Patents reveal Kove 350 Rally lightweight adventure motorcycle

The Kove 450 Rally has been making waves in the adventure segment, quickly cementing its spot as one of the best midweight adventure bikes from China. And it might be about to gain a new sibling, as patents from the brand have revealed a new, slightly smaller capacity model.

Visually, the new bike looks very different to the existing 450, with the overall styling of the bike looking much more traditionally European or Japanese than the slightly awkward-looking 450. Peel back the bodywork, though, and they may have more in common than you’d think. The chassis looks to utilise a swingarm that is either very similar, if not the same, as the one found on the 450 Rally, while the frame of the bike looks to be close to that of the 450. 

Mechanically, there is no telling whether this is an all-new 350 or a unit lifted from another bike in the Kove range. There is the Kove 350R A2-friendly naked in the range, so it’s not too much of a stretch to think that this could be the powerplant the Chinese brand is leaning on. That said, the engine casings aren’t identical across both bikes, although that’s not a definitive clue as to the engine’s origin. Should it be the same engine, the 350 Rally should produce around 46.9bhp, which is what it makes in the naked. We can see that the engine seems to be a parallel twin, thanks to front three-quarter images showing what appears to be two exhaust downpipes, again pointing to the engine from the existing model.

One of the more interesting elements of the bike is the fuel tank, or should I say, tanks. Like its bigger sibling, the 350 wears a pair of low-slung side-mounted fuel tanks - as per those also found on numerous KTMs and the Husqvarna Norden 901. The tanks not only allow the bike to carry more fuel than a traditional fuel tank, but they also massively help to lower the machine’s centre of gravity.

The chassis of the bike boasts long-travel USD forks at the front, a similarly lanky-looking rear shock, a single two-piston front brake, plus bodywork and a seat that look to be lifted straight from an enduro bike. If anything, this feels like the bike that Kove will use to take on the other Chinese brands entering the segment. 

CFMoto, QJMotor and Moto Morini all have lightweight A2 adventure bikes that are gaining fans across Europe, and a more affordable, rally-inspired option would slot neatly into a part of the market that's rapidly growing.

What's perhaps most interesting is that Kove appears to have resisted the temptation to simply shrink its existing 450 Rally. Instead, the patent drawings suggest a machine designed from the outset to be lighter, slimmer and less intimidating, while still retaining many of the features that have made the 450 such a hit with adventure riders.

As with all patent filings, there's no guarantee this bike will make it into production unchanged, or indeed at all. Manufacturers often protect designs long before a model is officially announced, and details can evolve significantly before a production bike appears.

That said, Kove has been expanding at a rapid pace over the last couple of years, with Europe becoming an increasingly important market. A 350 Rally aimed squarely at A2 licence holders and riders wanting a genuinely lightweight adventure machine would make plenty of sense, particularly as demand continues to grow for bikes that bridge the gap between small-capacity trail bikes and larger, more expensive adventure models.

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