New Zongshen RX3 (ZS250GY-3) Dual Sport

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

I laughed out loud at that one. The Blur tune was a nice touch.

I had to look up "prefecture-level city." Sounded like an SAT test to me.

Thank you, Weld.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Wolftrax

Thanks for the video. My preconceived notions of China have been turned upside down. The economic freedoms they enjoy makes me envious. Its easy to understand now why a great deal of western companies are now investing in China.

Indeed, they possess more economic freedom in Chongqing than we do in the United States of America. I was particularly impressed by the beautiful, friendly people of the city.

[SpudRider]

The Minben is now approaching Nanjing, formerly know in the occident as Nanking. Nanjing has a population of over 8 million people, and was the capitol of six dynasties, including the Ming Dynasty.

[katflap]

Originally Posted by Wolftrax

Any chance you could take a pick of the exhaust side pannier rack?

As requested





had a quick look at how to change the head light bulb.

1/ Remove screen

2/ 2 allen bolts either side of headlight ( I made a couple of marks for resetting head light beam height)

3/ 9 screws to release back of head light

[Wolftrax]

Originally Posted by katflap

As requested

Thanks Kat. I'm trying to visualize whether or not the stock racks will accommodate my soft bags. You're photos have been most helpful.

[culcune]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

The Minben is now approaching Nanjing, formerly know in the occident as Nanking. Nanjing has a population of over 8 million people, and was the capitol of six dynasties, including the Ming Dynasty.

It's getting close to Jiangsu where my TMEC was made...

[culcune]

...and speaking of TMEC--I mentioned it several pages ago--I plan to be in L.A. the weekend of March 27, 28, and 29th. I might even ride to L.A. the Thursday before and ride back on the MOnday after on the 200. Even if not by bike, I will be there, so if the bikes are ready, those planning to pick up their bikes, hopefully we can all meet up.

On Thursday the 26th on the way in to L.A., or on Monday the 30th on the way back to Yuma, I plan to stop at Excalibur to look at the Madass 50, and a couple of new products they now carry, and if Joe would put up with me, CSC to see the RX3 in person.

[detours]

Originally Posted by culcune

On Thursday the 26th on the way in to L.A., or on Monday the 30th on the way back to Yuma, I plan to stop at Excalibur to look at the Madass 50, and a couple of new products they now carry, and if Joe would put up with me, CSC to see the RX3 in person.

The Madass is a sweet little bike. My wife has the 125 and she loves it. Check out these pics!

Don't know if you're looking to buy one, but you'll like it ... just be prepared for some TLC. The 125 suffers from some build quality issues (and yes, it's chinese-built). The carb is cheap, with a plastic throttle tube guide and wonky floats. The switchgear is brittle plastic. And the frame bolts and lock washers are low quality steel with poor threads, so the nuts loosen and break under torque.

And did I mention she loves it?

So I found a $30 mikuni carb and I'm replacing bolts one by one. I'm going to replace the clutch cable pretty soon and am looking for replacement switches since the choke cable mount broke.

[culcune]

Excalibur only carries the 50's, because whoever has the certificate to the 125's would not let them negotiate to bring those in as well. I am thinking of getting one once I get my accident settlement or tax return, (or not if I don't get any money, LOL). If I got one, I would keep it stock for a while, and then look into a project down the road, such as a crate engine upgrade to a 140cc or at least a stock 125cc which seem quite available and reasonably priced. I am quite aware of Chinese quality (or lack thereof) since I have owned a total of 3 Chinese enduros, so the things you described are not deal breakers--but Excalibur is pretty good about finding the highest quality bikes and such he can find, and he does oversee the assembly in China of his container load, so he might have addressed some of the stuff you mentioned proactively.

I am digging the Batman motif, and your wife looks like she is proud of her badass madass!!

[detours]

Thanks, I asked her if she prefers batgirl or batwoman, and she says ... I'm batnurse.

A replacement engine is an easy bolt in. The 125 has great power for town but tops out around 50 mph. A 39-tooth sprocket helped at the top end, but now there's a little too much space between shifts. A 140cc with the 39-tooth would be sweet!

Don't mean to thread-hijack, but the Madass is a fun bike.

[SpudRider]

Thirty minutes ago the Minben entered port on the north bank of the Yangtze River, opposite the city of Zhenjiang, which has a population of 1.2 million people. Perhaps the Minben is fueling, and/or loading/unloading cargo.

Zhenjiang is an important transportation hub, since it is located at the junction of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. With a length of 1,104 miles, the Grand Canal is the longest artificial waterway in the world, linking Beijing, and the Yellow River in the north, with the Yangtze River, and Hangzhou in the south.

[SpudRider]

After spending less than one hour in port, the Minben is once again underway. The vessel will now sail in a general southeasterly direction until it reaches Shanghai on the Pacific coast of China.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by katflap

As requested

Thanks for posting the great photos and the excellent information, Katflap.

[rjmorel]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

That's a neat idea. Does it take some getting used to, in terms of shifting and braking?

A little time to get use to particularly starting off. My peddles rotate 360 deg so sometimes they get spun 90 deg to where they should be flat. So I just flick it to where it should be with my foot . Just like we used to do while riding a bicycle when we were kids. I could put a O'Ring fastened to the peddle to keep it from rotating 360 deg but havn't felt it that big a deal to do it. Once moving the wider platform is very comfortable especially when going up and down fire service roads with the bike rocking fore and aft where I'm standing up most of the time. Going down the highway no problem shifting or breaking. Overall my feet don't get near as tired compared to the smaller pegs I had on it. rj

[SpudRider]

The Minben will very soon pass under the bridge at Jiangyin.







Past this bridge the Yangtze River begins to widen rapidly. Some time today the Minben will probably arrive in Shanghai.