Midweight adventure motorcycle that’s hard to beat

For the past few years, the middleweight adventure bike market has been the busiest segment of the motorcycle industry. While other segments are struggling, adventure bikes of all shapes and sizes continue to sell well. Every major motorcycle manufacturer has a bike competing in this segment, with each bike offering something different. But if you want something special for yourself, there’s a specific Chinese bike manufacturer that promises to woo its compatriots by selling a Dakar-spec ADV.

China’s entry into ADV segment

By the start of the decade, to say that any Chinese adventure bike on the market was mediocre would have been a compliment it didn’t deserve. This all changed once CFMoto struck a deal with KTM, allowing the Chinese giant to build a middleweight motorcycle using the LC8c parallel-twin. It seems as if KTM didn’t understand the implications of this decision.

Chinese companies have a different approach towards intellectual property, and it wasn’t a surprise at all when we saw the engine pop up in a bike from a different Chinese brand. For all intents and purposes, KTM got the short, sharp end of the deal, because suddenly, there’s another true off-road-oriented ADV competing in this space.

The Cove 800X Rally is like a sleeper adventure bike

MSRP: $12,999

Unlike most other Chinese bikes available in the market, the 800X Rally doesn’t undercut everyone. This is a unique model that will really only appeal to a certain type of rider. Once you get over the sticker shock and look at the model a little closer, you’ll realize that it’s actually very cheap. This may be a middleweight, but this is a middleweight who has gone on a very crazy weight loss program. Even the passenger pegs were considered more than necessary in an effort to keep the weight as low as possible.

KTM-derived twin-cylinder engine powers the 800X

Power: 95 hp

Almost coincidentally, the KTM LC8c parallel-twin engine has become one of the most ubiquitous engines in the segment. It’s included on a wide variety of middleweight bikes, and has proven to be equally fun no matter what platform it’s used on. As is the case with most modern powertrains of this size, it is relatively economical and offers incredible midrange performance.

An engine with history

Despite being modern and powerful, this engine has proven to be anything but reliable. In some cases with relatively low mileage, cam failure in several KTM models (KTM 790 Duke pictured above) has disappointed customers. These failures have not been widely reported on CFMoto models, but at the same time, many CFMoto bikes equipped with these engines are not out of warranty.

Only time will really tell if the problems persist. It is unusual to gamble so much on any model for mechanical reliability in this day and age, and it is understandable that many potential customers would not be willing to take the risk. But, we dare say that for some people the risk will be worth the potential reward.

The 800X Rally is the lightest middleweight on the market

With a hardly credible dry weight figure of 364 pounds, it is by some distance the lightest mid-weight ADV on the market. It’s actually lighter than some entry-level models! To achieve this incredible weight figure, Kove made the bold decision to leave out almost every modern feature that we have become accustomed to getting at this price point. It also doesn’t have a ride-by-wire throttle, and we can say with some authority that CFMoto (which produces the engine) hasn’t quite mastered the art of fueling in the Euro5+ era. It gets switchable ABS (a requirement for some markets) and a TFT dash. It’s a useless machine with a power-to-weight ratio that makes it a legitimate threat to the establishment.

Built like a giant dirt bike with lights

With over 10 inches of ground clearance at the front, almost 10 inches at the rear and over 11 inches of ground clearance, the bike is almost untouched in this department. Still, seat height isn’t that bad, all things considered. 35 inches is relatively long, but there are definitely ADVs with higher seats and lower ground clearance. The suspension may not be from any established brand, but it’s lifted straight from a 450 Rally, a literal rally raid bike.

While revving and bouncing for the weight of the bigger, heavier 800, this kind of suspension makes the bike feel more like a dirt bike than some people will feel comfortable with. The bottom line is that this is a seriously dedicated off-road bike that won’t be particularly comfortable on the highway, or in the city, for any length of time. Its relatively flat dirt bike seat is actually only designed for standing, not sitting, and it’s designed to accommodate only one rider. Part of the extreme weight loss program undertaken by the bike included the removal of the passenger pegs, removing another layer of practicality from the ADV.

Most people will be looking to get an ADV because of its versatility, and the 800X Rally is not a versatile machine. It’s built for enthusiasts who always wondered what it would be like to own a massive dirt bike with lights, that has twice the power of the average dual-sport. To say the least, it’s a niche offering that doesn’t mean anything special in practice. It exists solely for rider interaction, and for that reason alone, we love this thing. Off-road, it’s unbeatable, at least while its cameras are still in one piece!

CHASSIS, SUSPENSION, AND WEIGHT SPECIFICATIONS

Source: Cove USA And Failedcams.com