New Zongshen RX3 (ZS250GY-3) Dual Sport

[rtking]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

It's official; the RX3 will have the 17-inch rear wheel with the cushion hub. I hope they offer a selection of larger rear sprockets, but one way or another, we will make it work.

Yay! Joe posted up on the CSC blog a bunch of good info. (http://californiascooterco.com/blog/?p=14427)

I posted this on another forum, but thought I'd include the summary from the CSC blog here:

1. 17" rear wheel is now standard (with cush hub)
2. 300 watt alternator will be standard (instead of the former 220 watt)
3. Swingarm is mounted via 4 needle bearings
4. Aluminum panniers and top case will be an available accessory
5. Engine rev limiter is 11,000 rpm, though redline is 9,000 rpm. (Does it make power up to 11K? And what's the rationale for a 9K redline?)
6. Each bike is dyno tested and must spin up to 91 mph minimum (94 mph observed)

Per Joe, the 17" rear wheel will result in a 2.6% reduction in gearing vs the 15" wheel and tire. (But CSC will have plenty of sprockets to tailor the power delivery to each rider's preference per the blog.) In my calculation, 2.6% variance can be offset by going with a 130/80-17 (4% taller than the 15" wheel setup), thus yielding an overall taller rear tire by 1.4%, but opening up a broader selection of rear tires.

Exciting news just in time for Christmas!