New Zongshen RX3 (ZS250GY-3) Dual Sport

[culcune]

Originally Posted by zingshoen

not too cheap, but one could get convinced by a test ride. my dream is to buy one in china and go west via the silk road, it s been done, but it needs preparation to ride across the taklamakan desert. it may remain a dream because it needs a fair bit of preparation, some language skills and at least one other person to ride with. and of course it would be good to ride the bike here and work out its weaknesses and how to rectify them before we go on that trip.

Are these available in Australia yet? I always like the 'romantic' ideal of riding a small displacement Chinese bike through China and other countries nearby, such as Vietnam. This would probably be most close to being a "Chinese Honda" for such as trip as far as reliability is concerned (I do believe there are actual Honda joint-ventures in China, so my statement is misleading, LOL)

[SpudRider]

If I were adventure riding in China, I would definitely choose the new, Zongshen RX3 as my vehicle. In the following ride report, the authors chose the older, Zongshen 200GY-2 because of its reasonable price, build quality, and manufacturer support. Their choice proved to be well justified.

http://www.danielmontejo.com/Picture...themachine.htm



The riders in the following ride report also chose the Zongshen 200GY-2, and it faithfully transported them across China and Mongolia.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=371656



The new, Zongshen ZS250GY-3 is more powerful, and even better equipped to support adventure riding. It has much greater range with its 16-liter fuel tank. The RX3 also has three large, integrated pieces of luggage to carry the equipment necessary to support an adventure ride. I think the Zongshen RX3 would sell well in the United States at the suggested MSRP of approximately $3,400.



However, Zongshen America appears to be closing shop, and I don't think Zongshen International wants to spend the time and money necessary to comply with the EPA and DOT requirements of the United States.

[katoranger]

I could almost see buying one at $3400. The weight may be an issue, but there is likely places to to cut some out.

[SpudRider]

Zongshen builds good engines and good motorcycles. I have ridden almost 61,000 miles on my Zongshen 200GY-2, and it is still running very well.



I'm confident the ZS250GY-3 will also prove to be reliable. The new RX3 has everything you could want in an adventure motorcycle as stock equipment, except for handguards. At a price of $3,400, I think it represents an excellent value. The RX3 is not a dirt bike, so I would be willing to deal with the additional weight. The fuel injected, NC250 engine is reported to produce about 26 horsepower, which is about 60 percent more horsepower than the ZS200GY-2 engine produces. Therefore, I think this bike would be safe to travel on secondary roads, and perhaps make short sprints on limited access highways.

My main concern regarding this motorcycle is the lack of a good service manual written in English, and the lack of spare parts. However, if this bike sells as well as I anticipate, I think the parts will become readily available on Taobao. Nevertheless, you would still need to wait for the parts to arrive from China.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by katoranger

I could almost see buying one at $3400. The weight may be an issue, but there is likely places to to cut some out.

I usually draw the line when the price of a new, Chinese motorcycle approaches $2,000. However, I think the Zongshen RX3 is an exception to this rule, since it has so many excellent features as stock equipment.

Fuel Injected Engine
Water Cooled Engine
6-Speed Transmission
Crash Bars
Windshield
Digital Dashboard
LED Turn Signals and Brake Light
16-Liter Fuel Tank
Integrated luggage
Stainless Steel Muffler
USD Forks
1-inch Fat Handlebars

The RX3 also appears to have fans on both radiators, and even the switchgear looks pretty nice! The only additional equipment I would add to the RX3 is a nice set of Tusk handguards for about $65. The RX3 is not a typical, Chinese motorcycle. I think this bike compares well to the Honda CRF250L, which currently sells for $5,000. Yet the CRF250L does not have all the adventure equipment of the ZS250GY-3. Indeed, you would spend a lot of money trying to add the same adventure equipment to the CRF250L, and it would still not work as well as the RX3, since the Honda was not designed to accommodate this equipment.

[culcune]

Chinamotoworld had an interview months back with one of the main people at Zongshen (it might have been the founder, Zuo Zongshen himself), and he seemed willing to put his money where his mouth was in saying that the entire Chinese industry needed to concentrate on quality, and that Zongshen was going to do so (this interview was right before the international rollout of the RX3).

A few Chinese joint ventures (not necessarily Zongshen except for some Piaggios) produce several mainstream bikes, such as a few of the engines for BMW and I believe KTM, if not the majority of the bike.

I think a $3400 price in the US would be easily justified as pretty much the maximum for this bike once it has been proven as reliable. This could even be the strategy from Zongshen if they are planning a reintroduction to North America? Or a re-label from a joint venture? We will see--or it will be the best Chinese bike in the world that never comes this way?

I do think that Chinese bikes in general better do something soon if they ever want legitimacy in North America. It took years for Korea to produce reliable cars (part of the 'years' was convincing people to accept their cars once they already were reliable), and Chinese bikes have already left a lot of people with bad taste in their mouth (including people who have never even rode one, but were simply pundits of the proverbial "friend of a friend who had one and it broke down just from looking at it...") from the time period starting around 2005 or 2006 when these bikes were getting more popular.

Fancy accessories cost $, however, and this bike is testament to that. Spud, those rides from the past on the old Zongshens, were done easily by ex-pats in China when the price of the GY-2 was about $1k USD in China. These new ones have come a long way from that, including being over 3 x's the price in China!

[SpudRider]

Culcune,

I think you summarized the situation very well when you stated the Chinese are not currently interested in establishing a network of supporting dealers in the United States. Until the Chinese change their mind in this regard, I don't foresee them returning in force to the North American market.

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

The only additional equipment I would add to the RX3 is a nice set of Tusk handguards for about $65.

Or, a set of Acerbis handguards from Taobao for $13.15 US. Not joking; those are the handguards that you saw on Son of Weldangrind's Lifan. http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=13150621412

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

Or, a set of Acerbis handguards from Taobao for $13.15 US. Not joking; those are the handguards that you saw on Son of Weldangrind's Lifan. http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=13150621412

A Chinese bike deserves Chinese handguards.

[Weldangrind]

I suspect they are the very Acerbis handguards we'd buy at a local motorcycle shop. While most of the Acerbis stuff is made in Italy, I'm sure that some of it comes from China. I just bought two more pairs of those handguards.

[SpudRider]

I am almost certain the ZS250GY-3 will not be coming soon to the shores of North America. In fact, the RX3 might never arrive here. If the bike ever does arrive in North America, I'm sure it will sell for much more than $3,400 USD.

I bought my used XR650L with 7,800 miles on the odometer for $2,000. In stock form, my Honda XR650L has a curb weight of 346 pounds, which is much lighter than the ZS250GY-3. The XR650L has a much better suspension, more power, and better build quality than any Chinese bike. In addition, Honda also has an international dealer support network for parts and repair. If I had the choice today between buying my used, Honda XR650L for $2,000, or a new, Zongshen RX3 for $3,400, I would certainly buy the Honda XR650L.

However, in many parts of the world, consumers don't have access to the huge market in slightly used, Japanese motorcycles as we do in the United States. How much would it cost to farkle a new, XR650L or DR650SE with the same equipment which is stock on the ZS250GY-3? After spending the time and money to add luggage, crash guards, et cetera, how much would the 650cc motorcycle weigh?

Based upon my experience with my own Zongshen ZS200GY-2, I am confident this Zongshen ZS250GY-3 is not manufactured to the same high quality as a Japanese or European motorcycle. However, I bet the RX3 engine is reliable, and the RX3 is a durable, strong little adventure bike. For a price of approximately $3,400 USD in China, I think this bike represents an excellent value in many places outside North America.

If I were personally going to travel to China, and buy a domestic Chinese motorcycle for an adventure ride in Asia, I would definitely buy the Zongshen ZS250GY-3 (RX3).

[Britster]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

The Standard Edition of the Zongshen RX3 does not include the luggage, and has an MSRP of 19,800 Chinese Yuan, which at current exchange rates is $3,267.44.

The Deluxe Editon of the Zongshen RX3 includes the luggage, and has an MSRP of 20,800 Chinese Yuan, which at current exchange rates is $3,432.56 USD.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=36625595542

SpudRider,

Following your Link to TaoBao.com, looks like the price of the basic 'Standard' ZS250GY-3 RX3 (without Luggage) is Price ¥ 19800.00
Upgraded version (with three boxes) 20,800 yuan
** version 23,500 Yuan (so what version is this ** one - Police?)

Zongshen NC motocross ZS250GY-3 RX3 super wild car NC250 water-cooled six-speed front and rear disc brakes

Price ¥ 19800.00

19800 Chinese Yuan equals 3232.13 US Dollar

You posted that the ZS250GY-3 RX3, do you have a URL giving details of this please.
(I have been out of Cebu, Philippines, working in China since August 2012 for 8 months a year, so not aware of it being available from Motostar (who OEM imports Zongshen).

To give some idea of why the the price of the ZS250GY-3 RX3 is relatively high for Chinese Motorcyle, you only have to look at the price of the Water-cooled engine:-

博技摩配 宗申摩托车RX3原厂配件ZS250GY-3 NC水冷250发动机总成 Bo technical Motorcycle Zongshen Motorcycle RX3 Genuine Parts ZS250GY-3 NC 250 water-cooled engine assembly





NC250 engine assembly: $962.61/piece
NC250 carburetor: $162.61/piece
Total: $ 1125.22

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Britster

...You posted that the ZS250GY-3 RX3, do you have a URL giving details of this please...

Welcome back, Britster. I don't know what information you seek. However, I have already posted every source of information I could find in this thread.

[zingshoen]

Quote:
Originally Posted by zingshoen
not too cheap, but one could get convinced by a test ride. my dream is to buy one in china and go west via the silk road, it s been done, but it needs preparation to ride across the taklamakan desert. it may remain a dream because it needs a fair bit of preparation, some language skills and at least one other person to ride with. and of course it would be good to ride the bike here and work out its weaknesses and how to rectify them before we go on that trip.

Are these available in Australia yet? I always like the 'romantic' ideal of riding a small displacement Chinese bike through China and other countries nearby, such as Vietnam. This would probably be most close to being a "Chinese Honda" for such as trip as far as reliability is concerned (I do believe there are actual Honda joint-ventures in China, so my statement is misleading, LOL)

I don t think anyone imports them. I also don t think anyone imports road registrable complete zongshen branded zongs these days, but I hope I stand to be corrected on this point :-)

[SpudRider]

Indeed, it was my impression that Zongshen Australia closed shop several years ago. However, if one wished to tangle with the authorities regarding licensing, he could purchase a Zongshen RX3 from either the Alibaba or the Taobao websites.