My Wine Red Yamaha RX 100 After 2 Years of Use


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This is a review of the rx 100 which i bought a couple of years back.

Firstly the purchase story in brief. I was a very keen rider during my college days and i rode mostly bikes like bullet,rx,cd 100 e.t.c but once i got settled in life and started running my father's plantations which are scattered wide across kerala and tamil nadu i really had no time to ride a bike ,so the rider in me was hibernating despite some of my old friends mocking me for this.I always had 2 cars a safari and a zen but the zen was used by my wife(would be sold eventually) so it was not available always and safari was a mammoth to run in the clogged streets of kollam so a bike was the solution.

Why the Rx-The modern day bikes are all having a forward riding position which i hated.My riding skill was at an all time low so i said no to RE bullets thanks to their weight.I always rated the Rx high for it's 'easy to ride' nature and it's smooth engine.so finally got hold of this 1990 rx 100.

Mods done-I always believed that stock is the best condition of any vehicle so this was basically a de-mod job

Switched from RD handles for the stock one.

Fixed a back carrier and went for stock headlamps and used the original full chain cover.

Removed the cat con silencer and replaced it with the original RX100 silencer.

Fixed a new lock fixed on the front forks of the bike.

The riding experience-It's a great experience to ride this bike it's got nothing electronic in it,it's just an old fashioned machine with a simplistic and practical design,the rx has a great deal of control because it's nimble in traffic and turning radius is next to nothing.

The brakes if maintained well can stop it in a jiffy.The fuel efficiency is decent at around 35-40 to the liter. It's like a breath of fresh air when compared to the parking woes,u turn dramas of the safari. Before I had this bike I used to take the bus for errands in and around kollam .Now safari for highway Rx for the city.The RX is really short geared so it can be made to run at speeds like 20 KM\hr in the fourth gear without clutch(take that modern day 4 strokes [:D]).The bike is the lightest bike in India at around 100 kg so it is always easily flickable in traffic.I have clocked around 12000 KM on this bike so far.


Long trips taken-Even though it was for errands it was so nice to ride that i actually took this bike to kovalam and ponmudi along with my friends who are die hard bullet riders but the RX is a bike which even the bullet riders seem to love.It was a treat on the winding roads to ponmudi(hill station) i thought the rx would struggle compared to the torque rich bullets which had more than thrice the displacement but the yamaha had a high revying motor which kept it on par with the mighty bullet on hairpins.


Service and Parts replaced-Service and gear box oil is done at every 2000 km.2t oil is mixed at a ratio of 1:30 in premix .The routine maintenance included replacing a few gaskets,topping up the battery .Brake pads are cheap and I usually change them before they are fully worn out.This is a very reliable bike and parts are readily available and cheap.Parts are still available though it's been out of production for years.

Tyres- 3"*18" MRF Moto-D at the back and the same 2.75" at the front .This type of button tyres always give superior performance in wet conditions and is not really spoiling the stock looks of this bike.

Downsides-The rx is a folk hero here in india but it has it's share of glitches.

The suspension is extremely hard so bad roads will wreck the rider's spine
The electrics like indicator and horn are prone to failure.
It's pretty unnerving at speeds above 60 thanks to the light weight construction.

Top speed possible-I am too old for attempting this on an RX but the best i could do without praying was 60 and with praying i think i did 80 [lol]

Is this bike a relevant choice today?

There are many fans for this bike especially the youth but outside this cult many view this bike with skepticism but in my opinion if anyone wants a practical,down to the earth,easy to ride bike this is the bike to own .It's fuel economy is't that bad and is certainly very robustly engineered.

We should remember that the RX is a design which borrows from UJM(universal japanese motorcycle)of the 70s and 80s(of course it's not an inline 4 cylinder like the honda CB750)but the basic idea behind these japanese designs was making motorcycling more simpler compared to the cruisers or sportsbikes. so biking is simplified by the rx to a great deal.It's still economic and can be someone's everyday bike.These bikes are best suited to our traffic clogged roads especially in a state like kerala where roads are the narrowest RX is a boon

some random pics
 

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Congrats buddy. Happy to see another RX lover.
Can you post the snaps before modification / when you bought (if you have) Twin golden stripes in the tank is missing, and that lacks some stance of RX. Adding them over the clear coat will be awkward.
Service and gear box oil is done at every 2000 km.
The routine maintenance included replacing a few gaskets
2k km oil change is too early IMO. You could use them for another 1k km (at least) Why fix something that ain't broken. Also let's contribute for the Green planet aswell.
Which gasket are you referring to? Why did they require frequent replacement?
Tyres- 3"*18" MRF Moto-D at the back and the same 2.75" at the front .This type of button tyres always give superior performance in wet conditions
Grip part, I agree. How do you feel the streer-ability? I hope it should be hard (comparatively)
The suspension is extremely hard so bad roads will wreck the rider's spine.
I do have the same experience with one of my bike (with stock suspension, where as the other bike has Gas loaded shock absorbers from Bajaj) If you could compromise the stock looks, go for SNS suspension from Bajaj. They serve a little better than the stock one.
The electrics like indicator and horn are prone to failure.
Was you bike running with 6V or 12V electricals? (year of production?)
 
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The only mod visible i did was the changing of the RD handle and the tyres i believe golden strips is a sticker correct if i am wrong.


2k gear oil is what my mechanic suggests i will check with him if the interval can be changed.The gaskets in the gearbox had to be changed once the gear oil was leaking from the left side onto my shoe always.They did not fail after replacement but the mechanic usually checks them when given for service.

The tyres are good for grip and control but ride quality is compromised on uneven roads.

The battery is 12volts but i usually stay away from my home for a span of 10 days or so when i come back the battery will be dead for sure.

This is a 90 model registered here in kollam itself
 
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i believe golden strips is a sticker correct if i am wrong.
You are right.
The battery is 12volts but i usually stay away from my home for a span of 10 days or so when i come back the battery will be dead for sure.
Frequent Side Indicators / Horn failure, do you mean they don't work due to dead battery or the bulb is blown out very often?
 
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Frequent Side Indicators / Horn failure, do you mean they don't work due to dead battery or the bulb is blown out very often?
The horn and indicators fail due to battery failure.I use Exide 12 volt 5 amps the performance is dismal and not a single month passes without topping it up. Is there a better option? Rectifier on the bike is fine but still the battery dies down despite the bike being run.
 
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The horn and indicators fail due to battery failure.I use Exide 12 volt 5 amps the performance is dismal and not a single month passes without topping it up. Is there a better option? Rectifier on the bike is fine but still the battery dies down despite the bike being run.
Isn't the stock spec 12V 2.5A?
But that has got nothing to do with your issue. How did you confirmed the Rectifier is working fine? Do check for the coils if they are rewind. In one of my RX I bypassed the stock RR unit and using Regulator from Bajaj M80 or Ape auto (couldn't recall which one I used) This does the job pretty well.
 
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Isn't the stock spec 12V 2.5A?
But that has got nothing to do with your issue. How did you confirmed the Rectifier is working fine? Do check for the coils if they are rewind. In one of my RX I bypassed the stock RR unit and using Regulator from Bajaj M80 or Ape auto (couldn't recall which one I used) This does the job pretty well.
My rectifier is fine because the mechanic fixed a working battery with low charge and he took the bike for a ride and after that the battery was having better o/p and the horn which was giving a muted noise initially was working properly after 10 km or so.

We confirmed the rectifier's condition in this way we couldn't confirm it without checking it
 

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