Kove introduces 321R as part of 2023 brand expansion
Kove is expanding in 2023, from World Championship racing entries to a new naked bike derived from the bike at the heart of those racing efforts.
Kove is taking forward strides in 2023, emerging from its native China to Europe with a range of motorcycles, and a competition programme on the world stage.
Kove has made itself known in the motorcycle industry in recent years, and catching headlines last year was certainly the 400RR sports bike.
For 2023, its range is expanded, and now includes a 250cc motocross bike, the MX 250, which at 98kg - dry - is one of the lightest 250cc four-stroke motocross bikes available.
The brand has also entered the 2023 Dakar Rally as a factory team with its 450Rally. At the time of writing (10 January 2022, following the completion of Stage 9 of the rally), Kove’s top placed rider is Sunier Sunier in 52nd place, just under 20 minutes away from a top-50 position.
Kove will also be present in the 2023 WorldSBK paddock with its 321RR sports bike in the WorldSSP300 class with its rider Shengjunjie Zhou who will ride with #98 for the China Racing Team, going up against a raft of Kawasaki Ninja 400s, Yamaha YZF-R3s, and a couple of KTM RC 390 Rs.
Certainly, it is a different approach to racing from Kove than that of their compatriot manufacturers, QJ Motor and CFMoto, who were both present in the 2022 Moto3 World Championship with KTM machinery.
The 321RR which will run in WorldSSP300 this season is also the base from which the 321R is derived. This is a naked bike which operates in a similar way to how the aforementioned KTM RC 390 R shares a platform and components with the KTM 390 Duke, for example.
The 321R was showcased by Kove when it appeared at the EICMA show in Milan last November, and features the same 322cc liquid-cooled DOHC twin-cylinder engine as the 321RR, although the peak power is reduced from 30.5kW (40.9 horsepower) to 29.5kW (39.6 horsepower). It’s hardly going to make a huge difference from a riding perspective, but it is a difference nonetheless. On the other hand, the torque remains the same for the 321R as for the 321RR at 29Nm.
Altogether, it means the 321R has the same 170kph quoted top speed as the 321RR, but drinks fuel at a rate of 0.1 litre-per-100km less than its sportier sibling (4l/100km compared to 4.1l/100km). That means the Kove 321R is good for 325km, or 202 miles.
Weighing 144kg at the kerb, the 321R features a diamond-shape frame, a ground clearance of 175mm and a seat height of 820mm.
The bike is also equipped with ABS, which assists in the operation of a single 320mm front disc and 240mm rear disc.
Pricing and availability is not yet available from Kove, but the 321R’s appearance at EICMA and that the manufacturer describes the 820mm seat height as “designed specially for the European market,” means we should see it here in the relatively near future.
