Dualsport Chic

[Dualsport Chic]

Here I am - rode an Iron Butt Saddle Sore 1000 mile ride Saturday on the BMW F650gs - still recovering . . . Finished a bit under the 22 hour mark. Went through CT, NY, VT, NH, MA.

As for Rex, I have a friend who will assist me in trailering the bike to Wethersfield DMV over the next few days so I expect that Rex will have tags by the end of the week!

I'll keep everyone informed once it does finally happen. It is a small miracle I am able to squeeze the time out of work so thankful to my manager for allowing it.

Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts.

Best,

V

[2LZ]

Great to hear from you and congrats on the iron butt!
Maybe next time do it on Rex!

[BlackBike]

Dsc...hey! Glad your back, we thought we lost you .

[dpl096]

Good to hear from you Chic .... I hope you get RX3 lined out without too much more trouble. Congratulations on the sore butt - well earned

[Dualsport Chic]

Finally - REX IS REGISTERED!!!

[BlackBike]

Originally Posted by Dualsport Chic

Finally - REX IS REGISTERED!!!

Great, we thought we lost you as a cr. Now you can ride and give us your thoughts

[detours]

Congrats! I bet it's nice to finally get that out of the way.

[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

[2LZ]

Great to see you on Rex, DSC! I'm glad DMV worked out just fine for you, other tha one final curveball.

Let me chime in on a few of your concerns.

Like every CB I've had, it will loosen up considerably once broken in. I'm almost up to the 500 mile mark and between the 13 tooth sprocket and the engine loosening, it's no rocket but much more spry than out-of-box. The 13 does rob you some top speed though.

Play with the rear shock. I have the stocker and after an adjustment on the dampening and then unwinding the spring about 2.5 turns, it came right in and balanced with the front. It "bounces evenly" and responds very well in the corners now. I'm 200 pounds.

The shifting has smoothed out nicely to where even my neighbor commented on how smooth he thought it shifted. I have changed the oil at about 85 miles since this one wasn't prepped by CSC and I wanted to dump the original junk. The slight "double snick" into 6th is now about gone. This is something I've also felt in tops gears of other bikes. I think it's when the forks hit the stop on the drum. Just guessing though. Also, check the shifter bolt. It was tight, but the shifter wasn't snug on the shaft. It had a little wiggle and I needed to "cinch the pinch".

Yah....every CB mirror I've ever had has been more designed to match Voltron than actually provide a great rear view.

Unrelated: Adjust your chain and align the rear wheel. Mine was very tight and off center. Pop the plastic caps off the swingarm pivot bolt and use a tape measure. There's zero obstructions and you can align it perfectly. Between this and setting the rear shock, I'm totally impressed with the cornering prowess of this bike.

I look forward to your official write-up after break in!

[pyoungbl]

DSC, good to finally see your bike on the road! FWIW, I have the Progressive shock with minimal preload. The bike rides best with some load in the panniers. Without any cargo the ride is still harsher than I would like but once loaded down it feels great.

[BlackBike]

Dsc.. sounds like smartly appointed options. I love the silver color, clean and classy. Here is my replacement mirrors and work as advertised, much better than bashan stock. Can see around shoulders. Nice n wide, take a look ,under $20 .

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[CSaddict]

I also scrapped the idea of using the csc hand guards. They still haven't provided me the correct width handlebars. I bought a wrap around set. Check out the windshield from Yoo in Thailand. It's really much better. Keep an eye on the shifting.

[Dualsport Chic]

Originally Posted by BlackBike

Dsc.. sounds like smartly appointed options. I love the silver color, clean and classy. Here is my replacement mirrors and work as advertised, much better than bashan stock. Can see around shoulders. Nice n wide, take a look ,under $20 .

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks BB - these look like they will be MUCH better than stock - ordered!

[Dualsport Chic]

Originally Posted by pyoungbl

DSC, good to finally see your bike on the road! FWIW, I have the Progressive shock with minimal preload. The bike rides best with some load in the panniers. Without any cargo the ride is still harsher than I would like but once loaded down it feels great.

Good to know - will try it - I do think my front and rear set up is out of balance which is causing a strange repetitive bumping/shaking at certain speeds. Not the engine as persists when clutch engaged - either wheels or suspension.

[Dualsport Chic]

Originally Posted by 2LZ

Great to see you on Rex, DSC! I'm glad DMV worked out just fine for you, other tha one final curveball.

Let me chime in on a few of your concerns.

Like every CB I've had, it will loosen up considerably once broken in. I'm almost up to the 500 mile mark and between the 13 tooth sprocket and the engine loosening, it's no rocket but much more spry than out-of-box. The 13 does rob you some top speed though.

Play with the rear shock. I have the stocker and after an adjustment on the dampening and then unwinding the spring about 2.5 turns, it came right in and balanced with the front. It "bounces evenly" and responds very well in the corners now. I'm 200 pounds.

The shifting has smoothed out nicely to where even my neighbor commented on how smooth he thought it shifted. I have changed the oil at about 85 miles since this one wasn't prepped by CSC and I wanted to dump the original junk. The slight "double snick" into 6th is now about gone. This is something I've also felt in tops gears of other bikes. I think it's when the forks hit the stop on the drum. Just guessing though. Also, check the shifter bolt. It was tight, but the shifter wasn't snug on the shaft. It had a little wiggle and I needed to "cinch the pinch".

Yah....every CB mirror I've ever had has been more designed to match Voltron than actually provide a great rear view.

Unrelated: Adjust your chain and align the rear wheel. Mine was very tight and off center. Pop the plastic caps off the swingarm pivot bolt and use a tape measure. There's zero obstructions and you can align it perfectly. Between this and setting the rear shock, I'm totally impressed with the cornering prowess of this bike.

I look forward to your official write-up after break in!

Good stuff - thank you 2LZ!