Target Markets, Schmarget Markets…

Well, the word is out…CSC is open for business, and boy oh boy, are we attracting an interesting group of folks!

 

We’ve had a lot of Internet and press attention, and we’ve hit the heartstrings of all kinds of enthusiasts – young and not-so-young, sportbike and cruiser riders, riders and nonriders, and industry leaders and workerbees like me.   People ask who our target market is before they see the bikes, but after they see the CSC motorcycles, they wonder who isn’t in the target market!

 

Just a couple of days ago we had a visit from a couple of real high rollers – Carl Mungenast and Bobby Darroll.    Carl is the retired chief operating officer of MS Carriers, formerly one of the largest trucking companies in the country, and Bobby is the founder and chief executive officer of Cheetah Software.  More to the point, both of these great guys are real riders – Carl’s done a number of Four Corners rides (that’s where you hit all four corners of the United States on a single motorcycle trip), and  his family operates the Dave Mungenast Classic Motorcycles Museum in St. Louis, Missouri.  The museum honors Carl’s late brother Dave Mungenast, an automotive industry leader and serious motorcycle racer.  And when Bobby Darroll isn’t starting up a new company or running his existing one, he’s out on his fully-restored ’69 Triumph Bonneville or one of his other bikes.   Carl flew in from Missouri, picked up his friend Bobby, and both men visited us last week for a personal look at the new CSC motorcycles.

Here’s a shot of  Bobby and Carl in the CSC Assembly and Integration area with a bright red Classic…these guys are having a good time!

And here’s one of Carl on a CSC Classic with the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains in the background…

As it turns out, Bobby and Carl were the warmup act…we had an unofficial, unannounced Open House today.  We were worried about the weather (the weather folks forecast rain), but hey, this was an open house at a new motorcycle manufacturer, and the skies cooperated.  It  rained hard last night, and it’s going to rain again tonight, but we had no rain today.  The skies were overcast, and that made for great photography.

Our good friend Art (he owns Doug Douglas Motorcycles in San Bernardino, CA) came in with a contingent of Triumph riders.  Art is a great guy, and if you are in the market for a new Triumph or Enfield, he’s the go-to guy.  Seeing those high performance Triumph triples parked in front of the factory sure warmed my heart on this cool February morning.  I know what those riders experienced on the ride in, but they had no qualms setting their Triumph loyalties aside when offered a test ride on the CSC Classic.  Every one of them took a spin around the factory!

Here’s Tom on his Triumph Tiger.  Tom put 20,000 miles on this bike last year.

My good friend Brendan is a very accomplished Speed Triple rider…here’s a shot I grabbed of him a couple of years ago on a ride through southern California’s magnificent Joshua Tree National Park…

And here’s a shot of Brendan this morning on the CSC Classic…

Okay, so maybe it’s a tough call, but isn’t Brendan wearing a bigger smile in the second photo?

Along with the guys from the Doug Douglas Motorcycles crowd, we also had a large contingent of folks from the Antelope Valley Touring Society join us this morning.  My riding compadre John is a member of that group.  John and I have covered a lot of miles in Mexico on our motorcycles (you can see some of those trips on www.motofoto.cc).    There’s some magnificent riding down there, especially on the Transpeninsular Highway in Baja. 

Here’s a photo of John in Baja’s Vizcaino Desert on a trip he and I did last October…

And here’s one with John on a CSC Classic earlier today…

I want to ask you the same question:  Where’s John smiling more?

And here’s another question:  Any of you folks want to do a run to Cabo San Lucas (at the tip of the Baja peninsula) after you’ve bought your new CSC motorcycle?   I know a couple of guys who would love to be your guides on a that trip!

Bryan and Sue came over with their boys, Sully and Jack.  No question about smiles here…

Here’s a pretty cool shot Bryan grabbed of Sully checking out the original Mustang…

We had another interesting observation today, and that was how people took to the kick starter.  The CSC bikes are electric start, but Steve also kept the kick starter on the right side (every CSC motorcycle has both an electric starter and a kick starter).  Very few motorcycles with electric starters have kept their kick starters, so the reaction to our bikes was really interesting.  People loved the kick starter.   Nearly everyone who rode the CSC bikes today had a lot of fun using the kick starter.   I was surprised at how much our guests enjoyed it.  It was something I hadn’t expected.

We have quite a few photos of the good folks from Antelope Valley, the Douglas Triumph boys, and more.    The nice thing about shooting these pictures is I didn’t have to ask anybody to say “cheese.”  The CSC motorcycles took care of everything in the smiles department…take a look at just a few of our guests below…

Annette from Antelope Valley…

Carmen from Glendora…

And this Antelope Valley gentleman, who was definitely enjoying his seat time on the CSC Classic…

The open house today and the visitors we’ve had during the week have been so much fun it’s hard to capture it with just a few words and photos.  The food Maureen brought in today was super, the party was great, and everybody really enjoyed themselves.  We want to thank everyone who made the trek out to the plant this morning.  The day was as special for us as it was for you!