After building up Kove Moto before departing it last March, Zhang Xue is back with a new motorcycle company.

Aptly named ZX Moto after his initials, the new manufacturer is primarily focused on pavement racing with its flagship ZX 500RR four-cylinder motorcycle and 820cc three-cylinder bikes (the 820X adventure bike and the Zhàn 299, the latter originally known as the 820RR). However, there is also a 450cc rally raid bike in ZX’s inventory. If development goes well, Zhang hopes to take it to the Dakar Rally as soon as 2026.

Zhang founded Kove in 2017 for off-road and superbike competition, and his leadership would eventually bring it to the Dakar Rally in 2023. Differences in leadership opinions prompted his resignation as CEO in March 2024, though he remained a stakeholder and Kove still operates factory racing programs in rally and road racing.

Nonetheless, his exit led to Kove’s factory rally divisions splitting into multiple teams. Excluding privateers and single-rider teams, the latest Dakar Rally in January saw five different Kove outfits: the original Kove Moto operation, Supesunr Team led by longtime Kove rider Sunier, Kove Italia Lucky Explorer from the manufacturer’s Italian distributor, and Mason Klein’s family team in RallyGP. Xavier Flick and Fang Xiangliang left Kove for Hoto Motorcycle, which was formed using ex-Kove personnel and was at Dakar just six months after its founding.

Deng Liansong, who raced Dakar for Supesunr Team, was among the participants in a March 15 test for the ZXJC 500RR.

“I asked [Zhang] what he thought of his product. He said he is a person who pursues perfection in his products,” Deng commented after his test. “He thinks this is a good product, but in today’s competitive market, he is also betting on himself for the final time. We wish him great sales for his product.”

Should ZX make it to Dakar in 2026, it is probable that Zhang uses a similar playbook to the one he developed for Kove. Described as a five-year plan, it focuses on finishing the race in the first year, a top 20 in the second, top ten in the third, podium in the fourth, and victory in the fifth.

Featured image credit: LG通讯社