV bike that was very good on road but much better off road, because then, who would buy a $25,000 GS? We're in a new paradigm. Usually the Chinese copy successful products from Europe and North America. With the Kove 450 Rally, Kove is suddenly top dog. The big motorcycle manufacturers are in the unenviable position of needing to copy the Kove 450 Rally, but Kove is a Chinese company with the manufacturing advantages that confers. The big guys are now stuck needing to design a Kove 450 Rally me-too bike, have it manufactured in China to have any hope of being cost competitive, but still having the added overhead costs of western world engineering and management. It's not a good place to be but it's difficult to feel sorry for them. They did this to themselves by refusing to sell us the bikes we desperately wanted. Ignore the market and be run over as it passes on top of you.
Brava Kove, questo modello è unico, un monocilindrico che non lavora ad ore, una moto Dakar ma stradale, se ogni nazione d'Europa riesce ad avere una base logistica dei giusti distributori........avrà un successo, da italiano sarò uno che comprerà Kove rally 450👏👏👏💪👍
Scommetto che arriveranno presto in Europa, si spera. Sono nel Regno Unito. Penso anche che le moto Kove saranno un successo anche in Europa. Grazie uomo! (tradotto)
Hello! Dear LCARS ADV. This is the KOVE MOTO Official Page. We have watched your test drive evaluation video about KOVE 450RALLY. We think your writing is very professional, and thank you very much for your positive evaluation. We would like to know if we can forward this video to the KOVE MOTO Official Page for display. We will be very grateful! Looking forward to your reply!
So I thought that you would share the video, but I see you just redistributed it on your channel. But because you did it this way, I don’t get views or monetization , can you link to my channel or share the revenue? I spent a lot of time on it and I’m a small RUclips channel, but I want you to be able to share it as we’ll because I believe in the product.
No one owns it yet because it isn't out yet lol. You'll start seeing reviews once they ship to the owners. There are some upgrades from the demo I rode, but it's a great bike!
I asked Reddit a year ago if Chinese manufacturers were closing in on Japanese. I don’t know if the Kove steals from the KTM intellectual property left in China, but either way, this is definitely game changing.
I’ve got a lot of buddies with adventure bikes. Anywhere from T7 to GS’s and 1290’s. Including myself on a 1200 Super Tenere. But I’m very interested in the Kove for a smaller Adv bike to go between my moto bikes and big adventure bike. Something I can take on some of our adventure rides and have a little more fun in the rough stuff without having to worry about dumping my nearly 600lb Tenere. The price point is also attractive. Great review!
Thx for the video. Nice that you also bring up hiw well it rides on road… for me that is the critical part: I have to ride hundreds of miles to be able to ride off-road…
Yeah it’s really good on the road. However if I was on road a ton, I would get a sheep skin or padded bicycle shorts. I would do that with any bike though
Excellent review. You touched on most of what I wanted to know. Care to comment on its "low & slow" performance? I know it won't be like a Honda CRF300 for putting around in tight, technical stuff - but your honest view of how it will do/does in this scenario? Also, (if I wanted to) if I were to play around with gearing for a little more bias to low and slow, how much do you think top end performance would it suffer? Thanks!
Thanks! Well I’ve owned 2 250l’s which ain’t much different than the 300. I’d take the Kove low and slow anyday over the 300. It’s vastly better in every way other than the Honda quietness.
Wonder how it compares to my KTM 690 Enduro R? About the same weight. About 1/3 less power (which is fine off road). Far greater range than the 690. No quick shifter and less sophisticated electronics and suspension. But the base bike is a lot less expensive than the 690. Sounds really good.
Always a balance between dirt bike and road design, but the Kove is a perfect balance between the 2 and does both well. I'm a fan of lightweight adv, sure big engines are cool, but I'll take the right size any day. I rode a 701 which is the same engine as the 690 and I'll take the Kove over that any day. I had a week with both.
@@LCARSADVwow you like it more than a Husky 701, now I’m curious, In what way is it better? Apart from less fuel range, hard stock seat and no stock wind protection, I would have thought the 701 was superior? Maybe I’m wrong. Keen to test the Kove, one day. Cheers
I think the 701 is more powerful and it should be just because of the CC's. I thought the Kove felt lighter, it handled better, and the wind protection is really nice. The Kove is better on road and on the dirt IMO and I've ridden both.
@@LCARSADV So the only thing better on the 701 is street hooligan Power & Torque? Man this one sounds nice, looking at the weight etc. i think it´s technically possible to make an even lighter version if KTM put their mind to it. If the Kove sells well they just might. Evolution of 690/390 & 500EXC. I think i will sell all my bikes and buy a Kove 450 Rally (T7, DR650 & KLX250S) I can sacrifice some steet power of the T7 for less weight the DR is perfectly sufficient. And the extra 20kg compared to the KLX just for the feeling of always being on the right bike
This was more of a love story than a bike review. I gotta stop watching these Kove 450 Rally videos or I'll find myself buying one. I've always ridden small displacement dual sport thumpers but I've wanted a lightweight adventure bike since I started riding in 1975. We've been begging for lightweight adventure bikes since there were adventure bikes in the mid 1980s but the manufacturers kept insisting that we buy bloated pig ADV bikes. A decade ago, they reluctantly added small ADV bikes (KTM 390 Adventure, BMW G310GS, Honda CRF300L Rally, etc.) to the bottom of their ADV lines but insisted on treating them as entry level bikes to get new riders into the brand so they could be quickly upgraded to larger and more expensive ADV bikes. Those small bikes didn't have quite enough power to comfortably cruise on the highway when needed and were still a bit heavier than they should be for off road use, but worse, these entry level bikes were deliberately crippled to prevent the lighter bikes from cutting into mid and full size ADV bike sales by being the obvious preference for anyone whose idea of adventure extends beyond cities and highways. My G310GS has a 2.9 gallon fuel capacity. That's pathetic. An ADV bike needs 300 miles (500 km) of range. I think of Chinese manufacturers as copying the designs of others. Not this time. Kudos to Kove. How many millions of dollars in lost revenue will pass them by before BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki copy the Kove 450 Rally? Honestly, I've given up on Suzuki. I'd always ridden Suzuki dual sports from the 70s through the 90s, but they're STILL shipping dual sport bikes with carburetors. They're stuck in the 80s. Kove is not only ahead of the pack, they've lapped Suzuki.
Lol yeah I almost bought a gs310! I went with the KTM 390 adventure and I love my bike and it is truly one of the funnest bikes I've ever had. Yeah it's a little underpowered, but I would say it's just enough. However, the Kove is just a better bike, it's a true dual sport/ adv / rally bike. The japs aren't gonna do anything, if they were gonna do something, they would have done it already.
@@LCARSADV- Of the class of entry level ADV bikes I mentioned, the 390 Adventure is the least under powered. Honestly, no more than I ride on the highway, the 34 HP of my G310GS is enough, although barely. It feels as if it'd run at 70 MPH indefinitely and could do 80 MPH to pass, but it's wound out enough that I'm sure engine life is suffering a little that close to full power output. I'd comfortably cruise with the 51 HP the Kove 450 Rally makes. I agree that the Japanese manufacturers probably aren't going to respond to the Kove 450 Rally, and BMW probably won't either. If they were willing to make the bike we wanted they'd have already done it. They'll rely on sales of their other bike lines to support them as they lose ADV market share to lightweight full featured ADV bikes. I've modified my G310GS to have most of the features I want. I didn't upgrade to spoke tubeless wheels because I don't ride hard off road and the alloy rims are OK for my old man adventures. The one thing I still want is a 5+ gallon fuel tank but that's not an option for the G310GS. :-(
I would be interested in one at some point, but first I want to see how it does over time (i.e. how reliable is it? expanding dealer networks, etc..). In the mean time I am riding around a '22 G310GS that I picked up for a bargain. Cheers!
Fair point! I guess I forget how that feeling is with this unknown brand, I took the plunge with GPX a few years ago and know the equipment and am friends with the distributor so I am much more comfortable with Kove and GPX than someone who just found out about them. So far so good though!
The more you talked about this bike the more it sounded like the very capable Suzuki DRZ400S. If the Suzuki had a sixth gear and fuel injection...That bike sounds great for the Dual Sport community..I hope Suzuki will upgrade it's great DRZ and even make it better.
Unfortunately Suzuki probably won’t ever upgrade it as it’s grandfathered in. It’s such a great model, especially the E model in particular. The Kove is a worthy successor though I believe
If the kove is like my 2023 GPX FSE 250E then no thanks. A handful of problems. The big one was the forks had a dreadful stiction that turn them into a jackhammer when you need a rapid succession of fast and small movements. It couldn't be resolved with shim stack modification or changing the bushings. However it made more sense once i learned it was a copy from an earlier ktm enduro design. Gabe from torture test magazine as well as a few others in the forums and on utube have also mentioned the issue, so mine is not an anomaly. I also have a super sherpa and a drz, and once I hit steep, loose and rocky terrain and singletrack I'd rather be on either of those instead of the gpx, because I will get further before I hit my limit and drop the bike. Come to think of it, the same goes for when I'm on the road too, by a lot. Monitoring the FB page, I see a lot of people have problems with the DRZ's as well. It usually goes something like this. 1. Buy new bike from dealer 2. Do the 3x3 mod, dropping mpg from 55-60 to 40-45, for the sake of a faster throttle response but no more power. 3. install large acerbis fuel tank to compensate for decreased MPG. 4. Complain that the bike now feels top heavy. 5. Don't ride bike because it feels top heavy. 6. Install $800 lectron carb because the original gummed up from the bike not being ridden 7. Sell the bike because they couldn't get the lectron running right. OR 1. Install stroker kit, blow up engine within 2,000 miles. Good stuff. I'm personally waiting for kawasaki to stuff the ninja 400 engine into the klx frame. Hopefully before 2065.
I don't really care how reliable and the reason is, they showed the world the "unicorn" that we've all been asking for is doable! Now suzuki, yamaha, and honda, get you're acts together and deliver an even better version of it, price point is $10,000, get to it! @@MrDavidfuchser
@@LCARSADV I was told around November when I put deposit down about 6 weeks ago. Who knows when it’ll be really !? I know it won’t be summertime anymore though 😭
No, I don't have a GS, but you buy one because you can cruise on the freeway about as comfortably as a goldwing, and still do a ton of off-road trails. And have you seen people pick them up? Looks pretty easy. They barely even tip over.
No doubt the GS is an amazing bike, but man I wouldn’t want a bike that powerful or heavy off road. After watching long way round and watching those guys picking up those bikes, there is no way I would want to be out in the wildness alone with one of those bikes.
@@LCARSADV Yeah, it's possible to do alone, but probably not wise, or super fun. You find ADV riders in groups mostly. With the big bikes, I'm told you just go slower over stuff so the wheels stay on the ground.
@@LCARSADV their low version is a joke with 36" seat height. Anything more than +4" to inseam is only manageable on softly sprung lightweight dirt bike, not 400lbs+ loaded beast
@@LCARSADV I think they're going to unveil it at EICMA for the EU (been going through homolgation recently), the UK at last got a Brexit benefit, no need to wait for EU approval. 😜
I knew someone was gonna chime in and ask, I’ll do a vid at some point. I think Kove is just miles better off road (obviously) but I think ktm excels more on road. I love my 390 and it’s still one of the funnest bikes I’ve ever owned
Some of that footage looks familiar. Part of the EveRide adventure loop? I had my CRF450L out in Utah with EveRide in June. I think it was the perfect bike available at the time for that. But for that kind of riding, this Kove just might top it. I had to carry extra fuel in a Giant Loop bag and even then had to be concerned with range. So I’m really interested in how this all pans out. I won’t be an early adopter, but I’m surely not going to discount this bike’s potential simply due to country of origin. Have you ever tried a CRF450L, and if so, how is the Kove in comparison? I appreciate the Honda’s relative smoothness compared to the KTM 500. Dork in the Road made it sound like the Kove is rather harsh. But I believe he tried the full-on Rally version. Now the critique. Great footage and voice over. But I can’t help it…… WTF IS WITH THE MUSIC?!!!?? Jeez, Kurt Cobain might have been a tortured soul with enunciation like he had marbles in his mouth but at least he sang his songs with some passion and vigor!! Sorry, hearing that was like having a dagger in my Generation X heart. Like Stephen Wilson laments in The Sound of Muzak…
I’m not surprised it looks familiar, not sure what route Tyler takes, but I’m sure he heads on that direction anyways. Yes I actually did try the 450l on an EveRide rally, not trying to crap on your bike, it’s beautiful and I love Honda, but you asked lol. It was probably the worst dirt bike I have ever ridden. The engine braking was so dang harsh and the constant flame outs were outright dangerous. The suspension was good though! I can’t use any copyrighted songs, I get flagged. That is just a different version which I actually like because it’s different and not trying to recreate the original.
I agree about the CRF450L if it was stock. Mine was like that. I forget because the aftermarket ECU transformed the bike so much. Mine is so good now that I have a hard time imagining anything better. If the Kove proves to be reliable, it appears to address the few shortcomings I can identify with my 450L. Do you plan to be an early adopter of the Kove or are you going to wait? How would you find the time to ride it if you’re always ripping on the TSE300R and FSE250E?
I wanted one but don't trust it yet. Saw two at my local OHV park end up back on a trailer with a busted frame and blown engine within an hour, saw a couple here on RUclips have clutch and transmission trouble, and I thought I saw something on the comment section of your ADV series where you mentioned a dead rectifier. I'm going to hang back and watch it for a while in hopes that I see less problems with it in the future
I think that’s probably not true, unless they fell off a cliff. If you’re looking for a brand with no issues, you’ll never find one. Go look at all KTM’s problems and then come back. For the vast majority these bikes are solid.
@@LCARSADV I wasn't in the trail with them. I just saw the bikes being pushed back out of the trails and asked what happened. If memory serves, the clutch one was from the channel that Everide suggested where the guy is supposedly a multi-time winner of several rallies. Just this morning I saw a video with some glitch in the electronics where shutting the bike off with the killswitch instead of the key results in am overheat warning. The bike has potential but it's not quite to the point where I'd be comfortable trusting it for the kind of miles that I put on a bike. I love the concept of the Kove but I want to see one have the kind of odometer reading my KLR had before I buy one since I've seen all these little quirks and a couple catastrophic things
I am seriously considering getting one of these once a street legal version comes out. Currently on a modded KTM 890r and love it except for the weight.
Depending on the state you can probably still register it fine for street. I register my GPX bikes in New York just fine. As long as the MSO says motorcycle you should be fine
I'd open a shop and sell them exclusively here in Arkansas if things were not as they are currently. Heck, I live a qtr. mile off a US hwy that has tons of bike traffic so it would be a joy to do, and very profitable. Who knows, maybe I will. God willing.
@@LCARSADV Sure hope so. I know they'd sell like hotcakes to people in the surrounding counties and bring some more lookers/buyers/curious into a Motorcycle Hwy area.
On Kove's official website the tank capacity shows as 14 liters only, why was yours 32 liters? The non street legal version (rally only) has 32 liters. Is the rear tank not connected/usable on the road legal version? And did you guys modify that? Thanks for clarifying this. And what a pity the bikes are not available here in Thailand. I want one too!!
I went to both the Kove website and the USA website and both are right in line with the 8 gallons. 8 gallons is the correct spec. The rear tank is connected.
Thanks for the informative review. Between you, EveRide and Jimmy (Dakar finisher), this looks like a real winner. I have a 640 Adventure which has been a very capable DS but much older in the tooth. Wondering if the lack of a center stand would pose any issue with flat tire repairs?
Thanks man. If this were a GS or some other crazy heavy adv bike then yes, but it’s no different than changing a tire on a dirt bike. You could just pivot the bike up on the kick stand or just buy one of those tusk trail jacks which are way cool.
You know I never really kept track honestly, I would just top off every time I passed a gas station. I know I was good and the other bikes needed fuel way more often lol. Sorry I didn’t get the mpg
I mean sure that’s a valid statement, but the engine is already proven as it’s been out for a long time in other bikes. It’s solid. Every bike brand has problems, but I think the Koves will be just fine. They just need to build up the dealer network, but parts are easy to get
@@LCARSADV I hear ya but it's just all chinese made which worries me for the long haul and the bikes are not cheap. I can get a Yamaha T700 for the same price. idk. I really do love the look of the bike though. And the pro model is the same price as the Ducati.
@@powshredder3716 maybe so, but there was a time when people thought the same about the japs. Most of the crap we have is made in china, you never think your phone or computer is gonna crap out because it’s made in China? It’s really about the quality and manufacturer standards. You’d be surprised how much stuff on other bikes is made in China. The pro model is a Dakar bike, and other Dakar bikes are wayyyyy more expensive. I’d ride one first then make your decision. So far on the groups there isn’t much negative which is a good sign for reliability. I thought it was an amazing bike. But yeah I get what you’re saying, it’s a leap of faith so to speak
I thought the same thing, but because the seat is narrow you can touch the ground pretty easy. I can touch more with my feet than my ktm 390 adventure. I’m 5’9”
Well there’s a lot of miles and years already on the zongshen engine, they are bulletproof reliable. Parts I already know, they are very easy to get through GPX. I actually talked to the parts guy when I was there and he said they actually had a whole new software to learn for the parts database. Parts through GPX has always been easy. Maintenance, I think it’s 5k oil? But you’re right, not much out there yet, but they just came out so it will take a bit. If these bikes sucked you would have already seen tons of issues in the forums. Not that there won’t be issues, but I think as far as a launch, it went pretty well.
Thanks for your review. When people start putting 20k reliable miles on them, then maybe I'll be interested. China has much to prove in terms of reliability and support.
Your welcome! Well the engine has been out for years so there’s plenty of miles on them already. It’s a rock solid engine, I would encourage you to look into it. Support is a non issue, they back up their stuff, from my experience anyways…
No way to register it for a plate in Indiana. These bikes come with an "off road" title. Indiana no longer allows conversions which sucks because I've converted a few dirt bikes to dual sports. Check your state laws.
They come with an MSO that states “motorcycle” if I’m not mistaken. Which would make it plateble in most states. Are you saying you got an MSO that said off road? Cause that would be contrary to what I know. Please correct me if I’m wrong
Been searching about this bike for likely 8mo and watched every review of it, everyone says it'll be very likeable bike just like any eu/jp bikes. It capable ready to go offroad anywhere. But the prices here was too high because our shit govt around 250 million IDR/$16k double the price.
Wow that's crazy, I'm not sure why prices fluctuate so much from country to country. Other brands are similar as well. It's a great bike if that helps you feel if it's worth it or not.
I was looking at the service intervals. This is not a bike made for long distances. Oil and filter change is every 2000km. The valve check is every 4000km. It's too high strung. Averaging 300km a day during touring this bike needs a service once a week.
That does seem off? I wonder if those are based on race conditions or worse case? I mean KTM 4 strokes are like that too and the Honda crf450l, but it seems if you're just taking it easy you could get a lot more?
@LCARSADV the smaller displacement KTM EXC models like the cfr 450 have 2k service intervals. The KTM 690 mono 4 stroke (except for the first service after 1k km) has service intervals every 10.000 km which make it a decent bike for longer distancing travel
Then you see the crf250l and it's service intervals are long. I dunno, I think it's more the high perfomance and compression along with worst case riding conditions as well. I think I would go a lot longer if I was just riding nomrally myself. @@NoMoreMrNiceGuy223
I know the word “review” is good for grabbing attention, but this is not a review. A review takes LOONG testing time, 6 months at least. This is an OVERview, a “FIRST IMPRESSIONS” video at best…
No that would be “long term review” It’s a freaking review buddy, you seriously took the time to write this and crap over me after I spend hours and hours making a free video for you to watch?
The Japanese should hang their collective heads in shame. We have been screaming for a bike like this for years and we have been effectively ignored by them. Why not give us what WE want and not what they want to sell us? I still wouldn’t touch a Kove with a bargepole though.
Couldn’t have said it better myself, but the last part you better get used to non jap bikes taking market share that the japs abandoned. There is no logical reason to not at least consider the Kove. Reliable engine and more capable than anything out there!
Thank you very much for your video and the subtitles in Spanish. In a few months we will see the Kove in Spain, the market is based on preferences and here they arrive late. A cordial greeting.
Your welcome! I hope you guys enjoy them. Ride on brother!
Great initial review. Looking forward to hearing more about it 👍
Thank you! More to come!
I always wondered who would create the unicorn, never expected it would be the Chinese
Great review 👏 👌 👍
You and me both!
it was a chinese rider ... i bet EU and US brands dont listen to riders and so create ultra heavy "offroad" dualsports
For the last few years, I suspected the Chinese would provide the unicorn bike, but I expected a much poorer initial implementation from CF Moto or something on par with a Raven or Brozz 250.
I lost faith in all of the major name brands because it was clear that they heard us yelling that we wanted a lightweight off road oriented adventure bike in the 400 to 600 cc class that would comfortably cruise on the highway when needed. It wasn't a matter of them not knowing what we wanted. It was painfully obvious they knew but acted as a cartel to subvert consumer demand. Why? My best guess was that they wanted to keep selling us big, expensive ADV bikes. They completely missed the point that we were willing to pay for a quality lightweight adventure bike. We're not buying ADV bikes by the pound, trying to get the heaviest bike for the lowest cost. They didn't want to sell us a good lightweight ADV bike that was very good on road but much better off road, because then, who would buy a $25,000 GS?
We're in a new paradigm. Usually the Chinese copy successful products from Europe and North America. With the Kove 450 Rally, Kove is suddenly top dog. The big motorcycle manufacturers are in the unenviable position of needing to copy the Kove 450 Rally, but Kove is a Chinese company with the manufacturing advantages that confers. The big guys are now stuck needing to design a Kove 450 Rally me-too bike, have it manufactured in China to have any hope of being cost competitive, but still having the added overhead costs of western world engineering and management. It's not a good place to be but it's difficult to feel sorry for them. They did this to themselves by refusing to sell us the bikes we desperately wanted. Ignore the market and be run over as it passes on top of you.
Best Kove review I’ve seen and one of the best bike reviews out there. Well done Sir.
Subscribed
Thank you, glad you liked it!
Love the scenery!
Only thing missing is Kathy Hochal in a bathing suit...
Excellent review with great video, sound and editing! Awesome!
Thanks man! Learned some new sound tricks on this one, glad you noticed!
Brava Kove, questo modello è unico, un monocilindrico che non lavora ad ore, una moto Dakar ma stradale, se ogni nazione d'Europa riesce ad avere una base logistica dei giusti distributori........avrà un successo, da italiano sarò uno che comprerà Kove rally 450👏👏👏💪👍
Scommetto che arriveranno presto in Europa, si spera. Sono nel Regno Unito. Penso anche che le moto Kove saranno un successo anche in Europa. Grazie uomo! (tradotto)
Hello! Dear LCARS ADV. This is the KOVE MOTO Official Page.
We have watched your test drive evaluation video about KOVE 450RALLY. We think your writing is very professional, and thank you very much for your positive evaluation.
We would like to know if we can forward this video to the KOVE MOTO Official Page for display.
We will be very grateful!
Looking forward to your reply!
Of course you can. Thank you!
@@LCARSADV ❤❤
So I thought that you would share the video, but I see you just redistributed it on your channel. But because you did it this way, I don’t get views or monetization , can you link to my channel or share the revenue? I spent a lot of time on it and I’m a small RUclips channel, but I want you to be able to share it as we’ll because I believe in the product.
Здравствуйте, скажите пожалуйста, а какие интервалы замены масла тыс. км.? лучше чем у КТМ ЕХС 500 ?
Killer video. I had a very short ride on the 450 Rally but liked it very much. The ride you were on looked like heaven.
Thanks! It was heaven! Makes me want to get out of NY so bad!
Be nice to see someone review this bike from their own ownership use of it.
No one owns it yet because it isn't out yet lol. You'll start seeing reviews once they ship to the owners. There are some upgrades from the demo I rode, but it's a great bike!
@@LCARSADVThere are owners in the UK....street legal versions, reviews on RUclips
There’s a guy in Derbyshire that has one in the UK. He’s on YT!
All the best from UK 🇬🇧
I asked Reddit a year ago if Chinese manufacturers were closing in on Japanese. I don’t know if the Kove steals from the KTM intellectual property left in China, but either way, this is definitely game changing.
Yeah I feel they are, still a ways to go to earn trust, but it’s getting there for GPX and Kove.
What a wonderful review. Thank you!
Your welcome!
I finally got around to watching buddy. Class job and it is a great bike 👌
Thanks man! Yeah it is! Have fun in Portugal!
Awesomeness
Love the review and awesome Star Trekkie reference
Ha ha thanks!
I’ve got a lot of buddies with adventure bikes. Anywhere from T7 to GS’s and 1290’s. Including myself on a 1200 Super Tenere. But I’m very interested in the Kove for a smaller Adv bike to go between my moto bikes and big adventure bike. Something I can take on some of our adventure rides and have a little more fun in the rough stuff without having to worry about dumping my nearly 600lb Tenere. The price point is also attractive. Great review!
Thanks man! I also would recommend the ktm 390 adventure. I personally own that one and it’s a fun and capable bike
Been a subscriber of yours for a while, your videos keep getting better and better! Very well done!
Thanks man I appreciate it!
Thx for the video. Nice that you also bring up hiw well it rides on road… for me that is the critical part: I have to ride hundreds of miles to be able to ride off-road…
Yeah it’s really good on the road. However if I was on road a ton, I would get a sheep skin or padded bicycle shorts. I would do that with any bike though
Can you give us your feedback after year of owning Kove?
Excellent review. You touched on most of what I wanted to know.
Care to comment on its "low & slow" performance? I know it won't be like a Honda CRF300 for putting around in tight, technical stuff - but your honest view of how it will do/does in this scenario?
Also, (if I wanted to) if I were to play around with gearing for a little more bias to low and slow, how much do you think top end performance would it suffer?
Thanks!
Thanks! Well I’ve owned 2 250l’s which ain’t much different than the 300. I’d take the Kove low and slow anyday over the 300. It’s vastly better in every way other than the Honda quietness.
Wonder how it compares to my KTM 690 Enduro R? About the same weight. About 1/3 less power (which is fine off road). Far greater range than the 690. No quick shifter and less sophisticated electronics and suspension. But the base bike is a lot less expensive than the 690. Sounds really good.
Always a balance between dirt bike and road design, but the Kove is a perfect balance between the 2 and does both well. I'm a fan of lightweight adv, sure big engines are cool, but I'll take the right size any day. I rode a 701 which is the same engine as the 690 and I'll take the Kove over that any day. I had a week with both.
@@LCARSADV Good to know. The 690 was way too much bike for me. A “right sized” engine sounds awesome.
@@LCARSADVwow you like it more than a Husky 701, now I’m curious, In what way is it better? Apart from less fuel range, hard stock seat and no stock wind protection, I would have thought the 701 was superior? Maybe I’m wrong. Keen to test the Kove, one day. Cheers
I think the 701 is more powerful and it should be just because of the CC's. I thought the Kove felt lighter, it handled better, and the wind protection is really nice. The Kove is better on road and on the dirt IMO and I've ridden both.
@@LCARSADV So the only thing better on the 701 is street hooligan Power & Torque? Man this one sounds nice, looking at the weight etc. i think it´s technically possible to make an even lighter version if KTM put their mind to it. If the Kove sells well they just might. Evolution of 690/390 & 500EXC. I think i will sell all my bikes and buy a Kove 450 Rally (T7, DR650 & KLX250S) I can sacrifice some steet power of the T7 for less weight the DR is perfectly sufficient. And the extra 20kg compared to the KLX just for the feeling of always being on the right bike
This was more of a love story than a bike review. I gotta stop watching these Kove 450 Rally videos or I'll find myself buying one.
I've always ridden small displacement dual sport thumpers but I've wanted a lightweight adventure bike since I started riding in 1975. We've been begging for lightweight adventure bikes since there were adventure bikes in the mid 1980s but the manufacturers kept insisting that we buy bloated pig ADV bikes. A decade ago, they reluctantly added small ADV bikes (KTM 390 Adventure, BMW G310GS, Honda CRF300L Rally, etc.) to the bottom of their ADV lines but insisted on treating them as entry level bikes to get new riders into the brand so they could be quickly upgraded to larger and more expensive ADV bikes. Those small bikes didn't have quite enough power to comfortably cruise on the highway when needed and were still a bit heavier than they should be for off road use, but worse, these entry level bikes were deliberately crippled to prevent the lighter bikes from cutting into mid and full size ADV bike sales by being the obvious preference for anyone whose idea of adventure extends beyond cities and highways. My G310GS has a 2.9 gallon fuel capacity. That's pathetic. An ADV bike needs 300 miles (500 km) of range.
I think of Chinese manufacturers as copying the designs of others. Not this time. Kudos to Kove. How many millions of dollars in lost revenue will pass them by before BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki copy the Kove 450 Rally? Honestly, I've given up on Suzuki. I'd always ridden Suzuki dual sports from the 70s through the 90s, but they're STILL shipping dual sport bikes with carburetors. They're stuck in the 80s. Kove is not only ahead of the pack, they've lapped Suzuki.
Lol yeah I almost bought a gs310! I went with the KTM 390 adventure and I love my bike and it is truly one of the funnest bikes I've ever had. Yeah it's a little underpowered, but I would say it's just enough. However, the Kove is just a better bike, it's a true dual sport/ adv / rally bike. The japs aren't gonna do anything, if they were gonna do something, they would have done it already.
@@LCARSADV- Of the class of entry level ADV bikes I mentioned, the 390 Adventure is the least under powered. Honestly, no more than I ride on the highway, the 34 HP of my G310GS is enough, although barely. It feels as if it'd run at 70 MPH indefinitely and could do 80 MPH to pass, but it's wound out enough that I'm sure engine life is suffering a little that close to full power output. I'd comfortably cruise with the 51 HP the Kove 450 Rally makes.
I agree that the Japanese manufacturers probably aren't going to respond to the Kove 450 Rally, and BMW probably won't either. If they were willing to make the bike we wanted they'd have already done it. They'll rely on sales of their other bike lines to support them as they lose ADV market share to lightweight full featured ADV bikes.
I've modified my G310GS to have most of the features I want. I didn't upgrade to spoke tubeless wheels because I don't ride hard off road and the alloy rims are OK for my old man adventures. The one thing I still want is a 5+ gallon fuel tank but that's not an option for the G310GS. :-(
I would be interested in one at some point, but first I want to see how it does over time (i.e. how reliable is it? expanding dealer networks, etc..). In the mean time I am riding around a '22 G310GS that I picked up for a bargain.
Cheers!
Fair point! I guess I forget how that feeling is with this unknown brand, I took the plunge with GPX a few years ago and know the equipment and am friends with the distributor so I am much more comfortable with Kove and GPX than someone who just found out about them. So far so good though!
The more you talked about this bike the more it sounded like the very capable Suzuki DRZ400S. If the Suzuki had a sixth gear and fuel injection...That bike sounds great for the Dual Sport community..I hope Suzuki will upgrade it's great DRZ and even make it better.
Unfortunately Suzuki probably won’t ever upgrade it as it’s grandfathered in. It’s such a great model, especially the E model in particular. The Kove is a worthy successor though I believe
If the kove is like my 2023 GPX FSE 250E then no thanks. A handful of problems. The big one was the forks had a dreadful stiction that turn them into a jackhammer when you need a rapid succession of fast and small movements. It couldn't be resolved with shim stack modification or changing the bushings. However it made more sense once i learned it was a copy from an earlier ktm enduro design. Gabe from torture test magazine as well as a few others in the forums and on utube have also mentioned the issue, so mine is not an anomaly. I also have a super sherpa and a drz, and once I hit steep, loose and rocky terrain and singletrack I'd rather be on either of those instead of the gpx, because I will get further before I hit my limit and drop the bike.
Come to think of it, the same goes for when I'm on the road too, by a lot.
Monitoring the FB page, I see a lot of people have problems with the DRZ's as well. It usually goes something like this.
1. Buy new bike from dealer
2. Do the 3x3 mod, dropping mpg from 55-60 to 40-45, for the sake of a faster throttle response but no more power.
3. install large acerbis fuel tank to compensate for decreased MPG.
4. Complain that the bike now feels top heavy.
5. Don't ride bike because it feels top heavy.
6. Install $800 lectron carb because the original gummed up from the bike not being ridden
7. Sell the bike because they couldn't get the lectron running right.
OR
1. Install stroker kit, blow up engine within 2,000 miles.
Good stuff.
I'm personally waiting for kawasaki to stuff the ninja 400 engine into the klx frame. Hopefully before 2065.
I don't really care how reliable and the reason is, they showed the world the "unicorn" that we've all been asking for is doable!
Now suzuki, yamaha, and honda, get you're acts together and deliver an even better version of it, price point is $10,000, get to it!
@@MrDavidfuchser
@@MrDavidfuchserTotally different manufacturer, nothing same other than NA importer
Here, here 🤞
What part of Utah is this? Looks incredible
Wasatch mountains right next to Salt Lake City!
I like the Kové 🥖 too!
Thanks a lot that's a great review, i want it! Too bad you put some loud music, i would have wanted to hear the engine...
Your welcome, more videos to come with engine noise, I just put one out yesterday
On the waiting list for one… expecting it November 🎉 can’t wait !
It's like Christmas isn't it!?
@@LCARSADV I was told around November when I put deposit down about 6 weeks ago. Who knows when it’ll be really !? I know it won’t be summertime anymore though 😭
No, I don't have a GS, but you buy one because you can cruise on the freeway about as comfortably as a goldwing, and still do a ton of off-road trails. And have you seen people pick them up? Looks pretty easy. They barely even tip over.
No doubt the GS is an amazing bike, but man I wouldn’t want a bike that powerful or heavy off road. After watching long way round and watching those guys picking up those bikes, there is no way I would want to be out in the wildness alone with one of those bikes.
@@LCARSADV Yeah, it's possible to do alone, but probably not wise, or super fun. You find ADV riders in groups mostly. With the big bikes, I'm told you just go slower over stuff so the wheels stay on the ground.
Great review! I have a deposit on one for the 2nd wave in September.😅
Thanks I appreciate it! I hope you like it!
I just hope they will have a low version build for someone with sub-30" inseam
They do have a low version!
@@LCARSADV their low version is a joke with 36" seat height. Anything more than +4" to inseam is only manageable on softly sprung lightweight dirt bike, not 400lbs+ loaded beast
Anything lower you’ll be on a Harley lol, it sounds high but because the seat is thinner you can reach the ground easier.
@@LCARSADV I don't know 38" seat height is still 38". If your inseam 34" it isn't a problem, but try then mount and ride 42" high bike
I would like to drive it off-road one day, unfortunately there is no Kove in Austria
Give it time, I’m sure they’ll end up there. They are in England so I would imagine they need dealers elsewhere
@@LCARSADV I think they're going to unveil it at EICMA for the EU (been going through homolgation recently), the UK at last got a Brexit benefit, no need to wait for EU approval. 😜
I keep waiting to hear major problems with the china bike but sounds really good 👍
I'm sure you'll hear of issues here and there, no bike is immune to issues, but it's a rock solid engine and design.
Considering your time on the Kove and that you own a 390ADV, care to comment/compare a bit on their use as light(-er) weight adv & travel bikes?
I knew someone was gonna chime in and ask, I’ll do a vid at some point. I think Kove is just miles better off road (obviously) but I think ktm excels more on road. I love my 390 and it’s still one of the funnest bikes I’ve ever owned
@@LCARSADVlooking forward to it, I’m looking at kove/himi450/ktm390adv
Some of that footage looks familiar. Part of the EveRide adventure loop?
I had my CRF450L out in Utah with EveRide in June. I think it was the perfect bike available at the time for that. But for that kind of riding, this Kove just might top it. I had to carry extra fuel in a Giant Loop bag and even then had to be concerned with range. So I’m really interested in how this all pans out. I won’t be an early adopter, but I’m surely not going to discount this bike’s potential simply due to country of origin.
Have you ever tried a CRF450L, and if so, how is the Kove in comparison? I appreciate the Honda’s relative smoothness compared to the KTM 500. Dork in the Road made it sound like the Kove is rather harsh. But I believe he tried the full-on Rally version.
Now the critique. Great footage and voice over. But I can’t help it…… WTF IS WITH THE MUSIC?!!!??
Jeez, Kurt Cobain might have been a tortured soul with enunciation like he had marbles in his mouth but at least he sang his songs with some passion and vigor!!
Sorry, hearing that was like having a dagger in my Generation X heart.
Like Stephen Wilson laments in The Sound of Muzak…
I’m not surprised it looks familiar, not sure what route Tyler takes, but I’m sure he heads on that direction anyways.
Yes I actually did try the 450l on an EveRide rally, not trying to crap on your bike, it’s beautiful and I love Honda, but you asked lol. It was probably the worst dirt bike I have ever ridden. The engine braking was so dang harsh and the constant flame outs were outright dangerous. The suspension was good though!
I can’t use any copyrighted songs, I get flagged. That is just a different version which I actually like because it’s different and not trying to recreate the original.
I agree about the CRF450L if it was stock. Mine was like that. I forget because the aftermarket ECU transformed the bike so much. Mine is so good now that I have a hard time imagining anything better. If the Kove proves to be reliable, it appears to address the few shortcomings I can identify with my 450L. Do you plan to be an early adopter of the Kove or are you going to wait? How would you find the time to ride it if you’re always ripping on the TSE300R and FSE250E?
@@jwaller1327 Yeah, I'd also be interested in a proper head-to-head between the Kove and a 450L with aftermarket ECU.
It’s also the Chinese official Dakar bike!
An it did well!
Who Ed of thunk it!
I wanted one but don't trust it yet. Saw two at my local OHV park end up back on a trailer with a busted frame and blown engine within an hour, saw a couple here on RUclips have clutch and transmission trouble, and I thought I saw something on the comment section of your ADV series where you mentioned a dead rectifier. I'm going to hang back and watch it for a while in hopes that I see less problems with it in the future
I think that’s probably not true, unless they fell off a cliff. If you’re looking for a brand with no issues, you’ll never find one. Go look at all KTM’s problems and then come back. For the vast majority these bikes are solid.
@@LCARSADV I wasn't in the trail with them. I just saw the bikes being pushed back out of the trails and asked what happened. If memory serves, the clutch one was from the channel that Everide suggested where the guy is supposedly a multi-time winner of several rallies. Just this morning I saw a video with some glitch in the electronics where shutting the bike off with the killswitch instead of the key results in am overheat warning. The bike has potential but it's not quite to the point where I'd be comfortable trusting it for the kind of miles that I put on a bike. I love the concept of the Kove but I want to see one have the kind of odometer reading my KLR had before I buy one since I've seen all these little quirks and a couple catastrophic things
I am seriously considering getting one of these once a street legal version comes out. Currently on a modded KTM 890r and love it except for the weight.
Depending on the state you can probably still register it fine for street. I register my GPX bikes in New York just fine. As long as the MSO says motorcycle you should be fine
I'd open a shop and sell them exclusively here in Arkansas if things were not as they are currently. Heck, I live a qtr. mile off a US hwy that has tons of bike traffic so it would be a joy to do, and very profitable. Who knows, maybe I will. God willing.
Yeah it’s pretty uncertain times right now. It shouldn’t be this way…
@@LCARSADV Sure hope so. I know they'd sell like hotcakes to people in the surrounding counties and bring some more lookers/buyers/curious into a Motorcycle Hwy area.
Yes sure mate , we need another one , because there’s not enough adventure bikes in the world
Could you post your route? I live in slc and would love a new route
Probably, I would have to edit it though because there are some private homes. I can try anyways. I’ll post back here if I am successful
On Kove's official website the tank capacity shows as 14 liters only, why was yours 32 liters? The non street legal version (rally only) has 32 liters. Is the rear tank not connected/usable on the road legal version? And did you guys modify that? Thanks for clarifying this. And what a pity the bikes are not available here in Thailand. I want one too!!
I went to both the Kove website and the USA website and both are right in line with the 8 gallons. 8 gallons is the correct spec. The rear tank is connected.
do you know how long is the servce intervall?
Don’t quote me lol but I think around 5000 miles
Thanks for the informative review. Between you, EveRide and Jimmy (Dakar finisher), this looks like a real winner. I have a 640 Adventure which has been a very capable DS but much older in the tooth. Wondering if the lack of a center stand would pose any issue with flat tire repairs?
Thanks man. If this were a GS or some other crazy heavy adv bike then yes, but it’s no different than changing a tire on a dirt bike. You could just pivot the bike up on the kick stand or just buy one of those tusk trail jacks which are way cool.
How would you compare the Kove 450 to the KTM 390?
The last guy beat you to that question. I’ll do a video on that, as it’s a good comparison.
@@LCARSADV Awesome. I'm looking forward to that video!
What kind of rpms are you turning at 80mph?
Please sell them in Canada, I'll buy some.
Check out Kove Canada website, there are 2 dealers, I’m sure more are to come
Seems decent.
It's not just decent, it's the bike we've all been waiting for someone to make!
What's the curb weight without additional accessories mate?
I think it’s 315lbs dry from memory, it’s in the video. Trust me, it rides so dang light!
Could you tell us the fuel consumption? Or did I miss that info from the vdo ???
You know I never really kept track honestly, I would just top off every time I passed a gas station. I know I was good and the other bikes needed fuel way more often lol. Sorry I didn’t get the mpg
Haha I see ! Well I guess these numbers will come out soon enough!
I love everting about it but the longevity I worry about.
I mean sure that’s a valid statement, but the engine is already proven as it’s been out for a long time in other bikes. It’s solid. Every bike brand has problems, but I think the Koves will be just fine. They just need to build up the dealer network, but parts are easy to get
@@LCARSADV I hear ya but it's just all chinese made which worries me for the long haul and the bikes are not cheap. I can get a Yamaha T700 for the same price. idk. I really do love the look of the bike though. And the pro model is the same price as the Ducati.
@@powshredder3716 maybe so, but there was a time when people thought the same about the japs. Most of the crap we have is made in china, you never think your phone or computer is gonna crap out because it’s made in China? It’s really about the quality and manufacturer standards. You’d be surprised how much stuff on other bikes is made in China. The pro model is a Dakar bike, and other Dakar bikes are wayyyyy more expensive. I’d ride one first then make your decision. So far on the groups there isn’t much negative which is a good sign for reliability. I thought it was an amazing bike. But yeah I get what you’re saying, it’s a leap of faith so to speak
How safe is for long distance travel
Safe as any other bike!
@@LCARSADV thank you and sorry my english is really bad ..i mean reliability .
What luggage are you using?
Westwind it was really good!
The seat height has me concerned. I'd like to hear some input on the lowered model. Anyone out there ridin one? Checked it out?
I thought the same thing, but because the seat is narrow you can touch the ground pretty easy. I can touch more with my feet than my ktm 390 adventure. I’m 5’9”
That's awesome to hear! That was the biggest barrier for me seriously evaluating the Kove 450 (over my 390) @@LCARSADV
Can you get full coverage for it?
Not sure, you’d have to call around and ask insurance companies. I’m sure one more and more get registered they will be no problem
Hey LCARS, how tall are you?
5’9”
@@LCARSADV One more question, sorry for not asking this before. How does it perform at highway speeds? 75-85 mph
I'm going totally insane. Nobody is talking about maintenance, reliability and parts. Obviously you can't say. But make some predictions.
Well there’s a lot of miles and years already on the zongshen engine, they are bulletproof reliable. Parts I already know, they are very easy to get through GPX. I actually talked to the parts guy when I was there and he said they actually had a whole new software to learn for the parts database. Parts through GPX has always been easy. Maintenance, I think it’s 5k oil? But you’re right, not much out there yet, but they just came out so it will take a bit. If these bikes sucked you would have already seen tons of issues in the forums. Not that there won’t be issues, but I think as far as a launch, it went pretty well.
@@LCARSADV Awesone thanks for your time
Just put out a parts video FYI
Well, we had the AJP PR7 for years, so not really any “news”
It's great to have options
Thanks for your review. When people start putting 20k reliable miles on them, then maybe I'll be interested. China has much to prove in terms of reliability and support.
Your welcome! Well the engine has been out for years so there’s plenty of miles on them already. It’s a rock solid engine, I would encourage you to look into it. Support is a non issue, they back up their stuff, from my experience anyways…
Give them time to develop. If they can’t do better than KTM with their appallingly unreliable 790/890 range there is something wrong.
Now all I need is a dealer in interior Alaska.
lol you might have to do some driving. Or you could just order straight from gpxmoto.com and have it delivered
319 lbs fully fueled?
Dry
visual oil window missing from design ?.....
I'm sure they'll stick one in on the next revision. Or aftermarket will offer one.
No way to register it for a plate in Indiana. These bikes come with an "off road" title. Indiana no longer allows conversions which sucks because I've converted a few dirt bikes to dual sports. Check your state laws.
They come with an MSO that states “motorcycle” if I’m not mistaken. Which would make it plateble in most states. Are you saying you got an MSO that said off road? Cause that would be contrary to what I know. Please correct me if I’m wrong
Been searching about this bike for likely 8mo and watched every review of it, everyone says it'll be very likeable bike just like any eu/jp bikes. It capable ready to go offroad anywhere. But the prices here was too high because our shit govt around 250 million IDR/$16k double the price.
Wow that's crazy, I'm not sure why prices fluctuate so much from country to country. Other brands are similar as well. It's a great bike if that helps you feel if it's worth it or not.
I was looking at the service intervals. This is not a bike made for long distances. Oil and filter change is every 2000km. The valve check is every 4000km. It's too high strung. Averaging 300km a day during touring this bike needs a service once a week.
That does seem off? I wonder if those are based on race conditions or worse case? I mean KTM 4 strokes are like that too and the Honda crf450l, but it seems if you're just taking it easy you could get a lot more?
@LCARSADV the smaller displacement KTM EXC models like the cfr 450 have 2k service intervals. The KTM 690 mono 4 stroke (except for the first service after 1k km) has service intervals every 10.000 km which make it a decent bike for longer distancing travel
Then you see the crf250l and it's service intervals are long. I dunno, I think it's more the high perfomance and compression along with worst case riding conditions as well. I think I would go a lot longer if I was just riding nomrally myself. @@NoMoreMrNiceGuy223
Kove=koof
Well this Chinese motorcycle manufacturer has made the Japanese European and US manufacturers look like chumps.
Right? Who knew the unicorn would come from china? What a wasted opportunity by the japs, I’m hoping others respond and the market gets better
u sound like a Salesman 🤔
Thanks I think? Hopefully my commission check comes in the mail then lol
Give us a review after 2 hard yrs. Reliability is 1. performance is 2.
Join the Kove facebook group and see for yourself.
Funny. When it cpmes to KTM and Ducati people gives a flying crap about reliability.
I know the word “review” is good for grabbing attention, but this is not a review. A review takes LOONG testing time, 6 months at least. This is an OVERview, a “FIRST IMPRESSIONS” video at best…
No that would be “long term review” It’s a freaking review buddy, you seriously took the time to write this and crap over me after I spend hours and hours making a free video for you to watch?
soddo moaning song tells all
?
Ruined with bags.
It is an adventure bike…
The Japanese should hang their collective heads in shame. We have been screaming for a bike like this for years and we have been effectively ignored by them. Why not give us what WE want and not what they want to sell us? I still wouldn’t touch a Kove with a bargepole though.
Couldn’t have said it better myself, but the last part you better get used to non jap bikes taking market share that the japs abandoned. There is no logical reason to not at least consider the Kove. Reliable engine and more capable than anything out there!
Maybe this will be the kick in the arse the the Japanese manufacturers need to point them in the right direction.
Japanese are just a bunch of mainland tired chinese in reality.