Thoughts on the Kove 450 Rally whilst riding through the Richtersveld

[ETS]

And- fitted with Mousses- no punctures. Bart and Fred had them in Kaokoland. Afaik know, no problems?

 

[FredK]

Great write up, thanks.

I’m slightly the wrong side of 100kg, how did the bike haul with your weight? You do mention staying 1 gear lower - is that the solution?

Would you have been comfortable riding from CT to the Richtersveld on it?

Rob, just came back from Namibia (Kaokoland and Damaraland) with my Kove. I'm slightly more on the wrong side of 100kg (115) and the bike can most certainly handle it.

 

[FredK]

And- fitted with Mousses- no punctures. Bart and Fred had them in Kaokoland. Afaik know, no problems?

No problems at all. On the last day from Brandberg White Lady Lodge to Usakos my downloaded GPS data showed speeds up to 154 km/h on the dirt roads. It truly is a magnificent machine

 

[Avontier]

After having done around 5K km's on mine (a tour in the southern Drakensberg, Lesotho & Transkei plus a tour of the Kaokoland I just came back from) that bit is the understatement of what you (well!) wrote - the Kove leaves the 500 in the dust on long stretches and does this really very comfortably so, unless you want to fight the - bit lighter yeah - 500 at those speeds.
Also, the Kove's suspension comes into its own then, on the Lesotho 'roads' I found out that doing 70-ish was cumbersome if not irritating, so I sped up to 100/110 .... way more comfy, and then also the bigger hits are handled as non-issues, those suspenders are truly great
Namibia's sandy roads ditto, choosing a bike for such is a no-brainer - and I own both. On pavement the Kove simply shines, and on the oem tyres it even leans quite a bit!
No doubt the slightly higher weight plus cushdrive play a role here too, add my thicker comfy-seat for great touring.

You've mentioned it already but let me repeat it here - it's not an Enduro bike! (Duh, I know, it says Rally on the sticker )
For steep shitty rocky stuff I'll have my 500 thank you - less wide at the bottom, and lighter so easier to pop the wheel up. The Kove will do this all though but less eager, plus it's wider and heavier so you'll fight more then.
That loooong tank though is awesome to have, and it does not make this bike bulky at all

Sounds a lot like a 690 then?

 

[BuRP]

Sounds a lot like a 690 then?

Nay & Yay, sortof...... I have a 701 and will sell it now, so so much for the Yay bit lol.
The addictive power of the 690 is does not have, of course.... but everywhere else but on the highway I like the Kove better, especially there where the going gets a little tougher, and its suspension is a large contributor here.
It's lighter therefore easier to ride, less tiring if you will, and too close to my 701 - so that bike will go now, it has served me well if not super

 

[BuRP]

Afaik know, no problems?

Hell YES I had a problem, thanks for reminding me Kobus
Not with the tyres or mousses though.... but with a fuse strangely enough: upon starting my bike after offloading it from the trailer it did not start, dammit!
@Striggs to the rescue here, thank you again .... as he found a blown fuse which turned out to be the fuelpump's.
Never had a problem before or thereafter, all's fine to date

 

[Cracker]

Your problem is ......................................... you need fuel caps that are strapped to the bike ............................... or a bottle of memory pills.

 

[the_BOBNOB]

Great write-up.

What is the service intervals?

With 600km of range and only 1.3L of oil and no sight glass or dipstick it sounds like:

1x oil changer per 3x tanks of fuel?

 

[BuRP]

Rowan made a quick clip of our trip - below.
A more lengthy version he's busy making but this gives a good idea of the riding we did - and if you would like doing this yourself then sign up for Hardy's Specialized Adventures tour!

 

[Kamanya]

Rowan made a quick clip of our trip - below.
A more lengthy version he's busy making but this gives a good idea of the riding we did - and if you would like doing this yourself then sign up for Hardy's Specialized Adventures tour!

This bike, in my opinion, is near the very top, if not at the apex of bikes for this kind of travelling.

Doing it unsupported stretches out its advantage even more.

 

[ETS]

Rowan made a quick clip of our trip - below.
A more lengthy version he's busy making but this gives a good idea of the riding we did - and if you would like doing this yourself then sign up for Hardy's Specialized Adventures tour!

Amazing how flat and easy it looks......

 

[BuRP]

Amazing how flat and easy it looks......

Yea, typical GoPro, little depth perception.... Rooidrom Pass for instance (the rocky bit after the wide open space with red sand (which is Marienfluss)) is quite steep at some places, but it doesn't show that at all.


And yes @Kamanya , the Kove was nigh on perfect for this trip, specifically on the open stuff, those wiiiide roads just begging for a high speed so that its suspension can stretch its marvelous legs!
Marble Camp to Purros for instance, a wide recently-graded road where I simply rode away from everyone, even from normally also fast Fred (on the other Kove) who thought it went a bit too fast.... 120/130 kph all the way to the first cold beer!

 

[Lars]

Rowan made a quick clip of our trip - below.
A more lengthy version he's busy making but this gives a good idea of the riding we did - and if you would like doing this yourself then sign up for Hardy's Specialized Adventures tour!

Damn, now I want to go so badly. Have to make a plan for next year May.

 

[Kamanya]

@Aidan one of the crew tells more of the trip that happened to be able to do this review.

This is the reason why we have bikes… to do these things.

Aidan has the patience, keen eye and know how to tell a good story.

Special time, special place.

 

[Kamanya]

@Aidan one of the crew tells more of the trip behind this review.

This is the reason why we have bikes… to do these things.

Aidan has the patience, eye and know how to tell a good story.

Special time, special place.

 

[Aidan]