Alberta Powersports had the pleasure of having a great phone interview with Zac Kurylyk from Canada Moto Guide about the new and upcoming KOVE 450Rally coming to Canada. Alberta Powersports is the KOVE MOTO Canadian distributor and will be teaming up with dealers across the country to have the KOVE FSE 450 Rally models available for riders across this great country. Check out the interview in the link below!
The Kove 450Rally, a made-in-China rally raid racebike, is coming to Canada in limited numbers for 2023, with a larger order for 2024. And, the plan is to bring them in as street-legal machines with Transport Canada approval.
These machines have been confirmed for the US for months now (see YouTuber eveRide’s extensive review here). However, we only recently heard about confirmation of Canadian availability.
Moving forward, the Kove 450Rally lineup, including the base bike as well as the Pro Race model, will come into Canada through Alberta Powersports. Based in Carstairs, Alberta, this dealership has dealt with GPX Pitster Pro machines for many years, as well as many other brands. They understand the needs of the powersports industry as a whole, but also the specifics of dealing with Chinese motorcycle manufacturers. They know what they’re getting into, and that’s important for customers.
What is the Kove 450Rally?
Kove is an interesting Chinese brand. Founded by an enthusiast who had his own dreams of Dakar racing as a young man, Kove uses high-spec 450 single-cylinder engines that make about 52 hp. This engine is not unique to Kove; it’s been used in other Chinese motorcycles for years. It sounds as if Kove is using a version that’s been tuned for more power and carefully built with quality control standards for long-term reliability. However, we certainly haven’t been inside the factory to see for ourselves, or seen inside the engines.
The Kove factory team did achieve 100 percent completion at this year’s Dakar Rally, though, using these bikes. However, they were most likely using the Pro Race model, which has been up-spec’d for rally raid racing, including a massive 31-liter fuel tank (a 15-liter tank is standard on the base model).
While Kove is still an unknown entity in many ways, early signs of the company seem to indicate the company has an emphasis on quality that hasn’t always been the case with Chinese manufacturers. Alberta Powersports says parts supply shouldn’t be a problem, and they even see the company working on things like parts fiches, an obviously important aspect for long-term repairability.
When will they be here?
At this point, only limited numbers of the 450Rally will come in for 2023, and the machines coming in are currently imported as competition-only machines. Some will be used as demos (Alberta Powersports is working on a dealership network for the Kove bikes) and others will be used to gain Transport Canada approval… and some appear to be headed for racebike duty, which is exactly what they were designed for.
For 2024, Alberta Powersports says it hopes to bring in about 100 motorcycles, with the majority of them being the base model 450Rally, with a few Race Pro models added for customers wanting racebikes. Expect these machines to come in after Transport Canada certification for street legality, so—maybe fall of 2023, or early 2024? Stay tuned on that.
What price?
Alberta Powersports is predicting a $12,249 MSRP for the standard Kove 450Rally, or $18,850 for the Pro Race model.
Credit: https://canadamotoguide.com/author/kawazacky/
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