Kove motorcycles going global?
While there are countless Chinese motorcycle brands promising interesting models in the future, Tibet Summit Colove Motorcycle Sales Co., Ltd - which makes bikes under the wieldier 'Kove' brand name - is among the most intriguing.
Although Colove also sells bikes under its own name and the 'Excelle' brand, its most interesting recent developments have been in the Kove part of the operation. The Kove 321RR was launched in China this year, using a twin-cylinder engine that's remarkably similar to the Yamaha R3's design along with sharp styling and a single-sided swingarm, garnering strong reviews in its homeland. Two further developments of that bike - a naked roadster and a part-faired café racer - have since been revealed.
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Kove has also unveiled a screaming 400 cc four-cylinder engine that's destined for an upcoming '400RR' sports bike, as well as plans for a whole range of 800 cc parallel twin models, from faired sports bikes to roadsters and adventure models, all using an engine similar to KTM's LC8c design.
All this might be of relatively niche interest if all those bikes were to remain available only in China, but Kove has also now shown an intention of going global, applying for trademark rights on the name 'Kove Hyper' in a number of territories outside its homeland.
Applications have appeared in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Israel and Mongolia, with an international registration also showing up via the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO). Given Colove's trade, it's no surprise that the 'Kove Hyper' trademark is intended for use on motorcycles, scooters, electric vehicles and a host of motorcycle-related components.
While the trademark application alone isn't a guarantee that Kove bikes will be sold in all those markets, it's a clear indication of intent. Trademark rules have recently been tightened in the USA to stop companies sitting on unused registered marks, so Colove/Kove will have to act within the next few years to use the 'Kove Hyper' name or risk losing it.
