New Zongshen RX3 (ZS250GY-3) Dual Sport

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

I think that's a Decepticon.

Indeed!

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

If you search the Dual Sport Forum for 'Taobao,' you will find several threads on this topic. I do suggest you employ a Taobao agent to help you with your purchases. Sometime this coming week I will post a new thread containing step-by-step instructions for ordering items at Taobao.

Thanks in advance, Spud. it will be nice to have a link to point to.

[thillskier]

And yes to the link, please!

[G19Tony]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

Good for you; you are very observant. I didn't read the 'Chinglish' until after your posted your questions.

Indeed, it does appear Zongshen has added rebound damping adjustment to the fork caps. Notice the adjusting screw on the fork cap at the lower right corner of the photograph.



The headlight has also been modified to add at least one more LED. Here is a photograph of the stock headlight.



I'm not exactly sure of the construction of this headlight. Apparently it has an LED strip on each side of the headlight. I believe the blue oval at the bottom is basically cosmetic, and serves as a running light. I don't know if the blue oval contains an LED, or an incandescent bulb. The main light is an H1 incandescent bulb.

The new headlight is described as an LED upgraded version of the headlight. The new headlight contains at least one more LED bulb in the main body of the headlight. I'm guessing it has 2 LEDs, and has removed the H1 incandescent bulb.



Both headlights are sold on Taobao at the following link. The stock headlight costs 138 Chinese Yuan. The new, modified headlight costs 438 Chinese Yuan.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...ucket=6#detail

I haven't yet seen the improved forks for sale, but I am sure they will soon appear on Taobao.

Guess I'll be buying a new headlight. LED lights should be standard on everything!

[katflap]

Originally Posted by Jibberwobble

I've got to say that is indeed a wicked bike, really looks good. Glasto Tor is a nice walk and the gorge must be quite fun to ride

Yeah will have to take a ramble there when it gets a bit warmer.Im still in the early stages of trusting the bike so it will be a while before i dont have chicken stripes on the tyres! that said it was still fun to ride the gorge to help me gain my confidence.

Originally Posted by SpudRider

Katflap,
If you have time, and are so inclined, I would love to know the dimensions of the counter shaft (C/S) sprocket.
You can loosen the locking tab by tapping it lightly with a hammer and chisel/screwdriver. Just widen the tab enough to loosen the bolt. You might also need to loosen the rear axle to get enough slack in the drive chain to remove the C/S sprocket.

You are probably right ,the tabs on the lock washer should survive a few uses.
I could really do with the torque setting for the bolt before i start jumping up and down on a spanner inside a scafold pole.
I really dont want to screw any thing up at the moment ,ive got to ride it to work in the morning

Regarding the plastics --
the Black plastic seems to be all the same , quite flexible .As you have said the orange plastic is different and painted ,though the outer seems to have a Clear Lacquer on top.
The inside of the fork protector i have scrached with a screwdriver to reveal the black plastic underneath ( see arrow in picture )

[thillskier]

I haven't used "wrap" before (in lieu of a repaint), but I'd bet I can get us a GBuy on sets of these in matching colors for our bikes when we need to repaint them. The wraps look like a very good paint job (see STeve's camo wrapped model pics from show).

This would make relatively "painless and very inexpensive maintainance of our bikes "paint" plastics. It will insure the quality of the finishes on the bikes remain high and uniform, rather than haphazard as many "painters" won't do what is necessary to insure quality equal to the Zong factory finish. Bad re-paint COULD give naysayers a bitch that would be hard to disprove, if the plastic fades annually (like on my MX Yamaha blue especially!) and was repainted with runs, not wetsanded or clearcoated, etc. I would like these bikes resale to stay high, ideally at or above purchase pricing, since they are so far below other bikes with much less standard equipment. That will PROVE the quality is not just a perception on Zong bikes, but actually is there long term, as used markets stay strong, honoring Zongs investment in quality design, engineering, and manufacturing!

SOmeone needs to get these spares everyone wants/needs in stock, (like the shifter, LED headlight (unless we get that upgrade), a brake lever thats foldable like shifter (If available now), the wrap (for ALL painted surfaces be available, in case someone changes their color choice AFTER purchase!, or accident, tank dings or other issues, etc. I'd put up $ for the buy and stocking if someone who has experience will help order the stuff and deal with Taobao for a % or whatevers fair we agree on.
Anyone interested pls PM me. Maybe even have a group of owners up to 4 or 5? to "own" the "store" and have discounted goods (Like Geno's Garage does for Dodge truck/Cummins vehicles. COmmon use wanted items that CSC doesn't stock like the reusable oil flters, the above listed stuff, a larger windshield, "loop type bags", heated grips, vest, etc, water proof/resistant gear, etc.

[thillskier]

Also, we could then get the EJK done (and stock WITH tune already installed, develop other tunes for different mods (exhaust, open air filter, turbo kit (if enough interest after mine is installed and independantly tested by ADV pr someother adv online magazine.) etc.
It would be easy then to procure dealership only items then. If a superior tire etc comes out, get them discounted for our "members club" riders, again, like the Turbo diesel register "club".

We could then get access to discounted newest stuff for our bikes, commonly needed stuff not sold elsewhere (or priced right), maintainance items in volume discounts, etc.

There is NO Question, IMHO now, this bike will take off in sales, seems to be already creating HUGE interest and "buzz"/demand. SOmeone will do this eventually. I think some early adopters, who are buying, installing, and testing these items (and will always be testing and looking for better items and or deals might as well allow other owners access to what we already learned and know from our good and bad experience(s).

We could then, legitimately ask for and get new items to evaluate, write up tests on here, then offer to "members on chinariders to get at a discounted price, saving $ for them with a safe and vetted product(s), also driving owners here for maintainance help, upgrade ideas, and ownership experience improvments, all good, IMHO.

[katflap]

I came across this site for spares . Could be interesting

http://www.cart100.com/Search?Search...x3&catId=0&p=5

[katflap]

Decided to check the water level today . The cap is a bit tricky to reach so decided to take the tank side panel off.

First you need to take the black plastic strip off covering the battery.(not shown).

purple arrows= 5mm allen key

green arrows = screws





view of inside tank panel



regular pressure cap



Random picture of front fork with protection removed

[katflap]

this is on the chain side of the swinging arm.

it looks like they want you to check the measurement from the bottom of the fork to the top of chain

[thillskier]

Wow, Zong has it GOING ON in these pics Kat posted, IMHO.
Kinda explains where/why they weigh a bit more, but damn, its handy for us owner riders, especially if we maintain them ourselves. Anyone else notice the pressure cap on the L/C tank? It even has a chain attaching it to a mount so it won't vibrate off/fall off riding and be lost on the trail! Thats a HUGE plus if you do lots of technical (slow and unimproved riding areas), overheated, then didn't tighten enough/properly, allowing it to come off the tank. W/O chain, you could be stranded, or worse, overheated badly, broken down out of cell range (w/o spot type device)! With the chain keeping it on the bike, simply pour some of your hydrating fluid (hopefully water, but anything would work to get back to a safer area to flush and refill. Losing the cap 30 + miles off road, could be life threatening!

The more I see, the more I understand the weight! Those items add up, though are insignificant, individually. WIthout a cap, though, it COULD be YOUR WEIGHT!! (permanently! Yikes!

[thillskier]

Kind of what I was starting to realize as well re some pricing of accessories. If we have a GB type "club" for chinariders club, then we can offer stuff at a good price for members just wanting one or 2 items, w/o the hassle. The quantity discounts are exactly why I think I/we need to do this for our fellow owner/members/riders. This could fund the "member list" nation wide (world if interested) for owners that have parts, a garage, tools, and or mechanical experience they are willing to loan, rent, or otherwise help out any ZOng owners having a bad day while "out" and away from their home riding area. I would REALLY like to get this done, but can tell its gonna take some initial "help" to get it going. (ie financial help and a good amont of time and work, setting it up, and reaching "critical mass", where its both usefull to all members, and has enough listings to actually be able to service those needing help on road. There seems to be initial interest, but not enough people to sustain itself. (maybe when people actually get bikes and start riding it will create more immediate responses?)

I think we need a minimum of 2 per state, average, before its viable, and REALLY can help owners out on the road. WIth enough members, I could contact AAA, etc and get some help with towing, (ie:member discounts for groups plus more).

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by katflap

...You are probably right ,the tabs on the lock washer should survive a few uses.
I could really do with the torque setting for the bolt before i start jumping up and down on a spanner inside a scafold pole.
I really dont want to screw any thing up at the moment ,ive got to ride it to work in the morning ...

We really appreciate all your photographs, impressions, and willingness to help. If you tell us the thread size of the bolt, we can quickly tell you the torque specification. My service manuals list standard torque specifications for every size bolt. For example.

8 mm bolt: 22 Nm, 16 Ft-lbs
10 mm bolt: 34 Nm, 25 Ft-lbs
12 mm bolt: 54 Nm, 40 Ft-lbs

Originally Posted by katflap

...Regarding the plastics --

the Black plastic seems to be all the same , quite flexible .As you have said the orange plastic is different and painted ,though the outer seems to have a Clear Lacquer on top.
The inside of the fork protector i have scrached with a screwdriver to reveal the black plastic underneath ( see arrow in picture )

I'm not surprised regarding the painted plastic covers; this isn't a big deal, and it certainly isn't anywhere near a deal breaker for this fine motorcycle.

Except for the lower fork guards, all of the impact areas of the bike are supplied with flexible, durable, black polypropylene covers. The color is molded into these covers, and they will not fade. The fuel tank is metal, so the paint is not a problem for that item.

The colored plastic pieces are painted, whitish ABS. Any black color underneath is just a base coat. My Zongshen ZS200GY-2 has a similar combination of polypropylene and ABS plastic. I always purchase a spare piece for every ABS cover. When the stock piece fades, I install the spare cover. Then, at my leisure, I paint the removed cover with Krylon Fusion spray paint. This paint is inexpensive, covers very well, is scratch resistant, and comes in a wide variety of colors, one of which should match the color of the fuel tank.

All of the ABS plastic pieces are for sale on Taobao, at very reasonable prices. For example, the lower fork guards sell for 25 Chinese Yuan apiece, which is $4 USD.

Here is a link for the left, lower fork guard.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...ucket=6#detail



Here is a link for the right, lower fork guard.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...ucket=6#detail

Here is a link to the Krylon Fusion website, showing the wide variety of colors available in this excellent spray paint.

http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion-for-plastic/

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by katflap

I came across this site for spares . Could be interesting

http://www.cart100.com/Search?Search...x3&catId=0&p=5

Thanks for posting the link. That site is a good resource for European riders.

[SpudRider]

Katflap,

Once again, thanks for posting the great photos. If you have time, please do measure the counter shaft sprocket for us. Here are the torque specifications for different size bolts.

8 mm bolt: 22 Nm, 16 Ft-lbs
10 mm bolt: 34 Nm, 25 Ft-lbs
12 mm bolt: 54 Nm, 40 Ft-lbs