Small screamer | Four-cylinder Kove 450RR sportsbike to produce 69.7bhp at 13,000rpm

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

The JDM 400's weren't built to make big power, they were built to hit the Japanese license limit bang on at 60bhp.

I've heard stories of 90bhp FZR400RR race bikes with ram air.

Modern 600's are leaving the factory with almost 120bhp, a new 400 should be making 80bhp with my man maths.

I don't know about 90bhp, the supersport 400 bikes made mid 70s, but the valves on FZRs didn't last long, they stretched.

[KungFooBob]

BDK Race Engineering could get them to 90bhp with 1mm O/S pistons.

[Yorick]

BDK Race Engineering could get them to 90bhp with 1mm O/S pistons.

Why not just buy a 600?

[Felix]

Lots of horror stories of shit like wheels collapsing, engines vibrating themselves to bits, cheap bearings and crap brakes when China started to break into the UK market. Mud sticks

[Mr. Dazzle]

Sounds like my old Brit bike.

[weeksy]

Lots of horror stories of shit like wheels collapsing, engines vibrating themselves to bits, cheap bearings and crap brakes when China started to break into the UK market. Mud sticks

sounds like 2003 as well

LOL

[Dodgy69]

Imo, Japan are already losing the small to mid size bike. India and China are chucking out all shapes and sizes >800cc bikes and there ain't much wrong with them. They have improved massively from 25 years ago.

Buying new with 4 year warranty isn't a risk. Road conditions have changed so massive power isn't a big priority anymore. For cheap, practical 2 wheel transport, it's hard to get passed India and China's selection.

Today, if I wanted a mid-size do it all bike, I would buy a Cfmoto 700mt. 66 bhp My 650gt is 47 and that's fine and fun. Where folk get to use 120 plus on our roads is a mystery to me.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/316025734654 ... media=COPY

[weeksy]

Imo, Japan are already losing the small to mid size bike. India and China are chucking out all shapes and sizes >800cc bikes and there ain't much wrong with them. They have improved massively from 25 years ago.

Buying new with 4 year warranty isn't a risk. Road conditions have changed so massive power isn't a big priority anymore. For cheap, practical 2 wheel transport, it's hard to get passed India and China's selection.

Today, if I wanted a mid-size do it all bike, I would buy a Cfmoto 700mt. 66 bhp My 650gt is 47 and that's fine and fun. Where folk get to use 120 plus on our roads is a mystery to me.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/316025734654 ... media=COPY

In the circumstances where i buy a bike again, it'd still be a KTM 690 Duke... but i absolutely agree with the above.

[Felix]

Carole Nash were talking about the same subject. Remember when Vimto joined TRC. Did he not have a Leximoto that was forever breaking down when he was doing courier work. Give him his due he persisted with it and ended up getting a job in a bike shop

https://www.carolenash.com/news/classic ... e-industry

[weeksy]

Carole Nash were talking about the same subject. Remember when Vimto joined TRC. Did he not have a Leximoto that was forever breaking down when he was doing courier work. Give him his due he persisted with it and ended up getting a job in a bike shop

https://www.carolenash.com/news/classic ... e-industry

LOL wasn't that 15+ years ago

Just think about how far Xaoimi came in 15 years, or even things like Kia.

[Felix]

Carole Nash were talking about the same subject. Remember when Vimto joined TRC. Did he not have a Leximoto that was forever breaking down when he was doing courier work. Give him his due he persisted with it and ended up getting a job in a bike shop

https://www.carolenash.com/news/classic ... e-industry

LOL wasn't that 15+ years ago

Just think about how far Xaoimi came in 15 years, or even things like Kia.

Never took note of the date but as i said. Early ones were shit. Things have probably moved on over the years and good luck to them.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Imo, Japan are already losing the small to mid size bike. India and China are chucking out all shapes and sizes >800cc bikes and there ain't much wrong with them. They have improved massively from 25 years ago.

Buying new with 4 year warranty isn't a risk. Road conditions have changed so massive power isn't a big priority anymore. For cheap, practical 2 wheel transport, it's hard to get passed India and China's selection.

Today, if I wanted a mid-size do it all bike, I would buy a Cfmoto 700mt. 66 bhp My 650gt is 47 and that's fine and fun. Where folk get to use 120 plus on our roads is a mystery to me.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/316025734654 ... media=COPY

In the circumstances where i buy a bike again, it'd still be a KTM 690 Duke... but i absolutely agree with the above.

Aren't KTMs made in India?

[mangocrazy]

The 690 Dukes were made in Austria until 2018 when they were discontinued. The 690 motor lives on in the SMC (R) and similar - no idea where they are made.

[Supermofo]

The Chinese are coming. Maybe.
I've heard folk draw parallels between the Brit bike/Jap bike transition and the emerging Chinese bikes,but there are big differences.

The British bike industry was at ease in Zion and very much resting on it's laurels. Their arrogance and increasingly outdated model range was surpassed by the Japanese and they genuinely moved the game on,to the present time.

The big four from Japan are not on their knees and pumping out rubbish,they are still the benchmark and what the Chinese need to beat,or at least compete. Time will tell how successful that will be for them.

I'm not seeing any gamechangers from China,maybe the days of gamechangers are over and it's just improving gadgets?

Perhaps they are all marking time to see what way the electric bike thing will go?

The Chinese aren't really interested in making bikes that beat the Jap/Euro bikes on specs etc. At least not yet. What they do is churn out copies for £X,000 cheaper. When you build a bike in China you effectively sign off on them copying it exactly, spec'ing it with all of the available extras and punting it out for cheap uncutting the original bike. At first the copies were shit. They are now better and soon will be pretty much near as dammit the same bike. KTM and BMW find their own bikes coming over fully loaded for much less and 4 years warranty. As they improve I'm guessing people will forget the old Chinese rubbish claims and vote with their wallets. MG and BYD seem to be flying out the showrooms at the minute.

[mangocrazy]

When anyone signs up for manufacturing in China they effectively sign away all their IP rights, whatever the contract may state. You get a short term decrease in your build costs at the expense of seeing a cut price clone available a year or so down the line.

The other day I noticed a new BYD showroom not far from us in Sheffield. Must pop in and have a good nosey around...