My response to the everide RX3 review

[JKR]

Here is what I posted on a few groups, the youtube video and everide's Facebook page. Yes it's probably petty and comes across butt hurt. Oh well, I have an opinion too and and 6000 more miles than him on my RX3...

As an RX3 owner I was curious as to what the review would entail and I will say it was exactly what I expected. It was accurate and honest but no surprise, disparaging as expected. Came across as the bike is ok but it can’t do x, y, z, etc… It reminded me of pandering to “purists” because if you said the Chinese bike is a good deal for what it is, your primary fan base would call you a sellout, tell you all the places and things this bike CANT do that they can on their KTM, KLR, BMW, etc. I felt the point you were trying to make, and I’m paraphrasing, “CSC markets the bike as a true Dual Sport Adventure bike and it can’t do what the other true Adventure bikes can do”. Really? Adventure is a subjective term. You ran that bike, stock configuration, through some pretty rough shit. As you showed, it made it, can do it but not as good as heavier duty established dual sport bikes. Muffler bolts came out, screws loose, bent rim, crash bars bent, I get it, really do. Bike ran great didn’t it? No engine issues? You might have mentioned that, but where is the laugh in that? You thought it’d be cute to have your wife beat you in a drag race with her Prius, great for a laugh but dude, it’s a 350lb 250cc. Of course the bike will beat it off the line but the top speed is 70-80mph. It’s not marketed as a fast bike, it can’t be and never will be. But you got your laugh from the primary fan base of “true” Adventure riders.

Here’s my point. Im 5’5 145 lbs. I wanted a small bike that had crash bars, luggage, bucket/passenger seat, large fuel tank, water cooled, fuel injection. I had a budget of around 6000. I looked a TONS of used and new bikes. I keep reading peoples comments about “for 4000 bucks you can buy a used dual sport from an established manufacturer”. Really? Where is this small used dual sport with all the things I mentioned I wanted for under $6000. Sure, lots of bikes out there for that price but not with the options I’m looking for. I don’t want a dirt bike with addons. I don’t want an 800cc (smallest I could find) BMW that I have to squash the suspension on so I can ride it. I wanted a small adventure type bike and low and behold there’s the RX3. I researched CSC and Zongshen for 2 months before pulling the trigger. Why? Because like everyone else I was skeptical of the Chinese and price too good to be true thing. I will say after reading tons of material, talking to CSC and other owners of the RX3 and Zongshen powered motorcycles I was surprised at the overwhelming positive info. Long story short I bought it.
It’s my belief that the RX3 fits a niche. Not everyone wants to be Ewen McGregor and Charley Boorman doing an around the world adventure on gigantic $25000+ motorcycles. I live in the PNW. I can ride an hour any direction and get semi desert, mountains, ocean, multiple state and national forest parks. I just needed a bike to get me to work and do some gravel road exploring. I only have 7000 miles on the bike and owned for just over 7 months. I’ve had ZERO mechanical issues. I’ve wrecked it on some pretty wicked clay/mud/rocky trails that I really probably shouldn’t have been on but was able to get back home no problem, able to get parts and get my bike back together VERY inexpensively.

My concern is your review will further stigmatize this small reliable dual sport as a novelty. It is not by any means in my opinion. There are thousands of these bikes all over the world, traveling across China, Russia, Europe, South America under different brand names and mostly carburated versions. You could have totally reviewed it as a good bike for what it is, instead you focus on what it is not because you think it’s being marketed that way? In reality more of an entertainment piece. Get a good laugh trying to beat the shit out of the bike and make the “purists” feel good about spending a ton on their bikes that most will never even take on trails like what you did on the RX3. Again, “Adventure” is subjective. I hope that people who are thinking of the RX3 as an option for a small, reliable inexpensive dual sport bike will not be swayed by your review. In reality you beat the shit out of it but it’s still going and you’re able to auction it off. Most people who would by this bike ain’t gonna subject it to that degree of “offroad” riding.
I do agree with your comparison to Hyundai, Kia, etc. I appreciate you trying to put the positive in but obviously came across as not to disappoint your fan base for the sake of entertainment.

I just hope CSC continues on and are successful. They believe in their product and back it 100%. The warranty is great and their customer service cannot be beat. Parts have been super easy to get. It’s a good looking bike with cool options, easy to maintain, reliable, fun to ride and inexpensive. I could go on and on.

Im the type of guy you addressed in the beginning of your review, so hope I didn’t disappoint…

[culcune]

Not petty at all--you nailed it on the entertainment front and pandering to people with small, you know whats, who have to compensate with massive sized 'adventure' bikes. This bike has never, in my opinion (and this is from WELL before CSC was even considering bringing it in as we discussed it here on the hallowed chinariders site years ago when it was coming up in the world) been a dual sport. It is an adventure bike-lite.

Funny, too, that as a member of Horizonsunlimited I read posts from people who have been to exotic lands on their BMW 1200 something or another who were very impressed with the 'locals' on Chinese 150's taking terrain like African desert much better than the member on said BMW. A few have mentioned similar things about S. and Central America, too.

Having been a member here on Chinariders for 10 years now, and seeing many a Chinese 'dual' sport come and go, but still excellent deals when compared to name brand dual sports, the RX3 was king of the hill. I don't think any of us pre-U.S. RX3 days thought of this bike as being on par with name brands, but rather a superior adventure bike over the common Chinese dual sports.

I would love to see him take a stock CB500X or VeeStrom 650 through the same paces he put the RX3 through...

[pete]

Originally Posted by culcune

I would love to see him take a stock CB500X or VeeStrom 650 through the same paces he put the RX3 through...

We got that wee storm 650 though the scree slides... had deep water channels
running down it.... these slides are a couple 100 metres across....

[culcune]

Originally Posted by pete

We got that wee storm 650 though the scree slides... had deep water channels
running down it.... these slides are a couple 100 metres across....

So, are you suggesting the guy being helped in the forefront of the photo is on a Zongshen??

[2LZ]

So the review turned out exactly as we'd suspected? Not a surprise at all.

Out of ALL of the riders I've known through my life, only ONE had that "I'm going to scale Everest on my dual sport" mentality. The rest road mostly on pavement, gravel roads and some basic trails while camping.

If Everride is pandering to the ONE rider I knew, he's missing a lot of audience....but I feel most of his audience is like the 99% I knew. Bought expensive gear and use it to commute to work most of the time but talk big with the "choir" to feel cool.

Oh well, what did we really expect? We know the truth of the RX3 and CSC and since we own them, that's all that matters to us. We'll keep it our little secret.........

[JKR]

I just hate to see reviews like this hurt an awesome business like CSC. Im afraid too many prospective buyers would be swayed coming across this review in their researching the RX3. No, it's not cool but I know there will be sales lost because of the stigma and this review perpetuates that perception.

[pyoungbl]

I'm not so sure Everride has that big an audience. Every bike I have ever owned has been reviewed by someone who dissed it...as well as others who loved it. I'm talking about 20+ motorcycles over the years. The mainstream rags have all had positive things to say about the Zong. Yes, they did point out what they did not like but the overall view was positive. This guy has his own niche and his own motivation. I'm still happy with mine so his opinion does not matter to me.

Peter Y.

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by pyoungbl

I'm not so sure Everride has that big an audience.

In the top 10 Youtube search results for CSC RX3, 8 were from Everride.
So yeah...Everride is very popular and influential on the internet.
He is making money from his channel on youtube.

I'm afraid his review will have a bad impact. Because people don't realize he doesn't know much about adventure bikes.

Most people don't realize Everride is more of a DRZ400 dualsport rider.
He's used to riding bikes with 12" of suspension travel.
On his channel, the biggest bike he tested is a KLR.
I don't think he is an authority on adventure bikes.
I want to hear it from an expert rider who owns true beastly adventure bikes.
But most viewers don't know that.
Everride sounds very convincing if viewer is ignorant of his background.

I'm also very concerned about his claim that this bike is "too dangerous" to ride. That'll send a lot of potential china bike customer looking else where.

[AdventureDad]

Wait, he claimed it was too dangerous to ride, but he is selling it ? So knowing something is too dangerous to ride, he's fine with someone else riding this deathtrap? He has an ethical or moral obligation to destroy the bike...instead of having someone else risk life and limb on it. I've sold lots of cars and bikes in my day, and that is typically not a selling feature.

I've not heard him say that, but IF he did. ..he gets a thumbs down from me.

[FLorangeRX3]

Originally Posted by JKR

I just hate to see reviews like this hurt an awesome business like CSC. Im afraid too many prospective buyers would be swayed coming across this review in their researching the RX3. No, it's not cool but I know there will be sales lost because of the stigma and this review perpetuates that perception.

2 or 3 people in the comments stated that they were thinking of this bike but not after Everide's "honest" review.

William
'15 Mustard

[FLorangeRX3]

Seems as though he is now deleting any responses from owners that are happy with the RX3. Brutally honest only goes one way.

William
'15 Mustard

[rtking]

Originally Posted by FLorangeRX3

Seems as though he is now deleting any responses from owners that are happy with the RX3. Brutally honest only goes one way.

William
'15 Mustard

He back-tracked one some of the harsh words in his "for sale" video of the bike. But pity that he's deleting the responses from the happy RX3 owners.

[rojo_grande]

Originally Posted by FLorangeRX3

Seems as though he is now deleting any responses from owners that are happy with the RX3. Brutally honest only goes one way.

William
'15 Mustard

It is unfortunate that positive responses for the RX-3 are being deleted.

Lost all respect for everide. I'm a KLR guy and enjoyed everide's channel very much in the beginning. However,it appears he's gone to the dark side since becoming a full-time vlogger, catering to his sponsors and their ideas of what an adventure/dual sport bike should be. Brutally honest..... not so much.

He also loaned the RX-3 to another vlogger buddy to test ride and bash. He's obviously done no homework on the bike and spews the same CB hater rhetoric.



Disappointing.

Rojo

[pete]

Originally Posted by rojo_grande

However,it appears he's gone to the dark side since becoming a full-time vlogger, catering to his sponsors and their ideas of what an adventure/dual sport bike should be. Brutally honest..... not so much.


Rojo

funny you say that.... seems to be very true...

i once read a interview with a bike tester than worked the the now
gone Aust REVS mag.....
he said that they could not be totaly honest about the bikes they were testing if
it was a pile of crap....
as there surpply of free bikes to test would soon dry up if they run them down...




...

[AZRider]

Originally Posted by pete

funny you say that.... seems to be very true...

i once read a interview with a bike tester than worked the the now
gone Aust REVS mag.....
he said that they could not be totaly honest about the bikes they were testing if
it was a pile of crap....
as there surpply of free bikes to test would soon dry up if they run them down...
...

This is one of many reasons why I subscribe to Motorcycle Consumer News, MCN, they do no allow advertising, but they are still able to review the latest and greatest from the manufacturers. They're not perfect, but then again, who is?