Rx3-p

[rjmorel]

I hear what your saying about Japan quality Sport Rider . I don't think the RX3 cut corners on the American Delphi fuel injection, motor design, cooling system, fuel tank, plastics. But Rims , frame, tires, brakes, mirrors, chains, seat, luggage ,crash bars, suspension etc its possible they did. Whether the quality is up to x brand standards I think it would be the same if x brand would charge for their bikes what CSC charges for the RX3. Profit margin is the corner cutter decider no matter what color you paint the rig.
On a side note , I rode with a gentleman this weekend who had a new Yamaha WR250 w /300 miles on it . He had his 2nd alternator failure while riding this weekend. First one was recalled and fixed. I rode most of the weekend with my GPS ,heated liner and heated grips on and had no problems. (Thank you CSC for the 300 watt output of the alternator). Even used my usb port to charge his cell phone.
Rode with some Harley guys last night and they were telling me about 2 of their group having the shifting linkage splines strip out this week end and having to gerry rig it to get home.
So there is always exceptions to anything man made even if it is the most expensive bike out there.
For what I paid for the RX3 ,I'm satisfied and think that by taking care of them maintenance wise it will last longer then it takes me to get tired of it and want something else.
Maybe there are cut corners on the RX3 that we can live with but I definitely don't think there are any cut corners on the part of CSC and how they treat their customers and I wouldn't say that for alot of other x brand dealers or manufactures. rj

[BlackBike]

Originally Posted by FastDoc

Thoughtful intellegent points raised here.

One way I look at it is if Japan built a $3,000 motorcycle with the standard accessories on the RX3 they would have to compromise on the build to the point it would be similar quality to the Chinese product.

Most all of the RX3 problems I've read about would not strand a motor officer on the side of the road or affect his (her) or the public's safety.

Even if they threw the RX3 into the dumpster every year it would probably still be less than the cost of a Concours, FJR, BMW, or HD (Victory, Indian, etc)

I'd hold out for a Ducati if I was the officer though. The Multistrada makes a popular police bike in Europe, and it CAN run down a Corvette ;-)

Hold on there ducati, we are just talking about parking ticks and pothead college students

It is good to see that they would be more hands on maintaining since there are no local zong repair garages.

[FastDoc]

"It is good to see that they would be more hands on maintaining since there are no local zong repair garages."

Another good point. I view that as the biggest negative for a Police Department adopting this motorcycle.

[detours]

I think the RX3 will be an excellent police bike, whether for campus, town or forest and fire road patrol. Its low cost, light weight, load capacity, seat height, 300W alternator, and surprising power make it a great choice.

But there are also some easily remedied negatives:

• The stock seat is not comfortable for long hauls. It's good for 2 hours at most. Your officers will thank you for upgrading to the tall seat from Seat Concepts.
• The 35W stock headlight is weak by any standard. A 55W halogen will melt the housing, so replace with a bright LED.
• The stock chain is only good for 5000 -7500 miles.
• Many find it geared too tall even when not fully loaded. An inexpensive 13T front sprocket or 45T rear mitigates this.
• There have been some reports of failure of the stock battery. But the police version may use a different battery.

But overall, the RX3 is a solid, nimble bike that will impress you, and not just at the price point.

[RedHawk47]

Originally Posted by Sport Rider

I know they put great assessment into the matainenance side of the equation and that's where these bikes don't have a lot of useful history. The RX3 is a nice motorcycle, but they ARE made in China where build details and tolerances are not up to other more modern production practices. do you have considerations such as that in your adoption plan?

there were some recent posts here regarding Honda's lastest 250 offerings. from a reliability standpoint (and as much as I am a fan of chinabikes), those might be more practical in the long run, all costs considered.

Read Joe Berk's book "5000 Miles at 8000 RPM". Joe is an engineer and an expert regarding quality control. He has visited, and inspected, the factory in China and found their product and processes to be excellent. In a year's time Zongshen builds 400,000 motorcycles, and an additional 600,000 engines for other manufacturers. They would not sell that many if they were not good quality.

[Ron B]

For those that dont have a RX3 (and those who may not know) if you cant work on it CSC will help find a local shop that will work on it and pay them direct for warranty work. I found a local shop that will work on mine if anything major goes wrong.

[rtking]

Originally Posted by Ron B

For those that dont have a RX3 (and those who may not know) if you cant work on it CSC will help find a local shop that will work on it and pay them direct for warranty work. I found a local shop that will work on mine if anything major goes wrong.

Agreed, RonB. There are several shops that will work on the RX3 in my area, but I'm in a major metropolitan area. But in my dialogs with those shops, the major issue with Chinese bikes (Korean, some Japanese, British bikes as well) is the same issue they have with older motorcycles (especially scooters or less popular models): Parts availability.

The shops don't want to spend the majority of their time trying to hunt down parts or researching what parts might retrofit into the bike. Or conversely, have to reverse engineer a solution to work to make the bike functional.

CSC is the game changer. With parts readily available, reasonably priced, and technical assistance a phone call away, I think more and more shops will not shy away from servicing the RX3.

As for me... I like wrenching on my own ride (even when I make mistakes as I learn from them.) Plus it's good practice for road-side repairs if needed (and I've not yet experienced the need for one of those.)

In terms of ChiefDean's original post, I fully believe the RX3 will excel at the mission that ChiefDean has envisionsed. For campus patrol and student interface, the RX3 will do just about everything the bigger bikes will do, but much more economically. (Both in terms of fuel economy and service costs, especially if they will do their own maintenance.) And if there's a need for low speed pursuit (not over 60-70 mph), changing to the 13T counter sprocket will give plenty of torque multiplication for in town speed acceleration.

[dpl096]

Rtking can't be more correct! parts parts parts parts... that's been the achilles of the CR market. CSC, and it's looking like RPS, is trying very hard to turn that upside down... a good mechanic can work on about any bike .... but they can't fabricate replacement parts out of thin air. Great post RT.

[BlackBike]

Originally Posted by Ron B

For those that dont have a RX3 (and those who may not know) if you cant work on it CSC will help find a local shop that will work on it and pay them direct for warranty work. I found a local shop that will work on mine if anything major goes wrong.

That solves the repairs question. However, there's the one question about inner - state rivalries . Auburn - Tuscaloosa we gotta make this work.

ready for sec football!

[Sport Rider]

SEC? Really? Ohio State!

not sure if ChiefDean will be back to this thread, but curious how many units they intend to run.

[BlackBike]

Originally Posted by Sport Rider

SEC? Really? Ohio State!

not sure if ChiefDean will be back to this thread, but curious how many units they intend to run.

Mississippi state bulldog here...Really. I went to all those season ticket games with my dad as a kid so I'm imprinted for life with those cool southern sec saturdays.


I would think a pair would be best since they could have a way to know if one was acting up.and to compare to. Would be neat to see pics from them if they go thru with it. Hell, what would it cost all of about 12k for two? You could trash one for parts in a pinch and still be ahead compared to a kaw, HD police etc.

[Ron B]

Originally Posted by BlackBike

Mississippi state bulldog here...Really. I went to all those season ticket games with my dad as a kid so I'm imprinted for life with those cool southern sec saturdays.


I would think a pair would be best since they could have a way to know if one was acting up.and to compare to. Would be neat to see pics from them if they go thru with it. Hell, what would it cost all of about 12k for two? You could trash one for parts in a pinch and still be ahead compared to a kaw, HD police etc.

he said in a earlier post $4300. ea. Thats a pretty good deal.

[BlackBike]

fuhgeddaboudit, take the deal !

[Ron B]

Well it was nice to meet chief Dean today, very nice guy . Let him look at mine and take it for a spin. He seemed to like it but since they were up this way they were going to look at the Victory also. Almost 5 RX3,s or 1 victory.

[kohburn]

for the cost savings they could fund every one of them to have their own full time take home bike and have a couple spares in the shop.