Kove Moto was founded in 2017 by
a former motocross racer and currently
sells 17 models of ADV, street and off-
road machines, including two versions
of the Rally bike. The brand sold over
20,000 bikes globally in 2021, with 75%
sold in China. The Kove FSE 450R Rally
bikes are being imported to the U.S. by Utah-
based USA Motortoys, which also imports the
GPX Moto line of off-road motorcycles. A first
batch of 70 of these Rally models (reportedly all
spoken for, sorry!) is scheduled to arrive in the
U.S. in June at $8999. There will be a full-on race
version, as well. It will be fitted with a carbon
fiber road book tower (instead of the standard's
digital display), mousse bibs, rally map, titanium
exhaust, Scotts Performance steering damper,
skid plate water tank (a Dakar Rally requirement),
and a few fasteners that are titanium instead of
stainless steel on the body work. The race model
will sell for $13,999.
The 450R Rally is designed and manu
-
factured by Kove, but the 448.9cc single-
cylinder motor
is produced by fellow
Chinese company Zongshen. Zongshen
pumps out over a million motorcycle
engines a year. For this motor, Kove
worked with Zongshen to develop the
higher-performance twin-cam version of an exist
-
ing powerplant (the lower end had been used in
other bikes for several
years), which includes a
six-speed transmission, counterbalancer, fuel
injection and a multi-disc wet clutch with cable
actuation. The motorcycle also has a healthy
1.8-liter oil capacity (about 40% more oil than a
typical 450 off-road bike on the market) with an
oil cooler, which extends the oil change intervals
to 3000 miles and suggested valve clearance
check to 5000 miles. It also utilizes large radia
-
tors and fans on both sides. The motor produces
a claimed
51 horsepower, putting it in the range
of other 450 off-road bikes.
RIDE REVIEW I 2023 KOVE FSE 450R RALLY
P98
The Kove FSE 450R
Rally is pretty and
is well protected.
A slick carbon
fiber skid plate
guards several vital
components.
