A few months ago, we told you about Chinese manufacturer Zongshen’s new 250 cc adventure bike. Now that bike is coming to North America.
US-based California Scooter Company will be importing the Zongshen RX3; they’re calling it the Cyclone. You can read about the bike’s specs in our first article on the machine (liquid-cooled 249 cc motor, SOHC, four-valve head, etc. etc.). You can also see a CSC employee talking about the machine in a YouTube clip below; sure, there’s some marketing speak involved, but you get a good idea of what the machine’s all about. Supposedly, the bike will sell for $2,895 in the US, and come with a one-year warranty.
So, our big question is: Is the RX3 coming to Canada? We emailed one of their Canadian associates, but haven’t heard back. This machine would certainly fill a niche in the market that’s been ignored ever since Honda discontinued their NX250, but whether there’s enough demand to make it worth the hassle to import is another question. Chinese bikes haven’t lost their stigma of cheapness and unreliability yet, and you certainly have more cachet when you roll up to Starbucks on a Tiger or a GS.
[…] already been sold in other markets for a while under various names. We’ve covered it before here and here. There’s a long thread on the bike here at […]
Joe from CSC here. I’m the good looking guy in the video you see above (I know I look a lot like Leonardo di Caprio). Yes, we are bringing the RX-3 to Canada. The US price is $3495. We are taking it through the US and Canadian certification processes now. There’s a lot more information on our blog at http://www.CaliforniaScooterCo.com/blog. Any questions, shoot us an email at info@cscmotorcycles.com
No problem at all with the shock. It is made in the same factory as the Suzuki DR200. Put 3000 kms on it with zero problems before I sold it to a friends sister as her 1st bike. It was used as a commuter bike for me or the daughter about 30 km back road each way. Also used light trail riding on atv trails.It is sold by PITSTER PRO CANADA now. I would like to get a RX-3 and do the Fundy Trail ride next year. I would only pay $4000.00 out the door tho .Good info on the bike at mychinamoto or chinariders.
Was the shock on the Konker any good at all? I ask because I’ve known two people with Chinese dirt bikes – my friend’s son, and a larger one belonging to a friend of a friend, and both had rear shocks that lost all their oil in short order and were basically just springs.
Other than that I think the reliability of the Chinese bikes is OK. It’s the fit and finish of parts which tend to be rather poor. Paint that wears off prematurely, frames that rust, etc.
I had a Konker KSM200 a clone of the Suzuki DR200 and it worked great with no issues with It other than it was a bit underpowered and the seat is like sitting on a piece of 2×6 . If this was to come into Canada with proper support I would have one. Best trip I ever done was from Fredericton to Labrador city all back roads and dirt roads on a Yamaha XT250.
Get me one for a weekend, insure that there will be a distributor/dealer network with a consistent parts supply and we’ll talk….
No dealers on this puppy, but there is a consistent parts supply.
“Chinese bikes haven’t lost their stigma of cheapness and unreliability yet”
That’s likely because they ARE cheap and unreliable.
Cheap, maybe, but anyone who has flogged the CMG Konker has no qualms about reliability. And my Lifan GY5 was rock-solid, except for the fact I was too big for the suspension.
Put it this way: The $23,000 Ducati Multistrada I had for a week this year let me down more in that time than the Lifan did.
Joe from CSC here. You might be surprised at the quality level of this bike.
The cute factor here is excellent, only eclipsed by a Grom with photography cases as hard luggage (seen at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show this year). I can’t help but like a little bike that thinks it can.