Kove 450-RR

GreyGhost said:
A high revving bike with tons of parts and no proven support, what could go wrong with the Kove?
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It's very politely of you to point out only one, very logical argument about this bike. I would bring a bunch of others, but you might already know.
It's a shame, all in all. I wish high revving 4 pot bikes could make a return to the mainstream. A serious, set in research, with good backing kind of return, not this rehash by those companies.
 
Kove has proven itself reliable and there are dealers taking them on, for half the price of the Kawasaki with top shelf radial brakes and kyb suspension it’s a steal. Don’t forget both KTM and Harley Davidson are having their bikes made there, maybe even the same factory for the KTM.
 
Charles13 said:
Kove has proven itself reliable and there are dealers taking them on, for half the price of the Kawasaki with top shelf radial brakes and kyb suspension it’s a steal. Don’t forget both KTM and Harley Davidson are having their bikes made there, maybe even the same factory for the KTM.
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I'll believe half price when it shows up. I doubt the delta here will be more than 1k. Kawi for 11.5 and kove for 10.5 or so.
 
GreyGhost said:
I'll believe half price when it shows up. I doubt the delta here will be more than 1k. Kawi for 11.5 and kove for 10.5 or so.
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That price is according to Cycle World. I can’t believe in this day and age people would not want a deal like that
 
Charles13 said:
That price is according to Cycle World. I can’t believe in this day and age people would not want a deal like that
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Lile i said, ill believe it when deliveries start at that price. Remember, musk talked years ago about an imminent 30k ev. Talk is cheap and meaningless. Delivering on promises is hard.
 
Soulcatcher668 said:
Only dealers that I could find were Alberta. They list the 450 Rally for 12,250.00
I can't see the 450 SS coming in much less than that.
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So… Kove entered 3 stock rally bikes in the Dakar and all 3 finished very respectfully with no failures. I believe the KTM Rally 450 is at least twice that price maybe 3 times that price! Very interesting that they are developing a Canadian dealer network. I personally love the smaller bikes after owning Gixxer 1000’s and an r1m, I find them very refreshing for the street so I am interested for sure.
 
Charles13 said:
You may eat those words I know people who have already bought the rally
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Hmmph. Why am I thinking of the words....fool (sorry!)... money and soon parted?

From their website, somebody in AB has decided to be an importer of them as DIRT BIKES. They've signed up somebody else in BC as their (so far) one and only dealer.

Perhaps they will go on to obtain transport Canada seal of approval for their 450 rally bike so it can be LEGALLY registered here as a road going vehicle. And perhaps they will do the same with their 4 cylinder street bike....... or this will all fizzle out with some poor guy who sunk some money into it holding a lease on a premises with nothing to fill the orders for bikes that he accepted down payments on expecting Kove to deliver said motorcycles for his soon to be (unhappy) customers because he already spent the down payments on staying (some version of) afloat.

Been there. DIDN'T do it. Passed on the T-shirt. Call me when they have the bikes sitting on the floor in the dealership. If you really must have a chinese 450, look for an SWM.

Otherwise, "Pull the other one!"
 
xrljoel said:
Perhaps they will go on to obtain transport Canada seal of approval for their 450 rally bike so it can be LEGALLY registered here as a road going vehicle. And perhaps they will do the same with their 4 cylinder street bike.......
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None of that will happen until it is approved in the Excited States, which is pending for the dirt bikes.
 
I don't know much about the RR, but the BC reseller for the 450 Rally is based in the Okanagan. They're a pretty well-respected outfit with street, er... dirt cred. During our last local ADV meet, a lot of the Go-Fast guys in our group were seriously considering this bike, based on the Dakar performance and the reputation of the BC reseller. I personally know two of the guys who've already put a deposit down, and they're not idiots.

But then again, look how many smart guys got roped in on the Damon motorcycle thread. 🤷‍♂️

We'll see. I'm way more optimistic we'll see a Kove 450 Rally here in Canada than a Damon motorcycle... ever.
 
My argument/perspective isn't about the quality or performance of the bikes Kove is offering, but of the market size that IS Canada.

Looking at the Motor Vehicle Safety Recalls Database from transport Canada I searched for KTM's because that's the type of bike Kove is proposing to sell with the 450.

KTM had a recall regarding the Continental TKC 80's issued in Sept 2022 for all their models so equipped. For the years inclusive of 2019 to 2023 there were 16 models affected from 350cc up to 1290cc., both Husqvarna and KTM for a total of 3799 units. So if you count each year as a different mode you have 37 models or a bit better than 100 units per model for an established company with a mature dealer network across the country.

I can't see how that kind of volume would justify the expense of jumping through the TC hoops to sell them in Canada.
 
xrljoel said:
My argument/perspective isn't about the quality or performance of the bikes Kove is offering, but of the market size that IS Canada.

Looking at the Motor Vehicle Safety Recalls Database from transport Canada I searched for KTM's because that's the type of bike Kove is proposing to sell with the 450.

KTM had a recall regarding the Continental TKC 80's issued in Sept 2022 for all their models so equipped. For the years inclusive of 2019 to 2023 there were 16 models affected from 350cc up to 1290cc., both Husqvarna and KTM for a total of 3799 units. So if you count each year as a different mode you have 37 models or a bit better than 100 units per model for an established company with a mature dealer network across the country.

I can't see how that kind of volume would justify the expense of jumping through the TC hoops to sell them in Canada.
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They're not selling them in Canada. They're selling them in the Okanagan, BC - the dirt-bike capital of Canada.

That's the main reason why only one reseller in the country thinks they can generate enough volume to make it worth their while...

As for TC approval, I believe the bikes being sold here are competition-only. We've got a big Rally Raid culture in the province. Road-legal status to be obtained at a later date.

Keep in mind, KTM's 450 Rally Replica isn't street-legal either. And this bike is aimed squarely at competing with that model...
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