New Adventure Bike Review, Kove 450 Rally v Yamaha Tenere 700, Adventure Bike Riders First Thoughts

First run out on the new and much anticipated Kove 450 rally bike . This is a basic comparison to the Tenere 700 as the Kove is being run in with zero miles on the clock. Is it the unicorn mid range adventure bike or not. Only time will really tell. What are your thoughts on the Kove?
Thanks for watching, please like & subscribe and share with your mates, Cheers Derek Paul & the ABR Loons Team.
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[@Dante_S550_Turbo]

My toxic trait is thinking I can build up to handle a teneree 700 like Pol Tarres. Reality, I can't handle a bmx bike like Pol handles the T700 😅

[@derekcharlton4764]

Well whatever you go for main thing is just enjoying it. Let’s face it we can all have fun on even the cheapest bikes. I was a road rider most of my life but now I’m just loving the fact I can ride a bike that can go anywhere any terrain. It’s opened up a whole new chapter of motorcycling fun. Stay safe mate 👍

[@davidstanbridge123]

Brilliant guys. Interesting to see the Kove. I've sent it to my Dad for another view 😉 Can't wait to follow you boys down Africa

[@ABRLoons]

Hi Dave..... Great to hear from you again mate. Yes Africa is creeping up now. Starting to get the jitters but will still be giving it our all. Thanks for the support matey 🙂

[@rvstechnologyuk3464]

Yours must have been before or after mine! I am HJ73 as well. I come from the T7, but had to sell it and replaced with the kove. Done some long runs on the kove now and knocking on the door of 1000 miles. Tenere is super comfy and very capable- but hard work on a recent pyrennes act when it fell asleep on me!! Keep.up the good work filming

[@ABRLoons]

Hi mate. Well I guess we are part of the few early pioneers who have actualy taken a chance on the KOVE. Im no great You tuber but trying my best. Hopefully, I will get a little better at this stuff over time. The main reason is to document the upcoming ride on the T7's from UK down the west side of Africa to Cape Town, South Africa. We should set off in January as soon as I have certain visas in place. Fingers crossed we make it. Neither of us have ever done a trip like this before so we will be way outside our comfort zone but it will be interesting to try and complete it and hopefully inspire other riders to have a go at something similar. I agree with you regarding the T7. I wont be looking forward to mine laying down when it does but I guess its all part of the adventure. Thank you so much for the comment and watching. Keep in touch and lets hope our KOVE's turn out to be as good as I hope they will. :)

[@cowsnorff]

If you have an opinion on how the kove act during long onroad section with high speeds, count me in! Offroad the kove is the winner i guess so if it comes close to the t7 on onroad situations the Kove could be the bike for me...

[@rvstechnologyuk3464]

The Kove behave very well at high speeds. I have just done a 4 hrs motorway ride from Cornwall to Reading. 70 all the way, both wheels have been balanced - did not need to stop for fuel but I did have quite a sore bum! Just ordered a sheepskin.

[@mariosuperfast1995]

Mamy thanks for Your efforts to compare 450 rally and T7 and to show different riders height. Fortunately or unfortunately I'm on the tall side (6,3"). Good luck with Your trip next year mate.

[@derekcharlton4764]

Hi Mario. You’re height is perfect for both bikes. Yep Africa is getting close. Gulp 😬. Thanks for the good wishes. 😊👍👍

[@mariosuperfast1995]

I meaned Im to tall for all sport bikes (I Like to go fast)😅. Anyway I ended on Duke 690 '15. Considering to switch to DR650SE or KTM690 enduro + supermoto wheels for both. Kova is not in My price range for the moment :(

[@jayhopkins1337]

Noticed on the T7 rear end swapping all over the place. Adjust the clickers, damping Mine doesn't swap around

[@derekcharlton4764]

Hi Jay. You’re bang on. Paul had a stiffer rear spring installed due to the fact he’s a big heavy chap. He’s going to be adjusting the settings to hopefully settle the bike down. Thanks for your input. Everything helps. 👍👍

[@iangriffiths9930]

Hi, I’m thinking of getting a T7 and am your height, can I ask did you lower the T7 in anyway? Just a little worried about the hight plus the weight? Don’t mind one or the other but maybe not both

[@colmhaughey7001]

Great to see a scouser riding a dirt bike if you every visit Laos I’ll show you guys around gods country for on off road riding…!!!

[@derekcharlton4764]

That’s very kind. Paul & I were next door in Vietnam a year ago on the mountain trails. I wasn’t doing any U tube stuff then but we have since used some footage and a couple of our previous videos now include the footage. Laos is on our agenda for the future but it’s Africa next starting in January for about 3 months. Please stay tuned for what chaos that’s going to bring. I’ll be able to give some real world reviews on the kit, bikes, tyres we will be using. Thanks for your comment, offer and interest. It’s nice to know a few people are with us on this journey. 😊👍👍

[@derekcharlton4764]

And I’m assuming your a fellow scouser 😂

[@derekcharlton4764]

We will have. Big deposits but when back with everything stamped correctly it will cost end up costing £500.

[@garyrourke3284]

Great video...question....what side and top rack on the Tenere?

[@derekcharlton4764]

Arnold Minimum Rear Rack with R&G side racks. Just did a little bit of spacer and bolt length alterations to make it work. Wanted to ensure the bags were off the silencer and auxiliary fuel tank. 😉👍

[@nick1bb1]

thanks for the review - how is the Kove on the road? - in terms of getting from home to the green lanes etc?

[@derekcharlton4764]

Hi Nick. Perfect. Which is exactly why I purchased it. You can put some miles in on the road before things get a bit uncomfortable behind. 😉👍

[@Muddlingthroughmotoadventures]

I have a T7, i'm travelling with it now, great bike, but heavy and lacks the fuel range so I'm after the Kove if i can get a good price for the T7. Thanks for the review, we are the same height and it's great to know the standard Kove is suitable. Have you tried the Mosko luggage on the 450? I have the same and really hope they fit!

[@derekcharlton4764]

Hi Jake. I’m just back from a 14,700 mile ride from UK to Cape Town on my T7 with Camel ADV auxiliary rear tank. We did ok on fuel. Unfortunately my Mosko bags are still with the T7 on a ship so I can’t do a set up check for you but I’d imagine we can easily make them secure.

[@Muddlingthroughmotoadventures]

@@derekcharlton4764 Hi, thanks for the reply! The Africa trip must have been amazing! Did you have any troubles at all? I will watch some of your videos, but at the moment there are rolling blackouts in Ecuador making wifi a bit sketchy!

[@rc51bigdaddy]

Great video. I have a KTM 890r and am considering a Kove 450 but am curious about how the Kove does at highway speeds.

[@derekcharlton4764]

Hi buddy. On the section of duel carriageway / highway I did (25) miles it was fine. I’m going to do a long road / highway test ride shortly to evaluate comfort, wind and handling. Hope it will help you. I’ll get the video up asap. 😊👍

[@inrptn]

@@derekcharlton4764 How did it go on the long highway test?

[@derekcharlton4764]

@@inrptn I did Approx 100 miles road. It did become uncomfortable on the backside but not horrendous. I will be putting up a short video soon and showing the comparison between the enduro seat, CRF 300 seat, Kove and Tenere seats. If planning on using the Kove for big mileage I would suggest seat modifications to increase comfort as it is fairly narrow. 😉👍

[@inrptn]

@@derekcharlton4764Thanks! I hope seat concepts and / or Fisher will start offering seats for the Kove

[@fozzy1717]

6500rpm great on runs , I am running a 52 rear and still holds 70mph np

[@Matthew-wn8oq]

There are fixes for your fueling issues. One is obviously remapping it / power commander or if you want to go the cheap way , buy yourself a throttle tamer.

[@AndrewAtkinson1]

I heard he was 5'6" as well.

[@marcutrillogibert9154]

My chosen will be the kove 450 to cross africa.

[@ABRLoons]

Hi mate. Id actually love to take the KOVE but the T7 has been prepared specially for the trip and at this stage I think I will feel a little more comfortable being on the T7 until the KOVE has had a little more time in the real world. I have quite a lot to deal with simply travelling this route as it is so going with the safer option for now even if it is heavier. Thanks for veiwing and your comment. Hopefully with a little more time our videos will improve. The big trip is rapidly approaching and we have never done anything like this before. Ill try and update as we go. Wish us luck 😬

[@OverlandTheSlowWay]

​@@ABRLoonsI've just finished a month long ride on my Kove 450 Rally, Yorkshire to Transylvania, about half off tarmac on TET. Zero problems. I'm also not so young, so the lighter bike helps on the tougher stuff. Carried all my camping gear no issue. Maybe not a great motorway cruiser though...

[@OverlandTheSlowWay]

Totalled 4,500km

[@marcutrillogibert9154]

Great. How many Km/h are comfortable on the road?

[@OverlandTheSlowWay]

@@marcutrillogibert9154 It's fine for a couple of hours or so, after that you need to start swapping cheeks 😉

[@cowsnorff]

Thanks for this review, I'm on the lookout for a lighter adventure bike. Currently I'm on a AT DCT. The T7 is lighter but as you mentioned still heavy. Since you're able to compare the kove and t7 this video is a good (first) starting point. Still I'm curious how the kove will deel with long distance (700+ km's a day with high speed (130 km/h or 80 miles/h). Main question: would the kove serve as the bike that can get me to interesting TET section througout Europe. Reliabillity is important, but since that question is to early I guess the other big question is whether the kove is comfortable enough on the highways during long driving days. Once again thank you for this video, and curious to what else is coming...

[@ABRLoons]

Hi and thanks for the message. I understand your thoughts on the points you raise. My next test is going to be a road and motorway ride to see how it performs and feels for comfort, wind buffering and performance. However, as I am running it in I will probably only go up to 60/70 mph depending on what rpm its at in top gear. I will attempt to do a good 100 to 200 mile round trip and that should give reasonable feedback. I will try and complete this asap and post another video which will hopefully be useful to you and others. I'm also getting prepared for a a 10,000 mile ride on the T7 from UK to South Africa starting off in January. It will be two of us on T7's with different tyres. Id love to take the KOVE but feel thats asking a bit much of it just yet. Im not a top you tuber just real world everyday rider but hopefully what I record will inspire others to do something a bit scary and enjoy the adventure. Thanks again mate.😊

[@cowsnorff]

@ABRLoons Thanx again, I will be waiting for the video :-). As to whether or not your a 'top youtuber', to me honest and real life youtubers are of most value, If I where you I wouldn't bother so much of how it 'looks'. To me that is not the most important factor of a youtube video. Thanx again en have fun with preparing for South Africa.

[@ABRLoons]

@@cowsnorff Top man. I will try and get that ride done asap but first impressions is we will definately need some modification or covers for the seat for distance. I know many people complain about the T7 seat but this is a rally bike so its not as good for comfort. I'm 77kg so the T7 dosent bother me but I have a feeling this will feel a little more unfriendly on the bottom. Thanks again. Safe riding. 🙂

[@derekcharlton4764]

Yes. I’d very much doubt I’d attempt this alone even with a light bike. Going way out of our comfort zone but I guess this is part of the adventure 😬. 👍

[@petrosp.1025]

Have you considered the Kove 800X Pro Adventure by now? It looks suitable for long-distance runs and adventure riding! However, test reports are still very limited for this bike.

[@shawnmilligan]

Comparison of a 450CC & a 700CC parallel twin, really LOL

[@derekcharlton4764]

Morning Shawn 😂 Yes I get your point. I’ve done this as a number of people who are showing interest in the kOVE on FB groups I’m in are wondering if it can be used as an adventure bike. As I’m currently going to be using the T7 to travel through Africa I thought I’d try and give a little perspective on the KOVE as a lighter alternative. Ie : is it another CRF 300 Rally but better !!!!! At this stage it’s far to early for me to say but it’s certainly a good bike but is it the bike you’d use on a big adventure? Well I guess time will tell but for now I’ll stick with T7 and hopefully push the Kove into something later down the line. I’m no specialist mate. Just trying to give a real world view of it. Hope that helps mate. 😊👍

[@greenfaring2501]

@@derekcharlton4764Very relevant comparison as people are trying to figure what works, across different classes of motorcycles.

[@derekcharlton4764]

Thanks for that point. Yes I’m doing my best with a little humour thrown in as we all need more of that in life. Both these bikes are mine and I’m not sponsored so will tell it as it is from my personal perspective Adventure riding, trail riding and road / highway way stuff. Thanks again 😊👍