Steve is sending photos to me up here in BC of some of the folks picking up their new RX3 motorcycles. Lots of good times at the Azusa plant, folks!
Here’s a photo of George from Arizona picking up his bike…
And here’s one of Andy and Karen from Houston picking up their new RX3s…they flew out from Houston and they’re riding their new motorcycles back to Texas!
Much more to follow, folks!
I received this nice note from Abe this morning, along with a couple of great photos!
Joe,
I liked the pic you posted on the blog of me picking up the crate at CSC. I had been in the market for a motorcycle since November and am happy to have it.
I finally had time to set up the bike. Great point of tightening the handlebar mounts on the set-up video. I took it for the first ride and it was great. Very happy with it. Should be all broken in before the Baja ride. Here are a couple pictures I took today at Jamul and Otay Lakes.
Best Regards,
Abe
Thanks for your great note and for the super photos, Abe…your white RX3 really looks awesome!
I just landed in British Columbia a little earlier this evening. It was 86 degrees in So Cal when I left this morning and it’s going to dip below freezing here tonight. Wowee, talk about climate change!
Here’s a view of the Peace River as we were coming in…
Now, about that Baja trip…the response has been tremendous. That’s the good news, and I’m pumped about this ride. Big time. Here’s the bad news…we’re maxed out on the number of riders we want to take with us. We’re at 15 riders now, and that’s as big as we want to get. There’s always next year for the CSC Baja Run, folks, and we’ll have many more adventure rides before then.
Keep an eye on the CSC blog, the social media, and the forums…there will be a lot of CSC riders posting photos from Baja!
…and the first one is mine…
Yep, that’s my yellow RX3, waiting its turn in line for the CSC tech team to set it up. It’s going to be ready for me when I return from Canada. I had to grab that photo you see above…and as Bogie said, it’s going to be the start of a beautiful relationship.
Next one is a KLR I saw on the Cal Poly campus today. Folks joke about KLRistas being cheap and holding their bikes together with bubble gum and baling wire…hey, I own a KLR and what they say about us is true! Anyway, take a look at the repairs this enterprising young dude incorporated on his KLR fairing…
That’s pretty cool stuff. I don’t know the young fellow who owns that bike, but he’s almost certainly an engineer like me (his bike was parked outside the engineering building). I thought you’d enjoy seeing it!
We’re moving ahead sharply delivering RX3 motorcycles to our riders and we have four things we’d like to share with you…
Here’s our travel itinerary for the Baja trip, folks! We’re planning on 5 days in Baja, with a pre-meeting the night before we leave. I’m going to post one day at a time, so here we go. Before we do that, though, let me remind you that you’ll need Mexican motorcycle insurance, and Baja Bound is ready to process your policy.
The insurance will be about $10 to $14 per day (depending on the level of coverage you select. Here’s the link to do so, and you’ll want to take care of this sooner rather than waiting to the last minute…
So, let’s talk about Tuesday and Wednesday.
Pre-Day 1 (28 April)
On the Tuesday night before we leave, we’ll have a company dinner at a local restaurant in Azusa (it will be at Spaghetti Eddie’s in Glendora; they have a private room we can use). Steve’s going to spring for that dinner, and I’ll go over the safety requirements, our riding approach, and the trip itinerary. It will be a good chance to get acquainted.
Day 1 (29 April)
We’ll depart on Wednesday morning at 04:30. That means you need to be at the plant before 4:30 a.m., because we’re pulling out on time. When you arrive at the plant, have a full tank of fuel. FYI, I run 87 octane (regular unleaded) in the RX3.
We’ll take the California freeways all the way down to the border (the 210 to the 605 to the 5), and we’ll take it slow. Although we’re authorized to ride in the carpool lane, the early morning commuters in So Cal are stupid and aggressive (they view the carpool lane as the fast lane).
We should miss most of the traffic in LA, Anaheim, and San Diego leaving at our early hour, and that’s a good thing. We’ll stick to the slow lane and vary our speeds a bit to help with the bikes’ break-in period. With the ebb and flow of traffic it will be a good break-in run.
From the plant, it’s about 130 miles to the border. We’ll stop somewhere around Irvine for a rest break (that will be about an hour into our run). That will be our routine for most of the trip…we’ll stop roughly every hour to take a break. We’ll stop again just north of the border to top off the fuel tanks (about another hour later), and to pick up one or two riders from San Diego who are joining us.
We’ll cross the border where Interstate 5 ends and head into Tijuana. I’ll be the first one across and I’ll slow down quite a bit when doing so. Things happen very quickly when you roll across that border, and it’s important that we stay together. We’ll roll through TJ’s northern edge at a leisurely pace. We don’t want to ride too close together for motorcycle safety reasons, but we don’t want to get separated, either. We’ve got a couple of turns to make in TJ to get on the toll road down to Ensenada.
We’re going to stick to the right…you can see that sign that says Rosarito-Ensenada, and that’s what we want.
Once we get on the toll road, we’ll be rolling at about 60 to 65 mph. There are three toll booths along this 80-mile stretch, and the way we usually work this is one guy in front (that would be me) will pay for all the bikes. It speeds up getting through the toll booths. Even with me doing this, though, we’ll have to go through the toll booths one bike at a time, as the Mexican toll dude has to raise and lower the barrier for each bike. You guys can pay me back at the end of the day.
After that run down the Cuota (the toll road) we’ll be on Ensenada’s northern edge, and it’s stop and go for a little bit. We’re headed to Velero’s for breakfast (that meal is on our good buddies at Baja Bound). It is a breakfast fit for a king, and it’s where the Ensenada shakers and movers hang out. Great food, and a three course breakfast (pastries, your choice of empanada, and the main course). Folks, we are going to eat well on this adventure.
Right after breakfast, we’ll stop at La Migracion in Ensenada to pick up our tourist visas. They’re free. At that point, it’s follow me to get through Ensenada, we’ll stop for gas again, and then it’s into the wine country and agricultural district. We’ll have about 200 miles under our belts when we leave Enseneda heading south.
It’s an easy and relaxed roll through the little ag towns, and depending on what the group wants to do, when can divert to an abandoned mission or two, or maybe take a dirt road for a few miles to see the Isla Del Carmen shipwreck. You guys tell me what you want, and that’s what we’ll do.
After about 80 miles or so of the ag district, we’ll hit the coastal plains, climb into the hills at the northern edge of the Vizcaino Desert, and roll into El Rosario. That’s where we’ll call it a day. We’ll have dinner at Mama Espinoza’s (the lobster burritos are on Steve), we’ll top off at the Pemex station, and we’ll head south the next day.
Our destination on Day 1 is El Rosario. It’s going to be about a 350-mile day. We’ll stay at the hotel at Mama Espinosa’s. It’s inexpensive (I’ll post prices in a subsequent post), and it’s even less expensive if you double up. Primitive, but we’re not doing this ride to bask in the luxury of overpriced hotels.
For those of you who are using this run to break in your bikes, you can change your oil our first night in El Rosario. You’ll need to bring your tools, a filter, and 2 quarts of oil if you wish to do so, as well as a tin foil pan to catch the oil. I’ll be there to help you if you need help. I will have already changed my oil before I leave on this trip, but I’m going to bring a quart so I can top off if I need to.
That’s it for now…I’ll post Day 2 in the next day or so…
I’m going to be making reservations at the hotels in Baja tomorrow, folks, and if you’re riding with us, I’d like to know if you want your own room or if you want to reduce your expenses by rooming with one of the other riders. If you could shoot a note to me at jberk@cscmotorcycles.com today, I’ll know how many rooms to reserve.
Thanks!
We’re strongly recommending for those of you joining us on the Baja ride that you roll into Azusa sometime on Tuesday (we’re leaving at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday), and I promised we’d recommend a couple of local motels. We have two local Best Westerns that are close to the plant:
Of the two, the Best Western in Glendora is a little closer to the plant, so if you can get in there, that would probably be better for you. I wouldn’t wait to make my reservations.
Now, a word on the hotels in Mexico. The rates are up a bit from what they were a few years ago, and the hotels themselves may not be what you are imagining them to be if you’re thinking of a resort in Acapulco or someplace like that. The fanciest ones in Baja (at least where we’ll be going) are about on a level with a Motel 6. Some of the others are a bit more, um, primitive. I’m trying to get us set up for the Frances Hotel in Santa Rosalia, and the La Pinta in Catavina. Nice, real character, but not fancy. The rooms have real keys. We may or may not have Internet access. The TV reception is not good, and in any event, there’s usually only one English-speaking station when you have reception. They’re all clean, though, and it’s all part of the adventure. And I don’t know about you, but when I’m riding exploring Baja, I’m not down there to fool around on Facebook or watch TV. We’ll be doing the stuff that other folks dream about.
The Frances Hotel Lobby in Santa Rosalia
The Catavina Desert Inn Courtyard
I’ll be posting blogs in the next few days on what to pack, how much money to bring, our probable route with some options, and more. In advance of that, here are some things you definitely want to consider while you’re getting organized.
We’re going to be on the road for 5 days, not 5 months. Most folks bring way too much stuff. Pack light. For me, it’s a couple of pairs of jeans (one of which I’ll be wearing the first day), my riding boots, riding gloves, a couple of underwear changes, a couple of sock changes, deodorant, toothbrush, toilet paper, a couple of T-shirts, a sweatshirt, my motorcycle jacket and pants, and my helmet.
Make sure your jacket and pants are rainproof. I have never ridden Baja without encountering rain, and I’ve been going down there for over 20 years. Don’t think you can tough it out by just riding in the rain and getting wet. I got hypothermia down there once doing that when I was younger and dumber (when I used to ride a Harley), and it was not fun.
The ultimate dweeb…all that unnecessary stuff, and I didn’t bring rain gear.
My advice is don’t bring an extra pair of shoes. They take up too much space. I wear a pair of Haix combat boots that I’ve had for 10 years. They’re comfortable as slippers and they give good protection.
If you haven’t been to Mexico in a few years, bring a small bottle of Immodium. You most likely won’t get sick, but you might (the same thing happens to the Mexicans when they come to the US). I’ve been going down there so often the Baja bugs are living comfortably in my body, and the food doesn’t bother me. If you haven’t been in Mexico for a while (or ever), it might get to you. Don’t get scared. It’s all part of the adventure, if it happens at all.
Immodium is your friend. Bring some toilet paper.
You might want to pack a couple of emergency bottles of GatorAde. If it gets real hot (and it might), your minerals and such can get depleted. GatorAde works wonders. Not too much, just a small bottle or two. Remember, pack light.
The temperatures will range from very hot to very cold. We’ll actually come very close to being in the tropics, and it can get very cold in the early morning.
I’ll be posting about recommended tools in another blog. The RX3 has a tool kit, but you’d be in a better spot with real tools. You don’t need a Snap-On roll around tool chest; the RX-3 only needs a few tools and I’ll post what they are later this week. A Swiss Army knife or a Leatherman tool (I use a Gerber) is a good thing to have.
I’m bringing a small tire pump. You won’t need to.
I’m bringing a spare front and rear tube. You should consider doing the same.
If you haven’t already bought the sheepskin seat cover, you should consider doing so.
You should bring some Bungee cords. I have a Bungee cord net sort of thing (like the ones in your RX3 saddlebags) that I always bring with me on any motorcycle ride.
Bring a digital camera. You’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t. Don’t get carried away with extra lenses. They will just be added weight. Do bring extra batteries or your battery charger. You can do a lot of zooming with your feet, so you won’t need a lens for every situation you can possibly imagine.
Wear a watch with an alarm. You won’t have cell phone coverage down there unless you have international coverage, we won’t wait around for you to charge your cell phone, and if you’re not ready to roll in the morning, we’re still leaving on time.
Factor tips into your meals in your financial planning. We want to treat these folks well. My guess is all of you will be back.
One more bit of great news…I just got an email from my old Bajaeno traveling buddy, Primo. He’s flying in from Florida to buy an RX3 and ride with us…so you’ll have two experienced Baja explorers to ride with on this trip!
Primo and Yours Truly, back in the day when real men didn’t wear rain gear and they froze their butts off!
That’s it for now, my friends. Oh, this is going to be fun!
Our next three motorcycles went out the door this fine Sunday morning to the third, fourth, and fifth people to own RX3s in America! Here are photos of Juddy, Abe, and Jack and Kimberly taking delivery of their new motorcycles…
We sure are having fun here at CSC, and all the good folks who are taking delivery on their new RX3s are going to do the same.
Watch for more info on the Baja run later today!
Folks, meet Greg and Paul, the first two guys in America to take delivery on an RX3!
Really cool, and congratulations, guys! You are indeed the early adopters marketing folks dream about!
Greg is definitely going with us to Baja, and Paul is a strong maybe. We’ve got about 11 people signed up for the Inaugural Baja Run as a result of me asking you to send your intent emails yesterday. It’s going to be fun!
RX4 450cc Adventure
SG250 San Gabriel Cafe Racer
TT250 Enduro