THE no BS reviewer. Thanks guys 🏁

Thank you guys for an excellent longer term look at the Kove 450. I'm your average lifelong motorcycle rider in my late 50's. I demo'd the Kove 450, might have been the same bike, at the Giant Loop Rally in early June. I was totally impressed with the bike, especially for an early version of the bike. No matter what a person's view on Chinese products here is THE positive factor, other manufacturers should either be worried or start giving us what we want in a lightweight ADV type bike. A lot of us have been clamoring for this bike for years now and the manufacturers haven't come close in providing the market with our unicorn. Well Kove has and you don't have to spend an additional $2500 on a tower, $500 for an IMS/Acerbis/Safari extended capacity fuel tank, or carry a bladder or can... Bring on the street legal version and I could sell my 501 and 890 Adventure.

If that isn't a vote of confidence for this bike, I don't know what would be. Direct, no fluff review by two riders who flogged it harder than 90% of us would ever try to do.

DBT is always the best reviews....Start here when wanting to know about a dirt/offroad bike.

Thanks for the review. I really hope these kick off a trend of more bikes like this from other manufacturers.

Finally I a review that does not add all that icing into the cake, Thank you guys for telling it as it is.

Awesome review! Good to have someone of Jimmy's caliber giving us his opinion along with his protege. I've got a deposit on one arriving with the 2nd batch probably October. 😅

Just what I was hoping to hear. Thanks for the review and straight shooting as always.

I took jimmy’s dirt bike class and he made me work hard to complete it. Great review!

Thanks guys. If nothing better comes along by next summer, and reviews remain pretty positive, this will be my next bike.

Been waiting on this from a review I can trust🍻

Honest review. I believe Gary has had the low speed throttle glitch corrected now. Kove seems to be addressing issues that come up really quickly. I’m in the first order group and looking forward to it.

Solid non biased review! Hopefully they actually get these approved for street use, and the dealer network is halfway decent

Thanks for another great review! Cheers from Brasil!!

Damn, it's like sitting down and having a chat with a legend. Thanks guys!

I got a chance to demo one at Touratech and took it for a few laps on the course in the forest. It felt like a heavy dirtbike(I am used to riding a Beta 300) and that's it. Would've never thought it was 350 pounds. I went a couple turns into the course and did not like the ABS. A quick switch to turn off the ABS and it rode perfectly.

really good review. That bike sounds pretty good.

From the sound of it, perfect for a all day bike.

You guys set a great example for the Dirt Bike magazine guys to follow for their test and video. It’s too bad they couldn’t offer the expertise, insight, and quantifiable data that you did many months prior to their video. Great job! Keep up this quality content. 👍

Great video. Very informative for me, thats thinking of buying 1 of these. Very honest from obviously experienced riders..

Guys, it is the unicorn!

Great review as is the custom with Jimmy's work.

Glad the return trip home was safe.

A very good review.

Really promising, loving what you get for the money. Koves section on EICMA 23 show looked great. Brand is definitely going places, it's just a matter of time. Great review! Thnx! In Finland they just got through emissions so the normal 450 rally can be registered for street use. I think the more tuned Rally spec did not get certified.

Great review 👍

Thanks Guys

love you guys !

From the reviews I've seen, and generally positive reception, it's going to be hard to beat this bike. At the price there's really no competition. A few programming pains they'll have to iron out, and what else is there to complain about? I'd guess you could start to wonder what you'll do for parts when it comes time to do a top end or fork rebuild. I'm sure someone will figure out what Japanese/European parts these were cloned after. At least on my TSE250R I get Yamaha top end kits and WP fork parts. And Gary is just knocking it out of the park lately. He really listens to his audience and improves on his products as much as he can. That's something we don't get with the Japanese and European brands. This bike is only going to get better.

Great to hear. Will fit perfectly between my 990 and my 250 and a looks like a great bike to bring to Pahrump. Thanks!

Great review. Good to see it being tested as most people would use it. 👍

It’s a 450 with another 40kg of weight compared to a 450excf(which I own). It’s not gonna drag race equally. Compare it to a DR650 or 650 Kawasaki and it’ll lose them easily. 450ktm flameout badly due to emissions lean fueling which is all fixable too. The suspension cannot be any worse than the xplor junk on my 450excf, even after tuning it, it’s still shit. All abs on dirt is junk that I’ve experienced. Back in the 80s, the British thought Japanese bearings were junk but we know that was BS now. Once the ignorance goes away, progress will be huge cos who wants to pay 35k for a ktm rally bike to ride daily ? Great review lads 🤙

Everide sent me... So glad for your review!

Good content fellows.

Great review fellas. I think this bike could make a similar impact as the 750 Africa Twin.

Stoked to see this test ride. The bike looks great and economical. I guess the biggest thing for me, is going to be the availability of parts. It might be hard to get parts for a Showa clone fork or internal engine parts like valves, pistons, cams, etc.

Tyler/Everide sent me. Great review, sub'd.

Thanks for your clear and precise review. I'd try it, but there is neither a German importer nor a Euro 5 homologation. You'd have to live in the US or UK. Maybe there will be good news for Europe after the EICMA show in Milan next month. All the best, Günter/Nürnberg

The typical GPX bike is 2016 KTM frame, WP/Showa suspension outside but other brand internals and Honda wheels,brakes, sprockets etc. Those NC motors are reliable too

I appreciate the honest review. However, I'll be more likely to buy into the positive reviews when they're tested on actual random production run units, rather than specific promotion run units.

Brilliant and competent content, moreover also inviting to take into serious account this Kove 450 and chinese bikes more in general (speaking of preconceptions to be overcome) Ciao

One thing that worries me is that they have to play by US patent laws. If they copied too hard that could be trouble. Hopefully none of that happens because we really need this bike! It's incredible for the price and it's the unicorn we've been waiting for. And also, wait until the aftermarket gets ahold of it. Gonna be awesome to watch what they do!

Great review. At the same time, I'm far from convinced on ever considering one.

Ace! Question is if Kove 450 Rally replaces the 1 & only DSB - ADV Rally canvas KTM 500 Exc according to Tech Talk Taco Tuesday # 9 :->

Did they open up the skid plate and make more room for the shifter?

We’re the three Kove 450’s that completed the Dakar Rally stock with just knobby tires or were they modified somewhat???

At this price range, I would appreciate it . 🎉

Wow 🤩

Jimmy, why no front disc guard on that thing?? :) Great review

Finally a review where we see the bike properly ridden in anger! good honest review. The bike looks great for proper fast trails and open gravel road! A wide ratio gearbox is nice too. I'm a bit disappointed in the steering lock tho, i hated my 690 because of it. Makes the bike feel much heavier and clumsy in the woods/ slow stuff. Do you think the aftermarket will have a solution to ''fix''' the issue , or is the movement limited by the frame or suspension design ?

The promotional videos all claimed the dash could be used as a sat nav linking with think rider app - off road gpx files could then be viewed through the dash whilst speed and basic info were still retained but not showing so prominently nobody is covering this - does it work???

My 2023 gpxfse250e has had the ignition cut out and put me on the side of the road about 7 times in the 400 miles i put on it, seems to be heat related. All connections tight. Guess i'll start replacing the ignition boot, wires and plugs and coils. Also had/have extreme fork stiction, but not from the seals. I don't know how I would be able to trust a kove. It's funny that I always seem to get "the bad one" while all the youtubers get "good ones". Oh well.

Jimmy, what kind of mount for the Trail Tech is that? Is it available ?

I am honestly thinking of selling my F800GS which is my current ADV bike and my RR125 Beta which is my enduro bike, and get this for both...

i wonder what the model without the cat&emmissions compliant set up runs like ??

Nice review as usual. Cool project ride. Fastace suspension? Is the motor counterbalanced? Brakes look like a Nissin copy. They make their own CPU? Remapping? Swapping critical bolts out for high quality ones would be an easy upgrade and cheap insurance. BTW I rolled by the Touratech gig (was staying at Lake Wenachee) and waved at you but you totally ignored me from your training field ha ha ha. -Kelly

First of all i must say you gave a very optimistic and hopeful review good job. But.

It was the Chinese Dakar bike that done so well, they decided to put it out on the open market. Here in the UK they are gaining a real following. 1. They are very good. 2. The Fuel. It’s 8 gallons for you guys in the States an 31 Ltrs for us in the UK 🇬🇧. Looks like it’s goin to be a giant killer from the reviews before the 2024 shows here in UK an Europe. Enjoy guys

Hi Jimmy, thx for this great summary, Short question, die you use the MOSKO 40 (sideways)? Thx Form Switzerland - Urs 😊

I looked at the manual for it a couple days ago.. how do you check the oil level on this bike?

What do you guys weigh?

Where the power band is kinda?under powered is another way of saying slow compaired to the rest.plus how viable is it in 20 years?or do you throw it away ?

Looks like Mason Klein will be a Kove team rider soon .

Unfortunately in Australia we wouldn’t be able to get it unless it has ABS , that’s why we didn’t get the KLX 300 , and the Honda CRF300 and Rally only come to Australia with ABS.

Kove want to offer ABS as it's required equipment in some markets if you want to make a bike road legal ;-)

Nigel…. God that made me laugh 😂😂😂

Re: "...but that's not the way you're going to be riding this bike." - I think you're underestimating exactly why people want a lightweight dual purpose bike. I know most of us want something that can truly ride off-road (which is very different from unpaved roads) and still pound pavement all day. We want to be able to ride a road long distances, paved or not, and not just looking at side trails with longing to know how fun it is or where it goes, while wishing we were on a dirt bike. How did it compare to, or compete with, the T7 in different situations?

The best way to take care of the cat is to take it off. Great review.

Do you think this bike would be too much for a rider who is new to off road riding but has street experience? Or should I look at something more like a 300 dual sport?

I made a comment on a FB 300L/Rally page the other day where someone ask if the Honda 450 or 300 would be right for him and he gave some parameters. I suggested he look at the Kove 450 rally. One guys response was ""it’s very “rough” very un refined more dirt/rally bike than dual sport imo b"". What are your thoughts.

Great review. just one thing Mosko Moto are not russian, nor is it bovine. Mosko, like moss-co. Not moscow, or moss-cow. Drivin' me nuts. haha

HeyJimmy, could this replace the Tenere in the stable? If you had to pick one for dual sport and adventure? I have a T7 and the Kove on order along with a WR250R, YZ 125 and 250 2 smoke and a Versys 650. As much as I like all my current bikes, the Rally may help me to clean out the stable. Looks like this bike is at least as good on the dirt as a WR250R. Thanks in advance and looking forward to the podcast tonight!

Why choose a Kove instead of a 690 or a 701? The Kove have better fuel capacity but if you’re not riding through the Sahara?

Looks cramped for a taller rider, what do you say?

Could you / would you race BITD on this bike?

All sounds good but we need 2 yr of hard use with a list of failures, costs would be nice too.

Went to the Kove web site. All Rally bikes are listed as "competition off road use only". If they come with an off road title there is no way to title it for street use in Indiana.

Does this really have wide ratio gearbox? Couple months ago manual specs were as wide ratio as in suzuki drz thats achilles heel is close ratio gearbox

So, can we say that this bike is pretty good?

How does it do for highway time?

Everyone copies and tries to improve on everyone elses designs,the chinese are probably the worst for it tho.i have noticed the china bikes have been getting much better and more competitive to the current brands we all love.must remember when the Japanese bikes came out everyone said the same exact thing about them then as we do the china bikes now.

What is the brand of the rims and suspension? Any known brand?

EVERIDE sent me.

@4:04 Gatooooooo!!!!!!!!

Gee, I guess Honda completely screwed up and built a Transalp instead of an Africa Twin JR. Well, if Kove hadn't I guess someone else would have.

Puckin railing that thing.

+ Everide.

Why this over the honda crf450l ?

I hope they do well! If only they could get that weight down to the 320 mark!

To be fair, how many of the other brands are made in China now

I'll stick with my Honda!

Fair to judge AFTER riding it...but the description of a perception of being junk is not an unfair bias, but based on experience! All chinese bikes HAVE-BEEN comparative junk. Chinese making better better bikes helps us all, forcing competition to up their game.

Perhaps 2 teeth up on the rear sprocket might help the bottom end ................. 🙂

海外版画好看多了，比在中国销售的版本漂亮

OMG🤑🤑🤑

Kove is handing these things out like candy to every KZfaq influencer. Of course everyone is going to have a great first impression. So it's a 450 with the power of a 350 and weighs 350lbs. Knockoff everything.

Other dude can barely get a word in lol

There is no way that a Chinese bike is worth $9000. Especially when the competition is close in price. A 2023 NC750X DCT is $9,399.00. Yes I know that is not a true off road bikes but it can do off road. A 2024 CRF450RL is $10,999. There's no way Chinese quality even comes close to that. You're getting ripped off for substandard garbage like always.

How can you mention Japanese and KTM in the same sentence as if they had similar reliability? Lolz.