Full color, Sunday morning stuff, Beemers, Nikons, and more…

There’s lots of stuff to catch up on, folks.   By way of an explanation, for the last couple of weeks I’ve been glued to the keyboard working on 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM and I haven’t been blogging as often as I usually do.   But the book is done, it’s out in three versions (the links are B&W for $19.95, full color for $49.95, and Kindle).   I’ve got some time to get back to other things, and I’m going to start catching up this fine Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and the CSC blog.

Yesterday was a fun day for me.   I actually don’t have my own copies of 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM yet (I’m supposed to get my first copy tomorrow, and to get it that quickly, I ordered it on Amazon Prime).   My good buddy, CSC 250 and RX3 riding compadre, and shooting partner Duane received his, though, and he stopped by the CSC plant yesterday with it.   It was the first copy of the book I’ve seen, and it was a good feeling to actually hold it in my hands and look through it at the photos.   I like it a lot and I think it is the best book I’ve ever done.   I signed it for Duane and we had a good time joking around about it.

Ah, let’s see…more good stuff.  You’ll recall our notifications about the new financing program, and that is attracting many more good folks to the RX3.   Most people who buy new vehicles of any kind here in the US (and probably elsewhere in the world) do so by financing their purchase, so adding this option is making the RX3 a reality for many more people.   I like it and I like the idea of giving more people access to this great motorcycle.   The terms are very reasonable (as in $500 down and monthly payments of about $100), so if having the cash on hand was holding you back, that shouldn’t be a problem now.

When we rode the Western America Adventure Ride, Juan Carlos and Gabriel from Colombia rode with us.  They were representing AKT Moto, the Colombian RX3 importer, and their mission included three objectives:

• Have a good time (and I know that happened!).
• Gather information for a story about the Western America Adventure Ride (Juan Carlos has already published his article, and you’ve read about that here on the CSC blog).
• Learn how we in CSC do our adventure tours (because AKT wants to do the same for its customers in Colombia).

It’s that last item above that is of interest today, folks, and the reason for that is because yours truly has been invited to ride in Colombia later this year.   I’ve been to Colombia before, but it was a short business trip that involved visits to only two cities (Barranquilla and Cartegena).   This visit will involve riding the RX3 in Colombia and seeing all of it.   If I sound excited, it’s because I am.   Boy oh boy, I’ll grab some great photos on this adventure!

And speaking of photography, I wanted to give a quick review of my feelings about my two Nikon cameras, the D3300 and the D810.  The D810 is the full tilt boogie…it’s a 36-megapixel monster with incredible low light capabilities.   I love it.   But it’s not without its disadvantages.   It’s heavy, it’s very expensive, it’s physically large, and the file size hogs the C drive on my laptop.   At the same time I bought the D810 this year, I also bought the D3300 as a knockaround camera for my motorcycle trips, and I have to tell you that the little Nikon does a hell of a job.   The front and rear cover shots on 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM were both shot with that little D3300 and the lens that comes with it (a Nikon 18-55mm zoom).   I love both of these cameras and I took both with me on the Western America Adventure Ride (both fit easily into the RX3’s top case), but on most motorcycle trips I usually just take the D3300.  It does everything I need for travel photography.

The comparison between these two cameras is much like the comparison between an RX3 and a BMW GSA 1200.    They’ll both get the job done, they’re both fun, and the bigger one costs roughly 8 times what the little one costs.  Yep, you read that right.   The BMW GSA price is around $26K; the RX3 is $3,495.  The Nikon D810 (with a decent lens) is over $4K; the D3300 Nikon is $499.95.   I own both cameras and I use them both, but truth be told, I’d do fine with just the D3300.   A similar situation exists with many of our RX3 customers; quite a few of them also own a BMW.  Many of them have told us that they enjoy the RX3 more, especially when going off road.

Gerry and our Service Department sure are staying busy.   They are doing the setups on a new shipment of RX3 motorcycles, and they have quite a few other brands in for service now that the word is out about our capabilities.   When I was in the plant yesterday, Gerry was adding accessories to a new Triumph Bonneville, there were several BMWs in for repairs and routine servicing, and there were a couple of step-through scooters waiting their turn in line.  I was surprised at how many of the new RX3s included our optional 19-inch front wheel, knobby tires, the new Seat Concepts seat, and the other good stuff Ryan and Steve have developed for the RX3.   It’s exciting to see all of this happening.

Last bit of exciting news for this morning…Ryan, Matt, and I will be at the Horizons Unlimited California meeting from Thursday through Sunday of this week.  I’m giving a presentation on our adventure tours, and we’ll be offering RX3 test rides at this great event.

That’s it for now, my friends.  See you on the road!