New Zongshen RX3 (ZS250GY-3) Dual Sport

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by CSCDude

As we say in Baja, Spud, si.

Thank you, Joe.

That single bolt is not a big deal. I'm confident I can eliminate the need to remove the trunk and rack with a little judicious trimming of the colored body panel .

[SpudRider]

The Silk Road Rider gave his Zongshen RX3 a good, 15,000 km test ride from the east coast of China, to Istanbul, Turkey.

http://kelleyssilkroad.blogspot.com/

Here is an overview of his route.



He didn't have any fuel injection problems, engine problems, overheating, et cetera during his ride. His RX3 performed very well, except the bike sustained several damaged, rear wheel bearings. He surmises the bearing problem was caused by improper torque on the rear axle. I think the problem was more likely caused by improper tightening of the rear axle adjusters.

Here's a photograph of the axle adjusters on the Zongshen RX3. As you will note, these adjusters are tightened at the rear of the swingarm, and the drive chain pulls on the adjusters.



You can view a closeup photograph of the adjusters at the following link.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...60&ns=1#detail

On my Honda CRF250X, as with most dirt bikes, the rear axle adjuster consists of two pieces. A bolt and lock nut are located in front of the axle. The axle passes through a separate block, which is easily removed from the axle without touching the adjustment bolt. Here's a photograph showing this axle adjustment system on another motorcycle.



With the Zongshen RX3 system, it is vital to secure the rear bolt of the adjusters with a second lock nut behind the swingarm. The interior nut must also be tightened securely against the rear of the swingarm. If all these nuts are not thoroughly tightened, the drive chain can loosen the nuts as it pulls on the adjusters, and might cause misalignment of the rear axle, and impact forces on the wheel bearings. This condition will be particularly harsh on the wheel bearing next to the drive sprocket. Please note, the lock washer is missing from the axle adjuster in the following photograph.



If the rear lock nut was missing at the dealership when he picked up his RX3, or he didn't tighten all three nuts properly, the Silk Road Rider would most likely damage his wheel bearings.

[SpudRider]

Please note, the axle adjusters employed by the Zongshen RX3 are also used by other motorcycles. Here's a photograph of this type of axle adjuster on another bike.

[SpudRider]

The Zongshen ZS150GY-10 motorcycle employs the same chain adjusters, and a very similar swingarm to the RX3 bike. The following photographs demonstrate the proper way to secure the chain adjusters for this swingarm.

[Motomapper]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

Thanks for posting the informative video, and the photograph of our 'spy,' Joe.



Joe, what method did you use to obtain the measurement for the fork travel? Also, please confirm you don't need to remove the luggage to access the foam air filter, as reported by the Silk Road Rider.

So, my cover was blown. So I went dark for a few hours
By the way, Ronald Reagan museum is a nice side trip from CSC, in case anyone was wondering.

So, sat on the bike and before anyone asks I am 5'7" with a 30 inch inseam. Just managed flatfoot - a little light on the feet but still had the heel down on both sides.

As was said earlier, bike looks much better in person. Online doesn't do it justice. Especially the blue one. Fit and finish wise this is a gorgeous bike.

Seems Joe answered all the questions already about accessing the filter, electrics etc. As for the plastics, not sure what they are made of - I think they'll ask the manufacturer and confirm - but replacements will be available and not too expensive. That said, looking at the bike from all angles I think the plastics are well protected with the placement of the guards. Barring dropping this thing on a tree stump or rock with a direct hit to the plastic, I think the guards will do a good job protecting them - the geometry looks right for that - even for the plastic panniers.

Didn't get a chance to see the red one as it was in for testing. So be it, I'm sticking with the blue anyway. I had a go at standing on the pegs and for the most part (at my height) it felt like a good standing position. Maybe a touch too low on the bars but nothing to write home about.

Enough talk. Pictures and video should say more than I can. They might come in a series of posts while I figure out how to load them. Here's a link to the closeup walkaround video

[SpudRider]

Other than the chain guide and different, rear brake calipers, the ZS150GY-10 and RX3 swingarms appear to be almost identical. The ZS150GY-10 comes equipped with an 18-inch rear wheel, and the hub of this wheel looks very similar to the hub of the RX3 wheel.

The photographs in the previous post show both sides of the rear wheel on the ZS150GY-10. Here are photographs of the RX3 wheel for comparison. First, let's look at the brake rotor side of the wheels.





Now, let's look at the sprocket side of the wheels.





If the entire ZS150GY-10 rear wheel doesn't fit the RX3, I wonder if the 18-inch spokes will fit?

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Motomapper

So, my cover was blown. So I went dark for a few hours ...

...Enough talk. Pictures and video should say more than I can. They might come in a series of posts while I figure out how to load them. Here's a link to the closeup walkaround video

Well done, thou good and faithful Zongite.

[SpudRider]

Thanks for zooming in on the switchgear, MM. You are correct, the blue bike is beautiful. However, I still prefer orange, which is faster.



The introduction to your video is very professional.

[SpudRider]

Looking at the very last frames of MM's video, I saw something new. Is it possible the CSC version of the RX3 has a cush (cushioned) hub? If so, that's good, but it will affect sprocket selection.

[SpudRider]

The cushioned hub might be a modification to deal with stress on the wheel bearings. That cush drive looks a lot like the one from the ZS200GY-2.

http://www.taobao.com/view_image.php...ate=20352&fv=9

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by Motomapper

So, my cover was blown. So I went dark for a few hours
By the way, Ronald Reagan museum is a nice side trip from CSC, in case anyone was wondering.

So, sat on the bike and before anyone asks I am 5'7" with a 30 inch inseam. Just managed flatfoot - a little light on the feet but still had the heel down on both sides.

As was said earlier, bike looks much better in person. Online doesn't do it justice. Especially the blue one. Fit and finish wise this is a gorgeous bike.

Seems Joe answered all the questions already about accessing the filter, electrics etc. As for the plastics, not sure what they are made of - I think they'll ask the manufacturer and confirm - but replacements will be available and not too expensive. That said, looking at the bike from all angles I think the plastics are well protected with the placement of the guards. Barring dropping this thing on a tree stump or rock with a direct hit to the plastic, I think the guards will do a good job protecting them - the geometry looks right for that - even for the plastic panniers.

Didn't get a chance to see the red one as it was in for testing. So be it, I'm sticking with the blue anyway. I had a go at standing on the pegs and for the most part (at my height) it felt like a good standing position. Maybe a touch too low on the bars but nothing to write home about.

Enough talk. Pictures and video should say more than I can. They might come in a series of posts while I figure out how to load them. Here's a link to the closeup walkaround video

Thanks for the terrific report and the informative video.

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

If the rear lock nut was missing at the dealership when he picked up his RX3, or he didn't tighten all three nuts properly, the Silk Road Rider would most likely damage his wheel bearings.

I agree. I also wonder how much of it was inferior bearings. Perhaps a swap to quality Japanese bearings would be cheap insurance.

[Motomapper]

Having a little difficulty uploading the photos I took yesterday

I have them on a shared drive - link here:
http://1drv.ms/1yvKAHz

Have a few closeups, underside showing suspension, bash plate, welds on the crash guards, etc.

If I can figure out the issue with uploading images here, will load them with descriptions.

[SpudRider]

Thanks for taking the great photographs, MM. If you don't mind, I'll post a few of them for you.

I host my photographs at Photobucket. You can learn how to post photographs on these forums by reading the following thread.

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=8377

Here's a closeup of the rebound damping adjusment on the shock absorber.



Here are some photographs of the faster, orange bike.

[SpudRider]

Here's a photograph of the metal skid plate, and the oxygen sensor attached to the exhaust header.