Chinese battle for 500cc-class supremacy ramps up.

It seems only moments ago that the idea of a sub-500cc four-cylinder sport bike was nothing more than a fond memory from the Japanese bubble era. But on the heels of Kawasaki’s ZX-4RR we’ve seen a host of rivals emerging from Chinese brands and now it looks like one of them—Kove—is set to raise the bar again.

Kove was one of the earliest into the market for small, inline-four sport bikes, initially showing its 400RR back in 2022. Before it even reached production, that bike was uprated to become the 450RR with a 443cc engine, and for 2026 it’s been restyled with bigger winglets. But a larger-engined 475RR is waiting in the wings, with a completely new look, and has now appeared in new design registrations from the company.

The 475RR has already been shown to Kove’s dealers and importers at an event earlier this year, and leaked pictures from that event match what we can see in these CAD images, showing that a substantial change to Kove’s four-cylinder is in the pipeline.

Other than the 475 name, there are no details on what’s changed inside the engine. Externally it’s similar to the current 443cc motor, but the new name clearly points to a capacity and power increase. Since the existing engine is good for a claimed 70hp at 13,000rpm, a 475cc version could be expected to make 75 hp, although further tuning might increase it even further. Rivals in this burgeoning class include the new ZXMoto 500RR, due to reach international markets in 2026, which claims 84 hp from 470cc, while the CFMoto 500SR Voom that’s sold in China hits 78 hp from a 499cc four.

The tubular frame appears to be the same as the current 450RR’s design, but the swingarm is redesigned, appearing to be slimmer and lighter thanks to an opening in the right-hand side. It’s fitted with a piggyback-reservoir shock that looks to be an upgrade on the current bike’s unit, while the fork and radial Taisko front brakes look to be carryovers from the 450RR.

Styling changes include all-new bodywork with angular front-end design featuring hooded headlights flanked by winglets that extend downwards to bracket the fairing sides. That fairing merges into a new fuel tank that leads back to a redesigned seat and tail.

Kove’s design registrations don’t stop there, as they also show a new 250RR that’s a development of the company’s existing twin-cylinder sportbike of the same name. The new design has a less sharply-pointed nose than the current model, along with reshaped side panels and a new tank, seat and tail. More notably, it also gains a single-sided swingarm and redesigned wheels, plus a high-level exhaust muffler to make rear wheel removal easier.

There’s no indication that the engine is altered, suggesting the updated 250RR will have the same 32 hp as the existing version.

While Kove does sell bikes in the USA, its sport models aren’t yet offered here as the company is focusing on the 800X adventure bike, the 450 Rally, and its MX450 and MX250 motocross models. Meanwhile, the company has recently unveiled a larger four-cylinder sportbike, the 650RR, which appeared on the brand’s stand at the EICMA show in Milan.

Source: CYCLE WORLD