just ordered an RX4, what to look out for
 

as the title suggests, i spent some time researching, found that the honda CB and the DRZ would be somewhat away from what im looking for and the RX4 strikes the balance im looking for, also monetarily, was looking at the hawk DLX my buddy has and was happy but as my truck had its major failure i shot for the RX4 instead after looking at the above two, any info or help is appreciated, i have seen the articles on the tires being very street oriented which is fine, any recommendations for a good highway/offroad tire?

Congrats on the new bike! Doesn't it come with Dual sports tires already?

The OEM tires are OK for street and some mild off road riding. You will see that the tread is kinda shallow for anything like mud or sand. I like Shinko 705s but they are really only a bit better than what came on the bike. You will get at least 5K miles off the stock rubber so you have lots of time to think about any upgrade. In the short term I'd consider changing the spark plug for an NGK and possibly installing a DID O-ring chain. As you get more experience on the bike you fill find other tweaks to make the bike truly 'yours'....like any other motorcycle. Welcome to the club!!

Peter Y.

Howdy TBONE !
I love my RX4 but find it is way too heavy for me in my Old age ! I'm not the strong short and stocky guy I used to be now I'm just short ! so I had an issue with it's height!
you wouldn't think it needs to be lowered but it did for me I lowered it 2" in the front and 2.25" in the rear and now I can flat foot it easily though to pull that off I had to Make a new lower link. complete with Bering bronze bushings !
I was concerned with top end speed on the bike but yesterdays Ride proved to me it will do what I want. I don't think I will ever take it to 90mph so the gearing seems ok for now....
I got rid of the foot pegs right away as I got the wide pegs for the Kids TT250 and liked them so much I got them for the RX4.... I can hit bad bumps and my feet stay put !
they didn't on the original pegs.
one bad thing I've found about the RX4 is the resale value I paid over $5000 for it and it seems even CSC will only sell it for $3500 that really SUX ! even if it only has 200 miles on it !....
selling it to a private party is the only way to go obviously !
.....
Bob......

thanks for all the input, what should i do for break in when i get it, im used to car/truck engines not these motos though

yes it does, but they are very street biased, i live out where its a good mix of dirt roads and normal streets (oil field country) so the more balanced tires is what im interested in if the ones on the bike dont feel too good, experience comes from a 125 yamaha YZ 2 stroke

do you have a link to the chain kit, and what the spark plug number is

NGK ER9EHIX Iridium Spark Plug
DENSO IY27


CSC carries the NGK above, and a chain kit in DID as I recall, I have both, installed the NGK the chain is to be installed when needed. So far my original chain is fine.
Mine is a yellow 21 and is lots of fun.
There's a big RX4 thread on advrider.com, and the facebook groups for CSC, so both of those plus this site are must see's.

Nothing special - just ride it. For the first 500 miles or so I did lots of short, hard pulls followed by throttle cuts for engine braking in order to wear in the piston rings when I got mine. Apart from that, I just rode it normally. No need to baby it. I followed the same procedure on my RX3, TT250, and SG400 also, without issue.

thank you for the locations to check out, hopefully i get the bike in on the shorter end of the estimated 4 to 6 week delivery time

Curious where you're getting that 4-6 week time from. Right now on the CSC website, the only entries in the shop for the RX4 are only for the $500 deposit. Those pages say that the bikes will be arriving at CSC some time in November, and after inspection and final assembly they'll be shipped out (assuming you've finished paying for the motorcycle). The RX4 pages also say that these bikes are shipped differently than CSC's other offerings, and can take up to 12 weeks to be be delivered.

So what I'm saying is, don't start any countdowns yet.

i went through a local shop that buys used and new bikes, so expect about 12 months then, would it be faster if i drove out to California to pickup the bike?

if its ok with you would i be able to send a dm just to make sure the info i got was correct

Sure I guess? But I don't have any information that isn't on the CSC website. If you're getting the bike from somewhere else I have nothing to offer

TBone:
to answer your question on brake in procedure ...CSC says just ride it, but don't lug it !
and I think that is good advice ! the bike was extremally TIGHT being new, don't be disappointed by it's power when you first get it as it does improve !....SERIOUSLY !
it is that tight internally !
so don't over rev it, and don't lug it.... use the transmition ! I kept the RPM around 5000RPM for the first 100 miles ... till it loosened up a bit ! and didn't ride it longer than 30 minutes at a time and let it cool before proceeding.
although I haven't even changed the oil yet on mine I think I will this winter just for S&G's.....

Also be aware that the tempiture gauge is off a bit.... CSC says it's generous ( indeed)
so watch the numbers not the gauge ! don't let it get any hotter than 94C it will hover right around 92C i think, so just take it easy on it till your first oil change ! it is SLOW to brake in in my experience.... but after the first 100 miles it started feeling better !
as for the tires I drive on paved back roads and the tires are good for that but I doubt they would be the best on dirt all the time Knobbies would be far better I think for that!
this bike has a very HIGH center of gravity with a full tank of gas ! it has fell over on it's side 3 times for me to my dismay ! it didn't hurt a thing but it is very embarrassing to be spit off the bike at a stop sign ! (that is why I lowered it a long way)
.....
it's a great bike....but heavy for me.... it reminds me of the Honda 1100cc shadow I had ages ago just too heavy to be comfortable !
...
at 70mph this bike is rather quick responding in trajectory a gust of wind will throw you around a bit, more than you'd think for such a heavy cruiser !
...
the ABS brakes scared the Heck out of me ! but I was only using the back brake
I found that if I used both brakes it reacted fine... just one brake though it acted like it let up and went free wheeling .... it didn't but I had to re apply and grab the front brake to not go through the stop sign ! so I recommend applying the brakes to the skidding point to see how it reacts it may well surprise you....it did me ! this bike wants you to use both brakes ! every time ! and I don't always do that.
....
hope that helps !
Bob.......