My Three Flags Classic RX4

My 3FC19 RX4 motorcycle on the road last night. It’s a great motorcycle.

I’m getting excited about the upcoming Southern California Motorcycle Association’s Three Flags Classic adventure and the CSC RX4 I’ll be riding on this epic rally.  I’ve been putting a few miles on the RX4 CSC graciously provided and I thought I would fill you in on a few of the specifics I’m discovering on this bike.

I have a measured mile by my home and I was happy to see that the RX4 clocked it at exactly 1.0 miles.  I think that’s pretty much what all the motorcycles do these days for obvious reasons.  If the odometer read more miles than you actually covered, the manufacturer would be cheating you out of a portion of the warranty, and if the odometer read fewer miles, they’d be warranting the bike for longer than they intended to.  The point is moot with a CSC motorcycle; their bikes are warranted for unlimited miles.  But it’s nice to know that whatever distance it says you’ve gone is the real distance.

Command central and my high-tech data bank. The ergos on this bike are good.

The next thing I checked was fuel economy, and I did so based on a mix of freeway, city, and mountain road riding.  The bike I rode, with roughly 1200 miles on the clock, returned 66.34 mpg.  I think CSC advertises 60 mpg for the RX4; I did 10% better than that with the one I’m riding.

Next up was motorcycle speed indicated by the speedometer versus GPS indicated speed.  I found that the speedometer was 15% to 8% optimistic, depending on velocity.  At higher speeds, the speedometer error decreased to the 8% range.  It’s pretty common for motorcycle speedometers to be about 10% optimistic.  It’s also very common for the percentage difference between actual speed and speedometer-indicated speed to not be constant (the error percentage changes with speed).

Indicated versus Actual MPH on the RX4 I’m riding in the 2019 Three Flags Classic. Speedometer error, as a percentage, decreased as velocity increased. The bike will do way more than 80 mph; I just didn’t want to go any faster for this test.

Next up was a quick look at engine RPM versus indicated speed.  The RX4 cranks way less RPM at every speed compared to the RX3.   Here’s what it looks like on the RX4…

Velocity versus RPM on the RX4.  The RX4 engine runs at lower rpm for any given speed than does the RX3.

The RX4 has a torquey motor, and I was surprised at how low the RPM is at any given speed compared to the RX3.  I know on my RX3, 80 mph is somewhere near the redline at 9000 RPM.  On the RX4, the engine is just loafing along at a meager 6000 RPM.   The RX4 engine pulls strongly from anything above 3000 RPM.   You can downshift to move away more quickly, but you don’t need to on this bike.

And hey, because I know you’ll ask, here’s what the bike sounds like…

Another area in which the RX4 excels is its lighting.  The headlight does a fantastic job; I was impressed riding it at night.

Up above the Pomona Valley with the sun going down. An orange bike photographs well, don’t you think? And hey, Orlando, what’s the fastest color?

That’s it for now.  I’ll have a lot more info on the RX4 and the 3FC19 ride, and I’ll be posting from the road every day.  Make sure you sign up for our automatic blog updates so you don’t miss anything!

Want to learn more about the RX4 motorcycle?  Take a look at our comparisons of the RX4 to the RX3 and the KLR 650 here.  And don’t forget to visit CSC’s website, too, for more information on the RX4 and CSC’s other motorcycles.

16 thoughts on “My Three Flags Classic RX4”

  1. Joe we all know that the blue 2 up can keep up with the Orange Jaja safe travels my friend

  2. Nice to see the fuel economy holds up well on the RX4. I find that 400 to 450cc is the sweet spot between maintaining good fuel economy and delivering good power. Smaller engines tend to work harder and burn more fuel for the size of engine and larger engines just burn more fuel because they are so much bigger. Some rare exceptions to the rule but in most cases this is how it is. It will not surprise me if the RX4 gets the same fuel economy as the RX3.

    Its funny every motorcycle I have ever owned tends to have an odometer that is absolutely spot on. I think you are correct that manufactures are careful about accurate odometers for warrantee purposes. Might be a few other reasons as well but honestly I don’t know what they are? I wish I could say they same about the speedometers. Just about every bike I have ever owned tends to read fast by 5 to 10% or more. The only exception seems to be Honda for some reason. They tend to read spot on or just a few MPH high regardless of speed. I have heard several theories as to why this is mostly related to safety. I tend to adjust and go 5 MPH faster then the posted speed limit. It works most of the time anyway!

    Looking forward to the RX4. Literally just penciled my budget just to make sure I can afford it? Looks good on paper anyway. I don’t think the wait will be much longer!

    1. I think the folks who got in on the RX4 are going to love the bike. It is a solid, well engineered package. I’m really looking forward to the Three Flags ride.

      1. Sorry to hear Three Flags didn’t work out this year, Joe. Was really looking forward to a long-term report on the RX4. With CSC so far behind their spring delivery goal, needless to say I’m starting to get a little antsy… though I’ll admit, the Multistrada hasn’t seen many miles lately with this record-setting summer we’ve experienced. All the same, riding season here in hot TX is nigh! Very excited to have a budget, yet new and dependable steed in the stable. She’ll be the first new bike I’ve bought, too. Thanks as always for all the great content, and here’s looking forward to more!

        1. Thanks for the kind words, Nick. Yeah, I am disappointed, too. There’s always next year. I used to live in El Paso and then in Fort Worth. In the dead of summer in Fort Worth, I restricted my Harley rides to late evening ventures. It was just too miserable during the day. All things considered, I’d rather ride in cold weather than hot weather. I think you’ll enjoy the RX4.

  4. These bikes are awesome, I’ve been following them since you guys first posted the 5000 miles at 8000 rpm story. The only thing I have a hard time wrapping my head around is the weight. Is that fully loaded with all of the bags? It seems like 100 lbs more than it should be. How is the suspension in the dirt?

  6. Joe…I recently sent an email (8/13) to Sara at CSC…some suggested “options” you may want to add to the RX4( might want to get with CSC and review it) so that you may enjoy the journey …. I have an RX4 on order ( will P/U mid Sept.) and wifey and I will be riding 3 flags together ( my 5th time, wifey’s 4th) on my Goldwing. Strongly suggest some type of cruise control, upgraded seat ( from an RX3?) and heated grips…it gets cold on the hands in altitude …especially if it’s wet. …if you want to get together at the start, try and find Gonzo…he’ll know where we’re at…. Hope you’ll have fun…remember it’s not a race! Happy Trails, Hondaron

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