Colove (Kove) reveals multiple models
Colove - which appears to be rebranding as Kove - may be one of China's new bike companies, but it isn't short of ambition, having unveiled a new 300-class twin-cylinder sports bike, an 800 cc adventure bike and a 400 cc four-cylinder engine at the CIMA show.
Starting with the smallest, the 321RR is an out and out sports bike based on the engine and chassis from the company's existing 321R, wrapped in angular new bodywork that's far more attractive than most, and featuring high-end components including radial brakes, upside-down forks and a single-sided swingarm.
Under the skin, the use of a parallel twin engine rather than the normal single cylinder for bikes this size means power is an impressive 39 bhp at 10,500 rpm, with 21 lb/ft of torque at 9,000 rpm. However, the Chinese reputation for copying successful designs appears to rear its head here, as the engine's bore and stroke, 68 mm and 44.2 mm respectively, are near-identical to those the Yamaha twin used in the R3 and MT-03. Visually, the engine is also remarkably similar to the Yamaha unit, although there are differences in the castings and Colove manufactures the motor itself.
The theme of familiar engines continues in Colove's second new model, the largest it's made yet, in the form of the ZF800ADV adventure bike. Again, featuring impressively distinctive styling, the ZF800ADV's 799 cc parallel twin engine shares its silhouette and its bore and stroke measurements with a more familiar engine - in this case it's KTM's original 799 cc LC8c engine, as used in the 790 Duke and 790 Adventure.
Unsurprisingly, its performance is also on a par with the KTM engine, with a claimed 103 hp at 9,000 rpm compared to 105 hp at 8,500 rpm for the Austrian engine, and an identical 63 lb/ft of torque. At the moment, the ZF800ADV still appears to be some way from production.
The final, and perhaps most intriguing, novelty from Colove at the CIMA show wasn't a bike but an engine - a 400 cc, DOHC inline four-cylinder unit with 16 valves and a modern design that doesn't immediately appear to be copied from any other manufacturer. Although the company hasn't mentioned what bike the engine is destined for, it has announced specifications including a peak power of 74 bhp at 13,500 rpm, with 32.5 lb/ft of torque at 12,000 rpm.
