CSC Blog

We rolled up 25,500 miles on the RX3s last week, and we’re learning a lot more about these bikes.   The feedback we’ve received from our riders has been overwhelmingly positive and, like me, you folks love your new RX3 motorcycles.

As is the case on any new motorcycle, there are a few areas where the fasteners have a tendency to loosen, and I want to bring these to your attention.   I’m not making excuses…these kinds of things happen on all bikes and they happen on ours.   My Triumph Tiger’s instrument cluster started moving around on my first trip to Baja with it.   My KLR’s windshield fell off on the way home from the dealer.  My Harley lost one of its very expensive leather saddlebags somewhere on the 210 freeway.

Our recent Baja ride was a good test run…it included high speed freeway riding, lots of twisties, dirt roads, lots of miles, and lots of fun.   In short, it had all the stuff necessary to start the fastener loosening process.  Based on what we found, this blog addresses the fasteners we recommend you check.   My advice is to remove each one, add a dab of Loctite, and then reinstall them.

The first fasteners are the muffler mounting bolts.   These are the only ones that are a bit difficult to get to, but it’s not too bad.   I found that you can remove the front and rear seats, loosen the rear luggage frame mounting bolt on the right side (the one that goes through the rear rack, and you don’t need to take it out), and then remove the Phillips head screws that attach the right rear body panel and the black panel just forward of it.   If you remove the black panel (the one that runs along the lower edge of the fuel tank), you get enough wiggle room in the right rear body panel to get access to the muffler mounting Allen bolts.  You can get a 6mm Allen socket on these to tighten them, as you see in the photo below.

The next ones are the exhaust pipe fasteners (both at the cylinder head and at the exhaust pipe-to-muffler clamp).  While you’re at it, it would be a good idea to tighten the exhaust pipe heat shield Phillips head screws.

The exhaust system heats up and cools every time you run your bike, and that means the metals in it expand and contract.  It’s a formula for loosening fasteners, so it’s always a good idea to check these nuts, bolts, and screws.

We had a couple of front caliper bolts loosen (these are the bolts that secure the front caliper to the fork leg).  You can see these denoted by the red arrows in the photo below.  My advice is to put a socket on these bolts and snug them up after you’ve added a dab of blue Loctite.

It’s usually a good idea to periodically go over your entire motorcycle to check every fastener for tightness.   Sometimes you can just grab things on your bike and feel them move slightly when you know that they should be snug.   It’s part of the ownership experience.

And folks, that’s about it for now.   As we find more things to check on the RX3, you can bet we’ll keep you posted.   I just checked these things on my bike, and even though it’s Mother’s Day, Sue told me I could go for a short motorcycle ride…to Costco to get the stuff I’ll need to barbeque dinner tonight!

Our good buddy Pete, one of 15 real adventure riders who made the CSC Baja Run with us last week, returned to the plant yesterday for a visit before heading back to the East Coast.

Pete is a great guy and I sure enjoyed his company on the Inaugural Baja Run.   Everybody was great.   We had an awesome time in Mexico.

Several of us made the optional “on the dirt” trek out to see the cave paintings in San Francisco Sierra….an awesome place, to be sure, with artwork dating back more than 10,000 years!

We were gingerly picking our way between the rocks and the ruts, trying not to look over the side at the sheer drop on the left, when I thought to myself I was sure glad no one was coming the other way.   There’s just no way we’d be able to get by if a car was coming.   That’s when I noticed it.    A dump truck the size of Texas.   Coming right at us!

I have to tell you, my heart skipped a beat or two when I saw that truck approaching from the opposite direction.    We all got over to the far right edge of the goat trail we were riding (no kidding, there were actually goats up there), and I remember thinking that I wished I had some video of this.   No problem; our good buddy Pete had his Go Pro running…

Good times…and Pete, thanks for a job well done!

Pete let me copy all of his videos.   Stay tuned for more in the coming days!

This maintenance tutorial focuses on installing our instrument cluster-mounted accessories outlet kit.   The instrument cluster-mounted accessories kit includes a 12V cigarette-lighter-type receptable and a 5V USB receptacle.   It’s a neat setup, and it allows you to convert your bike’s dash to something looking like a NORAD control room, as you see on our good buddy and intrepid explorer Pete’s RX3 cockpit…

The accessories installation kit consists of six components, as you see below…the green resistor, the two instrument cluster wings, the 12V accessory port, the 5V accessory port cover, and the 5V accessory port.

The first step is to insert the 5V USB accessory port into the right instrument cluster wing, as you see below.   It will snap into place.

After you’ve done that, install the USB harness.  The plug is indexed (so it will only insert one way).   Make sure it is fully seated.

Let’s now assemble the left side.   You’ll see a big knurled nut on the back of the accessory outlet.   Unscrew it fully and remove it.

Install the accessory outlet into the left instrument cluster wing.   Note that the outlet has an indexing key on it, which will align with a corresponding slot in the instrument cluster wing.

Reinstall the large knurled nut and fully thread it on to the connector port.

At this point, both dash wings will be assembled as you see in the photo below.

The next step is to remove the headlight nacelle.   Remove the two Allen screws securing the headlight nacelle.   There’s one on either side of the headlight nacelle.

Move the headlight nacelle to one side, as you see below.

This next photo shows the instrument cluster from the bottom side.   Note the three nuts securing the instrument cluster.

Remove the three nuts securing the instrument cluster.

Once you’ve removed the three nuts shown above, the instrument cluster can be pulled away from its mounts.

You don’t need to remove the windshield (or even loosen it) to install the accessory outlets.  Reach under the windshield with an Allen wrench to remove the instrument cluster wing lower Allen bolt.

Then remove the Phillips-head screw from the upper instrument cluster wing mount.  Once you’ve done this, you can remove the instrument cluster wing.

Take the new instrument cluster wing with the 12V accessory port and attach it to the instrument cluster where the old instrument cluster wing was removed.

Repeat the process on the other side of the instrument cluster to install the USB accessory port and its instrument cluster wing.

After installing the new instrument cluster wings with their accessory ports, note the connector plugs just forward of the instrument cluster.  These are on every CSC RX3 motorcycle.   We included the upgraded main wiring harness with these connector plugs on all of our motorcycles.

Connect the plugs from the harnesses on your new accessories outlets to these connectors, as shown below.

After you’ve done the above, reinstall the three nuts securing the instrument cluster to its mounting points, and reinstall the headlight.

Remove the rear sight, the front seat, and the tray covering the electrical components beneath the rear seat.

After you’ve done the above, you will see a large white connector plug just inside the motorcycle’s right rear body panel.   This is also included with every CSC RX3 motorcycle.

Insert the green electrical resistor (shown on the left of the photo below) into the white connector.

It should look like this.

After you have connected the resistor to the connector plug, insert the resistor’s rubber frame over the frame tab on the right rear subframe, as shown below.

And folks, that’s it!   Reinstall the tray covering the electrical components, the front seat, and the rear seat, and let’s ride!

The RX3’s are flying out of here, folks…here are two recent photos of riders taking delivery of their new motorcycles.

This is Deon from Port Hueneme…

And here’s a shot of Greg from the Bay area….

Good times, guys.   Ride safe and send us photos of your adventures!

The boys just finished this tasty CSC 150 for Karl and it’s bound for Lancaster, Pennsylvania…

There are quite a few custom touches on this motorcycle, not the least of which are the bobber fender treatment, the custom point, the gangster whitewalls, and the billet wheels with custom blacked out rims.   It’s a stunning motorcycle.

I was based at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in Pennsylvania a long time ago (it’s not too far from Lancaster), and there’s some nice riding in that part of the world.   Karl, you’re going to have a lot of fun!

It’s next week, folks…and it’s in Flagstaff, Arizona.   Here’s a link to this great event…

http://www.overlandexpo.com/

Want to ride there with us?    I’ll be leaving the CSC plant in Azusa at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday with a few other RX3 riders and an editor from one of the best moto mags on the planet!   We’ll take a couple of relaxed, mostly non-freeway days to get there, and I’ll be riding back on Sunday.   If you’re on an RX3, you’re invited to ride with us!

While we’re at the Overland Expo, I’ll be leading rides to some of the more interesting spots in Arizona, and I’m giving a presentation on the RX3 Friday morning…

The CSC RX3 Motorcycle: A 250cc real world adventure tourer

This presentation will cover the RX3’s development history, features, and highlights completed long distance rides–including Chongqing-to-Istanbul and the grand loop through China and Tibet–as well as the Three Flags, Baja, and other rides CSC is planning for its riders. CSC will address why it believes a 250cc motorcycle is the ideal size for real world adventure touring. With online service tutorials, CSC outlines the ease with which the RX3 can be maintained. Finally, perceptions of Chinese motorcycle quality will be addressed directly; CSC’s Joe Berk (who teaches in Cal Poly’s Manufacturing Engineering department and consults with manufacturers internationally on quality and manufacturing issues) will outline Zongshen’s production operations and quality management approach.   

I hope you can join us.   I’m eager to get back in the saddle after the Baja run and put more miles on my RX3!

As shown on our oil change and setup maintenance tutorials, the RX3 has a 55.4 ounce oil capacity (that’s 1.7 quarts).   That’s if you remove the filter and the oil strainers, and drain all of the oil from the bike.   If you add 1.7 quarts of oil to the bike without first opening the oil filter and oil strainers to allow all of the oil to drain from the motorcycle, you’ll overfill the crankcase.

Our advice when setting up a new motorcycle is to drain all of the oil that ships with the bike.  Open the drain plug, the oil strainer caps, and the oil filter port to allow the oil in all areas of the engine to drain.   Hold the bike upright (off the centerstand) to get all of the oil out.  After you have done this, reinstall the filter, clean the strainers, reinstall the strainer caps, reinstall the oil filter cover, and reinstall the drain plug.   Now you can add 1.7 quarts of oil to your crankcase.

Actually, that would be our good buddy Justin…

Just read the latest blog post. I am missing Baja too. I got stopped 30 mi south of Bend, OR last night by a snowstorm. It’s 28 degrees outside right now, and this is my view out the window of the hotel.

Based on what I saw in Baja, Justin, it would not surprise me at all if you found a way to make an impromptu space heater out of bits and pieces you found in your saddlebags with maybe a piece or two you found lying by the side of the road!

Stay warm, MacGuyver, ride safe, and let us know when you get home!