DO YOU REALLY NEED A RALLY SETUP? Those panels are expensive to replace when you drop the bike. Exhaust pipe is very exposed. Rocks could puncture those lower tanks. The tower adds a lot of weight, and high up. And the screen is far forward which usually means more air turbulence. A cheap windscreen and bigger tank on a DRZ, CRF450RL or enduro 450 may be a lot lighter and more suitable. The rally style is very trendy at the moment but will it really be practical? ------------------ Kove 450 known issues & fixes!: koverally.info/450r/known_issues/ One owner suggests good hand guards to protect the cheap quality clutch/brake perches. Carbon fibre skidplate may need replacing if it takes any solid hits e.g. logs. Fuel flow/gauge solutions: facebook.com/groups/1324943645047561/search/?q=tank%20venting Adventure riding? Seat Concept seat for Kove 450 Rally is $269.99 USD. ----------------- FREE MOD FOR SNAPPY THROTTLE RESPONSE Try this at your own risk! If you mess it up, just buy the G2 Throttle Tamer. See this vid: th-cam.com/video/6rxksYj-gQw/w-d-xo.html Gently file away some of the plastic square edge where the throttle cable first makes contact in the slot of your plastic throttle tube. The rounded shape means your throttle takes longer to kick in just for that first 1/8 of a turn. Just make sure it's completely smooth and no spare bits left behind that might cause the throttle to lock. ------------------ KTM 690, HUSKY 701 COMPARISON? My Canadian cousins had an interesting chat about comparing the 690 with the Kove: th-cam.com/video/Rz5thAyDX3s/w-d-xo.html In Australia these have all been heavily discounted to about the predicted price of the Kove here. E.g. GasGas ES700 is only AUD15000. This will be a much better deal for most riders. Way more power, similar weight, but you forego the fairing and huge tanks. ------------------ HOW TO PRONOUNCE KOVE? I have some viewers saying that 'kov-veh' is the wrong way to say it. That is how the Kove CEO, factory riders, and marketing team say it. If you think it should rhyme with 'stove' then argue with them lol. ------------------ THE OLD ANTI-CHINESE DEBATE! Some viewers are saying why be against indirectly supporting the CCP by buying Chinese bikes when countries like the USA are just as bad, or even worse. That's a really good question for anyone interested in geopolitics, ethics and consumer choices. I'm no fan of US politics and there have been plenty of horrendous situations with their foreign affairs. And of course positive interventions too. I know anyone who leans to the left will tend to downplay China's bad behaviour and say the USA is just as bad, or even worse... a gross over-simplification in my opinion. And of course anyone leaning toward the right will see any socialist/communist country as inherently evil and the USA as the world's righteous policeman. This is also downplaying the fact that the CCP has done a lot of good such as dramatically decreasing poverty for the Chinese people. Everyone will have different opinions. Me? I think it depends on why the sanctions are applied. A lot of sanctions are applied due to human rights abuses and state-sponsored terrorism (I know all the old arguments about one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter). Generally I have no issues with those. But other sanctions are applied due to what the USA sees as unfair trade practices and this is where it can be a can of worms. At times it might be justified. At other times it can be used to simply punish a country for not acting in the USA's interest. ------------------ VIDEO LINKS 1 hour live chat! Replies to your Kove questions: th-cam.com/video/pFyaI9X0fcM/w-d-xo.html Chuck Harder's enduro perspective th-cam.com/video/cT6R9RGK2Lk/w-d-xo.html Dallas Shannon's ADV perspective th-cam.com/video/87vE1X0sTxE/w-d-xo.html Modifying enduro bikes for ADV? th-cam.com/video/WuljTwZKZns/w-d-xo.html
Fyi, plastics and panels are cheap. Fuel tanks are incredibly tough (XLPE) ..I've tested them in rocks. The fuel range is huge..the screen works really well too. Tower is actually rather light. Seat is uncomfortable after a few all day rides
I had one of the first bikes in the states and have about 3500 miles on my personal bike. Everything from single track, to BDR camping off the bike, to prerunning and racing in Baja. The Kove is a legit bike. We're doing a series on racing the Kove in Baja while sharing our experience about the build quality and relaying whatever info we can dig up on the platform. So far so good, besides the forementioned issues. I have a Rekluse on my personal bike and it smooths out the throttle jerkiness quite a bit. The race bike on the other hand is very "on-off" with the throttle. My most annoying issues is the fuel tank venting. On the race bike we haven't needed to fill the rear tank and pushing fuel is not an issue. On my personal bike, if the tanks have above 3/4 tanks and it's hot, I'm going slow or extreme changes in elevation cause the fuel to push out the front tank caps. This happens still with ALL recommended mods (removing canister, venting the caps, etc) done. We've sent our race bike oil off for testing so we'll have results on that soon. We will also be building up our race bike for the Baja 400 and Baja 1000 that are coming up later this year. Feel free to follow along, we'd love to share our findings!
Had you tried the bigger ID fuel connectors too? This seems to be the most detailed suggestion so far: Stephen Schank Kove Facebook group Okay, my solutions so far: Removed the rear tank breather hose and capped it off. Then added a vented front tank cap to the rear tank (purchased from the US importer). This solved the issue of the rear tank getting fuel against the breather spring/ ball valve going up hills with mostly full tanks which caused the tank to no longer breather. I have not had an issue since no matter how full I fill the rear tank. Take the inner seal from all three vented caps and open up the two holes and add two more. This allows the caps to function better and has been documented other places. Added the red spring/ ball valve to the front two tanks as shown in the picture to be sure gas can't get to the valve and shut it down. You could just leave this open but unfortunately my bike finds itself upside down at times..... Switch out the smaller stock plastic CPC dry breaks with proper 5/16" metal ones (5/16" plastic would work fine also). Now when I fill the bike from one front tank and it hits the top I can see the gas drop rapidly to the other tank. The flow between tanks is just over double from stock. Removed the one way spring valve between the front and rear tanks and added a high quality high flow rate manual valve so I can control when gas goes to the front tanks and when it stays in the rear. Also this allows 100% of the gas in the rear to get to the front tanks if you leave it open unlike the spring valve which always leaves some gas in the rear tank due to the nature of gravity and column pressure of fuel. In a pinch for fuel I can park the bike downhill, open the valve, get all the gas in the front tanks and close the valve to maximize range or use it as reserve. After all this and draining the tanks 100%, the tanks combined took 7.77 gallons as full as I could comfortably fill it. 8 is likely but afraid it would pour out. Again these are just my findings but since everything works flawless and I have been getting 300 plus miles will still almost 3 gallons in the tanks. So best guess range now that I can use all the fuel is almost 400 miles depending on speed and conditions. Hope this helps someone.facebook.com/groups/1324943645047561/search/?q=tank%20venting
How much of the bike did you replace. I know you were replacing the suspension and removing the ABS. I thought the bike was a factory race ready rally bike.
@@jonwoodworker ha! It’s a production bike based on a rally racing bike, Jon. Even with a slogan like “ready to race,” all ktm’s require some modifications to make more race worthy. Our bike was completely stock for the 500. We are just now breaking into it and upgrading. Any and every bike prepped for racing would get a suspension overhaul and the ABS did come on the bike, but again it’s a street legal bike with certain equipment being required to get that certificate. We don’t need nor want abs in race scenarios. But Jon, I know you’re only throwing these out there to stir the pot.
@DirtByk I had valid questions and am interested to know. But yes, when it comes to the Chinese Clown bike, made by a government that hates us, I do like to stir the pot....a lot! Normalizing purchasing Chinese products that fund military age males to cross our border illegally is NOT a good idea.
9,000km on my Kove. I have no venting issues. I removed the one way valve from rear to front tanks (I think this is causing pressure push to the front tanks) and fitted a manual tap near the quick connectors. The connectors are also too small a diameter and should be replaced. Also added heat shield to the right tank by the exhaust and fitted better vents to front and rear tanks.
Been riding my EURO5 450 Rally stock for 2700km since February now. Apart from a clutch cable impossible to adjust, forcing me to tighten it (no guard left) for it to be useable, and a key contact which had one wire come loose (easily fixed even on the trails) I had no issue whatsoever, and I'm not gentle on it. Coming from an adventure bike background, the power is not an issue (never owned or ridden an enduro bike), and the frame and overall conception of the bike makes it very suitable for road use. I go to offroad weekends by road with all my camping gear on the bike, unload all, go ride offroad and rip the thing, then load everything back on it and ride home by road. Perfect for this use. The jerky throttle at low revs takes some getting used to, and adjusting the clutch and throttle cables perfectly helps a lot. I am tall and heavy, I m a bit cramped while standing on it (handlebars would need to be 5cm forward) but the suspenion quality means you really don't ride that much standing, apart on technical single tracks. If it had a passenger certification, I would gladly use it as my only bike, but as it is it's a perfect second bike in the shed, I also own a Moto Guzzi V85TT which answers my pillion, groceries trip and road conmfort needs.
I just hit 2k miles on my Kove 450 standard with upgraded pro ECU and exhaust. Its a great long distance and comfortable dual sport bike that I bought to explore gravel roads and ride a few BDR routes. The bike is extremely stable at high speed(I won the open class at our local ISDE with it) and I've had no issues so far and it has become the bike of choice in my garage. I agree on most of the points discussed in this video and for a first bike from Kove, they have done very well.
Top review guys. Straight to the point, no fluff or fanboy crap and clearly not caring if you get invited to the next influencer launch event or not. I like the way you say what purpose it's been designed for and what works for everyday riders 👌👋. Yours sincerely, not Pol Tarres.
Thanks Phil, we've never had any luck with getting test bikes from dealers or distributors as we tend to be too critical compared to the usual 'reviews' out there. Yours, not Toni Bou.
I owned a Kove - just sold it for roughly what I paid for it. Great bike in a lot of ways, but after having major heart surgery, I realized I won't be riding any rallies or needing 8 gallons of fuel capacity. My Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE is much better on the road (I like naked bikes - otherwise get a car!), and I am still kicking myself for selling my WR250R two years ago. I wanted the Kove to be an "only bike" solution, but that really doesn't exist for most of us. Previously, I owned a Honda CRF 450L and heavily modified it, which is really necessary, and I found the Kove much better "out of the box". Between the two, I preferred the Kove, even with the added weight. I understand the love of the Suzuki's, but they don't have a 6th gear and are really vibey when forced onto a highway. Much like I love the 1968 Ford Mustang in my garage but hate driving it on the freeway - old tech has its limitations. The Kove will be a great bike for some folks. If you don't like Chinese products, don't buy it, but you probably should stay away from KTM and Husqvarna. My Triumph was assembled in Taiwan. But you do you.
I’ve owned one for about 600 miles now. It’s my first big bike (I was previously on an L plated WR125R) so my comparison with other bikes is rather limited. You’ve touched on all the criticisms I’ve encountered, but I would add that the seat gets a bit tiring after a couple of hours, and prolonged motorway riding gets your hands buzzy as the revs of 6th at that speed seems to be tunes perfectly. I did an off road course recently, where the instructor helped me adjust the suspension. Clicking the front down to the second softest setting (out of 20 from memory) did me a lot of good as an 85kg rider. I’m still fiddling with the rear settings. I’ve got used to the throttle on road, but it still scares the bujeebees out of me on the gnarlier sections of the Surrey byways loop. On open fast gravel it is, predictably, a dream though. Scandis out there, take note. Support in the UK is excellent. I bought the bike direct from the importer, who answers the phone with a cheery “hi [my name]” whenever I call him. He even replies to WhatsApps at times I would consider out-of-hours. I’ve also got to know the danish importer, who is similarly enthusiastic about his product, and has helped me figure out a how-to that we couldn’t work out over here. The UK Facebook group is also very friendly and responsive. Thanks for the throttle tamer tip! I will definitely look into that!
Great to hear it's working out for you so far! A supportive distributor/dealer is always great for a new brand. The G2 Throttle Tamer is great. If I rode four strokes I'd put it on every bike that had fuel injection. It will probably be about 50 quid? There is a do-it-yourself option. Gently file away some of the plastic square edge where the throttle cable first makes contact in the slot of your plastic throttle tube. The rounded shape means your throttle takes longer to kick in just for that first 1/8 of a turn. Just make sure it's completely smooth and no spare bits left behind that might cause the throttle to lock. Do this at your own risk of course. Good details in this vid: th-cam.com/video/6rxksYj-gQw/w-d-xo.html
The "Adventures On Bikes" youtube channel from the UK has traveled the whole adventure in Morocco with a standard KOVE 450 engine, and had a very good experience with the engine's performance and reliability. Practicaly 0 problems. I find that Seat Concept already made Comfort seat for Kove (2023+) 450 Rally in US price is $269.99 USD (for comfort on longer journeys) Sorry to all my English is bad, I learned it myself from the internet
Been riding the standard version with the Ti pipe and race ecu for a little less tha 2 months now and I'm really liking it. No issues to report aside from the wandering fuel level on the gauge. Sometimes it will read empty when I've only gone 150 miles on a full fill. I've never had issues with pushing fuel out of the front breathers though. Have about 2000 miles on it so far, I'm actually rather impressed with the stock knobbies that come on the offroad version. They're skittish and care too much when riding gravel but brilliant in soft and silty stuff. I sold my DRZ for the Kove. The Z was uncomfortable for me at 6'5 even with a tall seat and I didn't want to dump the money into setting up the suspension on a bike that I didn't really enjoy. The 450 is significantly more comfortable in the cockpit but the seat is hard like a stock dr650 seat while being even narrower. I've noticed the exhaust heat shield hitting my boots as well, glad to hear you guys haven't had any melting issues. Suspension is working well for a fat american after doing preload adjustment. The fuelling is a bit weird. Correcting the throttle cable slack does help a good deal but it's still snatchy. I've been watching people fiddle with coast enrichment which seems to be the ticket and I might see about trying my hand at tuning my bike as well. The one thing I haven't seen people mention much is the fuel they are running, the manual calls for 92 octane but fails to identify what measurement scale they were using. I've used 91 AKI most of the time but have had to pour in 87 from time to time when it was the only fuel on offer. It seems like the bike runs differently between the two so I don't know if the ECU has the ability to detect knock and adjust IAM. Very impressed by the build quality so far, everything is tight and lubed. The engine is very noisy internally much like a DRZ.
Nice review! I have one of the first Kove 450 Rally in UK, 9,000km on the clock mostly off tarmac travelling across Europe. Issues? Nothing serious to speak of, and the bike has been heavily used. I see it as a really rather good lightweight adventure bike.
Great to hear! It sounds as though Kove had road legal status in the UK and Europe very early on? Only just happened in the US a week or two back. And nothing in Australia as yet.
@@Skare147every 500km until 2,000km, then every 2,000km. Im on my 9th oil change at 12,000km . Oil changes are easy. Just done the first Valve gap and cam wear check, took a couple of hours but also very easy.
unfortunately, in EUROPE we do not have DR 650 and 400 as a choice for a new bike. As they are no longer meeting emissions standard. The Kove is therefore in a league of its own, as we no longer have mid size singles which can do proper offroad. It's either a CRF 300 (cheaper but very limited in suspensions, power and fuel capacity) , or the bigger singles like AJP PR7 or 690/701/700 KTM/HVA/GAS GAS singles, 2000€ more expensive, and without rally tower (KTMs) or fuel capacity either. I might have bought a DR650 more suited for my needs but it's been discontinued for ages here.
The engine code for this Zongsheng engine is NC450S. I own a Fantic Caballero 500 Rally (NC450) and I am checking almost everyday for NC450S parts. At a first sight, I should be able to replace only the cylinder and cylinder head to convert my Caballero to DOHC. Current prices for NC450 engine parts are really good. I expect the same will be for the NC450S as well
@@crosstrainingadventure My uneducated guess? DOCH, that's it. the Caballero engine tops 40HP@7000 while the Kove 50HP@9500. Maybe a lighter piston for that high revs. My instict says that the extra 10HPs comes form that 2500 rpm increase and trading in some torque. As you said, this is an excercise, futile but nonethelss interesting. 10 or 60HP doesn't make a bike. The rider does
I Rode a Kove 450 that a buddy owns and I was actually pretty impressed. I have 5 bikes, the 2 that I ride offroad are a BMW 310GS fully Rally Raid upgraded and a DR650 set up as a light adv with a 790 and worked to the balls with DRZ450 suspension and pretty much every Procycle upgrade available. You have to ride the Kove engine hard but she likes it. It REALLY reminds me of the way I have to ride my 310GS. It loves having the piss beaten out of it. Fairly smooth at higher RPMs. Overall, It seems like a viable do it all option and will only get better as more aftermarket parts come available. Great review guys. Seems very comparable to the experience I had.
Those sound like two very set up bikes! Haven't ridden the little Beemer yet.... But the Kove? The race nature of the engine will definitely reward riders who like riding in the higher revs most of the time. We had so many guys riding these Koves but none of them have a racing background. All of us prefer using the midrange. So there was universal disappointment with the lack of grunt. It will be interesting to see if Kove refines the base model to have similar power to all the other 450 enduro engines...
@@crosstrainingadventure I have a strong feeling a good portion of that could be tuned out. It felt like it was running very lean especially at low RPM as you have noted. Also at low RPM I had more than a few flame outs cracking the throttle abruptly, something I experience on my 310 as well. Politics aside, it's going to be interesting to see if this plays out well for Kove.
$9300 USD is approximately $14000 AUD, you’d get a Honda CRF450RL for that and halfway towards an adventure setup. I know which one I’d choose. Seeing as the 450RL is available in Australia now, maybe a video on that would be good?
Our 450RL vid will be out in seven days, Matt. I agree, if you don't want the full rally fairing and massive fuel tanks then the RL becomes a better proposition. Or you could just fit an aftermarket tank and cheaper windscreen and possibly only be USD1000 or AUD1500 more expensive than the Kove. And have that Honda reliability and a lot more midrange power.
Excellent review information! I appreciate your balanced comments about the bike's good and not so good qualities. Stating why it is not as good as a dual sport or enduro bike for those requirements really helps understand the bike's strengths. The dyno chart is very interesting and I think tuners will be interested to see what they can do with that low midrange curve. It sounds like a good value for actual rally racers but not the best choice for most of us who dual sport ride. Thanks!
Reading around we did see a lot of guys who bought it for dual sport and they have mixed reactions... loving aspects of the bike but not happy with the racing aspects. So hopefully it helps interested riders understand the bike better if they buy one!
When I rode the Kove for the 1st time I was initially a little disappointed with the engine, but I didn't realize she liked to be riden hard and the engine wants to sing. Once I realized that, it was a game changer. It really is a unicorn bike and it's only going to get better as they make more improvements.
I would argue they need to get decent low and midrange power out of the engine before it became a unicorn for most riders. Understandably it's a race bike and they weren't worried about this so if you enjoy riding at high revs all the time it's a non-issue. But every 450 enduro engine from other manufacturers have managed to get solid power right across the rev range...
Excellent overall review as usual Barry. Wish I could make it to an eRag event while you are there. I have the second Kove sold/registered in Canada with 5000k on it almost exclusively offroad from fore roads to single track. Rally events and Dualsport camping. This bike is IMHO the unicorn of Light ADV/Dualsport and just happens to be Rally capable. I am well over 250lbs with gear and ride aggressively and find the suspension perfect nut if rising slow on say a washboard you are going to feel it this suspension wants to be engaged continually not intermittently so if it's rough.... speed up it csn handle it. You mention the power delivery and rpm at certain speeds and conditions what you neglect to say is redline is 10k and if you just ride the bike and use the gears to keep the revs high all the power delivery issues go away. Thrash it it loves it. Looking forward to more Rallys and more offroad adventures in my beloved Kove 450 but will be keeping my Beta 390 for pure single track riding and my Tiger (also loves to Rev high) to ride with my wife as pillion
Mods I think are nescassary.... -Hand guards to protect your hands but also what I csn tell is the cheapest build quality the clutch/brake perches -Skid plate the carbon plate is fine for dessert sand but you need a good aluminum one for most other uses -upgrade all the fuel line connectors to better quality larger ID fittings to speed uonthebgrsvity feed and eliminate the fuel gauge issues (also modify the gas cap seals to vent and not push onnthe valves That's all that's needed but there is other good ones
Great to hear, Russ! The engine definitely works well if you simply keep it in the higher revs. The review was meant to make that clear but perhaps it wasn't stressed enough. It's designed for racing so the more you ride it like that the better it works.What sort of oil change intervals are you doing?
Thanks for the great footage. Has Chuck checked the valves on the three machines yet? Just curious if they were in spec and at what mileage. Did they need any adjustment?. Thank you
What do you think of the older KTM exc525? First time owning Austrian alloys, and have been impressed with the huge grunt off idle yet controllable throttle range, and WP suspension for hooking up in tight trails.
Such a great design. Hopefully it forces other manufacturers to rethink 7 litre tanks on dual sports. Also 550-600cc would be the sweet sport for a dual sport IMO.
My can-am was assembled/manufactured in Canada. It had parts from Austria/Italy/Germany/Sweden/California and Canada. Looking back, I feel more assured in having brand name parts and marketing seems to have hit upon that. The new can-am motorcycles are getting a new plant in Mexico. The volume would be quite low, so home automation would still be difficult - I speculate.
You gotta wanna keep it, if you buy one of these off brand wonders. Ive seen guys try to sell right after buying one and nobody wants em. A very limited audience. Where's a dealer? How long do they last? Aftermarket support? Much like an AJP. They are keepers.
Yep. I've been intrigued by the AJP PR7 for years, Brad.. but they just don't seem to get established at all. Makes you wonder about parts and support.
the 450 is my second bike, I've only had a it a day or two but i bought it as a lightweight ADV /dual sport and in not as an enduro - The reality for me is that i have to cover considerable road miles to get to the off road stuff - this is where it makes sense for me.!
Definitely makes sense! It's an hour to tracks for us and in the past I've occasionally ridden to get there on an XR400 and KLX650. Not fun on the road.
I’ve owned and ridden just about everything dual sport, enduro, and off road and have settled for a 23 701 with mods. Apart from the silly transmission, it’s the unicorn for me. What are your thoughts when comparing the two…?
My Canadian cousins had a very good segment comparing the two and I agree 100% with them. th-cam.com/video/Rz5thAyDX3s/w-d-xo.html Very similar bikes but of course the 701 has way more power across the entire rev range, especially low to midrange where the Kove is very weak.
About damn time man ! 😅 this at least put this bike in a bit better perspective to compare it from the mighty DRZ 400 and DR650 but also the lighter bikes ! I still would like to get one but would like to know when it’s going to be here in Aus ?
I spent about a day and about 280km on one in Namibia. The low RPM throttle response is annoying, but only in really slow terrain. Most of the time I didn't notice at all. At high speeds this bike inspires a lot of confidence and is by far the most comfortable bike I have ridden when standing at high speeds. Low speed corners it is not as nimble, but that is the trade off you make with a rally bike I guess. Didn't feel heavy at all, but thankfully I never needed to pick it up. Did have major issues with fuel tank venting especially in the heat. That is probably the one thing which would prevent me from recommending this bike to someone. At least this first model. And the engine is plenty powerful, just ride it like it wants to be ridden.
Have one, fuel tanks are thin and fuel does leak though the tank and stain them. Do not leave fuel in them for long time. My rear shock seems to be leaking with only 200 miles on it. Well monitor it to see if get worse. Bike feels like my ktm 640 adv. Lower center of gravity and about 20 pounds lighter.
Just about to move on from my Honda CRF 300 Rally. Great little machines, super reliable, cheap to run etc. But just can't do the whole China thing. DRZ 400 E for me.
Still don't understand why people oppose Chinese products because China's government is bad. If the products bad that's one thing but the same people buy products made with slave labor in other nations
@@crosstrainingadventureyour videos relay simple, honest facts, with a sprinkling of well-timed humour. Love your work, and totally trust your judgement (Put 50,000 kays on a DR650, everything you ever said has been spot on with those machines) Looking forward to setting up the DRZ for solo lightweight adventures 😎👍
Thank you vor your Video. You have literally sold me now a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450. The Kove is truly a unicorn, but I plan the next years not to participate on the Dakar. I had both on the deck, the speed of a Kove is very compelling, but I found rideability and crash sturdy design more reasonable. Thank you!
Years ago I did try to contact AJP to do a review but they never answered my emails or phone messages. There's been virtually no attempt to sell them here. I gave up trying. 😢 Personally I find the Superdual too heavy, I was much more interested in the lighter versions before they gained so much weight... as the Husky TE610 and TE630 then the SWM RS650R. But if someone offered a chance to ride the SWM I'd review it, even if it's discontinued!
@@crosstrainingadventure I don't know. I had Superdual and similarly built DR650 on the same scale (all the mods, gixxer exhaust) and it was less than 10lbs. Superdual is only heavy when you look at it as dualsport and don't intend to build it up. As light ADV it's inline with everything else, put a decent bash plate and engine guards on 390 ADV and it weighs as much. I don't think you would like it though, for anyone over 5'11" it will be cramped, Any chance you could borrow PR7 from fellow Ozzie to review? thx
Can I ask, I just blew up my ADV bike - a ktm 500 22. KTM says too much street miles on the highway at high speeds (500 miles, fast lane = 75-80). If Austrian enduro 4T engine reliability dives at low highway usage over 70mph, I need a different ADV bike solution. You need at least that speed in many places in the US just to be safely in control of your positioning on the highway. I love to ride hard in the dirt too though (for an amateur) so the ktm 500 was amazing but at 6k miles, it needs a bottom end - no good. Granted the Kove isn't that monster, but then I can't have that monster I want, so.... if I am willing to sacrifice most single track and suck up the hit on power, does the Kove sound like my true dual sporty adv bike? Sounds like it's hardened for the elements too. I also have CRF300L but it's soooo tame. Thanks in advance- Dave
Was it the gearbox, Dave? Some argue a cush drive hub is a good idea for lots of road miles on an enduro bike. If it was the engine (it sounds like you are saying it was the big end)? You would probably need to follow the factory schedule for maintenance and rebuilds which is based on racing conditions... replacing pistons and rings and bottom end etc regularly. The Kove won't be any different unfortunately. I think the only way to avoid the excessive maintenance would be the bigger bike e.g. KTM 690, or highly modified XR650L or DR650 etc. The old Husy TE610 could have been good too but they were discontinued. None of these will be great enduro bikes due to the weight. It's always a compromise. 😢
When you say it makes it's power at the mid range, is it similar to how the 701/690 kinda comes alive more in the mid? I feel like I heard somebody say rally bikes are designed to be more like that but I'm not sure how true that is. I've heard a lot of comments about the intake noise, did any of the riders who tested it wear earplugs? I'm curious if it's still annoying with earplugs. It's pretty unlikely that I'll ever own one of these bikes but I hope they're successful so other manufacturers make competitors at a reasonable price point. Personally if I could I'd rather have a fully rally kitted 701, but the bolt on Aurora kit with the fuel tanks and everything is $7k. Obviously nobody who's adventure/dual sport riding *needs* a kit like that. But it's interesting to compare the pricing. I do suspect there will be a lot of people buying the Kove expecting it to be something it's not. You'll see a lot of very low miles ones for sale used. Similar to how people bought the T7 thinking they could ride it like a dirtbike.
Guys buy 690's or 701's, and the bike is SO fun to ride, they go nuts spending money on the things, it becomes an open ended project. I dont wanna add weight and complexity to my 690 with rally stuff. Just add what works.
@bradsanders6954 I'm pretty happy with my 701. I wouldn't mind a tower for the GPS placement and the look, but I don't *need* it. I don't even find the wind to be bad on the 701 even at highway speeds unless there's a really strong headwind
Actually we were saying the power is quite low until you get to 6000rpm. So the midrange is quite weak. Very different to the 690. Air intake noise is definitely better wearing ear plugs but it's still there.
Quick quire. Why do my specs list my KLX400r (DRZ400e) as 119kg dry? Have been meaning to actually put it on the scales to get some actual weight measures & might even do that today as it has a full tank. I imagine the DRZ400s is heavier with metal tank, foot pegs etc. As always love your content & a long time fanboy 🙃 Cheers from Nth-Brissy
Some very very dodgy figures around! In the past some brands have even not included fork oil, shock oil, radiator fluid, batteries and tyres to get the weight looking good.
I've test ridden the Kove recently. I was surprised by the build quality and power it got to it. But it's a hodgepodge of stolen or at least heavily inspired parts. The wheel looks like it is from a KTM rally replica, which uses Haan wheels, the brakes are Nissin if you got one of the first few, otherwise they look like Nissin and take Nissin pads. The fork is a copy of a 49mm Showa fork and even the front wheel is a Honda spec and fits Honda CRF brake disks. The display is the same as on a Duke 125-390, the sprockets are KTM exc/SX spec and so on. Almost everything, that is not the engine or tanks comes off of some other bike or at least looks suspiciously similar
Correct. Most of the frame is 2016 KTM. Anything wheel related is 2007 Honda. The NC engines with dohc are good, but every past bike with EFI has fueling issues eventually. Iv had 3 Chinese bikes, u have to be a good mechanic to retro fit parts and i was fortunate to sell them at 50% retail 2 years after new. Never again.
Some of the publicity blurb has stated it's China's first fully original motorbike but yes I'm sure there's been a lot of copying! But they have probably been careful to avoid trademark infringements as they plan to sell these worldwide eventually.
@@crosstrainingadventure yeah probably. The dash is just a bit different than the Duke one and is found on millions of other Chinese motorcycles. It's probably something you can just buy and not something KTM exclusive. I've heard that YU-AN suspension might be belonging to the same conglomerate as Showa, so maybe even the almost 1:1 49mm showa (the fork of my 18 CRF 250r fits perfectly in the Kove) might be legitimate. But honestly, I would buy one. Using only the best parts to get heavy inspiration from is probably a good idea. KTM rally replica wheels, Showa suspension, Bosh fuel injection, Haan wheels and so on would be amazing, but then you come out to the price of a KTM rally replica and not a Kove...
@@Trailfocused Nice try. Take a look at one with an educated eye. Even my Kayo shared half its stuff. The bike will be a paperweight in the near future
The DRZ is definitely the bike for real men. We recently rode with a Canadian stud who rode a DRZ like a true enduro pro. And he was an incredible cook too. Women were lining up to throw their panties at him.
Rarely mentioned these days are rake and trail numbers. I infer that a Dakar bike would have more rake than an enduro, generally. This would make it more difficult on single track, better on roadway. inverse generally also true, and say a lot by specification about handling. Perhaps saving lots of words?
The old KTM 450 rally from 2012 with the trellis frame had quite a long frame (wheelbase 1535mm) and 27.5° rake but the newest generation the specs are the same as for the EXC (1485 and 26.1°) reflecting the better fuel load distribution and the lighter engine. The main difference is probably the 23mm triple clamp offset but also that the front/rear fuel bias can be changed on the road by the rider which would make a huge difference. Making a bike feel stable at high speed is nice but not nescessarily fast especially for a top rider.
@@jimtitt3571 in the 1970s, rake was generally closer to 30 degrees than these days, so maneuverability has increased at the expense of stability, but with advancements I suppose that is a good trend. You are correct that high speed stability is not an issue for most good riders, even with a steep rake angle.
In reality, in America nobody rides rallies. Maybe 2% of dirtbikers could find a rally to ride. They just want "the look" from back when Paris/Dakar was so popular, which was years ago. Now its a sand race for days and days. I bought a 21 690R and it goes really well, does not need to be hopped up to make 74HP. Isnt top heavy. Its easy to ride.
Good point! I think the whole rally look is just a fad unless you actually race rallies. The tower adds a lot of weight, and high up. And the screen is far forward which usually means more air turbulence. A cheap windscreen mounted to the bars or headlight shroud will be far better in most respects.
@@take5th Correct, right around 1980 it started to steepen up, the Yamaha 465 was 30° the for 81 it went to 28.5° and we made some custom frames in 83 which were 27° and pushed the engine forward slightly. But mostly back in the 70's the triple clamp offset was less I guess to compensate, with 12" travel 38mm forks it was hard to know where the instability came from!
My KTM 690 Enduro with hard kit has 30 litres capacity and weighs the same, but puts out over 65hp and has great suspension. It cost more, but it’s proven very reliable and is IMO a much better Adv or dual sport bike. Probably retains value better too, although Hard Kits are not to everyone’s taste
My Canadian cousins had an interesting chat about comparing the 690 with the Kove: th-cam.com/video/Rz5thAyDX3s/w-d-xo.html In Australia these have all been heavily discounted to about the predicted price of the Kove here. E.g. GasGas ES700 is only AUD15000. This will be a much better deal for most riders.
your videos test are always awesome funny and useful guys! I have not found a comment regarding vibrations. However I agree, could be better made an enduro bike as adv bike but in my experience (I have tried with a KTM 350) even putting a larger tank, tower, screen, comfort seat...it remains an enduro bike with expensive hours maintenance :-) lightweight and good for fun and suspensione response for sure but for long travel I dream an unicorn which doesn't hurt my ass and shake my arms after 500km 😄 probably the new DR4S or Ktm 390 could be (even if 151kg of DR4S...) let's see
Looks like a nice bike. Not going to sell my crf450rl for it but I can see if someone wanted a crf300 rally with a little more oomph then it makes sense.
Enjoying the 450RL? We rode them quite a bit in Canada recently and will post a review very soon. It would be interesting to see a rally version of the 450 too....
@@crosstrainingadventure Yeah, I like it. It rips through the desert and jeep trails out here but can still mostly keep up on the highways. The stock tires were terrible off road tho. Any soft dirt or sand needed a moment of prayer to get through. Putting some street legal knobbies on it was a night n day improvement.
Kove had to sacrifice the mid range power on the altar of the Euro 5 emission standard. The engine works extremely lean in the mid range. Update your ECU to get it back into the normal (healthy) air-fuel ratio in the mid range.
I wouldn't be surprised if they bring out variants at some point. It would be quite cool to see them cram something like a 600cc engine in along with a cush drive hub for adventure riding.
@@crosstrainingadventure Kove's getting ready to sell the 800 Rally in the US and Europe, and in some places has already begun. Fun fact, CFMoto and KTM were involved in the 800's development, as the Kove 800 uses the 790/890 engine, which they got via CFMoto, who work directly for and with KTM.
Great review....as always. You said about adventurising the 450 or 500 for a unicorn. Personally I think people should stop trying to find the unicorn and just embrace having 2 bikes. 1 bike can't do it all. Get the 500 and a cheap 300 for single track, or vice versa.
Definitely compromises involved, and some will find it too much. But then if you only have space for one bike due to an apartment and one car garage it may have to be the option. Or a very tight budget. Both happened to me years ago and I had the FE570 which did a pretty good job. But gearing was tough!
@crosstrainingadventure I started watching your videos because you had the 570, yes of course there are plenty of reason people can't have 2 or more bikes, but then maybe they should just focus on 1 style of riding? Or even, colder months for enduro, warmer months for adventure. Gearing and tires become an issue if your trying to single track enduro a bike and then the next weekend do a 1500k trip somewhere. If I didn't waste all my money on having 5 different bikes I'd probably be really rich, smart and miserable but instead im poor, stupid and happy.
The gears are so wide spread on the 500EXCF it's become quite popular for the enduro/adv mix. The FE570 wasn't too bad either.. Some tyre mixes work quite well for both too. E.g. a hard compound enduro tyre up front but something longer wearing on the back... D606, Motoz Desert etc. Won't suit everyone but a fair few owners are happy with the compromises involved.
@crosstrainingadventure I can't really comment to much for adventure riding though, I live in a spot where you can pretty much go anywhere on tracks anyway so I just either use my fe 650 berg or my 300 berg depending on the ride. Both are set up for enduro inspired trails.
@@crosstrainingadventure I had a CRF 450x Plated i live in Oz i run a 13 single track 14 dual sport or 15 road front socket on it that bike won Baja a lot
I own one of the early arrivals in USA my opinion is that it was better than expected the bike have a Japanese feel of quality and most of the issues are not a deal breaker bc they are easily fix also the main problem is the expectation that one bike will be perfect in all areas this is imposible bc motorcycling is very specific to the used common since and logic most remain in the front lobe
I agree. It's been designed for racing at Dakar which means it has some features that suit dual sport or adventure riding... others that don't. And some of these can be changed and adapted if you put the money into mods.
problems with 500km: abs cable melted, electric issue battery drainage meanwhile off, problem with gasoline sensor, left me stranded because the gas tank breathing hose and its sensor. Maybe i got a bad apple
Bummer, Oscar. That can happen with an brand in my experience... just bad luck or the 'Monday' bike and the workers have hangovers lol. But of course if it's common then it's a sign of poor quality control at the factory.
So many variables it's hard to say. XR engine would be much better. But if the XR suspension is completely stock the Kove suspension will have a better setup for racing.
Try riding enduro bike with 30 liters onboard. Then compare. Power for rally racing is much different from enduro. Take endure and try rally racing it - let me know how that works out.
How many people race at Dakar, or want a bike optimized for that, compared to the large and *STILL* unfulfilled market for lightweight off road oriented adventure bikes? Kove should make a Kove 450 ADV. Don't even try to build out a dealer network. Stock a lot of parts at a distributor in each country. Publish open source electronic service and repair manuals. The Right To Repair would go a long way toward overcoming negative impressions of Chinese companies.
Kove 450 regular is an adv bike, with great suspension,great range,superb on road manners, and long oil change intervals. The proper dakar bike is kove 450EX
Yep, must have the engine audio. Even in slow motion I'll include the slowed down engine audio even though some viewers hate that! I don't mind music in the background if it's low key... I used to do that in my vids in the early days but now it's just the intro and exit. 😊
I just don't get who they made the bike for really. It's not like a lot of people do rally racing and most people are going to buy it for adventure riding or dualsport so why not just design it as a lightweight adventure bike in the first place?
A really good point. I can see the sense of establishing a reputation by finishing at Dakar. But as per our vid I think the racing nature of the 450 won't suit a lot of riders. If they really want to sell these I think they'd need to vary them more. E.g. maybe have one without all the extra tanks, fairing and rally bits and just make it a dual sport bike... and fix that snappy throttle response. Have a rally version with softer suspension (and fix that snappy throttle response). Then leave the race version for more aggressive riders perhaps?
After owning a few Chinese bikes, I will never buy another one. I would urge anybody to buy a DRZ400, CRF450RL/KTM500, XR/DR650, or the 690/701's whichever bike suites your riding style and kit it out to what u want. Rally fairing, luggage, fuel tank etc. You will be much happier with a proven bike, aftermarket support and your bike and suspension being repairable, and actually holding its value when its time to sell. Wondering IF u can find parts to for your bike when something breaks is a HORRIBLE feeling
I must admit that's my inclination too. If you actually want to race Dakar then it's a great budget alternative to KTM's rally model. But otherwise I'd be more inclined to just put a big tank and a cheap windscreen on the Honda CRF450RL and only spend a bit more for all that reliability and better midrange power.
The Kove Clown Bike! For the same money you can set up a CFR450RL and it will wax the Clown bike at EVERYTHING but 8 gallons of fuel. Who the F needs 8 gallons on a motorcycle.
Which country is that though? In the USA the Honda a few hundred dollars more. Then a bigger thank and rally fairing would probably cost close to USD2000? I still think that would be a great option due to Honda's reliability and you'd have an engine but better midrange power. But it would definitely cost more.
@MERMBRAMA Hello buddy! I see you're still living in a dream world. (I will dream with you....let's say you are correct. Kove will be lucky to still be in business by the end of the year. Parts are already difficult to get, so where would you get parts, and who would buy it from you?) Back to reality, Kove interest has fallen off the cliff, content creators aren't putting out many videos, and Kove can't afford paying people to push them anymore. I'm anxiously waiting to see if Kove makes a 2025 model fixing the issues and enters Dakar this year.
@@jonwoodworker ohh..greatest fan of kove who has never ridden one!! Glad you are still here. What is new? Kove won Taklimakan rally and albania rally in overall, built another factory,we have online spare parts store! New 800x with 165kg dry weight introduced,Kove now producing 250 bikes per day! Stay with us buddy!!!
I had in possesion heavily moddified drz400,acerbis 16l fuel tank,revalved suspension,440ccm big bore,race exhaust,MST rally raid tower. Comparing to kove 450 rally is like comparing apples to oranges. DRZ feels like much heavier due to weight distribution,suspension are not comparable,especialy riding fast sections,low end grunt was better on drz,but much worse on mud to high rpm, road manners are much better on Kove,you can travel 125km/h with absolutly no problem. As said many times,kove 450 rally feels much closer to exc500 than 690ktm. Change the rear sprocket from 49 to 51, you get much much better low end push, still cruises at 120kmh at 6800 rpm,reving to 10.500. Oil change intervals are the same. You can not make a drz to ride like kove450,no matter the money spent on it.
I figure it depends on what you want in the bike? The Kove is definitely set up for high speed stability. But then the DRZ will turn faster off-road. The comparison was drawn simply because the DRZ is so cheap it is just a possible option for a budget that suits the Kove. Whereas a 500EXCF is way more expensive before you start any mods. Are you following Kove's 2000km oil changes or extending them?
@@crosstrainingadventure there is no way a drz will change faster,no matter the radious or speed. I did first 2 oil changes on 500 and 1500km, now every 3000km of mostly offroad riding. Just like i did on drz. For a non revving long distance riding,half off half on road,i believe you could extend it even longer.
@@crosstrainingadventure I just sent an email to Suzuki europe to order one, sadly eu refuses to give the omologation, it s an outlaw motorbike. I regret so much to have sold mine... 😢
I had a plated DRZ400E, and I sure dont get the fascination some have with the things. Maybe in 2000 they were neat bikes. top gear is not good for hiway at all, bike isnt stable at speed, has no low gear for trail, is slow, forks suck, shock sucks....bike is too small for a 6' tall person. Reliability must be the only bass for buying one?
DO YOU REALLY NEED A RALLY SETUP? Those panels are expensive to replace when you drop the bike. Exhaust pipe is very exposed. Rocks could puncture those lower tanks. The tower adds a lot of weight, and high up. And the screen is far forward which usually means more air turbulence. A cheap windscreen and bigger tank on a DRZ, CRF450RL or enduro 450 may be a lot lighter and more suitable. The rally style is very trendy at the moment but will it really be practical?
------------------
Kove 450 known issues & fixes!: koverally.info/450r/known_issues/
One owner suggests good hand guards to protect the cheap quality clutch/brake perches.
Carbon fibre skidplate may need replacing if it takes any solid hits e.g. logs.
Fuel flow/gauge solutions: facebook.com/groups/1324943645047561/search/?q=tank%20venting
Adventure riding? Seat Concept seat for Kove 450 Rally is $269.99 USD.
-----------------
FREE MOD FOR SNAPPY THROTTLE RESPONSE
Try this at your own risk! If you mess it up, just buy the G2 Throttle Tamer. See this vid: th-cam.com/video/6rxksYj-gQw/w-d-xo.html Gently file away some of the plastic square edge where the throttle cable first makes contact in the slot of your plastic throttle tube. The rounded shape means your throttle takes longer to kick in just for that first 1/8 of a turn. Just make sure it's completely smooth and no spare bits left behind that might cause the throttle to lock.
------------------
KTM 690, HUSKY 701 COMPARISON? My Canadian cousins had an interesting chat about comparing the 690 with the Kove: th-cam.com/video/Rz5thAyDX3s/w-d-xo.html In Australia these have all been heavily discounted to about the predicted price of the Kove here. E.g. GasGas ES700 is only AUD15000. This will be a much better deal for most riders. Way more power, similar weight, but you forego the fairing and huge tanks.
------------------
HOW TO PRONOUNCE KOVE? I have some viewers saying that 'kov-veh' is the wrong way to say it. That is how the Kove CEO, factory riders, and marketing team say it. If you think it should rhyme with 'stove' then argue with them lol.
------------------
THE OLD ANTI-CHINESE DEBATE! Some viewers are saying why be against indirectly supporting the CCP by buying Chinese bikes when countries like the USA are just as bad, or even worse. That's a really good question for anyone interested in geopolitics, ethics and consumer choices. I'm no fan of US politics and there have been plenty of horrendous situations with their foreign affairs. And of course positive interventions too. I know anyone who leans to the left will tend to downplay China's bad behaviour and say the USA is just as bad, or even worse... a gross over-simplification in my opinion. And of course anyone leaning toward the right will see any socialist/communist country as inherently evil and the USA as the world's righteous policeman. This is also downplaying the fact that the CCP has done a lot of good such as dramatically decreasing poverty for the Chinese people.
Everyone will have different opinions. Me? I think it depends on why the sanctions are applied. A lot of sanctions are applied due to human rights abuses and state-sponsored terrorism (I know all the old arguments about one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter). Generally I have no issues with those. But other sanctions are applied due to what the USA sees as unfair trade practices and this is where it can be a can of worms. At times it might be justified. At other times it can be used to simply punish a country for not acting in the USA's interest.
------------------
VIDEO LINKS
1 hour live chat! Replies to your Kove questions: th-cam.com/video/pFyaI9X0fcM/w-d-xo.html
Chuck Harder's enduro perspective th-cam.com/video/cT6R9RGK2Lk/w-d-xo.html
Dallas Shannon's ADV perspective th-cam.com/video/87vE1X0sTxE/w-d-xo.html
Modifying enduro bikes for ADV? th-cam.com/video/WuljTwZKZns/w-d-xo.html
Fyi, plastics and panels are cheap. Fuel tanks are incredibly tough (XLPE) ..I've tested them in rocks. The fuel range is huge..the screen works really well too. Tower is actually rather light. Seat is uncomfortable after a few all day rides
I had one of the first bikes in the states and have about 3500 miles on my personal bike. Everything from single track, to BDR camping off the bike, to prerunning and racing in Baja. The Kove is a legit bike. We're doing a series on racing the Kove in Baja while sharing our experience about the build quality and relaying whatever info we can dig up on the platform. So far so good, besides the forementioned issues. I have a Rekluse on my personal bike and it smooths out the throttle jerkiness quite a bit. The race bike on the other hand is very "on-off" with the throttle. My most annoying issues is the fuel tank venting. On the race bike we haven't needed to fill the rear tank and pushing fuel is not an issue. On my personal bike, if the tanks have above 3/4 tanks and it's hot, I'm going slow or extreme changes in elevation cause the fuel to push out the front tank caps. This happens still with ALL recommended mods (removing canister, venting the caps, etc) done. We've sent our race bike oil off for testing so we'll have results on that soon. We will also be building up our race bike for the Baja 400 and Baja 1000 that are coming up later this year. Feel free to follow along, we'd love to share our findings!
Had you tried the bigger ID fuel connectors too? This seems to be the most detailed suggestion so far:
Stephen Schank Kove Facebook group
Okay, my solutions so far:
Removed the rear tank breather hose and capped it off. Then added a vented front tank cap to the rear tank (purchased from the US importer). This solved the issue of the rear tank getting fuel against the breather spring/ ball valve going up hills with mostly full tanks which caused the tank to no longer breather. I have not had an issue since no matter how full I fill the rear tank.
Take the inner seal from all three vented caps and open up the two holes and add two more. This allows the caps to function better and has been documented other places.
Added the red spring/ ball valve to the front two tanks as shown in the picture to be sure gas can't get to the valve and shut it down. You could just leave this open but unfortunately my bike finds itself upside down at times.....
Switch out the smaller stock plastic CPC dry breaks with proper 5/16" metal ones (5/16" plastic would work fine also). Now when I fill the bike from one front tank and it hits the top I can see the gas drop rapidly to the other tank. The flow between tanks is just over double from stock.
Removed the one way spring valve between the front and rear tanks and added a high quality high flow rate manual valve so I can control when gas goes to the front tanks and when it stays in the rear. Also this allows 100% of the gas in the rear to get to the front tanks if you leave it open unlike the spring valve which always leaves some gas in the rear tank due to the nature of gravity and column pressure of fuel. In a pinch for fuel I can park the bike downhill, open the valve, get all the gas in the front tanks and close the valve to maximize range or use it as reserve.
After all this and draining the tanks 100%, the tanks combined took 7.77 gallons as full as I could comfortably fill it. 8 is likely but afraid it would pour out.
Again these are just my findings but since everything works flawless and I have been getting 300 plus miles will still almost 3 gallons in the tanks. So best guess range now that I can use all the fuel is almost 400 miles depending on speed and conditions. Hope this helps someone.facebook.com/groups/1324943645047561/search/?q=tank%20venting
How much of the bike did you replace. I know you were replacing the suspension and removing the ABS. I thought the bike was a factory race ready rally bike.
@@jonwoodworker ha! It’s a production bike based on a rally racing bike, Jon. Even with a slogan like “ready to race,” all ktm’s require some modifications to make more race worthy. Our bike was completely stock for the 500. We are just now breaking into it and upgrading. Any and every bike prepped for racing would get a suspension overhaul and the ABS did come on the bike, but again it’s a street legal bike with certain equipment being required to get that certificate. We don’t need nor want abs in race scenarios. But Jon, I know you’re only throwing these out there to stir the pot.
@DirtByk I had valid questions and am interested to know. But yes, when it comes to the Chinese Clown bike, made by a government that hates us, I do like to stir the pot....a lot! Normalizing purchasing Chinese products that fund military age males to cross our border illegally is NOT a good idea.
9,000km on my Kove. I have no venting issues. I removed the one way valve from rear to front tanks (I think this is causing pressure push to the front tanks) and fitted a manual tap near the quick connectors. The connectors are also too small a diameter and should be replaced. Also added heat shield to the right tank by the exhaust and fitted better vents to front and rear tanks.
Been riding my EURO5 450 Rally stock for 2700km since February now. Apart from a clutch cable impossible to adjust, forcing me to tighten it (no guard left) for it to be useable, and a key contact which had one wire come loose (easily fixed even on the trails) I had no issue whatsoever, and I'm not gentle on it. Coming from an adventure bike background, the power is not an issue (never owned or ridden an enduro bike), and the frame and overall conception of the bike makes it very suitable for road use. I go to offroad weekends by road with all my camping gear on the bike, unload all, go ride offroad and rip the thing, then load everything back on it and ride home by road. Perfect for this use. The jerky throttle at low revs takes some getting used to, and adjusting the clutch and throttle cables perfectly helps a lot. I am tall and heavy, I m a bit cramped while standing on it (handlebars would need to be 5cm forward) but the suspenion quality means you really don't ride that much standing, apart on technical single tracks.
If it had a passenger certification, I would gladly use it as my only bike, but as it is it's a perfect second bike in the shed, I also own a Moto Guzzi V85TT which answers my pillion, groceries trip and road conmfort needs.
I just hit 2k miles on my Kove 450 standard with upgraded pro ECU and exhaust. Its a great long distance and comfortable dual sport bike that I bought to explore gravel roads and ride a few BDR routes. The bike is extremely stable at high speed(I won the open class at our local ISDE with it) and I've had no issues so far and it has become the bike of choice in my garage. I agree on most of the points discussed in this video and for a first bike from Kove, they have done very well.
Top review guys. Straight to the point, no fluff or fanboy crap and clearly not caring if you get invited to the next influencer launch event or not. I like the way you say what purpose it's been designed for and what works for everyday riders 👌👋. Yours sincerely, not Pol Tarres.
Thanks Phil, we've never had any luck with getting test bikes from dealers or distributors as we tend to be too critical compared to the usual 'reviews' out there. Yours, not Toni Bou.
And the real Pol Tarres? A freak! th-cam.com/video/RtlGztTCSKw/w-d-xo.html
I owned a Kove - just sold it for roughly what I paid for it. Great bike in a lot of ways, but after having major heart surgery, I realized I won't be riding any rallies or needing 8 gallons of fuel capacity. My Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE is much better on the road (I like naked bikes - otherwise get a car!), and I am still kicking myself for selling my WR250R two years ago. I wanted the Kove to be an "only bike" solution, but that really doesn't exist for most of us.
Previously, I owned a Honda CRF 450L and heavily modified it, which is really necessary, and I found the Kove much better "out of the box". Between the two, I preferred the Kove, even with the added weight. I understand the love of the Suzuki's, but they don't have a 6th gear and are really vibey when forced onto a highway. Much like I love the 1968 Ford Mustang in my garage but hate driving it on the freeway - old tech has its limitations. The Kove will be a great bike for some folks. If you don't like Chinese products, don't buy it, but you probably should stay away from KTM and Husqvarna. My Triumph was assembled in Taiwan. But you do you.
Damn. Hope you have a 100% recovery, Michael.
I’ve owned one for about 600 miles now. It’s my first big bike (I was previously on an L plated WR125R) so my comparison with other bikes is rather limited. You’ve touched on all the criticisms I’ve encountered, but I would add that the seat gets a bit tiring after a couple of hours, and prolonged motorway riding gets your hands buzzy as the revs of 6th at that speed seems to be tunes perfectly. I did an off road course recently, where the instructor helped me adjust the suspension. Clicking the front down to the second softest setting (out of 20 from memory) did me a lot of good as an 85kg rider. I’m still fiddling with the rear settings. I’ve got used to the throttle on road, but it still scares the bujeebees out of me on the gnarlier sections of the Surrey byways loop. On open fast gravel it is, predictably, a dream though. Scandis out there, take note.
Support in the UK is excellent. I bought the bike direct from the importer, who answers the phone with a cheery “hi [my name]” whenever I call him. He even replies to WhatsApps at times I would consider out-of-hours. I’ve also got to know the danish importer, who is similarly enthusiastic about his product, and has helped me figure out a how-to that we couldn’t work out over here. The UK Facebook group is also very friendly and responsive.
Thanks for the throttle tamer tip! I will definitely look into that!
Great to hear it's working out for you so far! A supportive distributor/dealer is always great for a new brand. The G2 Throttle Tamer is great. If I rode four strokes I'd put it on every bike that had fuel injection. It will probably be about 50 quid? There is a do-it-yourself option. Gently file away some of the plastic square edge where the throttle cable first makes contact in the slot of your plastic throttle tube. The rounded shape means your throttle takes longer to kick in just for that first 1/8 of a turn. Just make sure it's completely smooth and no spare bits left behind that might cause the throttle to lock. Do this at your own risk of course. Good details in this vid: th-cam.com/video/6rxksYj-gQw/w-d-xo.html
The "Adventures On Bikes" youtube channel from the UK has traveled the whole adventure in Morocco with a standard KOVE 450 engine, and had a very good experience with the engine's performance and reliability. Practicaly 0 problems. I find that Seat Concept already made Comfort seat for Kove (2023+) 450 Rally in US price is $269.99 USD (for comfort on longer journeys) Sorry to all my English is bad, I learned it myself from the internet
Thanks! I added your suggestion to the pinned first comment.
Been riding the standard version with the Ti pipe and race ecu for a little less tha 2 months now and I'm really liking it. No issues to report aside from the wandering fuel level on the gauge. Sometimes it will read empty when I've only gone 150 miles on a full fill. I've never had issues with pushing fuel out of the front breathers though. Have about 2000 miles on it so far, I'm actually rather impressed with the stock knobbies that come on the offroad version. They're skittish and care too much when riding gravel but brilliant in soft and silty stuff.
I sold my DRZ for the Kove. The Z was uncomfortable for me at 6'5 even with a tall seat and I didn't want to dump the money into setting up the suspension on a bike that I didn't really enjoy. The 450 is significantly more comfortable in the cockpit but the seat is hard like a stock dr650 seat while being even narrower. I've noticed the exhaust heat shield hitting my boots as well, glad to hear you guys haven't had any melting issues. Suspension is working well for a fat american after doing preload adjustment.
The fuelling is a bit weird. Correcting the throttle cable slack does help a good deal but it's still snatchy. I've been watching people fiddle with coast enrichment which seems to be the ticket and I might see about trying my hand at tuning my bike as well. The one thing I haven't seen people mention much is the fuel they are running, the manual calls for 92 octane but fails to identify what measurement scale they were using. I've used 91 AKI most of the time but have had to pour in 87 from time to time when it was the only fuel on offer. It seems like the bike runs differently between the two so I don't know if the ECU has the ability to detect knock and adjust IAM.
Very impressed by the build quality so far, everything is tight and lubed. The engine is very noisy internally much like a DRZ.
Nice review! I have one of the first Kove 450 Rally in UK, 9,000km on the clock mostly off tarmac travelling across Europe. Issues? Nothing serious to speak of, and the bike has been heavily used. I see it as a really rather good lightweight adventure bike.
Great to hear! It sounds as though Kove had road legal status in the UK and Europe very early on? Only just happened in the US a week or two back. And nothing in Australia as yet.
How often did you change oil during your 9000km adventure?
@@Skare147every 500km until 2,000km, then every 2,000km. Im on my 9th oil change at 12,000km . Oil changes are easy. Just done the first Valve gap and cam wear check, took a couple of hours but also very easy.
@ Thanks! Yeah it doesn’t sound bad at all compared to a sports enduro
I still think the DRZ 400 is the best value for money
Then do your own customising:ie suspension rally tower long range tanks etc
And Japanese
unfortunately, in EUROPE we do not have DR 650 and 400 as a choice for a new bike. As they are no longer meeting emissions standard. The Kove is therefore in a league of its own, as we no longer have mid size singles which can do proper offroad. It's either a CRF 300 (cheaper but very limited in suspensions, power and fuel capacity) , or the bigger singles like AJP PR7 or 690/701/700 KTM/HVA/GAS GAS singles, 2000€ more expensive, and without rally tower (KTMs) or fuel capacity either. I might have bought a DR650 more suited for my needs but it's been discontinued for ages here.
Yes I think it will be a better option for many unless they want the extra power at high revs you get with the Kove.
The Drz whilst not great at anything, is a brilliant all-rounder, I love mine. It'll take an exceptional bike to make me part with it.
@@toine0002not all by itself in the league. You also have bikes like the Fantic XEF450 Rally 😉
The engine code for this Zongsheng engine is NC450S. I own a Fantic Caballero 500 Rally (NC450) and I am checking almost everyday for NC450S parts. At a first sight, I should be able to replace only the cylinder and cylinder head to convert my Caballero to DOHC. Current prices for NC450 engine parts are really good. I expect the same will be for the NC450S as well
That would be an interesting exercise! I'd be keen to know how they modded that engine to get the extra hp... beyond the DOHCs.
@@crosstrainingadventure My uneducated guess? DOCH, that's it. the Caballero engine tops 40HP@7000 while the Kove 50HP@9500. Maybe a lighter piston for that high revs. My instict says that the extra 10HPs comes form that 2500 rpm increase and trading in some torque.
As you said, this is an excercise, futile but nonethelss interesting. 10 or 60HP doesn't make a bike. The rider does
I Rode a Kove 450 that a buddy owns and I was actually pretty impressed. I have 5 bikes, the 2 that I ride offroad are a BMW 310GS fully Rally Raid upgraded and a DR650 set up as a light adv with a 790 and worked to the balls with DRZ450 suspension and pretty much every Procycle upgrade available. You have to ride the Kove engine hard but she likes it. It REALLY reminds me of the way I have to ride my 310GS. It loves having the piss beaten out of it. Fairly smooth at higher RPMs. Overall, It seems like a viable do it all option and will only get better as more aftermarket parts come available. Great review guys. Seems very comparable to the experience I had.
Those sound like two very set up bikes! Haven't ridden the little Beemer yet.... But the Kove? The race nature of the engine will definitely reward riders who like riding in the higher revs most of the time. We had so many guys riding these Koves but none of them have a racing background. All of us prefer using the midrange. So there was universal disappointment with the lack of grunt. It will be interesting to see if Kove refines the base model to have similar power to all the other 450 enduro engines...
@@crosstrainingadventure I have a strong feeling a good portion of that could be tuned out. It felt like it was running very lean especially at low RPM as you have noted. Also at low RPM I had more than a few flame outs cracking the throttle abruptly, something I experience on my 310 as well. Politics aside, it's going to be interesting to see if this plays out well for Kove.
$9300 USD is approximately $14000 AUD, you’d get a Honda CRF450RL for that and halfway towards an adventure setup.
I know which one I’d choose.
Seeing as the 450RL is available in Australia now, maybe a video on that would be good?
Our 450RL vid will be out in seven days, Matt. I agree, if you don't want the full rally fairing and massive fuel tanks then the RL becomes a better proposition. Or you could just fit an aftermarket tank and cheaper windscreen and possibly only be USD1000 or AUD1500 more expensive than the Kove. And have that Honda reliability and a lot more midrange power.
Excellent review information!
I appreciate your balanced comments about the bike's good and not so good qualities.
Stating why it is not as good as a dual sport or enduro bike for those requirements really helps understand the bike's strengths.
The dyno chart is very interesting and I think tuners will be interested to see what they can do with that low midrange curve.
It sounds like a good value for actual rally racers but not the best choice for most of us who dual sport ride.
Thanks!
Reading around we did see a lot of guys who bought it for dual sport and they have mixed reactions... loving aspects of the bike but not happy with the racing aspects. So hopefully it helps interested riders understand the bike better if they buy one!
When I rode the Kove for the 1st time I was initially a little disappointed with the engine, but I didn't realize she liked to be riden hard and the engine wants to sing. Once I realized that, it was a game changer. It really is a unicorn bike and it's only going to get better as they make more improvements.
I would argue they need to get decent low and midrange power out of the engine before it became a unicorn for most riders. Understandably it's a race bike and they weren't worried about this so if you enjoy riding at high revs all the time it's a non-issue. But every 450 enduro engine from other manufacturers have managed to get solid power right across the rev range...
@@crosstrainingadventureokay but did you have fun with these bikes?
Excellent overall review as usual Barry. Wish I could make it to an eRag event while you are there.
I have the second Kove sold/registered in Canada with 5000k on it almost exclusively offroad from fore roads to single track. Rally events and Dualsport camping.
This bike is IMHO the unicorn of Light ADV/Dualsport and just happens to be Rally capable. I am well over 250lbs with gear and ride aggressively and find the suspension perfect nut if rising slow on say a washboard you are going to feel it this suspension wants to be engaged continually not intermittently so if it's rough.... speed up it csn handle it.
You mention the power delivery and rpm at certain speeds and conditions what you neglect to say is redline is 10k and if you just ride the bike and use the gears to keep the revs high all the power delivery issues go away. Thrash it it loves it.
Looking forward to more Rallys and more offroad adventures in my beloved Kove 450 but will be keeping my Beta 390 for pure single track riding and my Tiger (also loves to Rev high) to ride with my wife as pillion
Mods I think are nescassary....
-Hand guards to protect your hands but also what I csn tell is the cheapest build quality the clutch/brake perches
-Skid plate the carbon plate is fine for dessert sand but you need a good aluminum one for most other uses
-upgrade all the fuel line connectors to better quality larger ID fittings to speed uonthebgrsvity feed and eliminate the fuel gauge issues (also modify the gas cap seals to vent and not push onnthe valves
That's all that's needed but there is other good ones
Great to hear, Russ! The engine definitely works well if you simply keep it in the higher revs. The review was meant to make that clear but perhaps it wasn't stressed enough. It's designed for racing so the more you ride it like that the better it works.What sort of oil change intervals are you doing?
@crosstrainingadventure 1000km but I am a believer in frequent oil change having said that would happily do 3000km plus on a trip.
Thanks for the great footage. Has Chuck checked the valves on the three machines yet? Just curious if they were in spec and at what mileage. Did they need any adjustment?. Thank you
I'm not sure. I did ask him about long term issues and he didn't mention anything.
What do you think of the older KTM exc525? First time owning Austrian alloys, and have been impressed with the huge grunt off idle yet controllable throttle range, and WP suspension for hooking up in tight trails.
Great bikes. The RFS engine was ridiculously reliable.
@@crosstrainingadventure ha, that’s ironic considering they sound like a bag of bolts compared to the japs
Such a great design. Hopefully it forces other manufacturers to rethink 7 litre tanks on dual sports. Also 550-600cc would be the sweet sport for a dual sport IMO.
Good point! These tiny tanks on dual sport bikes can be crazy small. E.g. the CRF450RL.
My can-am was assembled/manufactured in Canada. It had parts from Austria/Italy/Germany/Sweden/California and Canada. Looking back, I feel more assured in having brand name parts and marketing seems to have hit upon that.
The new can-am motorcycles are getting a new plant in Mexico. The volume would be quite low, so home automation would still be difficult - I speculate.
You gotta wanna keep it, if you buy one of these off brand wonders.
Ive seen guys try to sell right after buying one and nobody wants em. A very limited audience.
Where's a dealer? How long do they last? Aftermarket support?
Much like an AJP. They are keepers.
Yep. I've been intrigued by the AJP PR7 for years, Brad.. but they just don't seem to get established at all. Makes you wonder about parts and support.
Your findings were very similar to ours. Did you get the bikes from Kove Canada in Alberta?
I think the Traction eRag guys bought them in the USA.
the 450 is my second bike, I've only had a it a day or two but i bought it as a lightweight ADV /dual sport and in not as an enduro - The reality for me is that i have to cover considerable road miles to get to the off road stuff - this is where it makes sense for me.!
Definitely makes sense! It's an hour to tracks for us and in the past I've occasionally ridden to get there on an XR400 and KLX650. Not fun on the road.
I’ve owned and ridden just about everything dual sport, enduro, and off road and have settled for a 23 701 with mods. Apart from the silly transmission, it’s the unicorn for me. What are your thoughts when comparing the two…?
My Canadian cousins had a very good segment comparing the two and I agree 100% with them. th-cam.com/video/Rz5thAyDX3s/w-d-xo.html Very similar bikes but of course the 701 has way more power across the entire rev range, especially low to midrange where the Kove is very weak.
About damn time man ! 😅 this at least put this bike in a bit better perspective to compare it from the mighty DRZ 400 and DR650 but also the lighter bikes !
I still would like to get one but would like to know when it’s going to be here in Aus ?
I spent about a day and about 280km on one in Namibia. The low RPM throttle response is annoying, but only in really slow terrain. Most of the time I didn't notice at all. At high speeds this bike inspires a lot of confidence and is by far the most comfortable bike I have ridden when standing at high speeds. Low speed corners it is not as nimble, but that is the trade off you make with a rally bike I guess. Didn't feel heavy at all, but thankfully I never needed to pick it up. Did have major issues with fuel tank venting especially in the heat. That is probably the one thing which would prevent me from recommending this bike to someone. At least this first model. And the engine is plenty powerful, just ride it like it wants to be ridden.
Have one, fuel tanks are thin and fuel does leak though the tank and stain them. Do not leave fuel in them for long time. My rear shock seems to be leaking with only 200 miles on it. Well monitor it to see if get worse. Bike feels like my ktm 640 adv. Lower center of gravity and about 20 pounds lighter.
Just about to move on from my Honda CRF 300 Rally. Great little machines, super reliable, cheap to run etc. But just can't do the whole China thing. DRZ 400 E for me.
Yeah mate don't do Chinaaaahhhh! Buy the DRZ 400E! 👍
Still don't understand why people oppose Chinese products because China's government is bad. If the products bad that's one thing but the same people buy products made with slave labor in other nations
Sounds like a good move! The DRZ is at least $2000 cheaper which gives you plenty of cash for suspension, tank and/or windscreen mods.
@@crosstrainingadventureyour videos relay simple, honest facts, with a sprinkling of well-timed humour. Love your work, and totally trust your judgement (Put 50,000 kays on a DR650, everything you ever said has been spot on with those machines) Looking forward to setting up the DRZ for solo lightweight adventures 😎👍
Great workhorses! My brother is thinking of selling his DR650 and going back to a DRZ.
Thank you vor your Video. You have literally sold me now a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450. The Kove is truly a unicorn, but I plan the next years not to participate on the Dakar. I had both on the deck, the speed of a Kove is very compelling, but I found rideability and crash sturdy design more reasonable. Thank you!
Glad if the video helped!
Really want to see you review tye kove rally 800 sometime
Berry any chance you review PR7? SWM Superdual? (though it's hard to imagine you fitting it and not feeling cramped)
Years ago I did try to contact AJP to do a review but they never answered my emails or phone messages. There's been virtually no attempt to sell them here. I gave up trying. 😢
Personally I find the Superdual too heavy, I was much more interested in the lighter versions before they gained so much weight... as the Husky TE610 and TE630 then the SWM RS650R. But if someone offered a chance to ride the SWM I'd review it, even if it's discontinued!
@@crosstrainingadventure I don't know. I had Superdual and similarly built DR650 on the same scale (all the mods, gixxer exhaust) and it was less than 10lbs. Superdual is only heavy when you look at it as dualsport and don't intend to build it up. As light ADV it's inline with everything else, put a decent bash plate and engine guards on 390 ADV and it weighs as much. I don't think you would like it though, for anyone over 5'11" it will be cramped,
Any chance you could borrow PR7 from fellow Ozzie to review? thx
Can I ask, I just blew up my ADV bike - a ktm 500 22. KTM says too much street miles on the highway at high speeds (500 miles, fast lane = 75-80). If Austrian enduro 4T engine reliability dives at low highway usage over 70mph, I need a different ADV bike solution. You need at least that speed in many places in the US just to be safely in control of your positioning on the highway. I love to ride hard in the dirt too though (for an amateur) so the ktm 500 was amazing but at 6k miles, it needs a bottom end - no good. Granted the Kove isn't that monster, but then I can't have that monster I want, so.... if I am willing to sacrifice most single track and suck up the hit on power, does the Kove sound like my true dual sporty adv bike? Sounds like it's hardened for the elements too. I also have CRF300L but it's soooo tame. Thanks in advance- Dave
Was it the gearbox, Dave? Some argue a cush drive hub is a good idea for lots of road miles on an enduro bike. If it was the engine (it sounds like you are saying it was the big end)? You would probably need to follow the factory schedule for maintenance and rebuilds which is based on racing conditions... replacing pistons and rings and bottom end etc regularly. The Kove won't be any different unfortunately. I think the only way to avoid the excessive maintenance would be the bigger bike e.g. KTM 690, or highly modified XR650L or DR650 etc. The old Husy TE610 could have been good too but they were discontinued. None of these will be great enduro bikes due to the weight. It's always a compromise. 😢
When you say it makes it's power at the mid range, is it similar to how the 701/690 kinda comes alive more in the mid?
I feel like I heard somebody say rally bikes are designed to be more like that but I'm not sure how true that is.
I've heard a lot of comments about the intake noise, did any of the riders who tested it wear earplugs? I'm curious if it's still annoying with earplugs.
It's pretty unlikely that I'll ever own one of these bikes but I hope they're successful so other manufacturers make competitors at a reasonable price point.
Personally if I could I'd rather have a fully rally kitted 701, but the bolt on Aurora kit with the fuel tanks and everything is $7k. Obviously nobody who's adventure/dual sport riding *needs* a kit like that. But it's interesting to compare the pricing. I do suspect there will be a lot of people buying the Kove expecting it to be something it's not. You'll see a lot of very low miles ones for sale used. Similar to how people bought the T7 thinking they could ride it like a dirtbike.
Guys buy 690's or 701's, and the bike is SO fun to ride, they go nuts spending money on the things, it becomes an open ended project. I dont wanna add weight and complexity to my 690 with rally stuff. Just add what works.
@bradsanders6954 I'm pretty happy with my 701. I wouldn't mind a tower for the GPS placement and the look, but I don't *need* it. I don't even find the wind to be bad on the 701 even at highway speeds unless there's a really strong headwind
Actually we were saying the power is quite low until you get to 6000rpm. So the midrange is quite weak. Very different to the 690. Air intake noise is definitely better wearing ear plugs but it's still there.
Quick quire. Why do my specs list my KLX400r (DRZ400e) as 119kg dry? Have been meaning to actually put it on the scales to get some actual weight measures & might even do that today as it has a full tank. I imagine the DRZ400s is heavier with metal tank, foot pegs etc. As always love your content & a long time fanboy 🙃 Cheers from Nth-Brissy
Some very very dodgy figures around! In the past some brands have even not included fork oil, shock oil, radiator fluid, batteries and tyres to get the weight looking good.
I've test ridden the Kove recently. I was surprised by the build quality and power it got to it.
But it's a hodgepodge of stolen or at least heavily inspired parts. The wheel looks like it is from a KTM rally replica, which uses Haan wheels, the brakes are Nissin if you got one of the first few, otherwise they look like Nissin and take Nissin pads. The fork is a copy of a 49mm Showa fork and even the front wheel is a Honda spec and fits Honda CRF brake disks.
The display is the same as on a Duke 125-390, the sprockets are KTM exc/SX spec and so on. Almost everything, that is not the engine or tanks comes off of some other bike or at least looks suspiciously similar
Correct. Most of the frame is 2016 KTM. Anything wheel related is 2007 Honda. The NC engines with dohc are good, but every past bike with EFI has fueling issues eventually. Iv had 3 Chinese bikes, u have to be a good mechanic to retro fit parts and i was fortunate to sell them at 50% retail 2 years after new. Never again.
Some of the publicity blurb has stated it's China's first fully original motorbike but yes I'm sure there's been a lot of copying! But they have probably been careful to avoid trademark infringements as they plan to sell these worldwide eventually.
@@crosstrainingadventure yeah probably. The dash is just a bit different than the Duke one and is found on millions of other Chinese motorcycles. It's probably something you can just buy and not something KTM exclusive. I've heard that YU-AN suspension might be belonging to the same conglomerate as Showa, so maybe even the almost 1:1 49mm showa (the fork of my 18 CRF 250r fits perfectly in the Kove) might be legitimate.
But honestly, I would buy one. Using only the best parts to get heavy inspiration from is probably a good idea. KTM rally replica wheels, Showa suspension, Bosh fuel injection, Haan wheels and so on would be amazing, but then you come out to the price of a KTM rally replica and not a Kove...
@@tieoneon1614 I had no idea KTM made aluminum frames with a Gas Tank as a subframe. 🤣
@@Trailfocused Nice try. Take a look at one with an educated eye. Even my Kayo shared half its stuff. The bike will be a paperweight in the near future
Those Kove’s do look nice but wow, that DRZ what a show stopper❤❤❤
The DRZ is definitely the bike for real men. We recently rode with a Canadian stud who rode a DRZ like a true enduro pro. And he was an incredible cook too. Women were lining up to throw their panties at him.
Rarely mentioned these days are rake and trail numbers. I infer that a Dakar bike would have more rake than an enduro, generally. This would make it more difficult on single track, better on roadway. inverse generally also true, and say a lot by specification about handling. Perhaps saving lots of words?
The old KTM 450 rally from 2012 with the trellis frame had quite a long frame (wheelbase 1535mm) and 27.5° rake but the newest generation the specs are the same as for the EXC (1485 and 26.1°) reflecting the better fuel load distribution and the lighter engine. The main difference is probably the 23mm triple clamp offset but also that the front/rear fuel bias can be changed on the road by the rider which would make a huge difference. Making a bike feel stable at high speed is nice but not nescessarily fast especially for a top rider.
@@jimtitt3571 in the 1970s, rake was generally closer to 30 degrees than these days, so maneuverability has increased at the expense of stability, but with advancements I suppose that is a good trend. You are correct that high speed stability is not an issue for most good riders, even with a steep rake angle.
In reality, in America nobody rides rallies. Maybe 2% of dirtbikers could find a rally to ride.
They just want "the look" from back when Paris/Dakar was so popular, which was years ago.
Now its a sand race for days and days.
I bought a 21 690R and it goes really well, does not need to be hopped up to make 74HP.
Isnt top heavy. Its easy to ride.
Good point! I think the whole rally look is just a fad unless you actually race rallies. The tower adds a lot of weight, and high up. And the screen is far forward which usually means more air turbulence. A cheap windscreen mounted to the bars or headlight shroud will be far better in most respects.
@@take5th Correct, right around 1980 it started to steepen up, the Yamaha 465 was 30° the for 81 it went to 28.5° and we made some custom frames in 83 which were 27° and pushed the engine forward slightly. But mostly back in the 70's the triple clamp offset was less I guess to compensate, with 12" travel 38mm forks it was hard to know where the instability came from!
My KTM 690 Enduro with hard kit has 30 litres capacity and weighs the same, but puts out over 65hp and has great suspension. It cost more, but it’s proven very reliable and is IMO a much better Adv or dual sport bike. Probably retains value better too, although Hard Kits are not to everyone’s taste
My Canadian cousins had an interesting chat about comparing the 690 with the Kove: th-cam.com/video/Rz5thAyDX3s/w-d-xo.html In Australia these have all been heavily discounted to about the predicted price of the Kove here. E.g. GasGas ES700 is only AUD15000. This will be a much better deal for most riders.
your videos test are always awesome funny and useful guys! I have not found a comment regarding vibrations. However I agree, could be better made an enduro bike as adv bike but in my experience (I have tried with a KTM 350) even putting a larger tank, tower, screen, comfort seat...it remains an enduro bike with expensive hours maintenance :-) lightweight and good for fun and suspensione response for sure but for long travel I dream an unicorn which doesn't hurt my ass and shake my arms after 500km 😄 probably the new DR4S or Ktm 390 could be (even if 151kg of DR4S...) let's see
Looks like a nice bike. Not going to sell my crf450rl for it but I can see if someone wanted a crf300 rally with a little more oomph then it makes sense.
Enjoying the 450RL? We rode them quite a bit in Canada recently and will post a review very soon. It would be interesting to see a rally version of the 450 too....
@@crosstrainingadventure Yeah, I like it. It rips through the desert and jeep trails out here but can still mostly keep up on the highways.
The stock tires were terrible off road tho. Any soft dirt or sand needed a moment of prayer to get through. Putting some street legal knobbies on it was a night n day improvement.
Is it coming to AU?
Negotiations are underway apparently. But no dates as yet.
Apparently they have passed ADR's in Aus...
What about the Canadian road status ?
Don't know the latest, these ones were unplated when purchased from the US early this year.
Kove had to sacrifice the mid range power on the altar of the Euro 5 emission standard. The engine works extremely lean in the mid range. Update your ECU to get it back into the normal (healthy) air-fuel ratio in the mid range.
Good to know the Kove won't be for me at this time. I wanted a adv light bike with fuel range.
I wouldn't be surprised if they bring out variants at some point. It would be quite cool to see them cram something like a 600cc engine in along with a cush drive hub for adventure riding.
@@crosstrainingadventure Kove's getting ready to sell the 800 Rally in the US and Europe, and in some places has already begun. Fun fact, CFMoto and KTM were involved in the 800's development, as the Kove 800 uses the 790/890 engine, which they got via CFMoto, who work directly for and with KTM.
Great review....as always.
You said about adventurising the 450 or 500 for a unicorn. Personally I think people should stop trying to find the unicorn and just embrace having 2 bikes. 1 bike can't do it all. Get the 500 and a cheap 300 for single track, or vice versa.
Definitely compromises involved, and some will find it too much. But then if you only have space for one bike due to an apartment and one car garage it may have to be the option. Or a very tight budget. Both happened to me years ago and I had the FE570 which did a pretty good job. But gearing was tough!
@crosstrainingadventure I started watching your videos because you had the 570, yes of course there are plenty of reason people can't have 2 or more bikes, but then maybe they should just focus on 1 style of riding? Or even, colder months for enduro, warmer months for adventure.
Gearing and tires become an issue if your trying to single track enduro a bike and then the next weekend do a 1500k trip somewhere.
If I didn't waste all my money on having 5 different bikes I'd probably be really rich, smart and miserable but instead im poor, stupid and happy.
The gears are so wide spread on the 500EXCF it's become quite popular for the enduro/adv mix. The FE570 wasn't too bad either.. Some tyre mixes work quite well for both too. E.g. a hard compound enduro tyre up front but something longer wearing on the back... D606, Motoz Desert etc. Won't suit everyone but a fair few owners are happy with the compromises involved.
@crosstrainingadventure I can't really comment to much for adventure riding though, I live in a spot where you can pretty much go anywhere on tracks anyway so I just either use my fe 650 berg or my 300 berg depending on the ride. Both are set up for enduro inspired trails.
@@crosstrainingadventure I had a CRF 450x Plated i live in Oz i run a 13 single track 14 dual sport or 15 road front socket on it that bike won Baja a lot
What an informative video.
Glad it was helpful!
I own one of the early arrivals in USA my opinion is that it was better than expected the bike have a Japanese feel of quality and most of the issues are not a deal breaker bc they are easily fix also the main problem is the expectation that one bike will be perfect in all areas this is imposible bc motorcycling is very specific to the used common since and logic most remain in the front lobe
I agree. It's been designed for racing at Dakar which means it has some features that suit dual sport or adventure riding... others that don't. And some of these can be changed and adapted if you put the money into mods.
problems with 500km: abs cable melted, electric issue battery drainage meanwhile
off, problem with gasoline sensor, left me stranded because the gas tank breathing hose and its sensor. Maybe i got a bad apple
Bummer, Oscar. That can happen with an brand in my experience... just bad luck or the 'Monday' bike and the workers have hangovers lol. But of course if it's common then it's a sign of poor quality control at the factory.
Do a video on the new Himalayan 452
Which is faster, kove 450 or honda xr 650r?
In what sort of terrain?
@@crosstrainingadventure in desert racing, baja 1000 kind of races?
So many variables it's hard to say. XR engine would be much better. But if the XR suspension is completely stock the Kove suspension will have a better setup for racing.
Try riding enduro bike with 30 liters onboard. Then compare. Power for rally racing is much different from enduro. Take endure and try rally racing it - let me know how that works out.
How many people race at Dakar, or want a bike optimized for that, compared to the large and *STILL* unfulfilled market for lightweight off road oriented adventure bikes? Kove should make a Kove 450 ADV. Don't even try to build out a dealer network. Stock a lot of parts at a distributor in each country. Publish open source electronic service and repair manuals. The Right To Repair would go a long way toward overcoming negative impressions of Chinese companies.
Sounds like a plan!
Kove 450 regular is an adv bike, with great suspension,great range,superb on road manners, and long oil change intervals. The proper dakar bike is kove 450EX
Are you following the 2000km oil change intervals from the Kove manual?
Respect for you guys for the engine sound during your movies. I can not watch motorcycle clips without engine sound or with music playing. Strange.
Yep, must have the engine audio. Even in slow motion I'll include the slowed down engine audio even though some viewers hate that! I don't mind music in the background if it's low key... I used to do that in my vids in the early days but now it's just the intro and exit. 😊
Do you say 471 kg with fuel. I am sure meet171 kg. Carry weight low.
Maybe 471kg if you strapped three together lol. Yep 171kg.
The “Pro Kit” from Kove seems to Really wake these up ! Exhaust, ecu, airbox …. That’s where I’d be looking.
One of our test bikes had all those extras. It still felt very weak at low revs but just had a bit more punch at high revs.
I just don't get who they made the bike for really. It's not like a lot of people do rally racing and most people are going to buy it for adventure riding or dualsport so why not just design it as a lightweight adventure bike in the first place?
A really good point. I can see the sense of establishing a reputation by finishing at Dakar. But as per our vid I think the racing nature of the 450 won't suit a lot of riders. If they really want to sell these I think they'd need to vary them more. E.g. maybe have one without all the extra tanks, fairing and rally bits and just make it a dual sport bike... and fix that snappy throttle response. Have a rally version with softer suspension (and fix that snappy throttle response). Then leave the race version for more aggressive riders perhaps?
I doubt people in Taiwan etc are racing to get 1, hey it's a valid point.
After owning a few Chinese bikes, I will never buy another one. I would urge anybody to buy a DRZ400, CRF450RL/KTM500, XR/DR650, or the 690/701's whichever bike suites your riding style and kit it out to what u want. Rally fairing, luggage, fuel tank etc. You will be much happier with a proven bike, aftermarket support and your bike and suspension being repairable, and actually holding its value when its time to sell. Wondering IF u can find parts to for your bike when something breaks is a HORRIBLE feeling
I must admit that's my inclination too. If you actually want to race Dakar then it's a great budget alternative to KTM's rally model. But otherwise I'd be more inclined to just put a big tank and a cheap windscreen on the Honda CRF450RL and only spend a bit more for all that reliability and better midrange power.
@@crosstrainingadventure U still have the DR Donkey?
Yep!
Bros. Cf moto 450 mt!
@@davidjackson12 I really like the Ibex/MT. CF Moto been around awhile and has dealers everywhere by me.
The Kove Clown Bike! For the same money you can set up a CFR450RL and it will wax the Clown bike at EVERYTHING but 8 gallons of fuel. Who the F needs 8 gallons on a motorcycle.
Which country is that though? In the USA the Honda a few hundred dollars more. Then a bigger thank and rally fairing would probably cost close to USD2000? I still think that would be a great option due to Honda's reliability and you'd have an engine but better midrange power. But it would definitely cost more.
The kove wins straight down in onroad use,suspension,maintance interval.
@MERMBRAMA Hello buddy! I see you're still living in a dream world. (I will dream with you....let's say you are correct. Kove will be lucky to still be in business by the end of the year. Parts are already difficult to get, so where would you get parts, and who would buy it from you?) Back to reality, Kove interest has fallen off the cliff, content creators aren't putting out many videos, and Kove can't afford paying people to push them anymore. I'm anxiously waiting to see if Kove makes a 2025 model fixing the issues and enters Dakar this year.
@@jonwoodworker ohh..greatest fan of kove who has never ridden one!! Glad you are still here.
What is new?
Kove won Taklimakan rally and albania rally in overall, built another factory,we have online spare parts store!
New 800x with 165kg dry weight introduced,Kove now producing 250 bikes per day!
Stay with us buddy!!!
Are you connected with Kove in some way, Ales?
I had in possesion heavily moddified drz400,acerbis 16l fuel tank,revalved suspension,440ccm big bore,race exhaust,MST rally raid tower. Comparing to kove 450 rally is like comparing apples to oranges. DRZ feels like much heavier due to weight distribution,suspension are not comparable,especialy riding fast sections,low end grunt was better on drz,but much worse on mud to high rpm, road manners are much better on Kove,you can travel 125km/h with absolutly no problem. As said many times,kove 450 rally feels much closer to exc500 than 690ktm. Change the rear sprocket from 49 to 51, you get much much better low end push, still cruises at 120kmh at 6800 rpm,reving to 10.500. Oil change intervals are the same. You can not make a drz to ride like kove450,no matter the money spent on it.
I figure it depends on what you want in the bike? The Kove is definitely set up for high speed stability. But then the DRZ will turn faster off-road. The comparison was drawn simply because the DRZ is so cheap it is just a possible option for a budget that suits the Kove. Whereas a 500EXCF is way more expensive before you start any mods. Are you following Kove's 2000km oil changes or extending them?
@@crosstrainingadventure there is no way a drz will change faster,no matter the radious or speed.
I did first 2 oil changes on 500 and 1500km, now every 3000km of mostly offroad riding. Just like i did on drz. For a non revving long distance riding,half off half on road,i believe you could extend it even longer.
I'll pass. It sounds like a heavy one trick pony and the lack of bottom end / mid range on a dirtbike is an instant deal breaker.
The engine is definitely a disappointment unless you like revving all the time. Or just cruising around with not much grunt on tap.
I’m sorry I don’t think I would like to support a country like China
I must admit I'm not really keen on the idea either, John. There was a link near the end of this vid to a discussion about this.
😂😂😂 you 100% own something that was made in China.
If you give up everything you own that has any connection to China, have fun living naked in a cave.....!!
DRZ 400 E. The End.
Great bikes! My brother had one decades ago and is thinking of swinging back for his next adv bike.
@@crosstrainingadventure I just sent an email to Suzuki europe to order one, sadly eu refuses to give the omologation, it s an outlaw motorbike. I regret so much to have sold mine... 😢
Bummer. It's a real shame Suzuki haven't slapped in EFI and ABS so it could continue in places like Europe and Australia.
Its not rusting.
certified mech likes working on it .
Chuck hasn't broken it .
Im getting a drz🫡
I had a plated DRZ400E, and I sure dont get the fascination some have with the things.
Maybe in 2000 they were neat bikes. top gear is not good for hiway at all, bike isnt stable at speed, has no low gear for trail, is slow, forks suck, shock sucks....bike is too small for a 6' tall person. Reliability must be the only bass for buying one?