WebRide: 2009 Johnny Pag FX/3

It's the best Chinese bike we've yet seen, but it's still a time-machine trip back to 1970.

By Paul Dean | Photos by Jeff Allen

July 2009

Photos: 2009 Johnny Pag FX/3 >>

Been ignoring all those little motorcycles and scooters from China, have you? Yeah, so have we, for the most part. Up to this point, they've been either too small, too weird, too shoddily manufactured or too lacking a support network to take very seriously. But we've also known that sooner or later, the landscape would change and "real" bikes from that manufacturing colossus would begin showing up on these shores.

Maybe that time is now. And maybe Johnny Pag Motorcycles is at the vanguard of that change. JPM sells seven models that are built in China but were designed by Pag here in the U.S. Plus, JPM has more than 100 dealers across the country, the majority of which are motorcycle shops rather than hardware and auto-parts stores. Six of Pag's models are of the cruiser and chopper ilk. The other is the FX/3, a standard-style bike powered by the same 270cc, dohc, liquid-cooled parallel-Twin used in all JPM machines.

Not exactly high-tech stuff but more advanced than the typical single-cylinder, air-cooled, single-cam, sub-200cc Chinese bikes the U.S. has seen so far. Neither is the FX/3 scaled for teensy riders. With a 57.5-inch wheelbase, a 30.7-inch seat height and a dry weight of 342 pounds, this is a full-size motorcycle.

But without a full-size engine. It produced 19.0 hp and 15.1 ft.-lb. of torque on the CW dyno, so it's no tire-smoking wheelie-popper. It is very quiet and smooth-running, however, while doling out linear, predictable power that allows the easy-shifting five-speeder to keep ahead of urban traffic with relative ease. It posted an 18.05-second quarter-mile run at 68.09 mph, just short of its top speed of 74 mph—meaning the FX/3 also can handle open-road and freeway duty, though that often means running at or near full throttle. The 360-degree Twin gives off a bit of non-debilitating vibration down around 4000 rpm but is very smooth at all other engine speeds, including its 7500-peak-power rpm.

It's a surprisingly comfortable bike, as well. The ergonomics fit our 6-foot-2 staffers nicely, and the large, well-padded seat is pleasantly sittable for an hour or two. The brakes are easy to modulate and have stopping power appropriate for a bike of this class.

There are a few annoyances, such as a stiff clutch pull and a wildly optimistic speedometer, but the big glitch is suspension. The spindly, 33mm fork performs acceptably, despite having gangs of stiction, but the piggyback-reservoir dual shocks have virtually no rebound damping, allowing the rear to pogo up-and-down like nothing we've ridden in decades.

Actually, that's a fitting overall description of the FX/3. It's reminiscent of the smaller Japanese bikes of the late Sixties and early Seventies, which had good engines in passable frames fitted with chintzy forks and shocks. Nevertheless, for its $3399 buy-in, the FX/3 is a viable means of low-cost transportation. And perhaps it's also an early sign that Chinese bikes are finally traveling the right road to success in the U.S.