Newbie!

[sqwert]

5 weeks vacation coming up. Already have RX3, aluminum luggage, skid plate, comfy seat, center stand, Silverstar Ultra, brush guards, highway pegs, drilled flat face shield for short windscreen, ..., assortment of CSC's little guards and such. Maybe a ride from NW Tennessee to California to meet CSC crew. Maybe take a ride with Mr. Berk? 1913 miles 1-way, all limited access. SS1000 or BB1500, maybe? What other gadgets will help?

Anybody know a source for the plugs to fit the extra power sources under the seat and next to the speedo? Need plugs to hook 7" round LED headlights to extra switch and relay without cutting wire harness.

[dpl096]

Welcome aboard!

[vttrailboss]

Hi, and welcome! If you haven't used them, you should have two of those plugs to use. Mine came in the rear rack (stock, plastic bags). If you didn't get any, maybe give CSC a call and ask for them.

[Sport Rider]

if you have 5 weeks and want an adventure, go ride some of the Trans America Trail.

welcome!

[fjmartin]

Welcome to the Zong family. As mentioned, the bike should have come with pigtails to solder onto your lights so it's play and play with A1 or A2. I didn't need a relay. I'd think you'd only need one if you wanted A1 to acrivate one set of lights and A2 to activate something else would keeping A1 on. By default they are exclusive positions. Have fun on your trip! I'm taking mine to Alaska in a few weeks!

[2LZ]

I think if I ever had five weeks off in a row, it would be REALLY hard to talk myself into going back to work.

Welcome and enjoy your trip!

[pyoungbl]

Welcome aboard! It sounds like you have already put lots of thought into setting up your bike for serious travel. I'd still recommend a serious shake down cruise before you set off on a 5 week trip. Maybe a long weekend from TN over to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a couple hundred miles, or tackle the TN part of the TAT. My thought here is that you will probably find some 'adjustments' are required in order to stay in the saddle for a long trip. In my case I have the comfort seat but it's still not quite right for much more than 200 miles. I also had to change the suspension, first to the Progressive shock and then to a lighter spring. These are the kind of changes you can't easily make on the road and they make a world of difference on a trip.

FWIW, a few RX3 folks are going to get together in Marlinton, WV...24-27 August. I hope you can join us.

Peter Y.

[Jay In Milpitas]

Originally Posted by sqwert

Anybody know a source for the plugs to fit the extra power sources under the seat and next to the speedo? Need plugs to hook 7" round LED headlights to extra switch and relay without cutting wire harness.

http://www.cscmotorcycles.com/A1-A2-...3-p/z35-99.htm

http://www.cscmotorcycles.com/RX3-DA...p/csc-1007.htm

[rojo_grande]

http://www.chinariders.net/showpost....9&postcount=26

Purchased something similar to this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-Seller-4...QAAOSwMNxXZwbI

Crimped and soldered on.

Rojo

[rjmorel]

I cut mine off and put in their place "battery tender" style plugs. I don't think the first few shipments came with matching plugs for you to use, rj

[SpudRider]

Welcome; we are glad you joined us.

[sqwert]

Originally Posted by rjmorel

I cut mine off and put in their place "battery tender" style plugs. I don't think the first few shipments came with matching plugs for you to use, rj

Mine came out of the first container. Do not really want to cut harness, but I have plenty of plug options in a drawer under the work bench. Will call CSC tomorrow.

The comfort seat with a pad is still not perfect, but tons better than stock. Can't do tank-to-tank for medical reasons. Current seat and pad plenty good enough.

Will be using relay for high and low, just because already on bike and ready to go.

Already done TAT TN to OR, and back. Been to Prudhoe Bay, too, cousin is a shot there and we took a ride on TW200s. Didn't buy a RX3 for TAT type rides, got bike better suited. RX3 would be better than TW200 for Dalton Highway by far. RX3 serves a different purpose, two lane touring, paved or not. Powerband is too narrow for plugging dirty a 400 pound bike, but fair trade for highway performance, gear spacing a bit on the narrow side but well suited to powerband, final drive ratio too tall for offroad but okay on anything a 2wd truck can be driven on and 13 countershaft kind of small, tires not aggressive enough but work well on asphalt and tar-and-gravel. TT250 is all that's needed for a TAT bike, just farkle appropriately. GS will get you there faster. FLCTH will get you there noisier. All about decisions.

Need to install auxiliary B/T/Ts, order 19-inch front wheel, brake upgrade, 2 teeth bigger wheel sprocket. Maybe weld an auxiliary fuel tank--the bike prefers real gasoline, sometimes hard to find.

[sqwert]

Looking for aluminum rims 17x3 and 19x2.5. Can't find either on internet.

Sticking with stock widths because skinnier tires for more traction makes no sense. Never seen anyone do good science when going to larger rim diameters and narrower tires. Seems more aggressive tread style on new tires so size comparison is not valid. Not saying right or wrong, just not valid. Experience with different treads of same sizes indicates tread style makes more difference than just about anything else no matter the riding surface. Seen good rider with new adventure tires crash 6 times in 1 day on wet trails. 2 weeks later, same rider, same bike, old almost worn out MT21s on same trails but wetter, no wipe outs. Happens often.

[sqwert]

Will a 0.40 inch (10.6mm) taller battery fit? On the road chasing dollars and can't measure myself.

Upgrading headlights to J. W. Speaker adaptive LEDs, 3 of them. Don't need more battery for cruising straight, but fast corners with hard leans the lights draw up to 4.2 amps (79.6 watts) each and will need some battery power to stay bright. Total headlight draw at full tilt low beam 12.6 amps (238.8 watts) max. Deduct the OEM 2.3 amp (35 watt) headlight and according to the CSC website there are 14.7 amps (175 watts) available when she's spinning fast enough.

Upright low beam 5.7 amps (68.6 watts). High beam I can wire the extra electrics CSC included for free (yeah!) to select 1 (6.0 amps, 116.4 watts), 2 (8.3 amps, 144.4 watts), or all 3 (9.6 amps, 182.8 watts), while the others stay on low (except when all 3 are on high), depending on how deserving an oncoming driver needs to be woken up.

The bike is already fitted with 6 rear T/T/Bs that draw a combined 1.4 amps (16.2 watts) when the brake lights are on, which means low engine RPM, so more power from the battery is needed. I still need to fit brighter T/Cs to the front since the new headlights will totally block forward view of the stock turns, so a bit more battery power will be needed at low RPM.

So, I'm looking at a Shorai LFX21A7-BS12. Yes, I am aware of the lithium's heavy draw limits, but in this application that concern simply doesn't apply. Highest draw conditions will be short and relatively infrequent most of the time, so I'm looking for more of a stater type performance. Hence, lithium is a better choice than lead/acid. I don't do prolonged idles, and I'll be able to turn off all headlights from the bars if I want the 4-ways on while stopped along the road for some reason. This battery advertises a CCA of 315, 37% more than the Yuasa YTZ14S claims, and only costs about $20 more. That's why the extra 0.4 inch is so important.

Can anyone do a quick measure for me?

Thanks.

[pyoungbl]

sqwert, Since the RX3 cranks out 300 watts (at some rpm, probably above 4K) your calculations would mean that your electrical stuff will find enough spare electrons to power them.....except there is a significant power draw built into the engine itself. I don't have numbers to throw into the discussion but previous bikes with fuel injection have required at least 100 watts just for the fuel pump and ECU. I have not seen any figures from CSC so I'm just shooting in the dark here. With that said, I'd recommend wiring in a volt meter or ammeter in order to avoid any surprises. My RX3 has a small voltmeter installed for that very reason. I like to run heated gear, aux lights, and GPS. So far no drama but when everything is cranking I also keep the engine spinning. Different bikes, I know, but I have seen these electrical draw issues on GS650GS and Guzzi V7...to the point where the riders were stranded. Those bikes had about the same electrical power as our Zong.