Adventuring the Kove 800X Pro

Adventuring the Kove 800X Pro

Words: Peter Schlüter & Séan Hendley

When we first got wind of this bike we were excited. The Kove 450 Rally exceeded all expectations  and we were blown away at how good this new to market bike feels.

Then Glenn and Donovan managed to scragg the homologation 800X Pro for a ride and came back grinning.

So, when the Kove 800X Pro was offered to us for our Gyppo Work Tuesday Ride with Bikeshop Boksburg, Sean grabbed it with both hands and set off on the 220km offroad adventure.

He says:

I’m not going to bore you with all the technical details, what I am going to tell you is what it is like to ride for a 2 metre, average sized South African adventure bike enthusiast. Then our cousin, Peter will give you a perfectly symmetrical riders point of view.

Swinging a leg over the 800X Pro and dropping into the saddle I was initially a bit concerned about the rider ergo’s for my size, but Kove do seem to have gotten it right for all rider shapes and sizes. Sitting on the bike my shoulders were in a relaxed and neutral position on the comfortably wide handlebars. The bends at my hips and knees were also acceptably comfortable even with the relatively low seat height. This made for an easy,  relaxed long day in the saddle.

The cockpit is a very lekker place to be with easy to navigate functions on the cool TFT screen and everything placed exactly where you would instinctively look for it.

For trails, the sports mode was pretty abrupt, so I dialed her down ne and that was a better option for riding in the dirt.

Standing on the pegs is what really impressed me because I was able to get my weight centered easily with plenty of room to move around when negotiating  serious obstacles. These points was where I really felt how well balanced and agile the Kove 800X Pro can be.

Adventuring the Kove 800X Pro
The Kove 800X Pro leading the way onto the trails

On the hard top and over good gravel the suspension does its job well. Bombing through deepish water crossings was no challenge and, thanks to the aggressive tyres fitted, tackling mud bogs was as easy as pie.

The 800X Pro really does have good manners and that 800cc parallel twin engine is really good fun! Somehow, Kove has made it torque to you (Get it?)

When whipping along at speed over a whoop section I did find the suspension set up a little bit lacking for my 115 kg mass, especially on the rebound which was a bit too slow for me. What do I mean by that?

Well, hitting the first of a series of whoops, the rear shock absorbed the impact, but didn’t quite return to full extension in time for the next whoop… and the next… and the next… and then – you get the idea, which meant I was hitting each whoop still in the bottom third of the stroke, effectively negating two thirds of its impact capabilities and making it quite harsh.

This is not the bike’s fault, it is a loan unit that is probably set up for a lighter rider than I am. With a bit of time in the workshop, we know that the KYB setup can be adjusted to your weight.

Never once did I drop through the stroke or bottom out the suspension. The solid, standard skid plate, standard crash bars, wide carrier and tubeless wheels are a great touch – and I have no complaints about the ground clearance.

All in all I had a fantastic day bombing along the trails, splashing through water crossings and spraying mud on anybody too close to the mud bogs.

Adventuring the Kove 800X Pro
We had to nick a road pic off the net, apparently we're too fast for our camera jockey. Photo credit: https://www.elconfidencial.com/motor/motos

Peter, our buddy from Germany who comes out every year to follow The Roof has this to say:

Ja, I love my end of year visit to South Africa, my cousins from Dirt & Trail somehow always get me very cool bikes to ride and show me nice places to ride. This… how do you say? Kov-hay?? is a very cool bike. In Germany, an adventure ride is some tarmac which is narrower than usual and maybe got some leaves on it so I am not… how you say?…. zuversichtlich (confident – ed), to ride in the gravel or mud. I did not sleep so good the night before when they told me about the deep water crossings, but the Kove 800 took good care of me. It feels light with a good seat height for my short legs and I could put my feet down nicely when I felt that I might fall over, I like that.

On the gravel trails I had fun, the 800X Pro is easy to ride and does not want to wobble too much when I ride on loose stones or in sand- “Alles gut”. Nein, I do not like the mud, Ja I can put my feet down, but the mud is like glue and it tries to hold my boots and cleaning them afterwards… But the Kove 800 was easier than I thought. It is one of the easiest bikes I have ridden on off road like this, but I much prefer the tarmac. 

And this bike is a lot of fun to ride on the tar. Fast, comfortable – a real surprise for me with a quality ride.

Peter Schlüter getting to grips with the Kove 800X pro in the dirt

I like to enjoy riding, not struggle or be worried about crashing, the Kove is great in the dirt… I am not, so I decided to follow the back-up bakkie on the road, I had a much nicer time. The 800 engine is very strong and quickly goes to more than 160 kph when I gas geben.

The gears are smooth and the screen gives good protection from the wind. I also like how easy everything is to find and to work on the screen and the controls and you sit very comfortably in the bike.

Very cool bike, I think they are going to do very well… Even in Europe and America.

Adventuring the Kove 800X Pro
Ja, ja.... alles gut

That’s it!

Every review so far has been absolutely positive.

Time will tell with reliability, parts availability and back up and the cost of ownership, none of which we can comment on at this point.

we do, however know that the Kove team have appointed some pretty solid dealers.

All we can say is this, it looks good, runs better and feels like a quality made machine. 

It will set you back 209.900

For more info or your closest dealer check out Kove SA .

This brand is going places and if you are looking at a bike in this class, you really should go and ride one!

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