The Zongshen RX3 Cyclone adventure bike is one step closer to making it to Canada, after passing EPA testing in the US.
\When we talked to the folks at the California Scooter Company back in November, they told us they were hoping to get their 250 cc adventure bike to our market in 90-120 days. Well, it’s around 40 days later, and news came out late last week that the machine had passed EPA testing in the US, which is arguably its biggest regulatory hurdle.
Transport Canada will likely make some niggly comments about the turn signal placement or brightness of the taillight or something like that, but those problems are much easier to rectify than working out emissions problems. Struggles with the EPA are often the biggest problem made-in-China motorcycles face, and have cost companies like Lifan or Jonway hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In case you’ve forgotten, here are the details on the RX3 Cyclone: It’s a quarter-litre adventure bike, made in China by Zongshen. It’s not high on horsepower or low on weight, but it fills a market niche that’s been untouched since Honda stopped selling their NX250 over here. The Cyclone will be sold directly to customers, not through a dealer.
California Scooter Company reckons they’ll have the RX3 for sale in the US by February. We’ll likely see it in our market after that.
