What fooled me at first was the wheel proportions. The 17/19 wheels in the new pic look about the same together as the old 15/18 wheels.

Comparing with an old pic of the blue RX3, I knew the rear had to be a 17 (too much space around the rotor). The front should have looked smaller in proportion, but it didn't, so I knew they must have bumped the size.

I do QA for a living so I love this kind of puzzle :tup:

It has been odd here also, but in reverse. We've already seen temps near 70F, and the blossoms are out in force. Very mild winter here.

To me, that's the answer. A 21" would be nice, but a 19" likely means no messing with the fender. There is an adequate selection of 19" front tires.

Tony:

Good question and thanks for asking it.

I spoke with the engineers at Zongshen when I was there a few weeks ago, and the short answer is yes, there was more discussion, but no, we are not going to pursue it.

The Zongshen engineers convinced me that this is not a good way to go. There are more than a few issues associated with the BMW concept of lacing the spokes on an outer lip to run tubeless tires, and we both decided we did not want to pursue this approach. The issues include increased cost, increased difficulty in mounting/dismounting tires (not a good idea for the kind of riding that may require fixing flats in the middle of nowhere), challenges in keeping the wheels trued, and more. For the foreseeable future, we're going to run wire wheels and tubes.

Joe

You are right; the 19-inch bolts right in and doesn't require fooling around with the fender. It does change the handling, the bike's stance, and responsiveness a bit. It works with the stock sidestand, but the bike leans a few more degrees to the left with the 19-inch wheel on the sidestand. A 21-inch wheel would not fit with the stock fender, and it would require sidestand modification.

What changes, Joe?
 

Does it 19" wheel slow handling and responsivness or?
Also, Do you recommend any of the tubless methods in aftermarket for our ue? ie: tubliss, etc?

The bike obviously sits higher, which was intensified by the Bridgestone Trail Wing tires and the sheepskin seat cover. I didn't ride the bike in the twisties, so I can't really comment on the overall handling impact. My ride yesterday was in heavy traffic and I only went a few miles (see the CSC blog for more info). The bike felt different to me, as I expected it to. In general, smaller diameter wheels and tires provide more responsive steering and quicker handling; larger diameter wheels and tires work better on rough terrain and in the soft stuff. There is no perfect wheel and tire size that does everything in an ideal manner or every motorcycle would have that size wheel and tire. The principal advantages of the larger front wheel are that the bike will work better in the rough stuff, and it opens up a larger menu of tires. It looks kind of cool, too.

I personally do not recommend any of the gimmicks for making a spoked wheel run tubeless. A few of my friends have tried it with mixed results. A guy I know who makes wheels for a living advised against it. Me, I just look at all of those spoke nipples in the wheel and recognize that every one of them is an opportunity for a leak if you attempt to seal the wheel so you can run tubeless. Other people will have different opinions and that's what makes the world go around, I guess. Converting a spoked wheel to tubeless is not something I would ever do, especially on a motorcycle that takes me to some "out there" destinations. It's solving a problem that doesn't exist (in my opinion).

As we have pointed out here and elsewhere, our three test bikes (the first RX3s to enter the US) have optimistic speedos. The larger front wheel and the larger Trail Wing tire corrected most of that error on the one bike we tested yesterday (i.e., the one shown in the photo). We have specified improved speedometer accuracy on the production bikes and Zongshen committed to providing that, so I don't see it as an issue on the bikes currently en route to the US.

That was excellent problem solving, Mr. Holmes. :tup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCOLTzk9Bk8

Just what I was looking for, Steve.
 

Thanks. I kind of suspected that it would slow responsiveness down from increased gyro effects and more unsprung weight also. Makes sense to me now. I also think I know why you went 19" instead of 21, also, re % on road vs offroad expected use of the RX-3 average owners rides.

The biggest issue was the rear 15" situation re tires when not home or shipping address is available or known. Glad you fixed that. Probably the #1 best thing (excepting importing the bike, that is, you've done re the RX-3 for USA buyers. Apparently everyone else agrees with that, as I have seen NO comments for the 15" wheel/tire combo.

Guess if it ain't broke, I'll just ride, for now:) re tubeless issues... I need some tire tools (proper ones) though. I remember changing tires/fixing flats, especially in the field! it being a HUGE PITA when I used to ride as a teenager... (screwdrivers are NOT proper tools to change tube or tires:)!! hehe

OOPs!
 

Joe, I called you Steve my bad:), sorry.

Today the high temperature will push 50 degrees Fahrenheit in East Idaho. Last week the temperature reached 60 degrees for three days in a row. :tup: This fellow in Kentucky is probably not accustomed to shoveling so much snow. ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x84GKqcpY4E

Based on the latest blog pics of the new 17/19 wheels, the tires look like Bridgestone Trailwings TW39 (front) and TW42 (Rear). They seems like a good 60/40 (hwy biased) tire. If they wear anything like the TW101 & TW152 on my V-strom, they should last a long time, except a lot better offroad.

I like the idea of buying the 19" wheel/tire and switching back and forth from stock depending on the ride. But I wonder how much difference changing the front will make offroad if I keep using the stock rear till it wears out.

CSC just posted a tutorial on adjusting the drive chain. :) I have added a link to this tutorial under the Maintenance subheading in the RX3 Sticky thread. ;)

http://chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=14228

That's okay. I want to be like Steve when I grow up, so it was kind of a rush for me...

That's Steve on the left. I'm the good looking one in the maroon jacket on the right.

http://californiascooterco.com/blog/...C0049-650A.jpg

You could regain someone of the sharper handeling by dropping the forks in the triple clamps a bit. Will the 19" wheels be availbe to order and be delivered a long with the stock 18" wheels?

I guessed 4 of the 5 last night and was thinking bigger front wheel but just kept thinking a 21" would look lot bigger. Never occured to think 19", but thanks for the entertaining back and fourth Joe!

The owner ship experience for the RX-3 is proving to quite unique in all good ways and we don't even have the bike yet! Joe once this bike starts getting high visabulity with a bunch of us early adopters running around the back roads I hope CSC is prepared to grow!