Better and better…

It just keeps getting better, folks.   We’re wrapping up discussions on the initial CSC Cyclone deliveries.   Boy oh boy, do I have good news for you!

You guys and gals expressed your preference for the 17-inch rear wheel instead of the 15-inch rear wheel.    We had planned to offer the 17-inch rear wheel an aftermarket accessory and sell it to you at a very reasonable $258.95, but the Boss said:  Hey, why do that if most people want the 17-inch wheel?

You spoke, we heard you, and here’s the deal:   The 17-inch rear wheel will be standard equipment on a new CSC Cyclone!   We’ll include the cush drive, too.   All at no additional cost to you.

Another Cyclone rolls off the line…yours will have the 17-inch rear wheel and cush drive!

The difference in final drive gearing with the new 17-inch rear wheel is trivially small.   The 17-inch rear wheel (with tire) is slightly smaller in diameter than the 15-inch rear wheel (with tire) using the bike’s standard 80/20 dual sport tires.   You read that right…going to the larger rear wheel will actually very slightly lower the final drive ratio.   The difference is that the larger rear wheel will give a final drive ratio that’s about 2.6% lower (but that’s with the stock tires…change to another tire and that will change again).   And if you’re like me and you want to experiment with different gearing to tune the bike to your kind of riding, rest assured:  We’re going to stock a variety of sprockets.   Whatever floats your boat, we’ll have it.

Hey, did you think it stops there?   Not so, my friends.   We know that ADV riders accessorize their bikes, and we know that folks who take motorcycling seriously ride year round.    Cold weather?   Bring it on!

One of my objectives on this trip was to speak directly to the engineers and find out what the Cyclone’s alternator puts out, what it takes to run the motorcycle, and how much was left over for accessories.   There’s good news and more good news here…the Cyclone alternator output is 220 watts, and the bike only needs 160 watts for its standard equipment.    That 220 watts compares pretty favorably to my KLR-650’s output of 187 watts.   Still, real riders need real power…you know, auxiliary lighting, heated vests, heated grips, GPS, and more.    So we asked the chiefs in Chongqing:  Any chance of getting more?

No problem here, either.   More power?   Coming up!  It turns out there’s an 18-pole Cyclone stator available, and it provides a whopping 300 watts!   Wowee, that’s more than the 280-watt high performance upgraded aftermarket alternator you can put in a KLR-650 (and the ticket for that KLR part is over $200, not counting labor).

Wanna know what the 300-watt alternator is going to cost in your new Cyclone?

$0.

Yep, you read that right.   The 300-watt alternator is going to be standard equipment.   No extra charge.   Zero more dollars.   You can argue with us all you want, but we absolutely will not let you pay more for your new CSC Cyclone.  You can thank us over a shot of Tequila, after we’ve put the bikes away for the evening on the Baja ride!

Don’t get me wrong, folks…I’m not badmouthing the KLR.  You know that I own one and I’ve been riding it for close to 10 years now.   And we’ve heard the arguments about how it’s not fair to compare a 250 to a 650.  But the CSC Cyclone doesn’t know that.  It just keeps doing what it does, and it just keeps doing it better!

More interesting tidbits.    Folks asked about the swingarm, and in particular, there was a question about its pivots.   Lower-cost motorcycles often use plastic bushings at this critical point.  Not on this motorcycle, my friends.   The Cyclone swingarm uses four needle bearings…two on each side!

The CSC Cyclone uses four swingarm pivot needle bearings

Another tidbit…the Cyclone has a rev limiter that kicks in at 11,000 rpm.  The tach redline is 9,000 rpm.   I didn’t know that until I talked to the bike’s designers on this trip.    Cool stuff to know.

Oh, the tidbits are tumbling out….

You wanted a shot of the white Cyclone.   Well here you go…

The white CSC Cyclone

I know….I know.   The aluminum luggage on that bike….wow!    The short version…no, we aren’t publishing the price yet (but we will soon).   No, you can’t order it instead of the stock luggage.   Yes, the top bag will take a full face helmet.   Yes, it’s real aluminum.   Yes, it’s quick detach.   Now, don’t be calling the plant and bugging the folks there about this yet.   We’ll post more info on this soon.   But if you drive the guys in the factory nuts with phone calls, they’ll yell at me, and then I’ll have to stop sharing this cool stuff with you.   Hang in there…we’ll let you know soon!

And yet another tidbit…this one was an absolute joy to take in…every single Cyclone motorcycle is dynamometer tested before it leaves the factory.    Listen to this:  The Cyclone has a published top speed of 84 mph.    But that’s not what it’s tested to on the dyno.   Every one of these puppies has to spin that dyno up to 91 mph.  That’s the minimum.   The bikes I watched topped 94 mph on the dyno!   I know that’s not real world (on the dyno, the bike doesn’t have to fight aerodynamic drag), but still, when I saw this my only thought was:   Damn!  (Pardon my language, folks…but this is impressive stuff!)

Getting ready to run up the dyno on a brand new Cyclone

Do the math, folks…that’s 94.4 mph!

Oh, there’s lots more good stuff.    We’ll be publishing prices on some of the accessories we’re bringing to you for your new motorcycle in the near future.   I’ll talk more about the fuel gage and speedometer accuracy issues, too, but those are topics for another blog.

We’ll be in China for another few days.  Serious sightseeing for Susie and yours truly starts tomorrow.   More photos coming your way…along with more news about the exciting new Cyclone.

Stay tuned!