Hey All, finally got to go for my first ride. Here is a little writeup I did on it
It was with great anticipation that I left the parking lot of the DMV office. I had been waiting over a week to take the RX3 Cyclone imported by CSC Motorcycles for its inaugural run. Not wanting to waste anymore time since the temperatures were supposed to reach 97 ferinheight, I pulled out onto the main road and I was off. A mile down the road I figured I had better pull off and check tire pressures just to be sure. A quick check revealed both tires were within acceptable parameters. Pulling back onto the road I rolled on the throttle, and grin spread across my face. Though the RX3 only has a 250cc engine, it feels like more compared to other small displacement bikes I have ridden. It spools up quickly, makes a rather pleasant howl, and shifts quickly and smoothly. One thing I already knew about this bike was that the speedometer was very optimistic. Due to that I had mounted my trusty Garmin so I got get a more accurate speed reading. From the low 30mph to around 50mph the speedo is approximately 4-6 mph fast. (Ex. garmin reads 35 mph, speedo reads 41 mph.) At higher speeds the the error increases to 6-9 mph optimistic on the speedo. I decided I wanted to really put the bike and myself through it paces, so I headed for the East Hayden Lake Rd. This road is 15 miles of nonstop tight corners, many of them which are decreasing radius and off camber. Once I reached this choice piece of tarmac, I started to chuckle and giggle like a school girl. The bike is very nimble, and even though it will never pull out of corners like a liter bike, it's responsive throttling and energetic engine had me already adoring this little machine. Right away I picked up on a couple of things that I will want to address. Front and rear suspension is sprung much to light. This was not surprise as everyone who has been posting in RX3 forums had stated as much. I was getting more nose diving when scrubbing off speed before corner entrance then I would prefer. Then while accelerating out of corners I was experiencing exaggerated weight transfer to the back. Granted, I was pushing the suspensions to get a feel for them. Brakes are a little underwhelming, however very adequate for everyday use. When running the twisties, however I actually found them to work well for this type of riding environment. I determined that both brakes did not grab so fast that I constantly felt I had scrubbed off too much speed. Instead the reduction in speed was very linear and predictable allowing me to keep a more consistent pace. I at some point soon will find a parking lot and do lots of emergency stopping practices which will inform me what to expect in an emergency situation. On my way home after running 30 miles of very twisty and technically challenging road I contemplated the performance of the RX3. It is nimble and quick to respond to input. Once addressed, the suspension will provide a more stable, predictive ride. Brakes are adequate, but emergency stopping practice is a must so I can learn what needs to occur to be effective and safe. (is a must for every bike) Engine is energetic and strong for a 250cc. Overall, I think this little bike will be a ton of fun.
