New RX3

[Lee R]

I just put a deposit on an Orange RX3 through the buddy program. A friend and I are purchasing them and live in Upstate New York.

This will be a second bike for me for local rides and commuting to keep miles down on my MG Stelvio NTX. I'll probably take it on some longer adventures as well where more dirt is involved.

CSC having all parts stocked and tutorials of the bike as well as positive reviews on the websites are some of the factors that went into confidently purchasing one of these. The 5k mile western tour was a good proving ground for the bikes and it's nice to see they did well. Loose screws and other small issues are no concern, I've had them on every bike I've owned save a Vstrom 650 (it would survive the apocalypse with no maintenance)

I've previously owned a KLR650, DL650, Triumph Tiger 1050 and my current bike is a Moto Guzzi Stelvio NTX. I'm no stranger to adventure bikes or dual sport riding.

The RX3 looks like something I can take and actually use for dirt exploring without fear of spending a fortune on broken parts. I looked at Honda parts availability and couldn't find complete frames or engines which CSC stocks, that's impressive to me.

I'm not sure how it will handle salt in NY as I'm sure it'll get exposure late fall and early spring (I do coat bikes in ACF-50). The Tiger 1050 ran year round in Maryland and saw salt exposure with almost no corrosion using ACF so hopefully that works well on the RX3. If not the bolts are probably pretty cheap to replace if they get too rusty.

I've been lurking here doing research and you guys seem to have a good pool of knowledge and are friendly. I'll get some pictures up in a few weeks when the bike arrives. I'll also do a comparison vs the other bikes I've owned for the curious, especially the MG just for reference. I'm not expecting the RX3 to be as nice as a 16k motorbike but I'll point out the differences anyway.

Lee

[SpudRider]

Thanks for joining us, Lee. We eagerly await your photos and future reports.

[detours]

Congrats and welcome! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the RX3 and learn more about your other bikes.

[Lee R]

I read up on the bolts to check on CSC's websites. Anything else I should check when the bike arrives?

I'll be coating it in ACF-50 right off the bat, including all wire connections and probably the inside of the switchgear if I can access it. That stuff has served me well through all-weather in the past.

http://learchem.com/products/acf-50.html

I witness mark many critical bolts on all my bikes (I'm in aviation) so they are easy to catch hopefully before they fall off.

I'll probably use Rotella T6 for oil, that stuff worked fine in my Tiger 1050 and it's pretty inexpensive. I even went so far as to have the oil analysis done to make sure it was ok and it came back great. It's JASO MA approved and doesn't have the detergents that cause clutch slippage like auto oils.

I have concerns for the headlight output as I'll be commuting in deer infested territory at night so I'll probably install some of these which I've used on my previous bikes:

http://www.2allbuyer.com/

780 lumen pair, they don't blind drivers, produce good output and only use 12w a piece. I used these for over 30k miles in all weather and no failures with either the 780 or 3000 models. I install them with a positap and relay to work with the stock switchgear. They are 69 dollars a pair.

[katflap]

Originally Posted by Lee R

I'm not sure how it will handle salt in NY as I'm sure it'll get exposure late fall and early spring (I do coat bikes in ACF-50). The Tiger 1050 ran year round in Maryland and saw salt exposure with almost no corrosion using ACF so hopefully that works well on the RX3. If not the bolts are probably pretty cheap to replace if they get too rusty.

Lee

ACF-50 is a brilliant treatment, my dealer supplied my RX3 in the winter of this year already sprayed.

We have a lot of salt used on the roads here in the UK during the winter months and my bike so far has no signs of rust apart from the exhaust header pipe.

But as you guys get a stainless steel header pipe this won't be an issue

[dave92029]

My experience with m RX3 is that It appears that an 800 pound gorilla tightened the bolts, the problem isn't having them come loose but being able to remove them when you need to.

[Weldangrind]

Welcome, Lee!

[Jay In Milpitas]

Lee, being in the aero trade you may be interested in knowing that most, if not all, the fasteners that hold the body work on are not magnetic. Implies to me that they're some stainless alloy.

The handlebars are aluminum as are the footpegs, the passenger peg brackets, and the passenger hand holds. I plan to keep an eye on them for galvanic/intergranular corrosion.

I think your MG has a dry clutch like my airhead, so oil selection isn't so critical regarding clutch. I can't vouch for Rotella, they may have a blend that specifies it's okay for wet clutches.

The auxiliary lights you're showing seem great. With the deluxe wire harness that CSC specified for us, you won't even have to resort to the positaps.

Regards, Jay.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by dave92029

My experience with m RX3 is that It appears that an 800 pound gorilla tightened the bolts, the problem isn't having them come loose but being able to remove them when you need to.

I agree, with the notable exception of the exhaust header bolts.

[Lee R]

If you guys are riding in any rain/salt treat the bike to some ACF-50 the stuff is amazing.

I'm glad the fasteners are one tight until I need to remove them. I've had a lot of fasteners come loose every bike loses one or two in the first few thousand miles it seems.

Jay, the MG uses a dry clutch. The oil for that thing is unicorn blood though as it's very hard to find 10w60 4t Synthetic. The Rotella I used in my previous Triumph and Vstrom it's the T6 5-40 synthetic, JASO MA rated. It costs 15-20 dollars a quart for the Guzzi and 3.5 quarts every 6k miles.

I'm quite familiar with screw adjustable valves as my Stelvio uses those, it takes about an hour to adjust both as the covers are fully exposed on the sideways vtwin. It's probably the easiest bike out there to adjust valves on. I'm looking forward to 70mpg for commuting though as the MG averages 32-40mpg.

[detours]

Some have had excellent results with Rotella T6, but I'm personally not a fan. It made the clutch in my wife's TU250x and my vstrom 650 sticky and grabby. I stick with mobil1 4t, amsoil, or castrol synthetic.

[SpudRider]

I have had superb success with 15W/40 motor oil. I currently use Mobil, Delvac 15W/40 in all my motorcycles.

[AZRider]

Welcome Lee, I'm sure that you'll love your RX-3. Although mileage is great, be prepared for lesser results as I'm guessing you will wring the RX-3's neck both accelerating and at top speed. But don't worry, the bike has a masochistic nature and loves being flogged.

Also, thanks for the link to the lights.

[2LZ]

Congrats on the order! I'm becoming more and more intrigued with this bike every day, especially for Mrs. 2LZ. We used to open-road bike camp a lot until we moved to the foothills and her current Victory Kingpin just isn't as fun, nor as tossable in the canyons as she'd like it to be. She's a very seasoned cyclist but simply put, it's a big bike. She was thinking of getting another Sportster just for local riding but I'd sure like to have her try one of these. Just that So Cal is a jaunt for a test ride.

[DanKearney]

Howdy Lee,

Welcome. The RX-3 is a perfect Catskills/Adirondacks bike. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Thanks for the info you gave on those aux. lights. I did some googling and I just ordered a set for my RX-3.

Cheers,

Dan K.