Zongshen RX3 (Honley-UK) First impressions....

[No1Vic]

Had the bike just over a week now......The very first impression was "Is it really this fast" but I'm afraid only because the speedometer is excessively out, compared it to a GPS speedo and the bikes speedo is out by 25% ! Now I know why when slowing to an indicated 30mph for 'speed cameras' everyone behind me gets rather close because I've dropped to 24 mph in reality :-( Job one is to fit a "speedo healer" type device to put it right another concern being if left as it is after I've done 4000 miles the bike would have clocked up 5000 and so on.
Next negative is the side stand, as soon as its got no downward pressure on it the stand folds up bike falls over...... will be modifying it asap. Tilt the bike up to check the engine oil level, opposite side to the stand, don't forget the stands now folded up, before you lean the bike back over. My final negative is the stalling when slowing to a stop, engine just dies, and in my case normally at a junction with traffic behind me, there's no way of getting a quick restart either. It's ignition off, lights off, ignition on, let the fuel pump run and the dash complete its start up procedure then press the start button. Probably only 30 seconds but when you're stuck front of a queue at a junction not good especially after dark having to switch the lights off to restart! Passing this problem back to the dealer come first service.....

Now the good bits..... comfy riding position with enough power to flow with the traffic, overall finish looks good but I will be keeping an eye on some of the bolts and screw fastners, need rust proofing some already showing signs after being ridden in the wet.
The bike does have a road presence with the orange paintwork, upright riding position and large silver boxes making it more visible to others on the road which has got to be a good thing these days. Handling is quite good and bike feels nimble, CST tyres seem to have reasonable traction too with the rear sliding rather than letting go in the wet under braking and acceleration, maybe it will settle as the tyres 'wear' in.
The gearbox is smooth and positive and no sign of the can't find neutral some owners have reported with a good spread of ratios that suits commuting through town, brakes are firm and allow confident use with enough feel to be controlled. The dash is clear and easy to read at a glance including the inaccurate speedo, the mirrors wide apart enough to see behind rather than just your shoulders like some bikes :-)
All in all when on the road and moving it's a joy to ride, a bit flat power wise below 7000rpm but comfortable at a steady pace, pass that 7000rpm point and the engine comes into it own giving a nice 'shove' as you head for the next gear. Once the 'niggles' are sorted I know I'm going to enjoy this bike.
A modification on my to do list is a HID headlight upgrade, working nights I like to see where I'm going best I can and a 35watt HID bulb is so much brighter than 35watt halogen thats fitted.

[Weldangrind]

Thanks for the excellent review! I'm hoping that you'll be able to re-map the FI to both prevent stalling at lights, and move the power a little lower in the RPM range (if that's possible). I'm following your posts in the other thread re Delphi connectors.

[No1Vic]

I believe Earnshaws the UK importers/suppliers are looking into the stalling issue with a view to remapping the fuel injection. I will know more when I take the bike for its first service and will be sure to share any outcome.

[katflap]

Hi No1Vic

Glad to see i'm not the only one in the UK with an RX3

my speedo also reads high, about 10MPH above true speed .I will be interested to hear how you get on with fitting a speedo healer. I hadn't thought about the increased recorded mileage issue

I fixed my side stand like this

http://www.chinariders.net/showpost....postcount=1726

But only after i dropped my bike because of this issue

I was also having the stall issue at traffic lights etc. But found that if i let the bike warm up on idle until at least 1 bar on the temp gauge before setting off has worked around the problem. Now it rarely stalls .

Why this works for me i don't know because before i started doing this it would stall at junctions etc. Engine hot or cold.

The best i have found for restarting is to give it a good handful of throttle whilst starting , when it catches it sounds like a lawn mower , the shut the throttle down once it does and all is normal and running. This i do without turning the ignition off then on again.

[alex_in_az]

that's a great looking bike. I like the price too!

[No1Vic]

Hi katflap, cheers for the stand mod pic :-) I was going to change the bolt and take out the 'lever' part then pull the spring over the top lug. Having looked at other pics of the bike it seems that's how the spring used to go. For some reason we've got this 'crazy' modification.....My speedo is way out, for 30mph it reads 38, 40mph it reads 50 and 50mph reads 64. I've ordered a signal modifier to put in the sensor wire to sort it hopefully, I was going to pull the speedo unit apart suspecting there might be jumpers for setting wheel diameter but thought better of it.
I'll give the warming up first before riding off a try to stop the stalling but have contacted Earnshaws to see if a remap is available when I take the bike for it's first service.

[Weldangrind]

I'm most interested to find out if Earnshaws has the ability to remap.

[No1Vic]

I've had a reply from Earnshaws, nice and prompt to be fair. Asked if the tickover was set between 1600 and 1800 as anything less causes these bikes to stall, so a remap seems unlikely :-( and being the dealer had set the bike to 1800 before I collected it that's not a solution. Going to try Katflaps method of letting the bike warm up first before riding it now, not ideal as I bought the bike for commuting to work in the middle of the night. Hopefully its a problem that will ease as the engine 'loosens' up.

[alex_in_az]

Originally Posted by No1Vic

I've had a reply from Earnshaws, nice and prompt to be fair. Asked if the tickover was set between 1600 and 1800 as anything less causes these bikes to stall, so a remap seems unlikely :-( and being the dealer had set the bike to 1800 before I collected it that's not a solution. Going to try Katflaps method of letting the bike warm up first before riding it now, not ideal as I bought the bike for commuting to work in the middle of the night. Hopefully its a problem that will ease as the engine 'loosens' up.

out of interest, where in the West Midlands are you? I was born and raised in Rugby ,Warwks.

[No1Vic]

I'm in Dudley Alex, about 35 miles away from Rugby ......

[SpudRider]

Thanks for posting the nice review of the Honley RX3.

[katflap]

Originally Posted by No1Vic

I've had a reply from Earnshaws, nice and prompt to be fair. Asked if the tickover was set between 1600 and 1800 as anything less causes these bikes to stall, so a remap seems unlikely :-( and being the dealer had set the bike to 1800 before I collected it that's not a solution. Going to try Katflaps method of letting the bike warm up first before riding it now, not ideal as I bought the bike for commuting to work in the middle of the night. Hopefully its a problem that will ease as the engine 'loosens' up.

Have recently adjusted the tappets ( as per CSC tutorial) set them at 0.06mm. Before they were at 0.04mm.

The engine certainly feels like it likes the slacker gaps.

I have also noticed that I can now ride off from cold with out any problems with stalling.

Now I can't say for sure that this was the cure as now we are in spring with warmer temperatures but if you are still having this problem it could be worth trying.

[SpudRider]

Thanks for posting the update, Kat.