California Scooter Company RX-3 Cyclone Test and Info

**thillskier** · 02-15-2015, 10:44 PM

Calcune,
That "lowly" TMEC is a pretty great DS/adv bike, IMHO, at least as reported on the ADV website, this site, and chinarider.com:)! That Spud moderator guy (on Crider) has over (he's out riding today as its 60 degrees in Idaho, he said! has OVER 67,000!! miles on his "lowly TMEC". Pretty dang impressive, to me, and a GREAT portent to my new RX-3's expected durability and lifetime.

**culcune** · 02-16-2015, 01:00 AM

Actually, TMEC is an independent company that uses a proprietary engine manufactured by Zongshen. Spud's bike and engine was manufactured by Zongshen, and the engine his uses was a unique-for-Chinese manufacturers engines in that it was a near identical replica of the same engine used in the Yamaha TW200, whereas the majority of Chinese 200cc engines are clones, but not necessarily identical to any one, old Honda CG engine. Of course, the RX3 is utilizing an engine not based (for the most part) on anyone else's design.

My post was bringing up the fact that even my bike, a rare, inexpensive clone bike, has very good aftermarket support (which is not the norm for the most part), so I am guessing that CSC will provide good aftermarket support. I think the engines are proving themselves more and more as they are used in the SSR dirt bike, as well as AJP, and have been giving people good reliability in the countries that already have RX3s, and that is the biggest battle with Chinese bikes--the engines. If you speak to a naysayer today, they will most surely tell you about a friend of an uncle's brother who had a Chinese bike and the engine blew up on him the minute he turned the switch. Of course, these engines (the Honda clones and the Yamaha clones) have been proving themselves. The bikes themselves have issues usually related to substandard bolts, but those would be more likely found on bikes like my cheap enduro, and the low-cost and popular Bashan enduros. I can guarantee, the RX3 will keep you guys happy riders for years and years.

If anything cannot be found in the US or any other market as far as parts go--Taobao will be there to keep you on the road!

**Zorge** · 02-16-2015, 06:31 AM

Originally Posted by culcune

Of course, the RX3 is utilizing an engine not based (for the most part) on anyone else's design.

Isn't that Italian "Beta" 450 cc lower engine with SOHC 4V 250 cc upper engine?

**culcune** · 02-16-2015, 05:02 PM

That's where the 'for the most part' comes in

For years, we have seen Honda-like engines produced by the millions, as well as some Suzuki copies and, like I mentioned, Yamaha copies, but this engine is not a well-known engine. If it is close to Beta, there is most likely some kind of joint venture deal

in there, rather than copying. Zongshen is tied in with Piaggio and others nowadays, so the lines get blurred...

**Zorge** · 02-16-2015, 07:18 PM

I notice that this engine is used on bikes of some lesser-known makers (for example, one which design attracted me - "Fekon Carlo" 250), which is definitely a good thing.

I sincerely hope that this engine, as well as those 250 cc "Yingang" AX-1 and "Loncin" 300 cc KLX engine clones will become more extensively used on Chinese bikes. Those are not 400 to 600 cc, but it is "a step in the right direction". Honestly, I feel sick of these old CG-CB-CBF-GS-GN-TW-YBR-CM clones.

**culcune** · 02-16-2015, 11:32 PM

I would like to see these liquid-cooled engines being used more and more. The Portugese company, AJP, is using the Zongshen engine for a few of their bikes, but I also believe they are using air-cooled CG engines as well on some of their bikes. The US company, SSR, is also using this engine on their full-size dirt bike, which I believe is manufactured by Asiawing.

http://www.ssrmotorsports.com/store/...bike-index.htm

**MJH** · 02-17-2015, 12:31 AM

we like a good website, however the meat is in a parts indexed ordering system, NO?
http://www.ssrmotorsports.com/store/parts.html

**Zorge** · 02-17-2015, 06:51 AM

Oh, yes. This engine are already on the streets, so we will get some feedback about it.

**culcune** · 02-22-2015, 11:48 PM

Where is that, Zorge? These are Chinese motorcycles?

**Zorge** · 02-23-2015, 06:13 AM

That was presentation of new "Baltimotors Dakar" bikes (some Russian brand; ~3.2k bucks) - http://baltmotors.ru/motocycles/dakar_250_enduro . You can find the same bike in Ukraine as "GEON Dakar" (~3.65k bucks) - http://www.svitmoto.com/products/35311.html. I am more than sure that this same bike with that "Zong's" engine which we are interested in, you can also buy somewhere in South America.

I think that bike "per se" is "Asiawing's" NC 250 - http://www.asiawing.com/english/nc250.html