Honley (Zhongshen) RX3

[linuxyeti]

Hi All

Oh well, after 5 years, the Skyteam has gone, to a very happy new owner, to be replaced as my manky weather bike by this Zhongshen RX3 (Otherwise known as the Honley Venturer). First off, why has the skyteam gone, my last 125, well, I was keeping it going for 2 reasons, brother in law only has a CBT, and since failing his mod 1 twice, has become disheartened, so, has decided not to renew his cbt. Secondly, I was using the skyteam when the weather was bad, which is was great for, however, it was just too slow to use on the motorway, so, more than doubling my travel to work time So, with no need for a 125 for the brother in law, I decided to get a 250, I nearly got one of these a little over a year ago, but ended up with the Mash.

This one, although I'm the first registered keeper, is not new, as it has been used by a dealership in Glasgow as a demo bike, and it does show, it was quite mucky, and had some damage, such as one of the crash bar welds broken, one of the skid plate mounts snapped, front brake lever scuffed, and some scratched on the crash bar. Anyhow, crash bar weld, and skid plate mounting fixed with some spot welding, the scratches & scuffs tidied with a touch of hammerite satin black, and then just a generally good clean.

The good news is, the bike runs well, and will enable me to use the motorway in the bad weather

Anyhow, here's a couple of pics :-

https://tony-home.no-ip.org/bikes/RX3_2016_1.jpg

https://tony-home.no-ip.org/bikes/RX3_2016_2.jpg
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[DrSnoosnoo]

They do look very tasty. Let us know how it looks after 3k miles so we can compare it to the multistrada in the other thread
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[linuxyeti]

Hi

Well, it's already got 2k on the clock

Cheers

Tony
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[chris-red]

It looks like a proper bike! Normally you can spot a chinky bike a mile away. I looked at it without reading and first though it was a Tiger 800 then a BMW of some description.

AHHHHH MUCH?
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Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[linuxyeti]

Hi

Spoke to Earnshaws recently, the latest version is for sale at ~ £2900 otr

This was 2400

Cheers
Tony
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[Oldie]

Looks like the one I sat on at Ride On, Hillington. I liked it and was surprised how much it felt like a proper bike. Comfy too. Didn't have time for a test ride though.

Good luck and happy miles

[chris-red]

Is that with the boxes and engine guards? Sub £3k is an attractive price point I hope it is reliable
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Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[linuxyeti]

Hi yep

That's with the bixes & engine guards. If you have a look on chinariders.net Loads of stuff on their, plenty of owners stateside, can't seem to find many if any bad comments about the bike.

Cheers

Tony
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[NJD]

Bike looks impressive but if this is their only and official website (Honley) then it would be a no no from me at any price point.

[linuxyeti]

Hi

Yeah probably the one you sat on Ride On, as that's where I got it from. Also, if you look at the CSC website, they have produced loads of tutorials on performing your own maintenance on the bike.

As for the Honley website, not sure what the problem is. It lists the basics, enables you to locate dealers and has contact details.
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[Snod Blatter]

[NJD]

[linuxyeti]

Hi

The website doesn't bother me, I have spoken to them, and they seem perfectly approachable. There are many poor websites around, including plenty that rely entirely on ebusiness. I don't disagree that their website can't be improved, but to me, not really a show stopper.

Also, the owner manual that comes with the bike is pretty comprehensive.

I think Honley have distributed the RX3 for around a couple of years now, and it's been available in China since around 2013. The RX3 has a large, and very active following in the states.

Also, Honley's badged 125's seem to get pretty good reviews as well.
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[pepperami]

[linuxyeti]

Hi

I'll keep updating, again, I reckon if they seem to be abe to happily drag americans around quite merrily, then, a european westerner should be fine .

At worst, there's plenty of spares on Tabao, Aliexpress and also CSC in the states seems to have a really good reputation over there, and a good source for spares/upgrades. Already, I ordered reuseable wire mesh oil filters from tabao, to use, rather than the disposable paper based ones.

So, even should there be issues over here, such as should Earnshaws stop importing the bike, I'm not overly concerned. I also have a very good, amenable garage within walking distance, that I've dealt with pretty much from day 1, in fact, not knowing they were local, but when I went to take my practical test, the proprietor was there with one of his students, and he gave me some pointers, that he hadn't needed to. Should the need arise, he's always been happy to work on any of my bikes, irrespective of manufacturer, granted, so far over the years, it's only been MOT's, and brake pad replacements, oh, and replacement forks on my GS after I came a cropper on the M6. I'm also, quite lucky, as I also know a local mechanic, who has a speciality in spoked wheels, so much so that the local HD dealership outsources their wheel work to him, and I also know a good local body shop repair garage, that will happily do any welding I might need.

So, all in all, I'm happy with my bike choices, the only 1's I've had reservations about have been my Diversion & Triumph
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[garth]

I looked at these before, and I was quite shocked that it's no lighter than my zx9r. 187kg for a 250 with ~25bhp?

Maybe if it lost 50kgs and had proper 18/21" wheels instead of the frankly odd 15/18" setup, it'd be more attractive to me.

Looks the part though.
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[pepperami]

[recman]

[linuxyeti]

Hi there

Well I did replace a v-raptor with it You can change the wheels, can also order alloys as well, they're listed on tabao

Cheers

Tony
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[Sean.S]

On first glance it doesn't look very Chinese but usually with chinq bikes time will tell. Im guessing that if the chinese stopped making those horrible 125 supermoto lookalikes then their reputation may improve

[linuxyeti]

Hi

Time will tell with any bike, chinese or not. As you can see I've owned numerous chinese bikes, without any worse appreciably problems than with my non chinese bikes, be it mechanical, electrical or cosmetic

Cheers

Tony
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[pepperami]

The Americans seem to like them.
Enough to take them on a 5000 mile trip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV94X6iptZ4
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[mysterious_rider]

They are ok bikes. Pretty fast even two up (both 14st). The suspension and handling is decent.

Two main problems is expect to change the fuel filter often. The petrol cracks them.
And the fuel injection is poor. Itll stall the bike out a lot sadly.

Enjoy it. Not bad for the cash.
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[linuxyeti]

Hi
Well, finally a bit of time today, so I gave it a quick service, as the reuseable stainless steel oil filter arrived today that I ordered of Tabao, plus, I don't really trust that the dealer I got it from, really did do the services they say they did.

Simple enough to do, after which i took it for a 70 mile spin, some motorway riding (M54/M6/M5), and then some normal roads. It handles motorway speeds fine, nice and nimble, so it filters well. Oh, I'll keep an eye out for the stalling, I'm quite used to that, as my America used to stall quite a bit, usually when slowing down, such as when coming off the motorway.

Cheers

Tony
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[pepperami]

Is there a cure for this stalling problem?
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