View Full Version : Kove 450
rupert
25th August 2023, 19:49
I keep seeing Youtube vids of the Kove 450 and how it is the unicorn for which everyone has been waiting: good motor/frame/suspension/price. I wonder if any enterprising importer in NZ will take a chance and bring in this Chinese bike, and not expand the price so much that it becomes a dead unicorn.
Hoonicorn
26th August 2023, 01:18
I've heard a lot of Chinese cars like LDV don't have rust treatments, so they get rusty metal bits within a couple of years. Something can look like a fire blade or an Africa twin, be half the price because it's built by Chinese slave labour with cheap parts (taisko brakes?). Amateur reviewers will read off the spec-sheet and on paper these bikes might seem like a steal but will they hold-up for a few years - particularly the rally bike.
I mean, they might be good, definitely popular in low income economies like India and parts of Asia were a 450cc is a bigger bike and Royal Enfield is premium brand.
(skip the demo ride and start at 9:30 into the video for spec review)
https://youtu.be/uRu7XRiqbss?si=fnphLAK5Wbhv9QPn&t=591
pete376403
26th August 2023, 08:34
the Kove 450 Rally enduro seems to be getting very favourable reviews eg https://www.dirtrider.com/tests/kove-fse-450r-rally-first-ride-review-2023/ That all three of the factory bikes completed the Dakar must count for something.
If a NZ distributor does pick up this model I guess they will look at KTM pricing then dial it back a little (but not much)
george formby
26th August 2023, 16:55
the Kove 450 Rally enduro seems to be getting very favourable reviews eg https://www.dirtrider.com/tests/kove-fse-450r-rally-first-ride-review-2023/ That all three of the factory bikes completed the Dakar must count for something.
If a NZ distributor does pick up this model I guess they will look at KTM pricing then dial it back a little (but not much)
The Kove 450 Rally demos in the US have been thrashed by journos and completed two Baja rallys lately, high placings, too. One race was on bone stock suspension, they did really well. Apparently customer delivery in the US is next month, quite a few people have put down deposits. I look forward to the reviews.
I followed Robbo Robinson prepping a Kove (GPX) 300 2t for hard enduro in the UK. He's a very happy camper despite damaging quite a lot of scenery with it.
He suspects that the engine is so close to a KTM that their must be some kind of agreement between the companies or KTM would be going rabid.
Kove are also planning on releasing a sub 200kg, 100 (possibly) hp, 800 twin adventure bike, again the motor looks remarkably KTMish.
Being an optimist, I hope Kove mark the turning point for Chinese bikes which the Japanese car manufacturers reached in the late 70's, early 80's.
No reason why they shouldn't, their are millions of Chinese commuter bikes in countries less fortunate than ours which are being thrashed mercilessly across deserts, jungles and mountains carrying crates of chickens, the kids and the mother in law.
My GG trials bike has a Chongshen TTR 125 knock off engine in it and has been thrashed mercilessly, too, at the absolute limit of it's 10hp max rev ceiling for a few years now. All I do is change the oil. No issues whatsoever despite setting it on fire and firing it off a cliff. I love it!
george formby
27th August 2023, 10:14
Ready to race, again, somewhere in the US. They certainly look the part.
https://www.advrider.com/f/attachments/img_3496-jpeg.5186357/
Southern scratcher
27th August 2023, 13:08
Once the Chinese catch up on the finer details then they will be the new Japanese basically. But good, safe brakes is a must. You can overlook rust protection and a bit of a cheap feel/look in other areas but brakes save your ass!
That Kawasaki ZX-4 is probably going to be 17/18K NZD when it gets here so if someone could get these in and flog them for around $10K then they'd probably do OK.
The CFmoto 450SR parallel twin looks like a more polished package and retails for $8,790. Its got the 270 deg firing order so sounds alright. But there is something about a 4 cylinder howl eh. Oh, that and the 71 HP!
https://www.cfmoto.co.nz/model/450sr-abs-nz
pete376403
27th August 2023, 14:13
Once the Chinese catch up on the finer details then they will be the new Japanese basically. But good, safe brakes is a must. You can overlook rust protection and a bit of a cheap feel/look in other areas but brakes save your ass!
That Kawasaki ZX-4 is probably going to be 17/18K NZD when it gets here so if someone could get these in and flog them for around $10K then they'd probably do OK.
The CFmoto 450SR parallel twin looks like a more polished package and retails for $8,790. Its got the 270 deg firing order so sounds alright. But there is something about a 4 cylinder howl eh. Oh, that and the 71 HP!
https://www.cfmoto.co.nz/model/450sr-abs-nz
I saw one of those CF Motos recently. - at first glance I thought it was a Yamaha R6 or similar - certainly looks the part and talking to the owner he seemed happy enough
Drdoodt7
23rd November 2024, 10:17
Nov 24, catching up with this thread.
Just to set the background, I am going to China on a regular basis and this for the last 8 years, at least twice a year for several weeks each time and going either to very industrialised cities and rural parts alike. And I'm dealing with Chinese people, not as a tourist on th great wall.
For info no bikes are built in labour camp, just get real !
Also, needs to be verified, but Kove employees have to be motorbikers too.
Righto . Where from that? Just came back from Hangzhou, and I tried one, not a new one, odometer with 5000 km
First glance : not a drip of oil, none whatsoever, engine, fork, shock absorber...
Plastics are of good quality, everything fits perfectly. Quality control with painted dots here and there.
Suspensions feel good, at least better than a T7 😬. Do they match the latest japanese standards? I don't know, but let's be serious a minute here, who among amateurs are actually using the full potential of modern MX forks ? I don't despite 44 years of average off road riding skills, definitely not a local champion. I can post a photo of my bum to prove its mileage though.
Frame looks good, welding impeccable, painting / coating just as good as anything.
Now, riding it. I did a quick run on it. Having no license or insurance there, it had to be limited around the block, including staircase for those who wonder how I tested the suspension.
Power: bike can lift the front wheel in second gear, no issue (dry weight 145 kg). Engine not quite linear but after few rpms the thing doesn't stop accelerating, massive grin assured.
Handling : feels like an enduro bike, a bit more bulky, but nowhere close to the elephants sold nowadays as "adventure bikes" or derelict underwhelming concepts such as the klr or the dr 650. Things of the past.
Seat is definitely comfortable, more than the plank on my T7, but bike vibrates more than the T7 that's for sure. Sound is definitely a bit louder but this one had the titanium racing muffler (wow, what a difference it makes !! 😆)
I owned a handful of off road European bikes, never again!!! No fckng way.
Fantic, Benelli, bimota, swm and what not are actually Chinese bikes.
I could choose a KTM made in India but no thank you .. not a chance. Or the planned 450 BMW with an engine made in ... China, maybe
As an insight on the country, young Chinese are embrassing motorbiking. They just love their bikes, they come up with all sorts of brands, interesting designs, pragmatism. Hence the Kove. Chinese are investing a lot in all domains, technology, heavy industry, science. Over 8 years I have seen some average Cfmoto getting into the latest ones and they are seriously impressive. Usual bike manufacturers have a problem now, competition is knocking hard on the (back) door, it's gonna be painful.
The Chinese will keep working on it, the domestic market is huge enough to iron off some mishaps.
I can hear already "why don't you buy one of these Kove then ?"... Well, I am ! In the process of it right now. It's gonna be a battle, but I'm very likely to put my T7 on the market once it's done. Don't get me wrong all these "adventure bikes" are great but riding Desert Road is not an adventure. It's boring AF at best and when it comes to gravel roads the first crash will cost a fortune to fix if you can ever lift your bike out of the ditch it dived into.
Give me few months and you may see a Kove in the Wairarapa, it will come down to redtape and Gaia enthusiasts.
Cheers
Ed
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