Viva la difference…

More than a few folks have asked about the differences between the CSC RX3 and the AKT Moto TT250 Adventour (the bike I rode on my recent Colombian adventure tour).   The bikes are basically the same Zongshen RX3 with minor differences.  Just to be clear, AKT Moto calls its version of the RX3 bike the TT250 Adventour (not to be confused with our new TT250 CSC dual sport bike, which is a completely different motorcycle).

You asked, so here goes.

The CSC RX3 is fuel injected; the AKT Moto bike is carbureted.   The only real discernible riding difference is that the AKT bike has a choke (the choke lever is underneath the left handlebar switchgear), and you need to use the choke to start the bike when it’s cold.   Once the bike is warm, I could not feel any difference in performance between the CSC and AKT versions.   They’re both solid performers.   The Colombian guys told me they evaluated fuel injection, but the gasoline situation is such that they felt carburetion was mandatory in Colombia.   They have issues with dirty and low octane fuel in Colombia, hence the carburetion approach.   Interestingly, we rode from sea level up to 13,562 feet (when we visited the Volcan Nevado del Ruiz), and the carbureted Colombian bikes ran fine.  I could not tell the difference between their bike and ours from a performance perspective.

The AKT Moto bike right handlebar switch has off, parking, and on positions for the headlight. As you know, our North American headlights stay on all the time the bike is running, and we use this switch to control two accessories outlets underneath the seat.

The AKT Moto bike includes a standard headlight grill with two spotlights mounted on either side of the headlight. I really liked this and we are investigating what it would require to import that accessory to our North American market.

The AKT Moto bike has the AKT logo on the tach face and on the dash shroud.

The AKT Moto bike has a satin finish on the handlebars and bar end weights are standard.   You can see the satin finish in the photo above.  This will be the configuration of the 2016 CSC bike’s handlebars.   I thought this had a rich look to it.  The bar end weights worked well, too.  I had a clear image in the right rear view mirror.  Incidentally, the “Kontrol” name you see in the above photo is the name of AKT’s parts and accessories line.

The AKT Moto bike had the shorter, dark windshield.  The CSC bike has a larger windshield.   My perception at first was that both windshields were about the same in terms of their ability to shield you from the wind, but at the end of the day I had a lot of neck and shoulder pain.  I don’t know if that’s because the shorter AKT windshield induces more buffeting, or if it was the tension I felt dodging in and out of traffic in the twisties.   I think it was more the latter than the former.

The AKT Moto bike does not include the engine guards and the luggage that the CSC RX3 has as standard equipment.   A lot of the folks who buy these bikes in Colombia add an optional Givi-like top case.  They like to keep their bikes narrow over there.   Spend a minute riding in Colombian traffic and you’ll understand why.

My AKT bike in Colombia was equipped with the optional Tourfella aluminum luggage.   Folks, I really liked these bags and as you know we offer them in the US.   They are spacious.  I carried my laptop, its mouse, its power supply, a couple of books, and a bunch of other stuff in an old briefcase on this trip, and the whole shebang fit into the left saddlebag with plenty of room left over.   I had no problem carrying all of my clothes and a bunch of other stuff in the top case and the right saddlebag.  The accessory Tourfella bags make a lot of sense on these bikes.

Both the AKT bike and the CSC RX3 have the 17-inch diameter rear wheel, and both bikes use the standard Zongshen-supplied CST tires.  They worked well.   As I’ve mentioned before, we rode about a hundred miles on dirt, and a lot of that included mud and soft sand.  I never felt like I needed more grip than what the stock tires provided.

The AKT bike’s sidestand is procured locally and it has a different configuration than the CSC sidestand. The CSC sidestand is either cast or forged; the AKT sidestand is a weldment formed from a tube with a bent and flattened end.

AKT has an accessory centerstand just like CSC does, but the AKT centerstand has its extension on the right side of the bike (instead of being on the same side of the bike as the sidestand, as the CSC bike does).   I didn’t have the centerstand on my bike in Colombia (I don’t have one on my US bike, either).    Even though I don’t have one, I think I like the US version better.   On the AKT bike, if you want to use the centerstand, after you put the bike on the sidestand you have to walk around to the other side to lift the bike onto the centerstand.

The AKT has different seats than the CSC bike.   The shape and padding seem to be the same as our bike, but the Naugahyde is different.  I liked the appearance of the AKT Moto seat better than I do the CSC bike.  The comfort level is the same; when you are on them, I could not tell the difference between the AKT Moto seat and our seat.

The AKT Moto has a locally-produced exhaust pipe and muffler (you can see it in the photo above).  The sound level is, I think, identical on both bikes…both have a deep growl that I like.

The AKT Moto bikes are available in three different colors:   White (not a pearlescent white like ours, but a regular gloss white), black (that was the bike I rode), and metallic brown (that was the color of Carlos’ bike).    AKT paints their bikes in Colombia.    All three AKT colors looked good to me.  You can see the white and brown bikes in the photos above; here’s a photo showing my black Colombian ride…

Another minor point…the AKT frames were gloss black (compared to ours, which is a satin black).

The AKT Moto bikes had different graphics than ours (you can see their graphics in the above photo).   The AKT Moto graphics had the “TT250 Adventour” logo rather than our “Speed” logo.   They looked good and I liked them.  We’re changing our logo for 2016.   Too bad; I had a lot of fun tweaking the trolls about our logo.   Invariably, some Internet weenie with more time than brains (or manners) would make a snide remark about our “speed” logo.  I always respond by telling them we wanted it to say “methamphetamine,” but the font got too small to read (so we went with “speed” instead).

I might have missed one or two things, but I think the above summary captures most of the differences.   As you can see, they are minor.  Both the AKT Moto and the CSC bikes are essentially the same motorcycle, and they are both world-class bikes.    I didn’t feel out of place at all on my AKT Moto bike.  The AKT Moto bikes performed flawlessly on our Colombian ride.  You can’t go wrong with either machine.