Observations on the RX3
 

I may have ridden more CB's than most of the people on this forum. I'm thinking about 10 or more over the years, and I've owned about 4-5 so I'm in a position to say the RX3 is the best CB I've ever ridden.

Spud generously let me evaluate his RX3 and these are my observations.

The seating position is very good, although much too low for me. I'd want a higher seat. I see why ZS makes it so low to allow sales to more people, but for an ADV bike I'd be more comfortable at least 3" higher.

The handlebars and footpegs are well set up for standing while riding off road. Spud has risers on his bike, I don't know if they are stock or not.

The windshield is outstanding. Good clarity and very effective. Diverts wind blast to the upper chest, not the faceshield and does not add noise or turbulence.

The bags are small. The right one especially so, but as Spud points out, for the extra charge ($0), they are a great value ;-)

The rear shock is way oversprung and overdamped for my 165 pound frame. Very harsh.

The contour of the seat is OK but not my preference. I'm more in favor of a broad flat seat on an ADV/off road bike. I's also curved more to the sides than I prefer, adding pressure to the perineum, but I rode it after riding the DRZ about 10 hours so I was a bit pre-fatigued.

The EFI is spot on. No room for improvement.

The transmission was slick and smooth with well-spaced ratios.

Spud regeared his and it felt right for an ADV bike. I would imagine in stock gearing it was way overgeared.

Power is at the low end of fair. I thought it would be more like my KLX but it was much softer. Part of this is the extra weight which is OK. It has enough to do the job though.

Handling was excellent. I do not agree with reviews that say (the street version at least) is twitchy. This thing handled great. The old dashed white line slalom at 55 MPH was very solid and quick. I very much like the handling.

The instrumentation is some of the best and most complete I've seen on any bike, regardless of price.

The lighting is outstanding, although I think Spud added some LED's.

The overall fit and finish and detail work is on the high end of Chinese, like a 200cc ZS or a Q. You know you are not on a Honda or BMW, but you're not paying for one either :-)

The front suspension is good, but poorly matched to the rear. I thought the travel would be on the low end of acceptable for rough off pavement work. I'd say this is a fire road bike, and good single track. I'd not want it on a rocky trail; although in the right hands it would do that. You'd get banged around though.

The front brake sucked. Almost to the point of being unsafe. Grabby, non-progressive, with a major pulsation. I understand this is a known and surmountable defect. The rear brake was good.

The rack, skidplate and guards are all top notch and no extra charge! The saddlebags are good, just small. On the other hand you'll fit between trees. This would be a bigger advantage back East.

I'm happy to address criticisms of my evaluation, but I think this is fair and honest.

Thanks Doc! I was looking forward to this knowing your CB history and also, being a fellow Q owner.
Fair assessment. I have yet to have the front brake issues on mine and it's working pretty well (with upgraded pads)....but I'm sure its performance may wane down the road. The bags are on the smallish side but for quick town runs, they're perfect for me. (translation: They hold beer. ;-) )

I can tell you, I spent quite a bit of time addressing the rear shock issue and got mine dialed in to be more than acceptable. It's now balanced with the front....so "adequate" is achievable.

Thanks for the write-up!

A nice thing about the RX3 for you in particular 2LZ is that with it's EFI you can ride from Volcano to anywhere in the Sierras and maintain a perfect mixture. Performance will naturally drop as you climb but the bike will continue to run perfectly. I thought the EFI was a great feature on this bike.

Thanks for the review, Fastdoc! When did you test Spud's bike? I'm curious if it had the stock or aftermarket shock when you rode it.

Thanks for the impartial eval, Doc.


Spud has indeed added bar risers, not stock. As to the shock being not suited to your 165 lb. frame, how is Spud's frame? I'm not certain his avatar pic is a currant picture.

I agree on the handling. Not sure if the RX and RC share the same frame, but the specs show the RC using 17" rims front and rear, so it's sure to have reduced trail if the frame is the same.

Reports on the front brake have been all over the scale. By ritual, I cleaned my discs and pucks right out of the crate before riding, in case any "goo" was on them. I'm satisfied with the performance on mine, good grab, progressive feel, no pulsing, and have locked it up twice. Once as a test, the other under duress on the road. Others have reported pulsing, weak grip, and such.

Overall, you now understand the fervor of the followers.

Thanks Doc! As other have said, we appreciate the fair, educated review.

In terms of the brakes, my experience has been that they're not strong with the organic pads. With the sintered pads, they were much, much better. But with the big brake rotor kit, it makes for a very strong braking package... though I've not yet been able to lock mine up. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough. But I can certainly feel the bike pitch forward and compress the forks and lighten the rear wheel when I brake hard.

I believe Spud has the 13T counter sprocket on his bike? That should make the bike feel more lively. And unless I'm mistaken, Spud has the Progressive rear shock and spring on his bike.

I also agree the street handling on the RX3 is very good and very assuring. I had read Motorcycle.com's review of the RC3 and they felt that it was twitchy. I have no such complaints about my RX3... it's stable and just a hoot in the twisty stuff.

I just rode Spud's bike a few days ago. I believe that he has a different spring on it, but I think it is the same shock absorbency. You'll be able to verify that once he checks in on this thread.

And yes, I do understand the excitement about this motorcycle. It really has to be one of the best dollar to fun ratios in a new motorcycle.

It seems to me that whatever problems I found, or for the most part easily correctable. The only things that I would want to change if it was my motorcycle would be the seat (much higher and much flatter for my preferences) and the rear shock absorber.

Spud had mentioned that the front brake is a problem that some people have, some people don't. It feels like a severely warped rotor, but he says that it is actually varying width.

As such, I would imagine it could theoretically be machined, but I am sure that would not leave enough material and it would just warp. I would not say that it is weak on his bike, it's just that it pulls is severely, and would certainly grab riding off-road, or a panic stop on road. It would be interesting to see what other motorcycle brakes could be used instead. It is also interesting that this is not a universal problem.

Spud, I am sure, has more miles on the bike than most people. I don't remember, but I think he was somewhere around 18,000. I do not know when the problem started.

A new disc is only $50. You would pay a decent machinist that much to run the old one through a surface grinder.

Has spud been on vacation from the forum, haven't seen a lot from him here of late?

Take care of that perineum:hehe:

Weather is nice. He is riding I am sure.

Thanks kato, saw the other threads just after I posted.

Wish I had some terrain in my neck of the woods, it all private and fenced in here in texas with a shotgun welcome if you venture too far. Been searching however and have found some good dirt roads so far.

Thanks for posting your review, Doc. ;)

I have installed the aftermarket shock absorber from Progressive. However, FastDoc tested the bike with the heaviest spring, which is far too stiff for his 165 pounds. ;) This spring is also too stiff for me, so I am going to switch to the lighter shock spring sometime later this week. ;)

My original, front brake rotor started to pulsate around 4,000 miles. I replaced it with a new brake rotor from CSC, and the problem disappeared, only to reappear around 15,000 miles. :ohno: I got another replacement rotor from CSC, and I am going to install it later this week. ;)

Spud , is the spring marked so you can tell which weight you have?

I wonder if I got the heavier spring. My progressive shock rode like a rock and reducing preload did nothing but lower the seat because the spring is so short there was nothing to decompress. I put the stock shock back on with zero preload and it's better than the progressive.

11,000 miles per $50 rotor not so bad

I wonder if anyone has had the issue with the bigger rotor?

It's pretty obvious that the little rotor on the RX3 would be fine for the TT and even the itty bitty rotor on Q brakes well and has no pulsation. I just think the standard RX3 rotor is too small a surface for dispersing that much inertia for the weight of it. The RX3 is no "Twiggy"" for a 250. No science here, just a guess.

So far, with the sintered pads, mine's been fine...but the last thing I do is ride aggressively. Time will tell.

Yes, the springs are marked. I currently have the heavier, 500/560 spring installed. I am going to switch to the lighter, 400/450 spring.

progressive shock
 

now I'm confused,,, everyone was saying spending the big bucks on the progressive shock was the holy grail, and would solve the one thing I hate on my rx3 > But lately I'm hearing some grumbling bout how harsh it is? which is the same problem as stock,, I'm 200lbs , but it sounds like the progressive shock by csc is not going to make a difference.

After hours of trial and error I had the stock shock working adequately.

In search of a more compliant ride I put on the 400/450 Progressive.

To me, it seemed like a better/smoother ride on the pavement.

But I've been riding some of the NC forest service roads, and IMO, the ride is still harsh.

I've decided to use the RX3 for my road bike in the mountains, where the speed limit is 55 mph, and road conditions are anything but straight and level.

For that purpose the RX3 is ideal.

For dirt and gravel the RX3's ride cannot compare to the "cushy" stock suspension of my DR 650.

I have been riding the RX3, the DR650, and my TW200 back to back for days.

The RX3 is most like a road bike.

The DR650 is the real dual sport, happy on the road or dirt.

The TW200 is the best for trail riding and single track.

Yes, I have seen all the off road videos of the RX3.

Probably not a popular view...my opinion....ymmv...

jb

Mine is marked 400/450, so I guess I already have the lighter spring. I expected the spring to extend nearly the whole length of the shock body. But my spring only goes a little more than halfway up. Is that normal? I wish it could decompress a little more more to give me the lighter feel I was expecting.

Mine is the same.

jb

Progressive shows a large selection of springs for the shock we are getting from CSC. For my weight (195 lbs), with no preload, the laden sag is within spec. I think the suspension is still too stiff until I load the bike with camping gear, then all is good. Given that situation I believe the problem is the valving in the shock. That valuing is adjustable but requires tearing the shock apart. As an interim try reducing the compression dampening. The next step is to send the shock to a tech who can change the valve stack.

Edit:I have the 400/450 spring.

I guess I'm the only guy here who's happy with his stock shock. It did take a while to set it up correctly but for where and how I ride, it works pretty dang well now. Rough roads, good pavement, dirt roads and some trails. No problems. I'll see if it fades down the road but the bike seems very well balanced now.

2LZ, after the long process of adjusting the stock shock, I was mostly satisfied.

But from riding other bikes over the years, I realized it could be better.

For example, my Indian Scout, with only 3 inches of shock travel, has a smoother ride over rough roads than the RX3.

In search of the smoother ride, I had CSC put on the Progressive shock. For pavement riding, it seems better/smoother to me.

But I'm not sure it's $500 US better, ....off-road I'm not convinced.

jb