KOVE MX250 TEST

#dirtbike #offroad #racing #motocross
First things first, the Kove is a very cool bike. It is, as far as I know, the first real motocross bike from China. Most other bikes from mainland Asia are copies of something else, but the Kove is its own beast. It has a DOHC six-speed motor that Kove produced in cooperation with nearby Zongshen. The top end, clutch and most parts are made by Kove. The suspension is by another Chinese company called Yu An and the brakes are by yet another Chinese company called Taisko. Virtually everything is sourced in China, which allows the MSRP to come in at $5999. The great thing about the Kove is that it feels normal. Everything is right; the seat, the bars and the riding position are all very modern and comfortable. This isn’t what I expected. Usually bikes from mainland Asia are laid out in weird ways. From just sitting on it, I would swear it’s a Honda. It fires up easily and sounds just like any other 250cc motocross bike.In performance, the Kove is realistically a step behind most other 250 race bikes of today, and the importers in Utah freely admit as much. It’s around 5 percent heavier than most (237 pounds without fuel versus 227 for a Husky FC250) and makes about 17 percent less horsepower (37.5 versus 44.4 for the Husky). When you ride the bike, though, you don’t really think in those terms. It revs like any modern 250. Most of the power is way up high, so to get around the track, you scream it–just like any other 250. It jumps all the same jumps, goes up all the same hills and feels just like it should. Even the suspension is surprisingly normal. The Yu-An and shock have clickers and once you get them adjusted properly, it feels … absolutely mainstream. For some reason, our bike came with all the clickers too far in and so our first impression was that it was overdamped. To get it in the ballpark we took about 10 clicks out of both compression and rebound in the shock, and about 5 out of the fork.The real concern with most products from mainland Asia centers around reliability. On one of our test days, Glen Helen was a muddy mess, and just to get around the tack, Pete Murray had to abuse the clutch like crazy. The radiators were filled with mud and other bikes were overheating all over the track. Not the Kove. The next time out, the bike felt like it was still new. We’re impressed.

Of course, you can’t give away 7 horsepower in the 250 class today and expect to win races. This is a great practice bike, a fantastic playbike and a wonderful trail bike, but Kove still isn’t to the point where it can go head to head with more established brands on the track. That day will probably come, but frankly, we’re in no hurry. Right now, we would rather have the low price.


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