Kove's base 800X was by no means a flop, but by many accounts, it didn't beat out the competition, unlike the 450, which seems so far ahead of the competition that it's almost in a class of its own. But in July, the US is getting the Rally model, and the hierarchy of the heavily contested middleweight adventure niche looks set to change.
The bike was unveiled at the Adventure Bike Rider Festival in June and could be the lightest, and possibly capable, middleweight adventure twin on the market. The Rally builds upon the 800X and will use the KTM-derived 799cc parallel twin, which puts out 95 hp and 69 lb-ft of torque, meaning it's mixing things up with the most powerful bikes in the niche in terms of torque and about 10 hp shy of the likes of Triumph's Tiger 900 and BMW's F900GS.
It's not the most powerful bike in the class, although it's not far off it, but it absolutely crushes the competition in terms of wet weight. It tips the scales at just 394 lbs. Take that in for a second. Its closest competitor is probably Yamaha's Tenere 700, which weighs 459 lbs, and the Tiger and F900GS mentioned before weigh around 100 lbs more.
The 800X Rally will weigh less than RideApart's Executive Editor, Jonathon Klein's, beloved Royal Enfield Himalayan, which is in the lightweight category of adventure bikes.
It's 50-100 lbs lighter than all its competitors. In terms of weight, it's literally in a different class. So, the fact that it mixes it up with the best in terms of power makes those stats take on a whole new meaning, as do the trick suspension upgrades it received. But its diet has come with a few sacrifices.
Kove opted to lose the tubeless wheels and run a 'rally wheel set-up', which translates to a 140/80-18 section rear tyre, paired with a 90/90-21 front. This might be a deal breaker for some riders, as it limits adventure tyre choices. But for those who are serious off-roaders, it'll bring a grin as you can use dedicated enduro rubber and insert a mousse if you want to tackle the nastiest terrain. So, hardcore off-roaders are probably happy, but the less serious will likely miss the ADV tire choices.
Another way the Chinese manufacturer has kept weight down is by using a single Taisko-branded front disc caliper, which is what it used on the bikes it sent to the Dakar Rally. You can also forget about pillion footrests or a rear rack as standard, but if you want the lightest bike in the class, you'll have to pay for it.
For the Rally, the suspension has gotten some notable improvements all around. The fully adjustable forks have an extra 30mm of travel, which brings the total travel to an enduro-ready 270mm, and Kove did this while increasing the tube diameter to 49mm. So, riders can expect a stiffer ride if they want. At the rear, there's a separate-reservoir rear shock, so riders can easily adjust rebound compression and damping on the fly, along with spring preload.
The serious off-roaders among you might worry that extending the front forks so much would mean that Kove needed to reduce travel at the rear, but fear not, because it's still 240mm. But serious off-roaders who are vertically challenged should worry about the 890mm seat height—that's the price you pay for 293mm of ground clearance.
Finishing off the list of upgrades you can expect on the Rally is a lower chain guard, higher front fender, and a range of CNC-machined parts, including the triple clamps, handlebar clamps and mounts, and front and rear hubs.
All the attention placed on making the 800X Rally so light means it gets 60 mpg, now combine that with its 20-liter fuel tank, and you've got a 260-mile range. I can see a ton of people getting hyped for this motorcycle, and with an MSRP of $12,999, it could steal some customers from what we'd usually consider the more premium off-road brands, such as BMW and Triumph.
