Venom, Viciousness, and Vituperation

The Internet brings out the worst in people, but as we are learning, maybe sometimes that’s not such a bad thing.   We live in a great country in which people are free to express their opinions, even when they’re dead wrong.   It’s worked well for over 200 years here in the good old USA, and it’s sure working well for us here at CSC.

A bit of background.   I prepared a press release late last week outlining the CSC Cyclone’s approval by the US EPA (here’s a link to it).

That story was picked up by several magazines and websites, and like all of our press releases, it’s making its way around the Internet.   One of the magazines is an online publication called RideApart, which focuses on motorcycles.   Their story on us and the EPA approval (which was essentially a rehash of our press release) subsequently got picked up by the Yahoo Autos page.  The link for that page is https://autos.yahoo.com/news/epa-approves-cscs-3-000-160150190.html.

That’s when the Cyclone’s EPA approval story went viral.   I can’t imagine that anyone who knows anything about motorcycles (much less the adventure riding niche) hangs out on the Yahoo Autos page, but as is frequently the case on Internet forums, it didn’t stop a flood of (as I write this) more than 300 comments.    There’s some positive and some negative stuff there, but a lot of it is negative.   And vicious.  And full of venom.   And vituperative (that means “sustained and bitter ranting and condemnation”).  But mostly, the comments were just the uninformed rants of folks with nothing better to do.   Ignorance sure didn’t slow these boys down, though.   The comments have been flooding in.

Our first reaction (when we read the first 100 or so comments) was:  Uh oh.  This is a bad thing.

Boy, were we ever wrong. 

Ever hear the old expression about publicity?   It goes like this:

There’s no such thing as bad publicity.

Well, as it turns out, the Yahoo Autos “experts” weighing in with their opinions on the CSC Cyclone (none of whom has ever ridden the motorcycle, and for that matter, probably none of whom has ever even seen it) were actually doing us a tremendous service.   For every one of these Triple-V folks (the venom, viciousness, and vituperation crowd) who posted their unfounded comments (and I’ll list a few for your entertainment in just a bit), there must have been another 100 or so people who read the comments and then went to our website.   Our website traffic quintupled, and that was a good thing.  Why?  Because that’s where people discovered the facts.   They saw the independent third-party articles by ADVPulse, ADVMoto, and Motorcycle.com (stories by real experts who actually rode the Cyclone and gave it high marks).

The bottom line?   Folks, the phones have been ringing off the hooks and the email inboxes are full…with inquiries that are leading directly to new orders for this exciting new motorcycle.   Criticism by ignoramuses on an Internet site?   Bring it on!

So, about those comments.   Here’s a sample of some of the negative stuff…and I’m including all the spelling and other errors (just as they were posted) to give you a sense of the underlying intellect…

From David:  China makes nothing but Garbage

From Larry:  Just what we need,,,more Chinese #$%$ flooding the American marketplace,,,,

The anti-China sentiment was a recurring theme in many of the comments.   So, here we go.   Um, okay, David and Larry:  Does your anti-China sentiment extend to the computers you used when you sent your comments to Yahoo?   Or did you submit your comments using your iPhones…you know, the ones made in China?   And your clothes…do you leave the house naked because you won’t wear stuff made in China?   And your helmets and riding gear (assuming you boys actually ride motorcycles)…do you know that these items were almost certainly made in China?  I could go on, but I think you understand my point.

From Bobb:  these engines have been around for many years not very good at all very poorly built motors,If you want a ok 250 enduro get a moto x aircooled way cheaper than 3500

Okay, Bobb with three b’s:  The RX-3 engine has been around since 2011.   Perhaps when you visited the Zongshen factory you saw something different than I did.  I saw a fully-automated, 100%-tested engine assembly line; a production line superior to any assembly operation I’ve ever seen in any factory anywhere in the world.   And what exactly is a “moto x aircooled?”

From Izzy J:  More Chineese junk ! Should probably buy AAA at same time. The people importing this #$%$ for sale should be ashamed of themselves…..or do they work for Walmart ?

Ah, there’s that Chinese thing again.   Izzy, I checked, and none of our CSC employees is moonlighting at WalMart.   And the AAA thing…dude, I just don’t get the reference.   The Auto Club?  Is that Freudian?

From Rich:  I read this and thought of that scene in Dumb and Dumber where they are riding the minibike across country. This is a waste of money. There is no resale value and they won’t last. Being a Harley rider, I’m usually not one to dog on what you are riding, but these are a waste of money.

Funny thing, Rich, we may have something in common.  When I read your comment, that movie is exactly what came to my mind, too!  Oh, and one more question…where do you think many of your Harley parts were actually made?

From J:  Chinese junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The quality of the alloys and metals used in manufacturing over there is piss-poor at best.the only thing comparable to this bike would be another chinese p.o.s.! Which one of you test pilots got sucked into this? You should stick with your chink made scooter and leave real motorcycles to people that know something about them.what idiot pays you for your stupidity anyway? Thinking like that makes #10 for iowa look like a genius!

Ah, yet another scholar of Chinese culture.   J (and I should point out that this J is not my good friend J Brandon, who actually passed his 4^th grade English class):  The gentleman you are inquiring about (i.e., your question about “what idiot pays you for your stupidity anyway?”), well, that would be Steve.  I’ll relay your concerns to him.

From ImMyOwnMan:  This is NOT an Adventure bike. Sorry guys. There is no way you are going to get a weeks worth of luggage on that bike and have it roll down the road. May be an OK entry level dually, but an Adventure bike it is not. I have 2 KLR 650’s and a Super Tenere. The KLR’s are working pretty hard with a load. The Yamaha has more power than it would ever need. 250 cc’s are laughable for any touring platform.

ImMyOwnMan, you certainly are!   A week’s worth of stuff for me when I’m on a motorcycle trip would basically be an extra pair of socks and maybe a pair of clean underwear.   And I’d still have room left over for a lot more.  Oh, and that thing about a 250 being laughable as a touring platform?  You might want to check in with Simon Gandolfi, who went to Tierra del Fuego and back on his 125cc Honda.

From JoeSchmoe:  Chinese garbage made by six year old Tibetan slaves chained to their workstations- YAY!

JoeSchmoe.  I don’t know why, but I just don’t like your name.   But let’s get past that.  Okay, Mr. Schmoe, here’s the deal:   Unlike you, I’ve actually been in the Zongshen factory a number of times.   There’s no Tibetan slaves.   Not even 6-year-old ones.  And no one was chained to their workstations.   Not even the guys installing the Cyclone’s drive chains, which is the only place I saw a chain of any kind.   JoeSchmoe?  Seriously?   You could pick any screen name you wanted and you went with JoeSchmoe?

From MFWIC:  wouldn’t want a guy in a chopper to pull up next to me, if I was riding their Mustang bike.

MFWIC, your comment is one of the few I actually responded to on that Yahoo Autos page.   We have folks on choppers pull up alongside us when we’re on the Mustangs all the time.   I get your point; it is a pain.  They constantly ask us if they can sit on the Mustangs for a photo or three.   It’s a burden, but we bear it lightly.

I could go on, folks, but you get the idea.

You know, when I first started doing this gig, I wondered what made people so critical on the Internet.   The psychologists tell us people who criticize irrationally often see themselves in what they are criticizing, and they are really criticizing what they don’t like about themselves.   Maybe that’s the case; I just don’t know.   Others say that the anonymity of the Internet brings out the worst in people.  I sure believe that.   And there’s a third factor, I suppose:  Some people just like a platform because they are powerless everywhere else.  Whatever.

I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much.  If you seek us out on the Internet and look for the comments, where there are negative ones posted, other folks weigh in pretty quickly to set the record straight.  That’s happened even on the Yahoo Autos page.   And where folks post negative stuff, if we respond politely, it will usually turn the situation around.  We have a number of cases where folks who had been badmouthing us became some of our strongest supporters.

Well, I thought this was going to be a short blog, and I see I’m up to 1500 words already.  That’s enough, I guess.  Later, my friends…