Zongshen – Page 13 – The ExhaustNotes Blog

RX3 to RX4 Comparisons: Part 5

This will be the final installment of the RX3 and RX4 comparisons. We’ve got one more coming up after this, and that’s the RX4-to-KLR 650 comparis0n. And then, another cool and quick review…the BMW GS 310. Yep, I rode one of those yesterday to get a feel for how it compares to the RX3. That will be in another review. For now, on to the RX3 and RX4 final comparison in this series…

Take a look at the swingarms on the RX3 and the RX4. The RX4 has a much beefier unit, as you can see below.

The RX3 swingarm. Note how the end is formed to accept the rear axle mounting hardware.

The RX4 swingarm. It appears to be a much stronger unit. Note the machined part that mounts the rear axle (compare this to the bent metal piece on the RX3). Also note the robotic weld quality.

Overall, the RX4 swingarm appears to be much better design than that on the RX3. The only aspect of the RX3’s swingarm that I think I like better is the axle adjustment design. On the RX3, the threaded adjusters can be used to move the rear wheel forward or backward. On the RX4, it looks like Zongshen took a more conventional approach, where the adjusters can be used to move the wheel rearward, but you have to manually push the wheel forward.

I may have already mentioned this next point in an earlier blog, but I’ll mention it again. On the RX4, the exhaust pipe sweeps down and under the engine, and then it sweeps up again to the muffler behind the engine. The RX3 has an upswept pipe.

The RX4 exhaust pipe. It goes under the engine.

The purist will undoubtedly flood the forums with comments about the RX4’s downswept pipe. My reaction is: Meh. It’s the same approach as used on my Triumph Tiger. Upswept, downswept, six to one, half a dozen to the other. As the Germans say, machst nicht. That is, unless you’re changing the oil or adding oil. Then the RX4’s downswept pipe (and the improved access it offers to the oil fill ports) starts looking pretty good.

Here’s another significant difference: The radiator. The RX4 uses a single large radiator, compared to the RX3’s two smaller radiators.

The RX4 radiator. It comes with the shield you see here.

Although they are hard to see in this photograph, the RX3 has two separate radiators. They are located behind the plastic grills.

I like the RX4 radiator approach better. Simple is better in the engineering world, and a single radiator makes a lot more sense to me.

Moving on, we’ll next take a look at the grips and controls on the RX3 and the RX4. The RX3 photos you see here are my RX3, which is a 2015 model. In 2015, the RX3 did not have bar end balancers, but Zongshen added these in 2016 and beyond. Also, the 2015 RX3 had chromed bars, all subsequent years had subdued silver paint on the bars.

When Zongshen made the RX3 handlebar change, I wondered why they messed with something that worked so well. There was more to the story than I knew at the time. It basically went like this: The Chinese motorcycle industry took a major hit and underwent a significant shakeout in recent years. The US motorcycle market did, too. Here at home, the market dropped to 50% of its former levels with the Great Recession of 2008, and it has never moved much beyond that point since. We had a double whammy here: Banks and lending companies stopped giving 4th, 5th, and 6th mortgages to folks wanting to buy motorcycles (I’m exaggerating, but only slightly), and our demographics changed. Older guys aren’t buying bikes like they used to (they’re aging out), and Millenials are more interested in cell phones and self-driving cars than they are in motorcycles. And while all of this was going on, the industry here in the US continued (and continues) to offer outsized and overpriced choices. In China, there has similarly been a double whammy, but the two strikes are of a different nature. China is concentrating its population in the cities, and (incredibly) China is outlawing motorcycles in its cities. I know, it’s nuts, but it is what it is.

Anyway, all of this caught up with the Chinese motorcycle industry, and a lot of lower level motorcycle component suppliers in China finally called it a day in 2015-2016. That’s what resulted in the need for a new RX3 handlebar supplier going into the 2016 model year. With that change, Zongshen included bar end weights, which I think were unnecessary. Nah, change that: I know they were unnecessary, because I have a 2015 RX3 with no bar end weights and a zillion miles on the clock, and I’ve never had an issue with vibration.

All righty then…to dial this back to today, the bottom line is that both the RX3 and the RX4 have bar end weights. But not mine, because it’s a 2015 RX3. With that in mind, here we go…

The left grip and controls on the 2015 RX3. The rocker switch you see on the right, just below the lever mounts, controls my spotlights. They are a one-off Colombian model, having been given to me by Enrique Vargas, General Manager of AKT Motos in Medellin.

The left hand grip and controls on the RX4. The grip design is a little different than my 2015 RX3 design, but the left-side controls are identical to the RX3. Note the bar-end weight. I was disappointed when I saw this; there is an unsightly gap between the bar-end weight and the grip. I’m guessing this will be corrected for the production RX4 when Zongshen reads this comment. Overall, the bike is great. This is the only thing I could find to bitch about. That’s a pretty good showing, I think.

So, about that sloppy bar-end fit on the left side of the RX4 preproduction prototype: While I was disappointed in this minor detail, I have to point out that it was the only area on the motorcycle that was poorly fit. Every other aspect of the RX4 (and I mean literally every other bit related to fit and finish) was absolutely world class. The bike just screams quality. The paint, the fit, the finish, everything. Except that sloppy left side bar-end weight.

Moving on to the right side of the bike, here’s the right side grip and control area on my RX3. Note the A2, A1, and O switch; it controls the RX3’s underseat accessory plugs.

The RX3 right side grip and controls. This is on my 2015 RX3.

Here’s the same view of the RX4’s right side grip.

The RX4 right side grip and controls. Note the bar-end weight.

The photo above shows the RX4 preproduction bike, which has the headlight switch for on, auto, and off. I’m told the US configuration bikes will only have the on and auto positions. The on position turns on the headlight; the auto position leaves the LED headlight outline on all the time but only turns the headlight on when it senses it is dark. The A1 and A2 switch for the underseat accessory plugs will be controlled by an optional CSC-unique handlebar-mounted switch. At least that’s the plan as of this writing.

On this issue of bar-end weights: Like I said above, vibration is a non-issue on both bikes. If I concentrate on trying to feel it, I guess I would say the RX4 has a barely-detectable higher vibration level than the RX3, but you have to really focus on trying to tell the difference. I’d drop the bar-end weights on both bikes. But then, I don’t make a million motorcycles a year. Zongshen does.

The big difference in the wheels between the RX4 and the RX3 is that the RX3 has spoked steel rims and cast wheels are not an option. On the RX4, the wheels are spoked aluminum rims, and cast aluminum wheels are an option.

The RX4 front wheel and tire. Note the aluminum rim, radial tires, and 19-inch front wheel.

The RX4 rear wheel. Note the larger rear tire, the aluminum rim, and the radial tire.

For comparison, here’s the wheel and tire on the front of my RX3.

The RX3 front wheel and tire. Steel rims, and non-radial tires.

The last area I’ll describe is the dash and instrumentation, and that part is easy: They are identical. Well, almost. The instrumentation is the same. The dash is a little different in that on the RX3, the USB and 12V chargers are optional accessories; on the RX4, they are standard equipment.

The dash on my RX3. I did not get the optional USB and 12V charging outlets.

The RX4 dash. Note the standard equipment accessory charging outlets.

The RX4 instruments, which are identical to the RX3’s (including the 10-12% optimistic speedometers). Note the standard-equipment USB and 12V accessory outlets to the left and right of the speedometer. And folks, that wraps it up on the RX3-versus-RX4 comparisons. It was fun, and it was really fun to be the first to evaluate the RX4 and publish these findings on it here on the ExhaustNotes blog. My overall take is that the RX4 is a quality machine. It’s a little heavier than the RX3, but I suppose that’s to be expected on a motorcycle with nearly twice the displacement of the RX3. The handling and freeway performance is a substantial notch above the RX3. I don’t believe anyone is offering a comparable, fully-equipped adventure touring package at any price in the 450cc class, and that makes this motorcycle noteworthy (especially in view of the fact that this displacement is so obviously perfect for a serious roadburner). CSC asked me to mention that they are taking deposits now, and here’s the page where you can do that.

If you’d like to read all of the RX3-to-RX4 comparisons, here’s the page to do that. Stay tuned, because we have an RX4-to-KLR comparison coming up soon, and (as mentioned above), we’ll also be publishing a quick ride review of the BMW GS 310. BMW has a significantly different path to market than does CSC, and that difference (to me) is even more interesting than is a comparison between the two motorcycles. We’ll talk about that, too.

Don’t forget to consider signing up for our email updates list. You can do that by entering your email address on the widget at the top right of this page (if you’re on a desktop) or at the bottom of this blog (if you’re using your smartphone to read this blog). We’re having a contest to give a away a free copy of one of our motobooks in December if your name is on our email list. And we won’t share you email address with anyone else.

Yesterday was a fun day. I was at Brown BMW in the morning for my GS 310 ride, and I got to chat with Bob Brown a bit while I was there. Then it was over to CSC to visit with the guys there. I’m happy to report that both places were hopping. This morning, I’m off to the rifle range to evaluate a few new loads, and tomorrow, it’s the International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach (watch for the photos here on the ExhaustNotes blog). Good times, folks.

RX3 to RX4 Comparisons: Part 4

The RX3-to-RX4 comparison continues. We’ll pick up several more areas in this blog. Note that we’ve added an RX4 page to the ExhaustNotes website, too. More on that in a bit; for now, on to the comparo!

Starting at the back of both bikes, the RX4 has a subfender behind the rear wheel. The RX3 does not. Take a look…

The RX3 rear wheel. Note that there’s no subfender.

The RX4 subfender. This was something CSC could have added to the RX3, but chose not to (wisely, in my opinion)..

When CSC specified what they wanted on the RX3 a few years ago, they opted to leave the subfender off. I didn’t like the subfender, I thought it was ugly, and I didn’t see a need for it. I thought leaving it off was a good move.

You might think the RX3 subfender could have been added as an aftermarket accessory. It can, but it’s not easy. On the RX3, adding the subfender actually requires a different swingarm, so if you wanted to add a subfender you would have to replace the entire swingarm. That’s because the swingarm mounting points for the subfender are built into the swingarm (you can see that on the RX4 subfender photo, too). When CSC was defining the RX3 configuration, the question became why not just specify the swingarm that can accept the subfender, and offer the subfender later as an accessory? The reason is that because without the subfender, the swingarm looks goofy. It’s got this big mounting bracket at the rear on the right side, hanging out in space with nothing mounted on it.

Personally, I could do without the subfender on either bike. It just adds weight and I don’t care for the look. But that’s my preference. Your mileage may vary.

Moving back to the front of the bikes, the RX4 incorporates a radiator bottle fill port on the bodywork to the right of the fuel tank. It’s easily accessible (far more so than the radiator bottle fill port on the RX3, which is tucked under the fairing). This was a good way to go on the RX4. You know that if you have ever needed to add fluid on the RX3 it’s not easy to get the radiator bottle. Score one for the RX4. I like the RX4 approach better.

The RX4 radiator bottle fill port. It makes it a lot easier to add coolant.

The sidestands (or kickstands) on the two bikes are similar…and in the two photos below, you can see that the two bikes use the same footpegs. These are good footpegs, I think, because you can remove the rubber inserts if you wish. I never have done that, but I suppose there are guys out there who think they need to do that.

The RX3 kickstand. I found it easier to reach than the kickstand on the RX4.

The RX4 kickstand. Note the “wing” to make extension easier.

I find it very easy to reach the kickstand on my RX3; on the RX4 it was not as easy for me. That could just be me being used to the RX3.

Neither the RX3 nor the RX4 have a centerstand as standard equipment. It’s an option on the RX3 and I imagine it will become an option on the RX4, although it will be little harder for CSC to add a centerstand to the RX4. On the rear suspension linkage photos (they’re coming up next), you’ll notice that the RX3 has two mounting points that CSC uses for the bike’s optional centerstand. When I first saw those underframe mounting points on the RX3 in China, I assumed Zongshen added them because they anticipated adding a centerstand, but that wasn’t the reason. Zongshen uses the below-the-frame mounting points as an assembly aid during RX3 production as the bike is traveling down the assembly line.

Zongshen also has temporary centerstands (it takes two of these to lift the bike’s rear wheel off the ground) for use if you need to fix a flat tire, and I think CSC sells them if you want to buy a pair. I have a couple I carry around in my RX3, but (knock wood) I have never used them. I got a flat on the ride across China, though, and one of the RX3 clubmen we rode with in Beijing had the accessory maintenance centerstands with him. They work well, and that guy had my flat fixed in no time flat (pardon the pun).

That said, let’s move on to the rear suspension comparison. Here’s the rear suspension linkage on the RX3. Note that the RX3 linkage is constructed of stamped metal pieces. This is the setup that CSC changes when you buy an RX3 lowering kit.

The RX3 rear suspension linkage. Note the stamped metal parts, the rear damping adjustment point, and the centerstand mounting points below the bike.

The RX4 rear suspension linkage is substantially beefier, and it uses cast metal bits instead of stampings. It’s one of the reasons why the RX4 is heavier than the RX3.

The RX4 rear suspension linkage. I don’t think the RX4’s rear damping adjuster is as easily accessible as is the RX3’s.

The shift levers and the rear brake levers are different on the two bikes. The RX3 uses cast parts; the RX4 uses what appear to be stamped weldments. The photos below show the shift and brake levers on the RX3. Note that they are cast bits, they are painted silver, and they have a nice look to them.

The RX3 rear brake lever. It’s a nicely-finished casting.

The RX3 shift lever, another nicely-finished casting.

On the RX4, the shift and brake levers appear to be stamped weldments painted black to match the frame. In my opinion, they are not as nice looking as the ones on the RX3, but I suppose you could make the argument that if you bend the RX4 parts in a spill, the levers on the RX4 will be easier to fix than would be the RX3’s castings.

The RX4 rear brake lever. It’s fabricated from a stamped weldment.

The RX4 I’ve been riding has two ignition keys. One looks like a regular ignition key, and it fits the ignition lock, the standard luggage, the gas cap, and the rear seat release (just like the RX3). The other key that comes with the RX4 has a smaller black plastic handle. I don’t know why the two RX4 keys are different. I had a similar two-key arrangement when I owned a 1997 Suzuki TL1000S. The regular key (with the larger black plastic handle) was for normal use, and the one with the smaller black handle was in case the bike had an electrical issue and the fuel injection didn’t work correctly. It was designed to put the TL into a “limp home” mode. I never had to use it. I don’t think that’s what’s going on here, but I don’t know for sure. It’s one of those things I’ll have to ask the wizards at Zongshen about.

The black plastic handle on the RX4 key is larger than is the one on the RX3 key. Here’s a photo showing the RX4 key and the RX3 key…

The RX4 (on the left) and RX3 (on the right) ignition keys.

The rear brake master cylinders on the two motorcycles are also different. Here’s what they look like…

I like the rear master cylinder on the RX4 much more than the one on the RX3. You can just unscrew the RX4 cap to get to the reservoir, while on the RX3 rear master cylinder you need a Phillips head screwdriver and you have to remove two screws. The more-complicated RX3 design has a story behind it. Originally, the RX3 rear master cylinder was a much smaller affair. One of the CSC consultants advised that it was too small for its location near the exhaust pipe (the concern was that the master cylinder would be heated by the exhaust pipe and this could adversely affect brake performance). It never was an issue when riding the preproduction RX3 motorcycles or the RX3s we rode across China (both had the original design master cylinder), but I guess if you pay consultants you take their advice. On the RX3 I would have just gone with a conventional master cylinder like the one on the RX4 (which is similar to master cylinders on just about every other motorcycle on the planet). But Zongshen wanted to design a custom rear master cylinder for the RX3, and that’s how that strange-looking tapered affair on the RX3 came to be. In my opinion, the one on the RX4 is a better approach.

That’s enough for this blog, folks. Again, CSC asked me to mention that they are taking deposits now on the RX4, and if you want to get on board, here’s the link to do so.

Okay, okay….just two more things.

I’ve got a couple more blogs coming up on the RX4, including one I’m polishing now comparing the CSC RX4 to the Kawasaki KLR 650 (as my good buddy Chris suggested; it’s one that will probably draw lots of comments). You’ll want to keep an eye on the ExNotes site for the latest tech info on the RX4. And as promised, here’s the ExhaustNotes RX4 index page! Click on it and you’ll find an easy way to get to all of our RX4 articles.

And as mentioned before, please consider adding your email address for an auto-notify every time we post a blog (there’s a place do to that near the top of this page on the right). Do that and you’ll be eligible for our newest contest. On a quarterly basis, provided we get at least another 200 folks sign up each quarter, we’ll give away a copy of either Moto Colombia, Riding China, or 5000 Miles at 8000 RPM to a name drawn at random from our email database. The first winner will be announced sometime around Christmas this year. Please encourage your friends to sign up, too. If you’re already on the list, you’re eligible for the first drawing. We don’t give or sell our email list to anyone, so your address is safe with us.

RX3 to RX4 Comparisons: Part 3

The RX4 on the road. I wanted to get a shot at the truck scale, but conditions were not conducive to good photography.

The next two blogs (this one and the next) address more differences between the RX3 and the RX4, including the weight, the dash and instrumentation, the rear fender, tire sizes, the radiators, the radiator bottle fill port, the kickstand, the rear brake and gearshift levers, the rear wheel adjust mechanism, the swingarm, and the engine mounts. This blog will focus on the bike’s weight and the two bikes’ highway performance. I’ll sweep up the other differences mentioned above in the next blog.

Let’s talk about the 450-lb gorilla in the room first, and that’s the RX4’s weight. The RX4 is a heavier bike than the RX3, and I guess the question is: Is this a good thing or a bad thing? It’s all a question of perspective and intended purpose.

For starters, I still don’t have an accurate, measured weight on either bike. That’s a shame on me, although I will tell you that I tried.

My plan was to get the RX4 weighed first, and then return with my RX3 to do the same. I took the RX4 to our local certified truck scale, but the bike was too light to register on the scale and a loudspeaker-borne voice basically told me to get out of Dodge. It was a scary experience. There’s a monstrous Petro truck stop on the I-10 freeway about 10 miles from where I live, and I thought it would be a simple matter to roll the RX4 onto the scales and come back with The Number. That was my plan, anyway.

I entered the super-busy truck stop through an area teaming with idling 18-wheelers, engines barking and belching, crammed together weighting (or is that waiting?) to funnel onto the Petro parking lot scales. On my RX4, I was acutely aware of three things: The guys driving these monsters couldn’t see me, the engine noise and fumes were overwhelming, and the RX4’s fat rear end (those Tourfella bags are wider than the bike’s handlebars) made maneuvering through the 18-wheeler maze a dicey proposition. The pucker factor was elevated, folks. Big time.

I made it through, though, and I was finally on a scale with a platform as long as, well, an 18-wheeler. There was this elevated control house sort of thing next to the platform. It wasn’t clear to me what was supposed to happen next, as I couldn’t see anybody running the operation, and there was no digital or analog readout telling me the weight. I stopped the bike and dismounted, and I walked toward the elevated control house when an electronic voice from the Heavens boomed. It was way louder then the idling diesel engines surrounding me and I could tell: It was pissed. At me.

“Can I help you?” It didn’t come across as a request that implied an intent to be helpful. It implied anger. Seething anger. Directed at me. As a two-wheeler, I was but one-ninth the vehicle I was supposed to be.

Well, yeah, I want to weigh my bike. I mean, why else would a normal person be here?

“You’re setting off my alarms.”

Sorry about that, dude. What alarms?

“You’re too light and my alarms are going off!”

I want to weigh my bike (sometimes repetition helps, I thought).

“You need to get out!” There it was. No more implying or inferring. It was out in the open now. It was as if I was wearing a MAGA hat on the Harvard campus. I was not welcome.

Okay, I can take a hint. Hell, a weight is just a number anyway.

Which brings me to my next point. What’s in a number?

Whatever the answer is to that question, I can tell you these three things: One, the RX4’s official number from Zongshen is 450 lbs. As I said before, I don’t know if that is the right number, but I suspect it is not. Two, the RX4 is substantially heavier than my RX3, and weigh heavier (or should that be way heavier?) than my TT250. It feels it, and it feels to me like the weight rides higher. Three, the RX4 is a substantially better road bike than the RX3, and the bike’s added heft and longer wheelbase (along with that marvelous 450cc motor) probably plays a role here. Anyway, the bottom line here is this: There’s no Joe Berk official weight yet (read that to mean a weight actually measured on a scale).

Like I said, I can feel the difference in heft between the RX3 and the RX4. It’s enough to make me wonder: Am I man enough to take this puppy off road? I suppose I could be. I know there are a few guys who actually take GS 1200 BMWs off road, and those things have seat heights and weights that require altimeters and maybe truck scales to measure. But would I want to go off road?

The short answer, I think, is this: If your main objective is off-road riding, there are other choices. I’d go for my TT250 or something else. If you are primarily a road rider, though, with the occasional off-road excursion, then the RX4 is a good choice. In my opinion, the RX3 would be better off road, but that’s just what I said it was: My opinion. Your mileage may vary, as they say. I was thinking about the stretch to the Sierra San Francisco cave paintings in Baja, and to me, I’m right at the limits of what I feel comfortable with on that gnarly stretch on my RX3. It’s heavily rutted, there are big boulders, and it’s a challenge. But then, I freely admit I’m not a dirt biker. I know there are guys reading this who are thinking they would have no problem taking the RX4 off road. If you’re one of them, you’re probably right.

If you are primarily a road rider, though, the RX4 is the better choice. I put about 100 miles on the RX4 on freeways and surface streets here in So Cal, and I can tell you this: The RX4 is clearly a more capable road machine than is the RX3, especially at freeway speeds. I didn’t get a long enough stretch to measure the RX4’s top speed, but I can tell you there were spurts where I cranked it up to an indicated 99 mph and there was still more left. That’s indicated (not actual) top speed, and the speedo is 10-12% optimistic. Zongshen claims a top speed of 97.5 mph for the RX4, and that’s probably accurate. The RX4 is a bike that can cruise comfortably at 80+ mph all day long; the RX3 has essentially run out of steam at that speed. The RX4 makes running with the big dogs seem easy. It is rock steady at high speeds, and it’s comfortable. It feels secure.

In many ways, the RX4 reminded me more of my Triumph Tiger than it reminded me of my RX3. The Triumph was essentially a touring machine/sports bike styled like an off-roader with saddlebags. The Triumph was heavy and I only took it off road once on purpose (and that was enough). I rode the Triumph off road a few more times when I had to in Mexico, but it really was not an off-road bike. I know there are guys who ride the big Tigers off road, but it’s not where the bike wants to be. It wants to be headed to the next state, or maybe the next international border. That’s what the RX4 wants, too.

My Triumph Tiger. In many ways, the RX4 is quite similar to the Tiger. It was a stellar long-distance touring machine; I think the RX4 is, too.

I’ll make a prediction: Within the next two years, someone (perhaps several someones) will do the Iron Butt on the RX4. I don’t mean a single 1000-mile Baby Butt day (good buddy Rob Morel has already done that on his RX3). I’m talking the full-tilt boogie here: The 11,000-mile, 11-day Iron Butt. I think that’s going to happen. And I think the RX4 is the bike that will do it.

I was talking to Steve Seidner about this a day or two ago, and he asked me to mention to you that CSC is taking deposits now on the RX4 (here’s a link to get to their page for placing your deposit). CSC will sell a lot of RX4s. The bike is that good.

RX3 to RX4 Comparisons: Part 2

This is a continuation of the preceding blog comparing the new CSC RX4 to the RX3 motorcycle. I probably should have waited until I had taken all of the photos and organized the comparison into discrete areas (like wheels, tires, brakes, and so on), but you’re going to have to deal with the ramblings of a disorganized mind (and that would be mine). With apologies in advance, my ramblings will ramble on in no particular order.

With that as a preface, let’s take a look at the fuel tanks. First up is the RX4 tank, and the big news is that it holds 5.3 gallons instead of the RX3’s 4.2 gallons. Here’s the RX4 tank…

The RX4 fuel tank. The colors are stunning. It holds 5.3 gallons.

You can’t help but notice the paint on this motorcycle. CSC received three bikes for the U.S. certification effort…one in silver, one in red, and one in orange. My bike has the metalflake orange color and it’s visually arresting (it will stop you in your tracks when you see it). Here’s a close up…

Metalflake orange. It’s beautiful. It’s the new fastest color.

There are really three or four colors going on here. One is the metalflake orange. Another is the metallic silver on the tank’s side panels. A third is the even darker metallic gray on yet another side panel (you’ll see that in another photo below). And the fourth is the black of the frame and the molded plastic body bits. It all comes together nicely.

You can compare that to the orange on my 2015 RX3…

My orange RX3. This is the 2015 model, which is little bit different than the later CSC orange on newer RX3 motorcycles.

I mentioned the RX4’s 5.3 gallon capacity. Okay, let me explain a bit more. I haven’t attempted to actually run the thing dry and put 5.3 gallons of gasolina in the tank. 5.3 gallons is the figure Zongshen provided. The RX3’s spec is 4.2 gallons, but that’s not the right number. The RX3’s tank would hold 4.2 gallons if there was nothing else in it, but the tank is also occupied by the float for the sending unit and the fuel pump, and they both take up space. Gerry and I once took a bone dry RX3 tank with the fuel pump and sending unit in it to a gas station, and after really finessing the gas station pump, we were able to coax 3.9 gallons into the RX3 tank. I don’t know if the same situation applies to the RX4 tank. Maybe that 5.3 gallon statistic is really 5.o gallons.

The other thing going on in the RX3 is that the fuel gage and the fuel warning light indicate you are out of fuel when there’s still something close to a gallon left in the tank. As it was explained to me by the guys in Chongqing, that’s to make sure the fuel pump is always surrounded by fuel (it’s how the fuel pump is cooled). I don’t know if the same situation applies to the RX4 fuel tank. I have to get more miles on the bike to let you know.

So, let me do what I have a bad habit of doing, and that’s go tangential for a bit to tell you a little bit more about the RX3 tank, and in particular, the tank on my RX3. You’ll notice that my tank has a panel with a decal that says “Speed” on it. That was the first year of the RX3, and I guess it was Zongshen’s idea of making the motorcycle convey a fast image. The Internet weenies had a lot of fun with that. When they cornered me on it, I told them that CSC originally asked that the bike’s name be “Methamphetamine,” but we would have had to make the font so small you couldn’t read it. That got a laugh and the Speed teasing ended. Mercifully, CSC changed the name to “Adventure” the following year. There’s no such name label or decal on the RX4. I think that’s a good thing.

You probably notice all of the other decals on my RX3’s fuel tank. I like to think of them as campaign ribbons. We put one on their for each of the Baja runs, the 5000-mile Western America Adventure Run, and the Destinations Deal tour. I like them.

Moving right along, here’s a side view of the RX4 showing the engine and fuel tank, and then a similar photo of the RX3…

Right side engine and fuel tank view of the RX4. Note the four colors, the engine guards, the engine cylinder head casting, the crank position windows (on the cylinder head), and the oil accoutrements.

The RX3 fuel tank and engine viewed from the right side of the motorcycle.

There’s a lot to take in on those two right side views. Here we go, folks.

I guess the first thing to notice are the engine guards. In the old days, we used to call them crash guards, but these days it’s more correct to say engine guards. Whatever. Anyway, on the RX3, the engine guards extend all the way to the bottom of the engine. On the RX4, they only cover the upper portion of the bike. I don’t know why that is. It might be that if you drop the RX4 on its side, the upper portion is enough. But I don’t know this, and I’m not going to drop both bikes on their sides to find out.

On the RX4, the crank position windows are on the right side of the engine. You can see them just behind the spark plug on the cylinder on the right side. On the RX3, those viewing ports are on the left side of the engine.

The crank position viewing windows. On the RX3, they are on the left side of the engine. One the RX4, they are on the right side of the engine.

The RX3 has an upswept exhaust pipe; on the RX4, the exhaust pipe heads south to run underneath the engine, and then heads north again to an upswept exhaust pipe (you can’t see that in the above photo). While some might view the RX4 exhaust routing as less than desirable from an offroad perspective, I’m okay with it. The RX4 has a steel engine skid plate, and the RX4’s exhaust routing makes getting to the oil fill port a lot easier (it’s just aft of the water pump).

You’ll notice that the cylinder, cylinder head, and upper engine mount castings are all much heftier than are those on the RX3. If you look at the cylinder head casting just aft of the cylinder head, you’ll see a weird-looking ribbed triangular extension with a threaded hole in it. It’s on both sides of the engine.

A fixturing attach point, or perhaps to mount the engine in another bike?

With that threaded hole, it looks like Zongshen left a part off the bike (there’s nothing there). My guess is that this feature is either used to support the engine when it is moving down the assembly line, or that it is there for mounting the engine in another frame (perhaps one of the Dakar rally bikes). I’d like to see Zongshen remove that part of the casting on the RX4 engine; it serves no purpose on the RX4 other than to add weight to a bike that doesn’t need to take on ballast.

The RX4 appears to have the same arrangement for the oil filter and the oil strainers as does the RX3. One strainer is accessible via a threaded cover on both sides of the crankcase; the oil filter is located beneath a cover on the right side of the engine.

Clockwise from 10:00: Small oil filler access hole and large oil filler access hole (just like the RX3), oil strainer cap (just like the RX3; there’s another on the other side of the engine), oil filter cover (just like the RX3), and oil view port (just like the RX3).

That’s enough for today, my friends. We’ll have another RX3 and RX4 micro-comparison posted tomorrow. I’m going to take a break and get out and ride the RX4 for awhile…

RX3 to RX4 Comparisons: Part 1

Wow, where to begin? I thought I would do this in a single blog, but I quickly realized it’s going to take more than a few.

Joe Gresh thought it would be a good idea to do a comparison between the RX3 and the RX4, and since he’s the brains in this outfit (I’m the good looks), I started the photos for the comparo earlier today. There’s a lot to discuss, and I don’t want to try to cram it all into a “Gone With The Wind” single blog.

So, here we go with the first set of comparisons, and I guess as good a place to get started as any is with a shot from the rear of both bikes…

My RX3 on the left, and the new RX4 on the right. The RX4 has a 19-inch front wheel (the RX3 has an 18-inch front wheel). As a result, the RX4 leans a little bit more to the left than does the RX3 when on the sidestand.

You’ll notice that my RX3 has the stock plastic luggage and the RX4 has the optional Tourfella aluminum luggage. The RX4 will come stock with the same plastic panniers as the RX3, but it will have a taller tailbox than the current RX3 design. The current RX3 tailbox won’t close with a full face helmet, but the taller stock plastic tailbox to be provided on the RX4 will. I’m hoping the 2019 RX3 will have the taller tailbox, too.

The Tourfella luggage is a great option. Both sets of luggage are lockable; the stock plastic bags use the bike’s ignition key. The Tourfella luggage has a separate key. The Tourfella bags have considerably more capacity than the stock plastic bags, and when I rode in Colombia with good buddies Juan and Carlos, my AKT RS3 (a carbureted RX3) had the Tourfella bags. You get a huge increase in capacity (which is nice), but the aluminum bags are wider and I’m guessing they are heavier. You’ll see a slight decrease in fuel economy and top speed with the larger bags on an RX3; I don’t know what they’ll do to both stats on an RX4.

I like the looks of both sets of luggage. I’m a guy who travels light, so the stock bags have been good enough for me on my adventure tours. One other minor disadvantage of the Tourfellas is they are wide. I scraped a taxi splitting lanes when debarking from a ferry ride down the Magdalena River in Colombia. Joe Gresh’s RX3 had the Tourfellas in China, and I watched him have the same problem a couple of times when splitting traffic there. But those big aluminum Tourfellas sure are nice. They are a high quality bit of kit, too. And like I said, you can carry a lot of stuff in those aluminum boxes.

Here are photos shot from the rear of each bike, starting with the new RX4…

The Tourfella luggage on the RX4. It’s 34-inches across those two aluminum panniers. That’s wider than the bike’s handlebars.

And here’s my RX3. It’s one of the very first delivered to the United States, and I’ve done some serious traveling with this motorcycle. It has the stock plastic luggage.

A dirty bike that’s seen a lot of miles…my kind of machine. The width across the stock RX3 panniers is 29 inches (they are 5 inches narrower than the Tourfellas in the above photo, and they are 2 inches narrower than the RX3’s handlebars). I don’t know what the width of the stock luggage will be on the RX4.

Next up are two photos of the exhaust outlets. On the RX4, the muffler has two openings, suggesting the bike is a twin (it’s not; it’s a single like the RX3).

The RX4 muffler. It’s stainless steel, and it contains the bike’s catalytic converter. Two openings aside, the bike is a single. The exhaust note is sweet. I’ll do a video in a future blog.

The RX3 muffler, with its single outlet. It’s also a stainless steel muffler, and it has an awesome exhaust note.

As I mentioned in my earlier blog on the RX4, the new bike sounds like the RX3, but you can tell it has a bigger and stronger engine. Both bikes sound almost as if they have a custom pipe. They are both actually a little bit louder than I’d like, but the sound is great. Good ExhaustNotes, I’d say.

Moving to the other end of both motorcycles, let’s take a look at the front brakes. The RX4 has twin-piston calipers and dual disks…

Dual discs on the RX4. The braking is a bit stronger than an RX3 with the CSC larger single disk.

The RX3 has a single disk with a twin-piston caliper up front. My bike has the CSC larger diameter brake rotor. I think this is a worthwhile addition to the RX3, but I also think the stock RX3 brake is sufficient.

The larger diameter front disk rotor on my RX3. It works well.

If you look closely at both of the above photos, you’ll see the two front wheels are different. I’ve already mentioned the RX4’s 19-inch front wheel (the RX3 has a standard 18-inch diameter front wheel, with a 19-inch wheel available as an accessory from CSC). What is also shown (but maybe is not so obvious) is that the RX4 has aluminum rims, while the RX3 has steel rims. I think that might be what makes the RX4 handle so well. Aluminum wheels mean less unsprung weight, and they also make a motorcycle handle more crisply.

The production RX4 motorcycles will have anti-skid braking, and unlike the the 2018 RX3 ABS, you’ll be able to turn the ABS off on the RX4. That’s something you dirt denizens asked for, and your voices have been heard. The RX4 will come standard with wire wheels (like you see in these photos), and cast aluminum wheels with tubeless tires will be an option. The RX4 wire wheels require tubes.

Here are couple of tangential thoughts intended for the wizards at Zongshen (they read ExhaustNotes, too, you know). I’d like you guys to consider adding the dual discs, the aluminum-rimmed wire wheels, and the switchable anti-skid braking on the 2019 RX3. That would make an already great motorcycle even better, I think.

Both the RX3 and the RX4 have Cheng Shin (CST) tires. They’re bigger on the RX4 (more on that in the next blog). These are good tires. They hook up well and they last a long time. I get about 6,000 miles out of a rear tire on my RX3, and as is the case with most motorcycles, the front tires last about twice as long as the rear tires.

Staying at the front of the motorcycle, let’s now take a look at the face of both bikes. This is my RX3…

CSC changed the windshield and headlight design on the RX4. During my trips to Chongqing, I saw that Zongshen evaluated using the same RX3 windshield and headlight on the RX4. I thought keeping the windshield would have been a good idea, but hey, what do I know? The RX3 windshield has been universally praised by everyone who has ridden an RX3, including every magazine that tested the bike. It is a good design. It just works…there’s no turbulence, and it’s well below your line of sight. But like I said, who am I? I don’t make a million motorcycles a year. Zongshen does.

The RX3 headlight…well, that’s not the RX3’s strong point. Being charitable, I’d say it’s anemic. I don’t ride at night if I can avoid it, but I recognize that the stock headlight doesn’t light up the world the way I’d like it to. The spotlights you see on my bike are from AKT Motos in Colombia. I had them on the RS3 I rode there, and I liked them so much that my good buddy Enrique Vargas gave a pair to me when I left his beautiful country. CSC sells accessory spotlights, too, but I kept the AKT Motos lamps on my bike. I use the spotlights as headlights on my RX3 when I ride at night. Many folks who buy an RX3 put a brighter bulb in the headlight, and that works well. I have one that my good buddy TK gave to me, but I haven’t put it on my bike yet.

You’ll also notice the very cool headlight guard on my bike. That was another gift from Enrique in Colombia. CSC now sells a similar headlight guard. Mine is Colombian, and I’ve kept it instead of the CSC headlight guard because it was a gift and I like it.

Onward and upward…here’s the front end of the new RX4…

A clean, modern look: The RX4 front end.

The RX4 headlight and windshield design are much changed from the RX3. Like I said above, CSC could have gone with a front end look identical to the RX4, but they opted instead for the new look. It’s grown on me. I would be okay with either one, and at first I recommended staying with the RX3 look because I feel it is an iconic Zongshen motorcycle face, but I like the new look, too. The new RX4 windshield is adjustable (the RX3 one is not). The headlight is a completely different design, and later tonight, I’m going to move both bikes onto the street to see how the headlight illumination patterns compare. I’ll try to get some photos so you can see the difference.

I’ll write more comparing the two bikes in the next several blogs. This blog is already longer than I intended, and there’s a lot more to cover in these comparisons.

You know it’s coming, folks. Like I always say: Stay tuned.

The RX4: First Impressions

A stunning RX4 in the San Gabriel Mountains. The paint is pearlescent metalflake orange, the new fastest color.

I rode my TT 250 to the CSC plant early today and picked up a new RX4. Steve asked me to ride the RX4, make observations, and write about the new bike on the ExhaustNotes and CSC blogs. I’ll be preparing several blogs on the RX4; this is the first of many.

I rode my favorite Azusa Canyon, East Fork Road, Glendora Mountain Road, and Glendora Ridge Road route. It’s one of my favorite rides, it’s just under 50 miles of the best riding on the planet, and I knew it would give me a good chance to wring out the bike’s handling. The RX4’s handling was my biggest concern going into this review, as the RX4 I first rode in China two years ago left a bad taste. That early bike was porky and it handled poorly.

First significant observation: The RX4’s handling is phenomenal. It’s really, really good. I’ll get to that in more detail, but I wanted to mention that first.

Next, let me tackle the weight issue. That was another one of my earlier concerns, but not anymore. The RX3 has a published weight of 386 lbs. The RX4 has a published weight of 450 lbs. I never put much stock in any published weight figures, because I know how the manufacturers calculate weight. They do it the same way we did it in the defense industry: Mass properties analysis. Some engineering weenie tucked away in a cubicle looks at the dimensions of every part, calculates each part’s volume, identifies the part’s material and its density, and puts it all together in a spreadsheet to calculate total weight. It’s a scientific guess. They’re always low compared to reality.

Me? I go by what the bike feels like and how it handles. Sometimes if there’s a scale handy I’ll do something old-fashioned and actually weigh the thing. My KLR 650, for example, had a published weight of something in the low-400-lb range. We had a scale when I worked at Layne, and I rode the KLR onto it one night and saw that my Kawasaki actually tipped the scales at well over 560 lbs. So much for published weights.

So, the RX4 is heavier than the RX3. No, I didn’t have a scale available, so I didn’t weigh it today and I don’t know if that 450 lb number is accurate or not. The weight concerned me big time in China two years ago, and then again when I first sat on the new RX4 last week. Last week, it was mostly because the bike felt heavy when I tipped it off the sidestand. Last week, the RX4 had the CSC tall seat on it. And, the RX4 has a 19-inch front wheel (the RX3 has an 18-inch front wheel). The bigger wheel and the tall seat make the bike taller, and that 19-inch front wheel means the bike leans at a perceptibly steeper angle on the sidestand, so tipping it to vertical (off the sidestand) made for a noticeable increase in effort compared to my RX3. First order of business was to have the boys put the stock seat on the new RX4 (it takes the same seat as the RX3). That alone made it easier to get off the sidestand. But yeah, it’s heavier than the RX3. Is it a problem? Read on, my friends.

It was on to my ride, where I would soon learn if the RX4’s added weight adversely impacts handling.

Let me get to the good stuff. I was soon on Highway 39 and in the twisties. The bottom line? The bike handles phenomenally well. It feels more planted than the RX3 and handled the twisties just fine. Actually, it was great. The bike handles better than the RX3, and the RX3 is a sweet handling ride.

I wanted to stop for photos on 39 (I have a few favorite photo op spots), but truth be told, I was having too much fun riding the thing. The RX4 sounds a lot like the RX3, but the exhaust note (love that phrase) is a bit deeper and a bit louder. Not objectionably so, but it’s noticeable.

I stopped for a few photos on the East Fork Road, and then I was on Glendora Mountain Road. I had the road to myself and it was a glorious morning. Cool, crisp, California mountain air. Life is good.

Glendora Moutain Road is all tight uphill twisties. This stretch climbs sharply and it literally has no straights; it’s curve city all the way to the top. To cut to the chase here, it was on this stretch that I could feel the RX4’s huge improvement over the RX3. In the lower rev ranges, the RX4 has more grunt than the RX3, but it’s not a dramatic difference. It just has more oomph in the 3500-5000 rpm range.

Then I noticed a couple of things: I was getting through this stretch way faster than I would on my RX3, and I wasn’t rowing up and down through the gears like I would on my RX3. I just left the RX4 in 3rd and throttled up and down as needed. The bike wasn’t in its power band yet (and it’s not broken in yet), but it liked being in 3rd powering up into the San Gabriels. Then I noticed something else: This bike handles. It’s rock solid and it doesn’t seem to have any lean angle limits. Oh, I know it does and at some point something would have to scrape, but let me tell you, I was surprised at how good I must have looked carving my way up there this morning. I kind of wished somebody had been there to YouTube the thing. I was cooking. I’m not normally a guy who cooks, but I sure was cooking this morning.

The run east on Glendora Ridge Road was similarly exciting (I mean that in a good way). From the time I left Highway 39, all the way up on Glendora Mountain Road, and then all the way to Mt. Baldy Village on Glendora Ridge Road, I had the road to myself. I didn’t see a single other car or motorcycle. That doesn’t happen too often. Like I said, it was a glorious morning.

Up on Glendora Ridge Road. I was the only guy up there this morning.

A quick check on my GPS shows the RX4 speedo to have the characteristic Zongshen 10-12% optimism built in. The speedo reads faster than you are actually going, just like it does on my RX3. I don’t know why these guys won’t correct this. I tried. Hey, it is what it is.

More impressions: The peg to seat distance felt very slightly cramped for me with the stock seat. It wasn’t a big deal. I guess I need to find something negative to say to be like one of the magazine guys, and so far, this and the speedo error are it. I have the tall seat on my RX3 (which is a better deal from a comfort perspective). I may have Steve put the tall seat back on the RX4. There may be an opportunity down the road for CSC to offer a footpeg lowering kit. But it’s not a deal breaker. I guess I’d say the RX4 felt about like my Triumph Tiger used to feel.

A lot of guys want to know about the brakes. They’re a significant step up from the RX3’s stock brakes. The RX4 has dual disks up front. I have the large diameter aftermarket front brake on my RX3, and the RX4 subjectively felt maybe a little bit better than that. On that subject, though, I will tell you that I think the whole issue of the RX3 standard front brake has been overblown. I made a comment about the magazine guys having to find something to bitch about to prove they are objective and not unduly influenced by advertising dollars. On the RX3 it was the front brake. I never quite got that, though. I had a Harley Softail and a KLR 650 before I got my RX3, and the stock RX3 front brake was better than either of those bikes.

I like the headlight on the RX4. I have no idea how good it is at night (that will come later); my comment is based on the looks of the thing. The way it works it has a trace light around the headlight (that’s the daytime light). You can either switch the headlight on, or leave the lights on auto and when it gets dark, the lights will come on automatically. When I first saw this headlight in China, I thought it looked too much like BMW’s GS headlight design, but it’s grown on me. You can bet some Internet weenie will make a snarky comment about Zongshen copying BMW. Throw ’em a bone, boys. They gotta bitch about something.

The RX4 headlight. I don’t yet know how it does at night. I sure like the look!

The bike I’m riding has a pearlescent metalflake orange and silver paint theme. It’s beautiful. I don’t know what colors CSC will specify for their production order, but I hope this one makes it to our shores. It’s way nicer, I think, than the standard RX3 orange. I know that orange bikes are faster, too. It’s a win-win.

My RX4 has the optional Tourfella aluminum bags and top case. I rode with these through the Andes in Colombia (I like being able to say that). The Tourfella luggage capacity is amazing. They are huge, though, and I know on an RX3 I can feel the difference in handling between the stock bags and the Tourfella bags (on an RX3, the stock bags are faster). I didn’t have an RX4 with stock bags to make a similar comparison. It’s a tough question; I don’t what I would do on a new RX4. I do like those big aluminum boxes, though.

So, my first impression is that the RX4 is an awesome motorcycle. The handling is great. It just seems to find its way through the corners and the added power makes the bike feel more planted and more stable, if that makes sense to you. I would say it’s the bike’s strongest point.

Steve told me the RX4 is going to sell for $5,895. That’s $2,000 more than an RX3. Is it worth it? In my opinion, yes (assuming you’ve got the shekels). But I will also say this: The RX3 is one hell of a motorcycle, and I like the idea of a 250 for serious adventure touring in less developed countries. We’re a freeway country. In other parts of the world, freeways are rare or non-existent. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve done a lot of freeway miles on my RX3 and it’s quite capable in that environment. But the RX4 would probably be better on the freeway. I say that having ridden no freeways on the RX4. Yet. All in good time.

There’s a lot more coming on this bike, folks. I’m just getting started. Top end, high speed long distance touring, fuel economy, freeway handling, and more…I’ll get into all of that. I’ve got a lot going on back at the ranch right now, but I may see a quick two-day ride through Baja on this bike. Hey, I gotta probe for weaknesses, or this wouldn’t be a complete report.

One last thing…somebody asked the spoke diameter. Before I forget, Joey measured that for me before my ride this morning. It’s 3.5mm up front, and 4.0mm in the rear.

Need I say it? Stay tuned…

The RX4

I first rode the first prototype RX4 in June 2015, which is really quite a ways back if you think about it. I was in Chongqing to discuss things we were doing on the RX3 and the new RC3 model, a sports bike based on the RX3 engine. The RC3 bike was stunning, but it suffered from a bad case of “me, too” (Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha all had credible 300cc sports bikes here in the US) and the RC3 just didn’t sell well when it reached our shores. The RX3 was going great guns, though, and there was a cry for a similar bike with more beans.

Enter the RX4.

That first one was wild. I remember standing out in the heat and humidity with the Zongshen folks snapping photos of the RC3 when a Zongshen engineer rode into our midst on what appeared to be a hacked-up RX3, smartly executing a stoppee that lofted the rear wheel 3 feet in the air, and coming to rest right in front of us. This guy can ride, I thought. In my younger days I had done stoppees like that, but not by design and they didn’t end the same way.

The bike was rough. It was an RX3, but somehow the Zongsters had shoehorned a prototype 450cc motor into the frame. The engine was made of castings and machinings, and it looked (and sounded) very rough. Telling me that they hadn’t worked out the mapping, my hosts asked if I wanted to ride the prototype. Is a bear Catholic? Does the Pope poop in the woods? Hell, yeah, I wanted to ride it. I couldn’t talk about the bike in the CSC blog at the time, and that was probably a good thing. It didn’t run well, and the handling was, well, let me put it this way: Imagine you’re drunk as a skunk and you’re wearing stiletto heels, and you’ve got to walk across a rocky stream bed through swiftly-flowing water. In my checkered past, I’ve done two of those three things, and I don’t need to try the stiletto heels thing to imagine what the combination would be like because I rode that first prototype RX4. It was that bad, and I told the Zong folks what I thought. They smiled politely. They knew.

Passport in pocket, standing in the rain with an RX4 in Chongqing about a year or so ago. The GS decals had to go, I told Zongshen…others can advertise their “Go Slow” ADV bikes with big GS decals. Thankfully, they’re gone.

A year or two later I was in Chongqing again, and I rode an RX4 that was closer to what the production bike would be. It was a much more refined machine. Heavier than an RX3, most definitely. Faster? I really couldn’t tell. It was raining and I was on the Zongshen test track, which is a tightly wound affair with topes and no straights tucked away on the Chongqing manufacturing campus. It felt a lot better than that first prototype, but I really couldn’t let ‘er rip because there wasn’t enough room. I also saw a clay mockup of the RX3S (the 380cc twin) in the Zongshen R&D center, a bike I just couldn’t understand. Again, no photos allowed, but it made no matter to me because the RX3S was a solution to a marketing problem that didn’t exist.

Singing in the rain on Zongshen’s tight test track.

That brings us to today and the production configuration RX4 I am picking up later this afternoon. Or maybe tomorrow. It depends on when Joey has it ready. It’s going to be interesting. I’m flattered that CSC wants my take on the bike, and that they want me to write about it with no preconditions on what I can and cannot say.

Like I always say, folks: Stay tuned.

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