New four-cylinder pocket-rocket is an export model
Chinese brand Kove is heading to the Australian market in 2026 as it unveils a revised version of its intriguing four-cylinder, 443cc sports bike, the 450RR.
The new machine has already emerged in Chinese type-approval paperwork, including photos and basic technical specs, showing that its styling has been subtly revised compared to the current model.
Originally revealed in 2022 as a 400cc four called the 400RR, Kove’s race-rep was restyled and up-engined to become the 443cc 450RR in 2023 before deliveries even started, with Ducati Panigale-ish styling and performance designed to compete with Kawasaki’s ZX-4RR.
The new version updates the looks once more but leaves the main mechanical parts unchanged. The biggest revision is at the nose, where the current model’s separate, side-mounted winglets are replaced with a design more in keeping with the latest MotoGP trends – not to mention the most recent version of the Ducati Panigale V4. So the two winglets now merge into a single, curved section that bisects the nose below the headlights. Shifting the wings forward increases their leverage and exposes them to cleaner airflow than the original versions, which sat farther back and lower on the fairing sides.
While the red paint in these images serves to emphasise similarities with Ducati’s Panigale, the Kove isn’t a one-for-one copy and has several elements that have been present since the original, much more angular version that was launched in 2022. Those include headlights set back into the nose, giving a hooded look, and a central intake that feeds air to Kove’s own four-cylinder engine.
That engine puts out 52kW (70hp) at 13,000rpm and isn’t altered for the new version of the bike. Nor is the aluminium trellis chassis or the suspension, including a 4mm USD fork and a remote reservoir rear shock. The latest approvals show two different brake calipers, with the Taisco four-pots of the current model offered alongside a new design – still radial four-pistons but looking more like Yamaha’s signature Blue Spot calipers, with external piston retention plugs clearly visible.
The approval document shows key figures, including the impressively light 165kg kerb weight, are unchanged as are the 1385mm wheelbase and 220km/h top speed.
Although Kove is likely to focus on its adventure and rally bike ranges when it enters the Australian market, including the 450 Rally single and the 800X parallel twin adventure bike, the 450RR is being offered in some export markets so might come here.
Kove plans to launch a larger four-cylinder version, probably 700cc, to compete with CFMoto’s soon-to-be-launched 750SR-R.
