Keeway TX 450 R Rally 2024 — Specifications

Who would have bet, five years ago, on a Chinese manufacturer to tackle the most radical segment of trail bikes? No one. And yet, Keeway arrives with the TX 450 R Rally, a machine whose silhouette reveals nothing of its intentions: 21/18 inch rims, a prominent beak fairing, suspension that swallows horse reins without a flinch. The assumed reference is the KTM 450 Rally, queen of the dunes and bivouacs. It’s best to aim high.

The aluminum chassis supports Fast Ace suspension with 280 mm of travel at the front, immediately placing the TX in a different dimension than conventional trail bikes. The ground clearance, announced at 255 mm, the high seat at 875 mm: this is not a motorcycle for everyone, and Keeway is clearly not trying to please everyone. The dry weight of 142 kilograms is a real good news, equivalent to that of a boosted 690 Duke in raid configuration. For a motorcycle equipped with a 28-liter tank distributed in three pockets, this ratio is honest. On paper, the autonomy promises long rides without searching for a gas station in the desert.

The 449 cm3 single-cylinder engine develops 43.5 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and 38 Nm at 7,000 rpm. These figures are correct for this type of architecture, but the TX will not play in the same league as a true rally-raid machine that approaches 60 horsepower, or even more for competition versions. The maximum speed announced at 125 km/h betrays a gearing thought for off-road, not for swallowing miles of highway. The 6-speed gearbox completes an engine whose encrypted transparency is rare in this segment — most competitors prefer not to communicate about these data. The single overhead camshaft, the four valves per cylinder and the compression ratio of 10.7:1 compose an engine of classic design, without particular technological surprise.

The onboard equipment follows the trend of high-end Chinese products: 5-inch color TFT screen, backlit switches, 12V and USB socket. The Nissin calipers on the 270 mm front and 240 mm rear discs are a reassuring signature. On the other hand, the carbon parts visible on the first presentation photos — engine guard, spider — deserve to be considered with caution: they will probably disappear at the time of the production version to maintain the price at 10,500 euros. This price is the sledgehammer argument against the KTM 450 Rally, the price of which is three times higher, and positions the TX directly against the Kove 450 Rally, the other Chinese challenger in the segment.

Keeway is here leaving its usual zone of comfort of small displacement engines. The brand, subsidiary of the Qianjiang group which also owns Benelli, does not have the experience of major raids or the sporting legitimacy of the Austrians or the Japanese. But the TX 450 R Rally is aimed at an experienced rider, a serious off-road practitioner, who wants a motorcycle tailored for the real off-road without mortgaging his bank account. If the engine keeps its promises over time and if the suspension proves as effective as their data suggests, Keeway will have achieved a real tactical coup on a niche market that the major brands have long reserved for an elite.