If you’ve not heard the name Kove Motorcycles, based in Lhasa, Tibet, don’t worry, you might just see the brand name in Malaysia some time in the future. From a Cycle World report, the “Kove Hyper” brand name has been trademarked in Malaysia, along with the Philippines, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Mongolia.
Kove, better known in its home market of
China under the name Colove, or Tibet Summit Colove Motorcycle Sales, has
previously produced motorcycle designs that strongly resemble offerings from
other manufacturers, notably from Japan and also a 500 cc BMW Motorrad GS
look-a-like. What is new from Kove is news of a four-cylinder 400 cc
inline-four with a claimed 16,000 rpm redline and peak power of 72.4 hp at
13,500 rpm.
Alongside the 400 cc four-cylinder
screamer, Kove has also shown designs for an 800 cc parallel-twin, similar to
the KTM Duke 790/890. Since the actual 790/890 two-cylinder mill is already
manufactured in China for KTM by CFMoto (and used in the CFMoto 800MT
adventure-tourer), it remains to be seen if the design is used under licence,
similar in design or an outright clone.
Colove is a company under the Tibet New
Everest Industrial Group, founded in 1995 and entering into a partnership with
scooter maker Kymco in 1998 to import the CB and GY6 engine production system
and manufacturing technology. The company has production facilities in
Chongqing, Taizhou Zhejiang, Jiangmen Guangdong, Chengdu, Yanshi Henan, Xinhua
Henan, Renqiu Hebei, Linyi Shandong and Wuwei Gangsu, producing medium and
large displacement motorcycles, commuting motorcycles as well as three-wheelers
and electric vehicles.
