I couldn't stand it....:D CSC Motorcycles in southern cal. finally got the RX4's in
so I went ahead and ordered one AGAIN....:eek:
but this time I didn't order the Yum Yum Yellow one I ordered the saphire blue
one.... and No extra accessories which ran the bill up and delayed shipping on the TT250 ....
.... so that is the last bit of spending I will be doing except for handgards ....
and oil filters for that bike.
it will be interesting to see how long it takes them to get the bike to me
I expect a month !
it will be a great christmas present for me if I do say so myself ! LOL
... ($5400 out the door.... if your wondering )
....a NEW bike that I won't have to work on... if i want to work on a bike I can work on the Triumph ! or Ninja... they both need love !
...it should be just the ticket ! :bounce:
.... that's my inheritance ! a great toy ! LOL ,but that is what I want !
later all !
Bob.......

the latest estimate for the shipping of my new RX4 is Jan 10~12th now
their driver had a delay as he had to visit the hospital for some reason so that delayed the pickup by about 4 days....
and they picked it up and went the wrong way ... to their shipping/staging area in las Vegas NV. now it will start heading my way once he gets going again....
it's been my experience of watching shipping and times that its the loading and warehouses that take the most time... not the actual driving distance.
...
it seems the guy that delivered the TT250 from them retired, or went out of business and they had to find another Quality shipping firm to deliver the bikes, and that is who has my bike right now.... their based in Boston I think.... at $250 a bike you can bet they will try to fill that truck trailer as full as they can before they leave Las Vegas !....
so I am expecting the bike on the 12th !
....
anyway I'm still waiting ! LOL.....
Bob.........

Ok finally my wife got a call today from Idaho saying that my new RX4 will be delivered tomorrow between 2:00pm and 4:00 pm !
( i'll believe it when I see it )
but that is good news ! the weather is good and roads clear it's a perfect time to deliver it !
so tomorrows the day ! WOOO HOOO !
Bob.......

I just got back from a ride on my new bike !
and it is everything I had hoped for ! the engine is very tight but that will change as I get more miles on it
and I am Astonished at how good it handles it borders on handling as good as the 2012 250R ninja ! ...NO REALLY ! i'm still in shock about that !
as far as the power goes... it's not like the Triumph or Ninja as the motor is still very tight but I expect it to start showing it's power as I get more miles on it
.... I had it to 70 mph for a short period of time and it tacked just over 5k RPM
so there was a great deal left. it's no slouch it will get up and go !
6 speeds, fuel injection and a dash display to die for it shows everything from tire pressure gas level and gear selection it's tack will be hard for me to get used to as I am used to analog dials this is digital and it doesn't stand out to my old eyes ...but I'll get used to it I am sure.
it's got crash bars, hard saddle bags and a top box and every thing I could want on a bike....
I'm super happy....
now to go put the hand guards on it !
later !
Bob......

Well I got the hand guards and foot pegs on and a full tank of gas
....
here's a picture my Wife took of me and the new bike !
....
Bob......

Cool!!! I may need one to ride across desert!
And track...


Seems to require lots of maintenance... hmmm...

actually just the contrary very little maintenance on this thing i think it's 5000 miles between valve adjustments after the initial setting at 500 miles
it's fuel injected so no carb problems... has ABS so you can stop faster than the car behind you and get rear ended ! LOL
and a large gas tank ! of 5.5 gallons !
the only thing i don't like about this bike is the exhaust pipe from the head it comes down to the bottom of the engine and then splits into a loop going around both sides of the engine that should cook your oil real good don't ya think ??? stupidest exhaust pipe I've ever seen but that is my only complaint
and thousands of them have been running for decades and no one has complained about the exhaust cooking the motor so perhaps my fears are misplaced !

right now I am in the middle of changing the preload on the rear shock they had it a long way up...i want it a long way down ...
right now it's a tippy-toe affair when I'm on it.and absolutely no sag when I get on it ....
I can compress the front a little by shoving on the handle bars with all my weight but the back shows no give at all, so I gott'a fix that.
for $5500 ( +~- ) to my door I came out smelling like a rose !
and the resin boxes on it seem alot better than I thought they would be
quite robust.
all in all I am quite happy ! and it's comfortable to ride no crotch rocket stuff... HAHAHAHA ! more my style !

.....
Bob...

That thing is huge! Looks awesome!!

i'm just used to Honda maintenance schedule:

10-15k miles valve-clearance checks, usually 20k between actual adjustments
8k miles or yearly oil-changes, whichever comes 1st

Does RX4 really need valve-adjustments every 5k and oil-changes every 2.5k? While it certainly doesn't hurt to do them that often, not sure I want to make that effort.

I bet like almost any engine, those valve clearances won't budge after the first couple checks.
I do oil by feel now instead of miles. Since my 650 and 250 are usually hitting redline every time I go out to the canyons they get an oil flush every 1500 miles or so. They just feel better that way.

Here's the maintenance schedule for this RX4....
I didn't think it was bad at all really... I probably miss quoted it I have had alot of things on my mind lately ...mainly trying to think of a way to lower that tall beast... for me tipy-toe operation AIN'T making it it has a 31.9" seat height
and that is too tall for my 30" inseam ( with boots on)
so i lowered the pre load last night about 1" and I don't like it because on a bump the rear wheel will be able to flop down i can lift the ass of the bike now 2" before the wheel comes off the ground.... and that is a ****** solution
not to mention that the spring will chew up the threads of the pre load.
...
that this is HEAVY. 450lbs is a heavy bike ! my triumph is only 400lbs
.... I think I'll call her Miss piggy ! geez !
.... but heavy and tall is not good for me ! i gott'a do something about that
the links in the rear suspension are an over engineered nightmare of heavy aluminum parts that do not lend themselves well to lengthening !
.... i gott'a think on this a while
Bob......

well I decided to lower it using the preload even more and probably dropped the ass end about 2" all totaled and I can touch the ground with the balls of my feet in my slippers ! so with my boots on it should almost be flat footed....i think. I can go about 1" to 1.5" more but that will be to the max of the threads on the mono shock... the spring on this mono shock is harder than the spring that was on the XRL 650 honda ! by far ! it's a beefy thing that my 185lbs barely deflects even when I bounce on it !
....
I re set the TFT dash to the interface I wanted it has all the info on the bike
complete with all the averages MPG Speed and what not...
and I linked it to my phone so I guess my motorcycle can call me when it's bored eh ? LOL ( just shows incoming calls) on the dash.
....
safety features ! so far I have only ran into one safety feature that messed me up... but I've only ridden it one time too... the starter will not function when the bike is not in neutral and the clutch in... I do NOT like that at all, if you kill it at a stop sign you have to put it into neutral before the starter will work...that is BAD ! not sure about the side stand safety switch but I am sure it is a screw up as well... ( they always are!)
....
no center stand is a major P.I.T.A .... i will more than likely make one and add more weight to an already heavy machine !
....
sense I have lowered the rear I will likely have to adjust the headlight
for riding at night... or I will be looking at the trees and not the road !
...
it is a big beastie.... bigger than I thought it would be it's a full sized 650 with a 450 engine.... kind'a strange !
....I just hope against hope that I haven't hurt the handling by lowering the ass of this thing because it was really fun in the corners alot like the Ninja !
I will more than likely drop the front forks as far as I can but that is only about an inch before they hit the handle bars... if I get some offset handle bar holders I should be able to drop it 2" max as there is a taper in the forks below that mark and I can't go beyond that point but in theory I should be able to get 2" of drop in the front.... at the expense of ground clearance.

this thing has tapered handle bars on it... my first encounter with these things.... their 1" at the clamp but taper to the 3/4" at the grips their strong enough.... i lifted the bike from laying on it's side in the middle of the road the other day by them and they didn't bend.... so their good enough for me !
.... ( i fell over because it is so tall...it got away from me when I killed it and it learched !...stupid !) only 3 small scratches on the crash bars... i wasn't moving when it hit the ground but i could not lift it at the angle I was at ! so I just dropped it the 16" to the ground... the first of many scratches it will receive under my care ! no biggy !
I took off that big godauffle sticker on the tank stating warnings like don't ride without a helmet, and make sure your medical insurance is paid up and such.... the white stickers on the black frame stand out like a billboard sign
but I think I will just cover them with black tape and leave the sticker unmolested ! they have important info on them.
....
Bob.......




...

OK that was alot of screwdriver and small hammer work I don't have one of those special wrenches but there would be no room for one of them anyway.
I lowered it all the way leaving about 1/4" of threads above the lock nut is all
I can now officially sit on the bike and put my feet flat on the floor....
.... but now comes lowering the front forks which doesn't look like it's going to be easy as it's all covered with plastic crap to make it look pretty ! ...I tried to see if the headlight beams could be lowered.... from what I saw they can't be
their bolted directly to a bracket maybe that bracket has a slot in it but I seriously doubt it...so I just left it alone.
i just bought some handlebar risers
(they will be here next tuesday or so )that will allow me to move the handlebars back away from the fork tubes that way I can slide the fork tubes up in the triple trees and in effect lower the front by 2" that will help immensely as far as head light aim and touching the ground goes.
I expect that after I lower the front I will have to shorten the side stand as it' getting close to vertical now.
then it will be just putting on the miles !
I'm going to try and take it for a spin tomorrow but we'll see
depends on if I stay awake all night again ! LOL
...
Bob.....

I didn't get a chance to take the new bike out for a spin today I had to run to town and get milk,beer and other stuff ! LOL...
....
looking closer at lowering the front forks and it looks like I might be able to go 2.5" but that will be the absolute max as there is a taper below the upper cap
it starts the taper at about 2.5" down ....(the fork tube gets bigger at the bottom clamp.)
the allen head bolts are #6 mm and I have neglected to get normal long allen wrenches in metric yet... i got t-handles but not the long metric ones that I need.....( and I thought I had it all covered too LOL)oh well best laid plans and all that !
.... I noticed I'm missing a bolt that holds the crash pan on too...
.... turned on the key and hit the starter and it didn't make a full revolution and it was running.... this bike starts like that.... and I really do like that part !
....
I will probably have to take off all that fancy fairing and stuff just to be able to get to the front forks to loosen the triple tree clamp bolts...i expect so
but i should pull off the right side to check the coolant level anyway.... you can't see the coolant level without doing that.... what were they thinking? the Ninja is the same way ! Aurgh ! i suppose your supposed to take it to your dealer for those checkups right ? LOL
..... some times the old ways are much better !
LOL....
Bob.......

Well, I got up late again today so I only had time to get the RX4 out of the shop
I will likely just lower the front out in the yard sense it is such a PITA to get that heavy beast into the shop and back out of it...
i have to wait till my handle bar risers get here so I can lower the front forks
so while I am waiting I figured I'd take it for a spin or two.
(at least that's the plan !)
I also need some high quality metric allen wrenches...in the LONG format
I have short ones but I need the long ones and perhaps a set of 3/8" ratchet allen socket type things.... all I have in that are old S.A.E sizes that went through the Ranch fire...so getting new ones wouldn't hurt at all.
...
This bike is unlike any other bike I have had.... it's big big as a 650 or so...
it's heavy as a 650 street bike has the full dress amenities of many of the cruisers. and handles extremely well.... or did before I lowered the ass....
I am hoping after I lower the front that handling will come back but I expect right now the way it's ass low I've killed the handling on it ! ( I expect that ...I don't know if that's true till I ride it!)
....
Bob...

LOL I got up in plenty of time to take the RX4 out for a ride but never did...
instead I put it back into the shop and lowered the front end about an inch...
found a bolt for the crash plate that was missing and am NOW all set to take it for a ride....
I took off the right plastic panel in front of the tank to get to the pinch bolts on the lower triple tree and on the other side I thought I could get in there with the allen wrench if the wheel was turned just right and sure enough I could... so I raised both front fork tubes in the triple trees to where they were touching the handle bars ( bottom side) and that lowered the front by almost a full inch
....I sat on it and could almost touch flat footed in my slippers !!!!! that is a first!
I also tried to get insurance through Geico last night and they wound up saying call them so after an hour and a half of frustration at their site I turned it off and went to bed.... today the fife checks the bank and I have 2 charges one for 111 bucks and another for 171 bucks and the only place I even tried to spend money was at Geico insurance ! but it said to call them so I canceled it .... GRRRRR i bet you dollars to donuts those idiots added 2 new policies not one and charged me for the most expensive one even though I canceled it ! OBVIOUSLY I have to call them and talk to a human which will take forever on hold ! GRRRR ! i am getting very tired of Geico already.... they screwed up the insurance for the ninja as well, and the DMV threatened to cancel the licenses on the triumph because they didn't report it to the DMV.... it's like can they do anything right ?
....
.....
anyway.... after getting on and off the bike a few times I think it will do for now... I may lower it more later depending on how it handles ( the bar risers will be here tomorrow ! )
i then turned the handle bars to full lock on the right side and the bike tried to fall in that direction scared the **** out of me but it wasn't even close to going over..... so it looks like the next project is shortening the side stand !
it's just too vertical now for the side stand with the wheel straight it's fine but if you turn it all the way it will tip over.... not good !
I had to shorten the Ninja's side stand as well so why not this one ! LOL
......
BEING SHORT SUCKS ! LOL:rotflmao:
later !
Bob......

Why not get bike designed for short people? Rather than modifying everything all the time??

Perhaps something like this...

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=188dlcYrSVgA8p5oHczXQHZAqSUgLOs6i

Danno, that's too much :rotflmao: If that guy sits down he'll have to look right or left of the tank! That tank grip is great too, it's a full-body grip :clapping: Gotta hand it to him, he likes to ride more than I do, more power to him.
Bob, lower that thing all you want; it will still handle better than the scooter-rocket.

LOL that is extreme ! but I do understand that.... that took alot of work to accomplish that ! far more than I am willing to do ! the chain going to the rear wheel is right on his seat ! LOL
....
Today I cut down the side stand... and now know why the bike weighs so much
would you believe the side stand is solid steel ? milled out of a solid hunk of steel and it's not soft steel either its so hard I had to use the bandsaw to cut the 3/4" chunk out ! the recopicating saw just wasn't cutting it even with a good blade ! .... I Chamfered it, and welded it all the way around and ground off the weld so it looked nice and then painted it.... ... soon as the paint is dry I'll put it back on there !
...
I got a cycle cover coming from Amazon I just bought a tarp to cover it with but that darn tarp is too short so it didn't work very well... so I gave up and bought a proper cover for it !
I had all the attentions of going for a ride today but I never did....getting all the riding gear on is such a pain any more... LOL and it would have been a chilly ride no matter what I did so, i fixed the side stand instead ! LOL....
....
getting that side stand spring back on might be a battle ! I think I will try to put it on the way I took it off... pull the bolt and then pull the pivot portion out and then it just falls off... if I can stretch it enough that has got to be the best way of putting it on... LOL.... I'll probably use every vice grips on the property and every long screwdriver too boot ! LOL
...

Makes me wonder what other things on that bike are solid steel ! HEHEHEH
that side stand has to weigh 2 lbs at least the main shaft on the ninja's sidestand is just a pipe, but not on this RX4.... it's like the Triumphs ! SOLID steel !
....
Bob.......

Well, I guess new players to market don't have extensive engineering background or FEA computing resources of big players. When Mazda was designing their FD-generation RX-7, every engineer was tasked with reducing weight of their part by 10%. Amazing that they actually achieved that goal! :)

Then again, you can overdo it and become Lotus fragile!

Good job on that kickstand! You reduced some weight on it too!! ahahahahahhah!!

Here's how to deal with that kickstand spring.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DS7DD7D

LOL Yah I had one of those at one time... I have no idea where it went too
.... I got it back on fairly easy... I assembled it the way it came off with the spring already attached and just used a vice grip clamped to the pivot base plate and pried against that... it worked but wound up levering it against the foot peg and that worked perfect... got the bolt in with no problem
and the bike leans on it's side stand much better and not excessively !!!!
so she's ready to roll.....
.....
one thing I've noticed is the bike seams very lean..... that's to be expected somewhat I suppose but getting off idle is too lean and there is a slight pause half the time.....
unfortionately I don't know of a way to ritchen up a fuel injected motor like that i don't think there is a fuel air screw LOL ! it feels like it needs 1/8 turn on the Fuel air screw to me and it would fix that !!!!!
..... but no carb on this thing just a throttle body and it looks like a fuel injector bolted to the side of it ....
....
maybe there is a after market piggyback ECU that would fit this thing eh ?
something I could actually program ?
unfortunately the only ones I have seen are for name brand bikes and they never heard of a CSC RX4 LOL....
most say they will fit almost any 4 cycle single cylinder but you better know what your doing ..... and I certainly do NOT so I want a plug and play if I'm going to mess with the F.I. on this thing !
.....
I did see where a guy on youtube put one for a suzuki on his RX4 and was really impressed on the way the bike preformed after he put it on there....
I bookmarked where he got it and what he got but that is all I know about it and that really is not enough to go on.... and at $450.00 it's kind'a pricy too
....
Bob......

No piggyback needed. You can always use resistor-ladder with TPS, AIT, MAP/MAF sensor to skew look-up point to richer area up load-axis.

you do know your talking a foreign language don't you ?
i have no idea what you just said.... something about the MAF sensor I think
although I have no idea how to LOOK UP anything there is nothing to look up anything on it or where I could plug something into it even if I knew what that something was ......

I think I know what your meaning by a resistor ladder just a bunch of resistors arranged so their resistance at their connections is progressively higher
through the stack... but that is ONLY because I was a Ham radio operator back in the 1980's !
....
I did see a trouble shooting code thing in one of the manuals
but they never said what kind of code reader to use or where to hook it up.
....
this isn't an obscure field but your talking to a guy that has never messed with any of that stuff aside from swapping out the ECU from a Volkswagen van once ... and I didn't have to have a code reader for that .

.... do you have any idea what code reader I should get to read the codes on this bike Danno ???

....
Bob.......

Hay Danno.... I've never had an OBD scanner before and I don't know how to use one
but I guess now is the time right ?!?!?
....
I found this one at Harbor freight tools and I have a store locally now instead of 75 miles away...https://www.harborfreight.com/zr13s-obd2-code-reader-with-abssrsfixassist-57666.html
I'm thinking it would be neet if it worked for the 1998 Honda CRV and the 2021 RX4 as well....
the manual is of no help at all, it says use a scan tool.... period it does not say what kind or any thing else....
would this be a good one to get ? any ideas on that ?
I'm totally clueless here !
( the bike is supposed to have a Delphi fuel injection system on it )



Bob.........

No piggyback needed. You can always use resistor-ladder with TPS, AIT, MAP/MAF sensor to skew look-up point to richer area up load-axis.

haha what??
I can screw with a carb. EFI just works.

LOL yah I know what ya mean Drew !
to me it's just magic working in an F.I. system ! but I know Man made it, so
their's gott'a be a way to change how much it spits out at a time when it does spit out the fuel..... I know you can re program the Eprom in the ECU but that takes quite a bit of specialized equipment, or at least used to many years ago...
but I have to wonder if there isn't a simple mechanical "tweeking" that you could do to accomplish the same thing...
.... Re maping a ECU would not be my first choice BUT it's also not beyond my abilities if I had the knowledge to do it ! ...that much I know.... flashing an eprom of old was a ( and still is) a complicated endivor.... but a guy that has done that before making his own version of a F.I system should know the in's and out's of what needs to be done !....
....
I almost got into doing my own eproms way back in the early years of computers as I made a program I called the UCP "the Ultimate CW Program"
as I programed it in C+ using Borland C upgraded to Borland C++ or what ever.... ( that has been many Decades ago) but every aspect of the signal sent out from the ham radio was variable so you could taylor make your signal instead of the canned programs of the day... my program gave you the ability to change the length of the dit's and dahs of morse code and RTTY
and receive both in real time....
once hooked up you could just type on your key board and send morse code at any speed you wanted to .....
.... but life got in the way and I never did get around to doing that...
I had the program and the interface and did sell quite a few copies
of the program but never went any further with it.
.....
but being able to change every aspect of the fuel in a F.I. engine is really alluring.... problem is their is dozens of programs out there already that do that already..... but it is relitively an unknown science and it is really hard to find ANY information on the subject !
so Right now all I want to do is just ritchen up the idle a little bit on my new bike but how do you do that on a F.I. system ???? it's magic I tell ya !:rotflmao:
....
I'll have to get all new electronic equipment and all that there is no doubt about that but I want to do that anyway... a new scope,new high quality VTOM a magnifier and bread boards for experiments and such and a good signal generator.... and possibly a eprom burner.... and an interface to program them with.... or a tablet to do that.
....
but time is awasting ! it's a good day here, and I think I'll take out the RX4 and see how badly I screwed up the handling with my lowering of the bike !
....
later all !
Bob........

well, Twas a good ride !
and it still corners good but not as good as it was... it doesn't tuck it's ass into the corner like it did but it's close to that.
I went up Sturards spring rd. till i hit snow and turned around it's a up hill jaunt and the bike did get warm... so I let it cool down where I turned around .... the road was covered in cinders for the snow... but there was track ways in it so I just stayed in the tracks.... but it meant no going into corners fast and no real fast stuff at all.
which suited me just fine as I am breaking the bike in.
i got up to the start of the forest service road part and hit snow... so I stopped there
and let the bike cool down.
she never complained about anything but I did notice it spitting out a little antifreeze and water from the over flow that I filled to the top the other night. ( expected)
I took about 5 pictures but I will spare you with only 4 LOL
here they are... (soon as I orientate them)
the last pic you can barely see the national forest sign... directly behind me there was snow on the ground by the creek...

Bob....

and No... I didn't take it to 123mph the digital speedometer had that on it for some reason...
and I did let out a little air out of both tires but not near enough it rides like a truck !
...lol
when I got home I let the bike cool and then put it's new cover on it
and left it by the Honda CRV.... so I can take it out again easily...
and I cleared the Highest speed on the speedometer....

Bob......

Anyway I am wondering if the "ZR11s OBD2 Code Reader With ABS" from harbor freight tools would work on my bike.... it says it will work on the Honda CRV so that's good... I am more likely to have trouble with it than anything else.... it's not their fanciest one Nor is it their cheapest one.... but I have no idea if it will work on the bike or not... are all the F.I. plug-in's standard now ?
a few decades ago you had to have an adaptor for every make of car to get your OBD reader to plug in.... I would have thought they fixed that by now
.....
Bob......

once OBD-II came out, it was A LOT more standardised digital format. OBD-1 was an analogue version where each auto-maker had their own implementation with proprietary connector.

As with modern-day hot-rodding, it's all done in software! Don't limit yourself with a hardware scanner, you won't be able to upgrade easily. Instead, get bluetooth OBD-II dongle to attach to car: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HXGX8V6/ . Get a Wifi version if you've got iPhone.

Then you can choose from thousands of software apps (https://play.google.com/store/search?q=obd-Ii&c=apps&hl=en_US&gl=US) that will connect to adapter and read data from auto's ECU with your phone. Very popular one is Torque Pro.

You can even get apps that let you modify ECU's maps to fine-tune. No more getting dirty crawling around under bonnet and getting sore backs! Modern hot-rodding can be done from comfort of your living-room sofa! :)

WOW really ? My Kid has 2 lap tops perhaps I can snag the old one for that ! ( kids laptop is not android compatible so it's phone only... I get it !)

.... I just have one very old notebook and this computer which is a new fancy one ... but it is not portable at all.....
a OBD2 dongle eh ????
i'll see what the links you posted show me ! thanks Danno !
...
Bob......


ok I just got one with bluetooth ! $12.00 something so even if I can't get it to work it's not going to break the bank !
.... thanks Danno

I also down loaded chkOBD on my phone....also Torque light... so I should be set i think
I seriously doubt I can change the parameters of the engine with this app ....but it is a starting place
just looking at the parameters is getting somewhere at this point ! LOL

is there anyway I can use my phone to reset the parameters on the F.I systems ??? or does that take something else ????
THANK YOU VERY MUCH !!!!

Bob........

as with modern-day hot-rodding, it's all done in software!

yep

is there anyway I can use my phone to reset the parameters on the F.I systems ??? or does that take something else ????
THANK YOU VERY MUCH !!!!

Bob........You're welcome! Those apps will let you clear/reset ECU codes for troubleshooting and see if they come back. Then you'll want to investigate closer using good 'ole-fashioned techniques with multimeter and vacuum-gauges. Honda has very good flow-charts to diagnose and repair issues for each code. Usually narrows it down to single point of failure: wiring, vacuum-lines, and in rare cases, replacement part.

Yah like the Honda CRV out there gets an engine light warning going....
and I plug in the Dongle to check and see what the trouble is....
it says its a low voltage sensor in the brake system but nothing more than that
.... so I check the power brakes fluid and discover the reservoir is low and fill it up. and use the dongle and phone to clear the fault....
... I did that once without the dongle and phone and it didn't clear the fault
I had to insert the key into the dash slot to clear the fault ...but the idea is the same.... ( i keep a closer eye on the fluids up there now!)
....
I like the idea of setting in the warm house and hopping up the bike alot more than out there tinkering on it in the cold that is for sure....LOL
i mean heck why not !!!!
but I've not seen any area where I might be able to change the idle mixture
from it's existing setting of say 52 to say 58 yet.... there must be a program that does that.... do they run on PC's ( lap tops) or Phones ? or does it take a dedicated unit that costs thousands of dollars ?
.... I am not opposed to getting a Laptop just for the Shop ! but modernizing this old man will be a steep learning curve ! LOL running the program is usually the hardest part of something like this, getting to know the intricacies of what you can change and how much is the hard part....
..... but then that brings us to the problem I had with my toyota truck....
I had a toyota pickup truck 2wd R22 F.I. motor that no matter what I did kept reverting back to the original setting..... it was helping me !
i didn't want that help but it did it anyway.... I needed a way to change the ECU's parameters so it would Not automatically change the settings back to the stock setting....which it did very efficiently no matter what I did to the components.... it was frustrating to say the least but I finally wound up fooling the ECU mechanically.... and that solved the problem
..... that is what I am trying to get to.... perhaps that explains it better.
How do I do that ?
....
Bob.......

OK I have been doing some reading....
and found this ... https://www.obdadvisor.com/best-car-tuning-software/#What_do_I_need
which has been educational....
but it sounds like what I want to do....
but it looks like alot of these things are subscription based things that get money from you each year weather you use it or not... that is NOT for me !
but it looks like half of them are that way.... the dipsticks expect you to keep sending them money..... that isn't going to happen !
( subscription base indeed ! how dumb do they think I am ? ) LOL....
....
so Yah ! I think I answered my own question...... and I've opened a can of worms or am heading down the rabbit hole in no uncertain terms !
....

back in the 1950's no car has all these sensors on it.... it was as simple as they could make it..... now days almost every component on the car has it's own sensor that reports to the ECU and it decides how to adjust the components to make it run the best.....
It is a better way in most respects, because it is far more precise !
it has also raised the price of most cars to be higher than a House of the 1950's as well. and it's taken the Mechanics job and put it into the hands of a technician !... ( which is just a educated mechanic in most cases)
....
So Now... the mechanic of Old is reduced to an R&R specialist. because he is not educated in the NEW ways, nore does he have the tools to do it.:doh:
....
I am an Old Mechanic and I plan to change that ! this new **** has not got me beat yet ! LOL:rotflmao:



Bob......

Which generation truck did you have? EFI would make it 22RE engine. None of OBD1 versions had ECUs that were programmable. That feature would adds extra cost to final pricing. Toyota had fixed programming in PROM and hid it in same chip-package as CPU so data-lines were internal to prevent sniffing. So any fuel adjustments would have to done with interceptor piggybacks. However, any adjustments made would be negated by O2-sensor feedback as ECU adjusts back to target 14.7:1 AFR.

JET was only outfit that was able to program these. They shaved off casing from CPU/PROM chip and inserted probes inside to figure out how it worked and read data tables. Still wasn't programmable though, so their tuning product was a new EEPROM chip that clipped on top of factory CPU and fed it new data-tables. Would also have to disable O2-sensor to run in open-loop mode.

Crazy expensive though, better to get aftermarket SDS, Megasquirt or Haltech standalone system for 22RE. Heck some people even installed Honda ECU and harness in their trucks to program with Hondata software.

I like the idea of setting in the warm house and hopping up the bike alot more than out there tinkering on it in the cold that is for sure....LOL
i mean heck why not !!!!
but I've not seen any area where I might be able to change the idle mixture
from it's existing setting of say 52 to say 58 yet.... there must be a program that does that.... do they run on PC's ( lap tops) or Phones ? or does it take a dedicated unit that costs thousands of dollars ?
.... I am not opposed to getting a Laptop just for the Shop ! but modernizing this old man will be a steep learning curve ! LOL running the program is usually the hardest part of something like this, getting to know the intricacies of what you can change and how much is the hard part....
Problem is manufacturers don't make it easy for you to modify their programming. Part of complying with EPA/DOT regulations and partly to stay ahead of their competitors. Exact way to do it will depend on what ECU/CPU is used in that RX4. They may have cooked up their own system, which will make it more difficult to crack than Japanese stuff. All of which evolved from original '80s Hitachi ECUs with software licensed from Bosch (Jetronic/Motronic).

There's roughly 2 different pathways to re-program ECU maps.

1. fully OBD2-compliant ECUs can have their maps downloaded, edited with generic-mapping software like TunerPro (https://www.tunerpro.net/). Then maps are uploaded/flashed back to ECU.

2. use software specific to that ECU/CPU combo. Such as VFtuner (https://vftuner.com/) used for Toyota & Scion ECUs using Renasas CPUs. These softwares are typically reverse-engineered from reading CPU manual.
https://www.renesas.com/us/en/document/mah/sh72531-users-manual-hardware

For more modern autos and bikes, there's Alientech KESSv2 (https://www.alientech-tools.com/) which is combo hardware cable and tuning software.

Another good tuning package comes from Woolich (https://www.woolichracing.com/default.aspx). Each interface cable has embedded serial# that is registered with bike's ECU. It calls back to mothership to verify your registration each time you run it. To use on additional bikes, you have to cough up additional license fee.


Someone will have had to specifically look at RX4 ECU and figure out how its communications work and what features it implements. Then add ways to program those in their software.

LOL yah and that may well take decades to happen unless I do it ! HA !
the Chinese bikes are not popular here in the USA simply because the people here have been burned from buying chinese JUNK that's porely manifactured and made out of pot metal of unknown origins... but we have that kind of manifacturing going on here in the us right now too cheap useless crap that brakes the first time you use it.... the Chinese can and do produce GOOD STUFF... we just never get it.... unfortunately the market is flooded with chinese junk but when a quality thing does appear on the market every one is understandably leary of getting too close to it ! LOL
the CSC motorcycles from what I can tell are Good quality stuff the TT250 is very OLD technology from back in the early 1970's but it is made with quality material... sure some things are cheap add ons just like any other bike but the main machine is virtually bullet proof !
My RX4 is different in that it is a Modern rendition of a Modern bike in chinese style.... it is also supposed to be bullet proof strong and robust and I am sure it will outlast me ! but it is Modern with fuel injection and abs brakes and TFT dash it is a great machine.... but it does need refining....
mainly weight reduction and maintenance schedule re-vampment ! to be competitive.
..... up to now I think most of the American people have been treating the chinese 250's as throwaway bikes.... and I am sure that in some cases their right !
but these from CSC are not that ! their quality machines that exceed that of the Japanese bikes.... although they do not have the experience of the jap's to make the maintenance schedules longer they do have reliability down pat !
the Main Fuel injection system is a Delfi system ...what ever that is
but it could be anything in that box you never know !
....
I think this will be a long time process, just getting to know "Miss Piggy".:rotflmao:
....
Bob...

Problem with low-quality Chinese products isn't with manufacturer, but greedy U.S. importers who specify lowest-price possible for highest profit margins. As you mentioned, they can produce any level quality desired.

About 25-yrs ago, I had custom ECU for Porsches designed in NZ and had it manufactured in China. Bids came in with pricing from $100 to $1000 apiece! You can imagine that represented HUGE range in quality!!! I could've picked low road or high road, choice was mine.

Here's some interesting Chinese bikes: https://www.visordown.com/news/new-bikes/budget-friendly-ducati-panigale-streetfighter-attack-chinese-clones

We're saying same thing about China that was said about Japanese in '50-60s. Won't take long for them to come up with high-quality original products. Like first Honda N600, innovative and technologically advanced for its time. Honda hasn't stopped since. There can potentially be 10x as many Chinese Hondas around corner...

Like first Honda N600, innovative and technologically advanced for its time. Honda hasn't stopped since.

I was in high school in 1975, and driving to a bicycle race with my racing buddies when I saw a Honda Civic for the first time. A couple of us laughed and pointed at the silly clown car, but one of the guys said "I hear those are pretty good cars." Little did any of us know that the downfall of the US auto manufacturers had begun. They were way too slow to respond, believing that people in the US wanted what they had always wanted, and always would.

Same with Kodak and Polaroid when digital cameras came along, Mag when LED flashlights appeared, etc.

Yes I find it very interesting that companies are very innovative when they first start out, they know all the tricks of the trade but as time goes on they some times loose touch with the rest of the world and simply get left behind...
then they see the company struggling to make a profit and turn on the employees and fire everyone keeping only a skeleton crew and then wonder why they can't produce their product , and then the companie folds....
i've seen this a few times, the end results are always the same.

I guess the owner of the company just gets fat on the success and leaves the manageing to someone else that doesn't have a stake in it and won't put in the time to fix the problems.... Hoyte water heater co. in Reno went that route
it was a good business for a long time but it just got to the point who cared ?
....I went on a vacation took a week off and went to Florida came back and they were out of business... I thought I was going to have to fight them to get my tools back because they had locked everything I said i want my tools and I want them now either you open the gate or I will tear it down.....
they opened the gate ...I got my tools and left there was no warning no nothing the owner just didn't care about his employees ! the manager said I'm sorry Bob but what can I do ? I was managing the forklift repair shop at the time and had been for over a year we were doing good , too... but
over night they just closed the doors.... over 120 employees were out of a job
and there was no warning.... it sucked.
....
My first encounter with fuel injection was on my Moms Volkswagen hatch back..... that was a nightmare to work on and of course I was supposed to fix it ! .... I thought "it's a VW how hard can it be? " but it was a new breed of VW and I had no idea how to work on it.... I finally got mom to sell it and get a Datsun pickup with a honest to god carburetor ! she drove that little truck into the ground and I kept putting it back together finally she got another car and gave the truck to me which I promptly sold as it was totally wore out ! there was no ball joints left the carb screws were all stripped out and the rods were knocking .... it was totally used up !
the first F.I. car I ever had was that toyota pickup with the R22 engine in it... my brother in law gave it to me .... I gave him my 700cc honda shadow and he was so grateful that he gave me his pickup.... I needed a pickup real bad so I took it ! that truck was like brand new well taken care of but he got another vehicle and didn't need it any more . I never expected that...
it caught me by surprise to say the least.
so when I tried to add hydroxy gas to the pickup I started fighting the trucks computer ! ... and it fought me every inch of the way....
but I finally figured out what was going on and came up with a solution
I tricked the computer ! I covered the exhaust sensor and changed the
MAF sensor ( adjusted it much leaner) and added hydroxy gas and then by passed the MAF with a garden hose to lean it out.... with a "Mat Valve"
as we called it on the Hydroxy hut site.... I got a consistent 45 MPG with that truck for at least 3 years and up to 48 MPG on the best run.... this is going from Redding ca. to shingletown ca. up the mountain and back.
.....
the knowledge I needed to do that right I did not have.... I know now HOW i should have done it..... and it would have been so much simpler !
but hind sight is 20/20 ! LOL
...
All I needed to do was re map the ECU in the truck or get a piggy back unit
but that is how it goes some times I'm constantly a day late and a dollar short on most things ! HAHAHAHAHAH:rotflmao:

....
later all !
Bob.....

ok so this morning I got the RX4 back into the shop and put on the handle bar risers so I could lower the front forks the 2" i need to balance that with the rear lowering.... the job went like clock work and I probably had both jobs done in an hour....
I got everything very tight except the 2 bottom bolts on the handle bar clamps because you can't get to them with the handle bars on.... not enough room so I'll probably cut down an allen wrench just for that job just to make sure they are tight.... they don't move or slip at the moment but they might so I'ed rather be sure.....
so now I get to go put a few miles on "miss Piggy" and see how she handles now.... she should be as good as new now and tuck her butt into the corners
I like that ! it's a good feeling on a bike no forcing the thing to corner just allow the bike to do it !
.....
I took the big top box off so the bike cover would fit better and I think I like it better that way.... I still have the saddle bags on it so I have cargo capasity so that's not a problem at all.
....
back when I was riding the 305 dream at over 1000 miles a month I had saddle bags on her as well and I had a set amount that I always carried with me... that included my heavy rain gear I usually had a sleeping bag strapped on to the sissy bar as well so I could lean back against it and relax
so I am liable to put the top box back on in the future so I can put a sleeping bag on it in front of the box and have a lounge chair for my rides ! you can really stack on the miles when your comfortable !
.... the handle bar risers I got were billet aluminum type that clamp in the existing handle bar clamps and then raise up into another handle bar clamp
I got those because they offer the best option on positioning the handlebars
the handle bars now are just under shoulder height and seem to be perfect for me ... a bit high but I'll get used to it !
... those handle bar clamps were for 1-1/8" handle bars because this thing has tapered handle bars ( never messed with them before)
so the one end that goes into the stock handle bar clamp needed the spacers they provided and the other end clamped on the handle bars they fit perfectly.... it worked really slick ! their black though, I should have got polished aluminum ...LOL
....
AND with the lowering of the front forks the side stand still works good ...it's not too vertical .... i was worried about that only taking off 3/4"
I probably only have 6" of ground clearance now but I CAN touch the ground ! HAHAHAHAHAH !:bounce:
...
Bob.......

hmmm... seems like lotsa work...
How about some of these!!!

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1IMr8ymPXv7v3jj1pJoX8k7kNWSZL75ig

LOL HAY ! THAT COULD work !!!!
hahahaha....
ALWAYS GOTT'A BE ONE SMART BUTT IN THE CROWD ! ! :doh:
:D
Bob....

Yesterday I finished making a Winch Pole for "Miss Piggy" I had some scrap1"x1/8" wall 6061t6 Aluminum tubing so I cut sections down and cut solid steel plugs that just fit inside the tubing and pinned them in one end with a bolt
and the pole is as tall as I am when assembled I also made a foot for the bottom end and then took a 1" ratching strap and attached it to a 6" piece of the same tubing for the top... I cut off the hook and tied a loop about 8" in diameter so I can easilly loop it around the end of the handle bar and hand guard and put the other end in the ratchet and crank it up....
i put the thing vertical in the vice and tested it with my 186lbs and it lifted me easy.... so it should lift the bike should it ever fall over and I can't lift that heavy thing back up.....
I got the idea from the guy on "My senior moments" on youtube.
it's heavy though the whole thing probably weighs 20lbs ! LOL
but it is strong and it's not going to bend....
there is alot I can do to lighten it up , like drill out the slugs and put a 1/2" diam hole through them to make each one alot lighter and remove the bolts and pin the slugs with a 1/4" piece of aluminum rod. which would make them easier to use as well. all in all it turned out really good.
although I haven't tried laying the bike over in the back yard and then using the winch to get it upright again but I will when it warms up a bit....
I made the thing to fit in the saddle bag and it does , so that part was a success !
I think I have 5 sections of 13" and one of 6" with the ratchet on it.
so it gives me plenty of height !
.....
I've always said " if you can't pick up your motorcycle when it's laying on it's side you should NOT be on it !" but times change and I'm not going to quit riding just because I'm an old fart !
....LOL
Bob.........

Hmmmm, sounds scary! Any photos of this???

not yet but I'll get ya some eventually I'll take some pics when I test it out
......
yes if your not up on your angles it could be a dangerous thing to try and lift your bike with .... this thing is one of those tools you don't use WRONGLY !
or it will drop the bike on you and smack you with the pole !
... there is no side braces when hoisting up the bike ...YOU are the side brace !
so you hold it steady with one hand and ratchet it up with the other and get it up far enough so you can push the bike up the rest of the way....
... I almost wonder if I could just use the long pole strapped to the bike by the foot peg and use the leverage of the pole to lift it up myself... without the ratchet ! LOL
the problem with that idea would be the second place to brace the pole against near the seat and tank..... but if you had a plate that slid under the seat to the frame that would not slip off that would do it easily ....
....
of course the whole problem with this idea is the time it takes to do it....
it certainly would not be fast...just getting the pole out and assembled would take 4 minutes !
.... but it gives you the option of going way the heck out there in the boonies where no one else is and if you dump it on it's side you can make it upright again without help ! .... EVEN A BIGGER BIKE THAN I HAVE !
so it is useful !
....
Bob.......

Ok I have Just ordered a spring for the back of my RX4.....
I have no idea of how much work will be involved to put that spring on the shock but I have a feeling I will have to MAKE the spring retainers top and bottom....
we'll see the spring cost $90.00 and shipping was $22.00 but it is a 475lb spring that is 9" long and 2.25" I.D. the one that is in the bike is something like 650lbs 10" long and 2" I.D. (as close as all my research has been able to tell me)
......
I admit they really did the rear suspension goofy on the RX4.... should be straight forward with a mono shock and dog bones but no they added an extra
pivoting block in there which takes up room adds weight and complicates the
suspension siverly .... the Ninja's rear suspension is mild compared to this thing.... they both could have been done so much simpler... like the Honda XR650L's suspension !
.....
anyway..... 3 days of 70 degree plus temps here and it's looking like spring !
I took the covers off all the bikes and woke up to thick frost on all the bikes this morning...... so it's still very cold at night here.
but the trees are starting to bloom so spring is almost here !!!!!
......
so replacing the coil spring on the rear mono shock is my next project !
.....
Bob.......

Sense Warm weather arrived I took the RX4 out for a short ride yesterday...
didn't get too far... I went up stewards springs road like I did last time....
cinders are still all over that road...ugh ! but I got up the hill about 1/4 the way and noticed the temp gauge was near the top ! I thought WOOOH !
and promptly parked..... the dash is hard to see in it's dark mode and I hadn't noticed it till then when it switched modes automatically in the shadows....
but the temp was climbing up past the top notch so I turned around ( down hill)
and went back home and it stayed at the very last notch all the way home
at the time I thought it was probably just low on coolant ...but after it cooled I checked it and it was full....
i am wondering now if the fan ever came on...as I don't think I ever heard it come on ....ever ! so it may have blown a fuze or the switch is bad....
but I will have to look into that before I ride it again.
.....
Bob........

Ugh, hate it when that happens!

Toyota has nifty circuit to mitigate those cases. By default, fan-circuit is always connected ON, then working thermoswitch actually turns fan OFF. So in event switch dies, it leave fan ON running full-time.

well, I pulled the seat off and checked all the fuzes, all are fine. then pulled the connection to the thermo switch and stuck my trouble light to one side and the fan came on... so it works but it never came on so I am assuming that is NORMAL ???? but to read the gauge it said it was hot so I don't know quite what to think....
I asked Joey down there what he thought of the situation and am waiting for his reply..... it might be that they all read high like that I don't know....
I also asked about the thermostat in it it might be one that is way too hot for this location........
kind'a buggs me though... it's a brand new machine there shouldn't be any problems with it at 60 miles on the odometer... but in all fairness it may well be "Normal" and I expect it is.... but that means the temp gauge on the dash is useless because it always reads HOT...... Hummm.
i'll let ya know what they say....
Bob......

Actually test thermoswitch to make sure it turns ON when hot. The sensor that drive gauge doesn't have anything to do with fan.

1. measure resistance/continuity across switch at room temperature
2. put thermoswitch into pot of water, and bring to boil
3. very 20-degrees increase or so, check resistance/continuity of switch
4. at what temperature does switch close?
5. or does it never close?

There's your answer.

Another way I've monitored this is to attach idiot-light on dash connected to fan. When switch closes to turn on fan, it also lights up bulb.

good idea Danno.... Thanks
...
I'll do that if and when I change the thermostat because I will have to drain the coolant then anyway... and kill 2 birds with one stone.
.....

Bob....

I think the gauge is just off is all.... I fired it up today and let it idle till it reached operating temp.... and I think it was at operating temp because when I revved it up to 3~4k it got hotter for a second or two then the temp dropped a few degrees and as I held it at 4k rpm the temp came back up then dropped again...so it is regulating the temperature..... it did all this at 4 bars on the temp gauge( there is only 5 bars on the gauge!!!) so it is actually reading a bit high..... and Joey at CSC said they are a bit generous in their read out
so it is working fine I think....
I'll take it for a ride on the flat land and see what the temp gauge does...
I've got 77 miles on it now and i'm still waiting for that rear shock spring to arrive ! LOL
.....
Bob......

I've replaced 2 springs sense my last post here.... the first one that fit great is way too hard just like the stock one. so I got talking to Pete Youngblood on the china riders forum and he said he would give me 3 springs that he had so I took him up on that prospect and paid him double the postage ! and found that one of the springs he gave me was 400~450 lbs... the rest were in the 500lb range... but they were just 8" long , so I had to make an extension for the spring to set on... that took me almost a week and I wound up zip tying the spring to the spring holder and that seems to be working great !
.... tried the bike out and it was exactly the same, an extremely harsh ride.
that is when I noticed that backing off the pre-load can bottom out the shock itself.... I have NEVER in all my years ran into that before !
it turns out that I was riding with the shock bottomed out all the time !
well....that had to change !
I lowered the preload nuts and noticed that the spring wasn't even touching them.... that put my seat height back up to 32" but the ride then was much better.... still a bit hard but useable !
I fell over with the bike at a stop sign and realised I can't ride the bike like this with this high seat height it HAS to be LOWER ! so I set out to make a new lower link.....
with another 3 days of work screw ups and all that I finally came up with a lower link that dropped the seat height 2.5" ! but the rear tire is about 1/2" away from rubbing on the inner fender well on the bike... so it had to go back up.... I increased the preload a bit and got the clearance to 1" on the rear wheel and the seat height was at 30" exactly....
......
so that's where I set now, I haven't ridden it sense and it's been about 2 weeks the weather has been crazy here and I've been sleeping all day and getting up at night..... today I got up at 8pm !!!! so I am going around the clock again ! LOL.....
....
from what I can gather on the temperature gauge is that they all read high
you just watch the numbers not the gauge and sense I've been doing that it's never gotten hot ever.... so it's working fine !
...
when I raised the rear a few weeks ago I also raised the front a little
but I have not lowered it back down to the 2" that I had it at..... I should probably do that as the handling will be effected...
....
so now the bike is just waiting for me to take it out for a spin again and see how it works ... it SHOULD be good to go ! we'll see.
.....
Bob......

Well, I just got back from a short ride on the RX4.... I had to turn around and go home because the rear tire was rubbing on the inner fender well on every tiny bump....
Right now the seat height is 30.25" and stock it's 31.9" but to keep it from rubbing I am going to have to raise the rear by at least 2" so that puts me back at the stock seat height ! :(
.....
ya learn something new every day I always say but I have never seen a motorcycle you could not change the seat height on.... this one is already set to as low as it can possably be and with too hard of a spring too boot.
....
so....
it's very obvious to me now that I either learn to live with it this way or sell the darn thing !
.......


Anyone interested in a 2021 CSC RX4 (Blue) with less than 200 miles on it?
I have all the original things that I have modified or changed, extra oil filters
etc,etc. it cost me over $6000 to get it here and in my name , I'll sell it for $5000 you pay the shipping or come and get it.
....
it's a good bike... just too heavy and too tall for me !
I want something smaller, lighter and easier to pickup !
.....

Bob.......