New Zongshen RX3 (ZS250GY-3) Dual Sport

[rjmorel]

Spud , for what it is worth , I put those same Kenda? tires on my bike and it raised it a little and made it easier to put on center stand. rj

[DanKearney]

I've found it fairly easy to lift the bike on the center stand by centering the bike on the two points of contact while holding the stand down with my right foot and then lifting up-and-rearwards using the crash bar in front of the left-side pannier as the grab point.

Cheers,

Dan K.

[Eco Mouse]

Teaser shot of the first prototype aftermarket center stand, fresh off the plasma cutter. I'll be welding this weekend and doing the first fit-up.

[katflap]

Yesterday for a fraction of a second I had an electrical power outage. The engine didn't stall but sounded like a lawn mower for about 3 to 4 seconds while the instrument panel went through its test sequence.

I took the ignition switch apart, which was quite easy and without springs and contacts flying every where. I did find signs of corrosion on the contacts.

If your like me and ride in all weathers it might be worth adding a quick check of the ignition switch contacts to your routine maintenance list.

[katflap]

Spud,

Did you ever manage to find an alternative counter shaft sprocket that would fit.

Not that a plan on changing mine yet, Just out of interest

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by katflap

Yesterday for a fraction of a second I had an electrical power outage. The engine didn't stall but sounded like a lawn mower for about 3 to 4 seconds while the instrument panel went through its test sequence.

I took the ignition switch apart, which was quite easy and without springs and contacts flying every where. I did find signs of corrosion on the contacts.

If your like me and ride in all weathers it might be worth adding a quick check of the ignition switch contacts to your routine maintenance list.

Thanks for posting the good tip, Kat.

[Adjuster]

Originally Posted by katflap

Yesterday for a fraction of a second I had an electrical power outage. The engine didn't stall but sounded like a lawn mower for about 3 to 4 seconds while the instrument panel went through its test sequence.

I took the ignition switch apart, which was quite easy and without springs and contacts flying every where. I did find signs of corrosion on the contacts.

If your like me and ride in all weathers it might be worth adding a quick check of the ignition switch contacts to your routine maintenance list.

Smear everything with dielectric grease should solve any future problems and the switch will just work better.


/

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by katflap

Spud,

Did you ever manage to find an alternative counter shaft sprocket that would fit.

Not that a plan on changing mine yet, Just out of interest

The closest match I can find is the JTF432, but the measurements are not exactly the same.



My measurements of the RX3 C/S sprocket are:

ID Tooth Diameter: 19 mm
OD Tooth Diameter: 22 mm
Width: 11 mm

The JTF432 fits a variety of Suzuki motorcycles.

DR200 SE
DR-Z400 E
DR-Z400 S

Someone might want to experiment with these C/S sprockets. However, CSC sells the 14T, RX3 C/S sprocket for a very reasonable price. Both the 13T, and 14T C/S sprocket for the RX3 are also readily available for sale on Taobao. Therefore, it doesn't make much sense for U.S. residents to mess around with another C/S sprocket, which might possibly damage the counter shaft.

[katflap]

Thanks for the update Spud,

Close but no cigar

I agree, not worth taking the risk of damaging the splines

[katflap]

Originally Posted by Adjuster

Smear everything with dielectric grease should solve any future problems and the switch will just work better.
/

Thanks for the tip, I will get some in there

My bike is parked up, all day, outside my place of work. So gets a good soaking when it rains.

I have recently found out that the cap from a can of WD 40 will fit over the ignition lock. This might also help protect from water ingress

[detours]

Finally found time to set the bike up and go for a test ride today. Here are my first impressions after an hour on the bike. No pics cause it was dark, but I'll get some tomorrow.

CSC set up the bike so almost everything was installed. The rear wheel needed some alignment and the chain was too tight, so I loosened it up. The windshield wasn't easy to mount, but once bolted in was very stable in the wind and did a great job. The brake pedal is higher than I like, but not bad. The engine and exhaust are noisier than my Vstrom, but only a little louder than my wife's TU250x. But over 55 mph, the wind covers it up anyway.

Still needs breaking in, but wow this is a fun bike! Stable, easy to maneuver, no buzz in the handlebars or pegs, and surprisingly good acceleration. Shifts smooth too. The gears are spaced perfect for the engine. I never felt like I had to hold a gear extra long to keep from losing too many RPMs after a shift. The engine likes high RPMs, but trying to break it in by the book, I tried to keep it in check. The sweet spot starts around 6500. For the most part, the fueling is very predictable. However, there's a noticeable flat spot when you first roll on. I stalled once at a light and almost did several more times. You just need more clutch finesse in first gear. However, once you get moving, you're past the flat spot and the fueling is close to perfect.

My optional 19" wheel was easy to ride and largely corrected the speedometer (based on a radar sign I passed). I think it leveled out my seat too. I didn't feel pushed into the tank like some have reported. The seat is very firm, much harder than my Vstrom, but I had no soreness in the hour I was in the saddle. My shinko 804/805 off-road tires were much quieter than I expected. I thought they would hum or throb, but they're as quiet as most other tires I've run. Made a quick pass over some dirt and they felt stable and sure footed, much better than my Vstrom's stock tires.

Suspension was stiff, and seemed a little softer in the front than the rear. I like things balanced, so after I take it offroad I'll decide whether to reduce the rear preload or add some to the forks. Ergonomics are good, nice upright touring position. Plenty of room in the cockpit and I can almost flatfoot the bike with my 30" inseam. I did have a little upper back pain after 40 minutes. Probably just getting used to the new ergos, but no numbness in my right hand, which is usually a problem after 20-30 minutes on my strom.

The only real downside to the RX3 was the brakes. After my 40 mile ride, they felt better, and I hope they keep improving as they bed in, but I want more stopping power.

Also, I experienced some strange surging in the engine in 4th gear accelerating around 45 mph uphill. I basically lost and regained power 3 or 4 times over a few seconds. When I rolled off the throttle and shifted down, it went away. Only happened once during the ride, so not sure what to make of it. I'll give CSC a call on Monday.

[rjmorel]

Originally Posted by katflap

Thanks for the tip, I will get some in there

My bike is parked up, all day, outside my place of work. So gets a good soaking when it rains.

I have recently found out that the cap from a can of WD 40 will fit over the ignition lock. This might also help protect from water ingress

If your bike is sitting in the rain a lot, I'd get a water proof cover for it. Sitting out in the rain will ruin a good bike pretty quickly and let water get into all sorts of places and cause problems with the cables, electrics, bearings, pivot points ,etc. Be sure to let bike cool down before putting the cover on so it won't melt from the hot exhaust pipe. I carry a cover on my travels if I know I may encounter rain as they don't weigh anything and can be tied to outside of luggage or scrunched into places to provide padding so stuff isn't bouncing around in the pannier.
Good discovery on the WD 4 cap. rj

[rjmorel]

Detours, good write up on your bike . The brakes on mine did get a lot better and I like how they feel. Suspension on mine is very good on the road and fast gravel roads . Only time I think it needs something better (rider) is in slow single track type rough places and that is only occasionally. The bike and suspension seems to be built very robustly and has survived everything I have ridden so far.
I'd get it broken in with several thousand miles first "as is" before making any major changes. Brakes , seat, engine, etc will all get better if they are like mine did. Now I wouldn't hesitate to go on a long trip with it at all, with out changing anything on the basic bike, except some personal farkling.
I'm thinking it's a KLR Mini ME. rj

[SpudRider]

Detours,

Thanks for posting your impressions, and welcome to The Cult of The Zong.

[katflap]

Originally Posted by rjmorel

If your bike is sitting in the rain a lot, I'd get a water proof cover for it. Sitting out in the rain will ruin a good bike pretty quickly and let water get into all sorts of places and cause problems with the cables, electrics, bearings, pivot points ,etc. Be sure to let bike cool down before putting the cover on so it won't melt from the hot exhaust pipe. I carry a cover on my travels if I know I may encounter rain as they don't weigh anything and can be tied to outside of luggage or scrunched into places to provide padding so stuff isn't bouncing around in the pannier.
Good discovery on the WD 4 cap. rj

Thanks for the tip rj

A cover would certainly help and as you have said, it is light and packs down small.
Why didn't I think of that