New Zongshen RX3 (ZS250GY-3) Dual Sport

[rtking]

With the days getting shorter (or the nights getting longer), I decided to add some reflective decals to the wheels and forks. The wheel decals were the ones most important to me.

I ordered a set of reflective wheel stripes in black so during the daytime, the RX-3 looks the same. But at night with headlights shining on the bike from the side (or a camera flash), the bike now stands out a more and motorists should identify the shape in front of them as a motorcycle..

I did the same with my former bike (Yamaha Tmax), and that worked out pretty well. That bike wasn't very visible from the side (dark blue paint and black plastic), and these wheel stripes helped quite a bit.

[Jay In Milpitas]

Originally Posted by detours

The review you asked for a while back is finally online.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/fi...clist-magazine

Thanks for sharing. This is the second review I've read that mentions the ignition and luggage use the same key, but mine doesn't. Not complaining, just observation.

[SpudRider]

My RX3 uses the ignition key to unlatch the pillion saddle. I have a second key which locks/unlocks he luggage.

[detours]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

My RX3 uses the ignition key to unlatch the pillion saddle. I have a second key which locks/unlocks he luggage.

Same here. I wish they were all keyed the same, but it's not that big a deal.

[Lee R]

Mine uses the same key for the ignition/seat/luggage, maybe they made a change?

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by detours

Same here. I wish they were all keyed the same, but it's not that big a deal.

I agree; it's not a big deal. However, if Zongshen made a change with the newer bikes, that's a nice little improvement.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by rtking

With the days getting shorter (or the nights getting longer), I decided to add some reflective decals to the wheels and forks. The wheel decals were the ones most important to me.

I ordered a set of reflective wheel stripes in black so during the daytime, the RX-3 looks the same. But at night with headlights shining on the bike from the side (or a camera flash), the bike now stands out a more and motorists should identify the shape in front of them as a motorcycle..

I did the same with my former bike (Yamaha Tmax), and that worked out pretty well. That bike wasn't very visible from the side (dark blue paint and black plastic), and these wheel stripes helped quite a bit.

The reflective tape looks good, and really increases the bike's conspicuity.

[Jay In Milpitas]

Originally Posted by Lee R

Mine uses the same key for the ignition/seat/luggage, maybe they made a change?

Possibly just luck of the draw, i.e. The lock supplier providing the parts in only a certain number of patterns for each, so the key may or may not work every thing.

With my non-keyed-alike RX3, I received two rings with two keys each. 4 total, which I split in to two "sets" for the bike.

[Jay In Milpitas]

Originally Posted by rtking

With the days getting shorter (or the nights getting longer), I decided to add some reflective decals to the wheels and forks. The wheel decals were the ones most important to me.

I ordered a set of reflective wheel stripes in black so during the daytime, the RX-3 looks the same. But at night with headlights shining on the bike from the side (or a camera flash), the bike now stands out a more and motorists should identify the shape in front of them as a motorcycle..

Looks great. I thought about those myself, but hadn't seen the black.
What width did you get, and what source?

[rtking]

Originally Posted by Jay In Milpitas

Looks great. I thought about those myself, but hadn't seen the black.
What width did you get, and what source?

Thanks Jay.

I bought from eBay at this link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/321846943524

Default is 9mm, and that seems to work well with the RX-3. One thing I did notice on my bike though… I had to clean the wheels REALLY well before putting these reflective decals on. I resorted to a lot of rubbing alcohol and get a lot of what I'm assuming to be protective grease off the rims. I think Zongshen may do this to help ward-off any corrosion while the bike is in transit, and it doubles as tire shine (which I cleaned off also to reveal a nice, bright red "CST" logo on the front and rear tires.) I guess my next job is to give my bike its first bath!

[pismocycleguy]

Originally Posted by rtking

Interesting. I wonder which agency will be the first to put the RX3-P into service.

I can just see the California Highway Patrol chasing traffic violators on the many freeways in California. Think the RX3-P can catch a Corvette speeding down the 405?
Maybe better catching one of the MB Smart cars? Or patrolling the Bike Lanes?

[rtking]

Originally Posted by pismocycleguy

I can just see the California Highway Patrol chasing traffic violators on the many freeways in California. Think the RX3-P can catch a Corvette speeding down the 405?
Maybe better catching one of the MB Smart cars? Or patrolling the Bike Lanes?

Typically Law Enforcement will load up the bike with a fair amount of equipment including radios, armament, etc. I would guess that they would easily add another 60 pounds in equipment plus their own riding gear/body armor.

I suppose I should have better said, which city agency will be the first to use the RX-3. For most city environments, I can see the RX-3 doing the job of the bigger bikes with the exception of any kind of pursuits.

[rtking]

Originally Posted by Jay In Milpitas

With my non-keyed-alike RX3, I received two rings with two keys each. 4 total, which I split in to two "sets" for the bike.

Ditto here, Jay.

I had given thought to seeing if it was possible to re-key the luggage locks, but just never got around to it. I labeled the key for the hard cases so I don't confuse them, so I haven't had any reason to look into rekeying the cases.

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by pismocycleguy

I can just see the California Highway Patrol chasing traffic violators on the many freeways in California. Think the RX3-P can catch a Corvette speeding down the 405?
Maybe better catching one of the MB Smart cars? Or patrolling the Bike Lanes?

Maybe they will be well suited to forestry service roads, with the street-legal ability to ride into town for fuel, or to park at the police station.

Since CSC is the national importer, perhaps there are several States that would be interested in a small dual sport for off-road patrols, not pursuits.

[detours]

Yeah, the RX3 is no pursuit vehicle, but I could easily see it used for accident investigation or to get through traffic gridlock. It would also work for rural police and sheriffs or park rangers and the forest service.