Rx3 engine break in - Page 2

Eco Mouse · 05-05-2016, 07:44 PM

Well, here's the deal with my philosophy on this bike... first off, I'm not a timid newbie, and I know my way around a wrench.

But more importantly, we are ambassadors for a new market of bike being imported from China. Purchased, sight unseen, over the internet and without a dealer network. If this bike breaks sooo easily under real world riding conditions, it's ultimate long term sales and general public adoption rate will plummet.

If I coddle it, and baby the bike every step of the way, and at the end of the bike's lifecycle, whatever that may be 5-10 years... and brag about how I got 100,000 miles on my Chinese bike, they are built like tanks, everyone should buy one! Then that's rather disingenuous, and not reflective of a real world riding scenario.

I've skipped oil change intervals, ignored my tightening valves until I absolutely needed to adjust them. Forgot to oil my chain after a long weekend excursion. Etc... Basically, I'm riding this bike and enjoying it.

I wish I had some video for you guys, we took the RX3s on some gnarly desert single track, and up some pretty steep rocky inclines. The bike handled flawlessly, and nobody dropped their bikes this whole weekend! Point is, I flogged it, the bike took it. Some of the trails were beyond my skill level on this heavy of a bike.

At the end of this bike's chapter, I want to be able to say, I just bought it and started riding it. Here's the problems I had, and here's where the bike surprised me. And have a genuine opinion about the bike's real world durability.

AdventureDad · 05-05-2016, 09:20 PM

EcoMouse... you made some salient points. I, personally, dont want to abuse it, nor coddle it. I may take it a bit easier for the first 1k, but you made a good point. Buy it, ride it, enjoy it. This first batch will essentially make or break Zongshen (worldwide) and/or CSC.
The bikes have come a long way thus far with ADV acceptance, garnering more and more respect. If they were fragile, a styling exercise, unreliable, etc, that will set Chinese bikes back 5-10 years in the US and elsewhere.
How many of us baby our cars and trucks? Exactly.

DanKearney · 05-06-2016, 09:17 AM

There's quite a difference (IMHNEO - In my humble, non-engineer opinion) between breaking-in a motor properly vs "coddling" the bike.

Break it in properly, then ride it hard.

The break-in period is an important determinant of the long term reliability.

Cheers,

Dan K.

2LZ · 05-06-2016, 11:07 AM

Everyone treats their own things differently. I'm a maintenance freak because it's also my hobby. I love to wrench on bikes and keep them as close to perfect as possible....plus ride them. It's just how I play.

Regarding break-in, I just basically do what the manual specifies by the people who built it. There are "hot spots" for the first handful of miles that can create tons of friction until the parts are surfaced. There was a guy here a while back on a brand new Q who grenaded it due to running it dang hard and full out with virtually no miles on it. I saw the motor in the shop and it was definitely due to not breaking it in properly. The cam froze in its bearings (hot spot), snapped the cam chain and you can picture the rest. The dealer (known as Doug here) was nice enough to cover it the first time but told the guy "no more". If he was going to beat it like a bad donkey, then he was on his own.
Not sure whatever happened to him. He just vanished from here.

CSaddict · 05-06-2016, 11:51 AM

I have always believed, if it's going to break, it's going to break. You should be able to take this thing right out of the box and ride it like you would every other day. The guy who took it out of the box and blew it up on the highway would have prolonged the death of the engine by taking it easy at first. It would have blown up anyway. With that said. I'm keeping my bike under 7k and under 6k most of the time for 500 miles then I'm letting it have it. If it dies it dies. I feel no need to justify my purchase if it isn't truly warranted.

My blog will reflect every success and failure in bold truth.

Still waiting on how Destini's bike died.

SpudRider · 05-06-2016, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSaddict

...Still waiting on how Destini's bike died.

Who is Destini, and what bike does he own?

Eco Mouse · 05-06-2016, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSaddict

...The guy who took it out of the box and blew it up on the highway would have prolonged the death of the engine by taking it easy at first. It would have blown up anyway...

Thank you, that was the long winded point I was trying to make.

If it's going to break, it's going to break. The price of this bike is so low, that I could just buy another one while this one is being worked on. Or... a whole new spare engine would barely set me back $1500 at maximum. I've spent that much on a set of Panniers.

Ron B · 05-06-2016, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eco Mouse

Thank you, that was the long winded point I was trying to make.

If it's going to break, it's going to break. The price of this bike is so low, that I could just buy another one while this one is being worked on. Or... a whole new spare engine would barely set me back $1500 at maximum. I've spent that much on a set of Panniers.

Wow.....you have way more money to blow than I do.

I need to ask for a raise...

Eco Mouse · 05-07-2016, 03:27 AM

I promise, you probably have more cash on hand than I do. But I look at money differently now. It comes just as easy as it goes. I have no resistance to it, nor do I feel there is a lack of it. (Even if my bank account says otherwise)

If there is something I want, I get it... (maybe it takes a bit of time) but I don't let the price tag deter me. Sometimes, I have to get what's OK for right now, like Harbor Freight stuff, or like this Cyclone... but I'm still getting basically what I'm attracting. (ie, tools and a motorcycle)

Live free my brother! Freedom is in YOUR mind, no one else's!

jbfla · 05-07-2016, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eco Mouse

........ a whole new spare engine would barely set me back $1500 at maximum...

Complete new engine = $2,500......plus shipping.

http://www.cscmotorcycles.com/ENGINE-p/z25-100.htm

jb

CSaddict · 05-07-2016, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpudRider

Who is Destini, and what bike does he own?

Destini is on the Facebook group and had a complete failure on an RX3 that required an engine replacement. CSC sent the motor up to the shop. That's all I've heard so far. I'm interested on what exactly failed.

SpudRider · 05-07-2016, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSaddict

Destini is on the Facebook group and had a complete failure on an RX3 that required an engine replacement. CSC sent the motor up to the shop. That's all I've heard so far. I'm interested on what exactly failed.

Please keep us updated regarding this matter. Also, please invite Destini to join us at China Riders.

Eco Mouse · 05-08-2016, 04:13 PM

CSC isn't the only place you can get that engine. Plus, do the math on $2500 engine bought from them... It's way over priced. If the bike originally sold for $2895 on their "Don't miss the boat sale" and even if they only made $200 profit per bike, you really think that engine is worth $2500, and the entire rest of the bike and all it's components only total a few hundred dollars? Please...

I doubt the guys are CSC are really that bad at math that they would wander into the expensive, time consuming venture of importing and regulating bikes, if there wasn't a profit to be made on every nut and bolt. In the retail world, there two types of "Profit". The kind you show, and the kind you actually make.

Plus, it's also not that unreasonable, with a couple of weekends in the work shed, one could put in any number of transplant engines into the subframe. People do it all the time.

05-06-2016, 09:17 AM	#18
DanKearney Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 216	There's quite a difference (IMHNEO - In my humble, non-engineer opinion) between breaking-in a motor properly vs "coddling" the bike. Break it in properly, then ride it hard. The break-in period is an important determinant of the long term reliability. Cheers, Dan K. __________________ Dan Kearney - Black Hawk, Colorado, USA Dan's Motorcycle Blog - "Lost? I'm not lost. I'm just exploring. . ."
	0

05-06-2016, 11:07 AM	#19
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,095	Everyone treats their own things differently. I'm a maintenance freak because it's also my hobby. I love to wrench on bikes and keep them as close to perfect as possible....plus ride them. It's just how I play. Regarding break-in, I just basically do what the manual specifies by the people who built it. There are "hot spots" for the first handful of miles that can create tons of friction until the parts are surfaced. There was a guy here a while back on a brand new Q who grenaded it due to running it dang hard and full out with virtually no miles on it. I saw the motor in the shop and it was definitely due to not breaking it in properly. The cam froze in its bearings (hot spot), snapped the cam chain and you can picture the rest. The dealer (known as Doug here) was nice enough to cover it the first time but told the guy "no more". If he was going to beat it like a bad donkey, then he was on his own. Not sure whatever happened to him. He just vanished from here. __________________ "Light a fire for a man, and you heat him for a day. Light a man on fire, and you heat him for the rest of his life." 2007 Suzuki DRZ400S (SM convert) 2009 Q Link XP 200 1967 BSA B25 250cc Starfire 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 1948 Royal Enfield Model G 350
	0

05-06-2016, 11:51 AM	#20
CSaddict Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 200	I have always believed, if it's going to break, it's going to break. You should be able to take this thing right out of the box and ride it like you would every other day. The guy who took it out of the box and blew it up on the highway would have prolonged the death of the engine by taking it easy at first. It would have blown up anyway. With that said. I'm keeping my bike under 7k and under 6k most of the time for 500 miles then I'm letting it have it. If it dies it dies. I feel no need to justify my purchase if it isn't truly warranted. My blog will reflect every success and failure in bold truth. Still waiting on how Destini's bike died. __________________ 2016 CSC RX3 Ginger Edition Check out my blog here: https://www.facebook.com/My-CSC-Zong...0302595973417/
	1

05-05-2016, 07:44 PM	#16
Eco Mouse Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 158	Well, here's the deal with my philosophy on this bike... first off, I'm not a timid newbie, and I know my way around a wrench. But more importantly, we are ambassadors for a new market of bike being imported from China. Purchased, sight unseen, over the internet and without a dealer network. If this bike breaks sooo easily under real world riding conditions, it's ultimate long term sales and general public adoption rate will plummet. If I coddle it, and baby the bike every step of the way, and at the end of the bike's lifecycle, whatever that may be 5-10 years... and brag about how I got 100,000 miles on my Chinese bike, they are built like tanks, everyone should buy one! Then that's rather disingenuous, and not reflective of a real world riding scenario. I've skipped oil change intervals, ignored my tightening valves until I absolutely needed to adjust them. Forgot to oil my chain after a long weekend excursion. Etc... Basically, I'm riding this bike and enjoying it. I wish I had some video for you guys, we took the RX3s on some gnarly desert single track, and up some pretty steep rocky inclines. The bike handled flawlessly, and nobody dropped their bikes this whole weekend! Point is, I flogged it, the bike took it. Some of the trails were beyond my skill level on this heavy of a bike. At the end of this bike's chapter, I want to be able to say, I just bought it and started riding it. Here's the problems I had, and here's where the bike surprised me. And have a genuine opinion about the bike's real world durability.
	3

05-05-2016, 09:20 PM	#17
AdventureDad Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: South Mississippi Posts: 253	EcoMouse... you made some salient points. I, personally, dont want to abuse it, nor coddle it. I may take it a bit easier for the first 1k, but you made a good point. Buy it, ride it, enjoy it. This first batch will essentially make or break Zongshen (worldwide) and/or CSC. The bikes have come a long way thus far with ADV acceptance, garnering more and more respect. If they were fragile, a styling exercise, unreliable, etc, that will set Chinese bikes back 5-10 years in the US and elsewhere. How many of us baby our cars and trucks? Exactly.
	0

05-07-2016, 03:27 AM	#24
Eco Mouse Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 158	I promise, you probably have more cash on hand than I do. But I look at money differently now. It comes just as easy as it goes. I have no resistance to it, nor do I feel there is a lack of it. (Even if my bank account says otherwise) If there is something I want, I get it... (maybe it takes a bit of time) but I don't let the price tag deter me. Sometimes, I have to get what's OK for right now, like Harbor Freight stuff, or like this Cyclone... but I'm still getting basically what I'm attracting. (ie, tools and a motorcycle) Live free my brother! Freedom is in YOUR mind, no one else's!
	0

05-08-2016, 04:13 PM	#28
Eco Mouse Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 158	CSC isn't the only place you can get that engine. Plus, do the math on $2500 engine bought from them... It's way over priced. If the bike originally sold for $2895 on their "Don't miss the boat sale" and even if they only made $200 profit per bike, you really think that engine is worth $2500, and the entire rest of the bike and all it's components only total a few hundred dollars? Please... I doubt the guys are CSC are really that bad at math that they would wander into the expensive, time consuming venture of importing and regulating bikes, if there wasn't a profit to be made on every nut and bolt. In the retail world, there two types of "Profit". The kind you show, and the kind you actually make. Plus, it's also not that unreasonable, with a couple of weekends in the work shed, one could put in any number of transplant engines into the subframe. People do it all the time.
	0