Kove 450R Rally as a lightweight adventure bike? pros and cons︱Cross Training Adventure

http://crosstrainingenduro.com A Kove 450R Rally adventure bike or dual sport bike? Would it work? Our Canadian crew recently reviewed the Kove 450R Rally. A lot of viewers have asked would it be good as a lightweight adventure motorbike? Potentially yes. But maybe no. Keen on adventure riding in Australia? Check out our vids. The problem? It's been designed for rally racing so their are aspects of the motorbike that can suit adventure riding. Others don't. Let's start with the potential advantages. Massive fuel range with the . Around 36 litres or 8 gallons in three fuel tanks. If you like dual sport riding in Australia then you might like our adventure riding vids. The Dakar race model can carry even more. The two lower fuel tanks keep the weight low as well. You already have a fairing to protect you from the elements to some extent. Check out our reviews of various adventure bikes and dual sport bikes. I assume it wouldn't be hard to fit a taller windscreen if needed so not bad for a Kove 450R Rally adventure bike. If you like having a lot of electronic doodads the top model features a rally tower to accommodate your GPS, tablet, phone, coffee maker and maybe a TV set. The existing digital dash on the Kove 450R Rally dual sport is pretty good too. Handling. The Kove 450 is set up for speed, so it actually handles quite well on fast dirt roads or the highway. If anyone has ever tried using a 450 or 500 enduro motorbike for adventure riding you will know how they can feel a bit sketchy on the highway. The Kove is also a fair bit heavier than an enduro model which adds to on-road stability. LED means pretty good lighting standard. Our objective review of the Kove 450R Rally with three test riders on three bikes for three days! And easy to upgrade. Potential issues with the Kove 450R Rally as an adventure bike? Kove 450R Engine longevity. It is a highly tuned engine putting horsepower similar to any 450 enduro motorbike. So obviously you will be looking at maintenance and engine rebuilds more than, say, a DRZ400. Kove 450ROil capacity. 1.8 litres is actually more than most 450 enduro motorbikes which is great! But you will still be doing oil changes way more often than a dual sport motorbike. Some riders don't mind doing an oil change on a multi-day ride, others do. Overall reliability with the Kove? We simply won't know until a lot of Kove owners have done thousands of miles and report about known issues. Or hopefully the lack thereof. Some Kove enthusiasts point to these motorbikes finishing in their first Dakar event. But remember none of them finished the second one. Long-term owner reports will be our best indication. Weight. The Kove 450 Rally is reasonably light. Tall seat but compressed cockpit. Skid plate causes problems for big feet. Triple clamps only have only one hole so you can’t move the bars closer or further away from hips. Does it vibrate? Not enough to notice. The Kove 450R Rally has been created by a Chinese business man who says he always dreamed of riding in the Dakar race. We simply won't know until there are lots of independent long-term reports from owners. Instead, he decided to create a rally motorbike and send a Chinese team. All three Kove 450s finished the race. Our next test rider, Dallas Shannon, assessed the Kove from a dual-sport and adventure riding perspective. Interested in the Kove 450 as a dual sport or lightweight adventure motorbike? See Dallas' full Kove Rally review. A few things contribute to the Kove's potential in this respect. The massive 31 litres or 8 gallons fuel capacity. A healthy 1.6L oil capacity for less oil changes. The detuned engine should theoretically last longer. And features such as large radiators, twin radiator fans and an oil cooler should help too. A lot of Chinese manufacturers are copying the designs of other brands without permission. But it's good to see the Kove 450 Rally appears to be an original design. This is just a rebadged Chinese copy that a pile of manufacturers are rebranding as their own... without permission from Honda to copy the engine. Back to the Kove 450R Rally. Many are hoping it is just a high performance enduro motorbike with a rally fairing and big fuel tank. These guys will be disappointed with the weight and lack of power. The wet weight is actually more than a Suzuki DR650. Admittedly the huge fuel capacity of 31 litres is partly responsible. But the Kove still weighs about 145kg without fuel... heavier than a DRZ400. Our test rider, Chuck Harder, assessed the Kove 450R Rally purely from an enduro perspective. If you are a dirt rider we highly recommend watching Chuck's full Kove 450R Rally review. However, that's not the full story. A quick look at the Kove 450R Rally engine. It is not Kove's design, they are using the NC450 engine from another Chinese manufacturer but in a higher state of tune.
#kove450rally #adventureriding #adventurebikes #dualsportriding
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