Zongshen RX3 report

**gjackson4431** · 04-15-2014, 01:00 AM

Yeah it has an EFI and they used a power washer. It is under warranty and so far they havent charged me for anything including oil.
This was my first thought too, some kind of short in the EFI, as it happened right after they washed it had been feeling a bit ill just before this too.

I might have found the problem though on my own. or at least another problem. Last night while i was installing a USB charge i found a small hole in a tube coming from the gas tank. Its not the main gas line and nothing seems to be coming out of it so i don't really know what it's for. The hole is located right next to the gas tank and... how do i describe this... it was ripped by the nipple coming from the tank. The tube probably doesn't have enough slack. I was able to reposition the tube so the hole was effectively smaller. This might explain why it worked better for a little while after i took it to the shop last time as they removed the tank and may have accidentally moved the hole.

I also noticed a loose and stripped screw holding the section just after the air filter to the frame. That could explain the rattling. This is the 4rd stripped screw ive found. Another fell out of the chain guide and the other two i probably caused...

I'll take it back to the shop today and let you know what happens.

By the way, I also tried installing a pair of those cheap acerbis hand guards from taobao and they don't fit. They don't go all the way around the strange break fluid reservoir.

**Meiguo-007** · 04-15-2014, 03:45 AM

Hi,

You mentioned earlier that the panniers were quite small or smaller than the Tourfellas?

There are two things I would like to ask you and the guys following this thread; 1) do you think some type of non-spoked wheel could be bought (taobao or other) and 2) ideas (possibility) about buying the standard RX3 and then putting Tourfellas on to get larger storage. The exhaust seems to be the biggest challenge to my second question.

**ZMC888** · 04-15-2014, 09:42 AM

Jackson, I had an electrical fault with my bike. Was the TPS,(throttle position indicator). Basically it tells opens the butterfly valves for the ECU. Most likely some water in the electrics, maybe even in the TPS or connector. I'm a big fan of using a garden hose on bicycles and motorcycles, but anything stronger than gravity on bikes with modern electronics is asking for disaster, especially if it's Chinese.

Probably won't help you much asking a normal Chinese mechanic. There really are OK mechanics in China, but they are hard to find, often intelligent, capable problem solvers but poorly trained one-man-band business owners, and only about 20% of the one man band type owners. Dealer mechanics are 90% clueless imbeciles, at least where I live.

I think you'd probably be best to torque the bolts on the bike yourself.

**gjackson4431** · 04-15-2014, 11:46 PM

ZMC. That seems to be the conclusion the guy at the shop came to too. The electrical part that he removed and said needed to be replaced translated as the "throttle controller." Im definitely going to give the bike sponge baths from now on.

The broken hose turned out to be for removing excess water from the tank and wasn't anything vital.

2f9f8634-9abe-40f5-b671-e277a06c6ef9_zps0f3a4e4a.jpg

The panniers are a bit small but there are three. I bet if you wanted to replace them you could. The muffler has a removable guard on it. That could give you more room.. I have never considered replacing them though.

928e1150-d2ec-40aa-ae44-0cbdf6e51a95_zps6ba38ad1.jpg

**ThePope** · 04-22-2014, 03:36 PM

Originally Posted by Meiguo-007

Hi,

You mentioned earlier that the panniers were quite small or smaller than the Tourfellas?

There are two things I would like to ask you and the guys following this thread; 1) do you think some type of non-spoked wheel could be bought (taobao or other) and 2) ideas (possibility) about buying the standard RX3 and then putting Tourfellas on to get larger storage. The exhaust seems to be the biggest challenge to my second question.

If you want to make those modifications just pay a little extra and buy a Suzuki Gw250. Comes with mag wheels and there are plenty options for other accessories and boxes.

**Meiguo-007** · 04-22-2014, 11:10 PM

Hey, thanks for the recommendation. I have been reading through the GW threads lately and it does seem like the current "it" bike over the past several months. I will look over the various mods available to see how the bike looks. I think a different exhaust system can make it look a little less like wings with a smaller profile and some sporty bags would be a plus too. I road a suzuki 250 last week, not sire the specific model, and it felt smooth. I just have to get use to any of the smaller bikes after riding heavy American made for so long. My money is burning a hole in my pocket. I need to buy a bike very soon.

**gjackson4431** · 04-30-2014, 11:18 AM

I got the bike back with the new TPS installed but now there's a new problem that i hope someone can provide some insight on.

Here's what I've noticed so far: I can't get the bike to rev past 7000 rpms or sometimes 6000 rpms in 6th gear. 5th gear has the same problem but it goes up to 7500 rpms most of the time. If i accelerate quickly the engine doesn't go as fast as If i accelerate slowly. If i continue to turn the throttle past the point where the rpms stop increasing the engine does get louder but it starts to slow down. Does the throttle control the air intake manifold manually? or is this controlled by the ECU? The new TPS also looks quite different from the old one.

I've already burnt completely through a tank of gas and refilled it so i doubt water in the gas tank is causing this.

I cleaned the air filter (pain in the arse by the way) and it wasn't very dirty so it seems like its not getting enough fuel at the higher RPMs. I have a few theories as to what's causing the this but i wonder if anyone else has ideas other than my dealers advice, "You drive too fast! you don't need to go 100km/h."

**MJH** · 04-30-2014, 02:01 PM

What that mechanic told you is so wrong and that should be addressed by telling them that if they cannot fix it then they should call the factory and have the factory send out an engineer or master mechanic.

The throttle cable is mechanically linked to the TPS, that cable moves the position of the TPS that sends that position reading to the ECU that adjusts the mix, it does that through the use of configuration tables that are reading other sensors.

Basically they may have fucked up the bike with a high-pressure washer and in that damaged it. They determined it was the TPS and it may be but now its not configured to factory specs or it still has one or more failing components.

If the mechanic cannot figure it out and fix it then they need a better mechanic that can fix it or you should get another motorcycle.

I read your past post what exactly does it was feeling a bit ill mean? Was it fine before the power washing or not? If not then what was it doing then, not that it matter because they should have diagnostics that that read all the inputs and in that isolate the problem.

I bet that if the controls for the EFI are not secured then they can lose settings or even get damaged by vibrations. Plus hitting them with high-pressure water could destroy them.

If it ran fine out of the factory then what changed and if the mechanic is not knowledgeable them trying to fix it could just make it worse.

**gjackson4431** · 04-30-2014, 03:10 PM

I know that about the mechanic... They lost my confidence a long time ago and now I'm starting to really get angry with them. Another favorite line of mine was said when i visited the bike while it was in the shop last week. It had been raining a lot and I asked them if they took it inside at night or put a cover over it. They said no and told me not to worry because its a "free car wash" not seeming to remember that it was only there because of water damage. Ah yea and the result of that the key ignition got a bit rusty and now the key doesn't turn as easily as it used to.

I thought the TPS might be incorrectly calibrated or worse they cheaped out and bought the TPS from a smaller bike with a lower volt range. (not exactly sure if that makes sense though) The new one does look different. If its not a blocked fuel line, my other theory, then im going to ask that they bring someone from the factory in.

Before this problem, I was hearing some strange rattling sounds when driving at around 5500rpm in 3rd and 4th gear. This is within the normal RPM range for my bike if a bit towards the low end of normal. The sound was a louder version of the rattling sound you'd get if you accelerate in high gear at a low speed. I found a couple stripped bolts and now its gone.

I wondered about the throttle and the butterfly valve or intake manifold because if its mechanically controlled by the twist grip that would explain why the engine sound changes. I thought maybe it was getting more air as i increased the throttle but not more fuel. But if the air intake valve is also controlled by the ECU, then the TPS might be working properly and the fault is in some other sensor or the fuel line or fuel pump. Again not sure if that makes sense.

**Bitteeinbit** · 05-01-2014, 02:18 AM

Those panniers are small, but pretty cool nonetheless! Way more storage than any stock bike I know of... You could technically go around the world with just those panniers and maybe a few extra bags on the outside near the rear pannier.