[Dualsport Chic]

There was one final scare at the DMV yesterday - there was a typo on the vin on my insurance card. Needed to call the insurance company and have them fix it so it would match my C of O and then that beautiful little tin plate was brought forth to adorn Rex and I rode him out of the lot and promptly put 130 miles on him with Inspection and Registration complete.

A few initial observations:

1. He's really slow to wind up (somewhat turtle-esque) - but nimble, stable, and flickable at speed once he gets there. Hope once the valves seat he'll gain some pick up. The bike also tracked very well in corners and liked holding the rider's lines.
2. Suspension definitely needs adjusting - even with the Progressive on the back set to my weight. Ride is still somewhat stiff - not sure if they also adjusted the front forks as I noticed quite a bit of road feedback coming through the front end - especially visible at night as I could see the headlight beam sharply bouncing as I went down the road.
3. LED headlight option SUCKS (not worth the investment) - two major blind spots in it. Not sure what the stock bulb was like but in the very least I will definitely need accessory lighting (Denali's) to correct that as it is hazardous as the rider is almost totally blind around corners due to it.
4. Windscreen is lacking proper buffeting - maybe 30% effective but as I am used to riding a true D/S bike without a windscreen it is not a deal breaker by any means for me.
5. Seat Concepts narrow seat is really nice - and comfortable - huge props there and worth the investment.
6. Wider bars still could not accommodate CSC's hand guards (at least I couldn't figure it out) so I had to send them back. As I am a smaller framed person, I find the wider bars a bit too wide (much like a GS's bar set) so I may change them back out to the smaller bars and just go with Barkbusters which I am sure will fit them (just 3X the price).
7. Bash plate really is a nice and worthwhile option with good coverage of Rex's underbelly.
8. Larger front rotor option provided sufficient braking and seems to fix the commonly referred to 'vague braking' in previous reviews on the RX3 - another worthwhile option.
9. There was some roughness in shifting - a very strange and abrupt movement of the shift lever once I moved into 6th gear. It didn't fall out of the gear but didn't seem to catch properly immediately. I will watch this closely as it is a concern - hope it is just a break-in item.
10. Heated grips worked well and I very much appreciated the 5 settings - nice option.
11. Turn signals - very good lighting there and very visible both in daylight conditions and well as at night.
12. Mirrors - Mediocre - the design is not a very functional one as it obscures some of your viewing area with the tapering towards the outside of edge of the mirrors - will look for an aftermarket fix.
13. Aesthetics - the bike is really a nice looking bike. I purchased the silver model and I found myself gazing at it with a smile quite often when parked. A few friends even commented how Zongshen nailed the design.
14. Kick stand - no safety on it (this can be considered a good or bad thing) but to U.S. standards it would have to be categorized as an issue. Also, known problem of the design with the bottom being too small and potentially digging into the ground causing the bike to fall over. But I was pleasantly surprised to see CSC now offering an aftermarket solution which I will purchase. However, Zongshen needs to address this from a manufacturing standpoint as the stock stand should have a better base out the door from the factory.
15. Accessory power ports (option) are nice and used them to charge my phone which ran dead after the back & forth at the DMV.

Overall - I am pleased with the bike and find it well worth the investment - certainly not an official review which will come as a proper write up in the publications I write for, but I wanted to get my first ride gut impressions out there for whatever they are worth to those who are considering the bike. Off-road testing to commence once break-in and initial oil change are complete.

Best,

VZ