Chinese brand Kove Moto take aim at Yamaha’s Ténéré 700 with cheaper new 800X Pro

Rapidly expanding Chinese brand Kove Moto have established a new UK arm of their business, with plans to distribute a range of adventure, sports, and off-road offerings at affordable prices.

The aptly named Kove Moto UK appeared at the recent Adventure Bike Rider (ABR) Festival in Warwickshire from June 28-30, using the event to announce that their incoming 800X and 510X adventure models will come with an on the road price of £8499 and £5999 respectively.

“The 800s are sold out across Europe, the 800s are sold out across the US, with a six month waiting list,” Kove UK’s Lee Westbrook told MCN during the event. “We’ve got enough stock coming for the first batch, but by the end of this weekend, I think we’re going to have to put in another order.

“We reckon we’ll be at 60 [sales] at the end of the weekend,” he continued. “We didn’t come here to sell bikes at all, we came here to show the general public that we’re here, this is what the bikes are, and explain to them what it is.”

First seen at the 2023 Eicma trade show in Milan, the sub-£8500 800X Pro is aimed squarely at Yamaha’s £10,116 Ténéré 700 – only with more power and less weight. The 800X promises a claimed 95.2bhp at 9000rpm and a kerb weight of 185kg, with adjustable 48mm KYB forks, radial brake calipers, Pirelli tyres, a TFT dash, and more.

Power comes courtesy of a DOHC 799cc parallel twin engine, with the 205kg Yamaha’s smaller 690cc CP2 twin producing 72.4bhp at 9000rpm. Although less shove, the Kove loses out is in the servicing department, with a shorter 18 month, unlimited mileage warranty from new, with valve clearances done every 12,000 miles. Yamaha also boasts a far more established parts and dealer network.

“It’s there to compete head to head with the T7. That’s what they’ve done intentionally – that’s why it comes with 240mm of travel with 48mm forks,” Westbrook added. “The response at ABR Festival 2024 has been genuinely overwhelming, with incredibly positive feedback from virtually everyone that visited the Kove Moto UK stand.”

Alongside the 800, the smaller A2 licence friendly 510X was also shown at ABR. Producing a claimed 47bhp at 8500rpm, it goes up against established competition such as Honda’s £6799 NX500, as well as other Chinese examples including the £5699 Benelli TRK502.

The plan is for these to be sold, alongside further models, at a new centralised sales hub in Oxford until Christmas, to allow the team to get a further understanding of the market. A further estimated nine on- and off-road bikes will arrive at the venue in that time.

Founded in 2017, Kove Moto already produce a wide range of bikes for other markets, including a 450RR inline four sportsbike. They’ve also successfully competed at the Dakar Rally in an all Chinese team and taken podiums in the World Supersport 300 series running alongside the World Superbike championship.