The RedHill Cafe, mountain roads, and Jim’s bike…

My good buddy Jim and I have been riding together for more than a few years, and like you and me, he’s kept up with the excitement at the California Scooter Company.   Jim and I hang out together a lot, riding bikes, talking bikes, looking at bikes, racing bikes, and doing other things related to (you guessed it) bikes.  Jim’s got a sleek BMW R1150R and an ultra-cool restored Moto Guzzi, but in the last few weeks, he’s been taking a hard look at the California Scooters.   

Steve invited Jim on one of our shop rides, and he offered to lend Jim a California Scooter to see how he liked it.  Steve wanted Jim to get a feel for how the Scooters ride and handle.   We’d been planning the ride all week, and today was the day.

As soon as Jim got to the shop, he wanted to see how things are progressing on the land speed record California Scooter.  While Tony and Carlos prepped a Greaser for Jim, he and I snuck over to our skunk works area…here’s an uncensored photo…Jim and our LSR bike in the CSC development lab…

We left early this morning to beat the heat, and like always, there was excitement in the air as Steve, Josh (aka BumbleBee), Carlos, Jim, and yours truly got ready to get their knees in the breeze.   You have to be with us on one of these rides when we get ready to leave the plant…it’s really cool.

Our first destination was the RedHill Cafe in Rancho Cucamonga (that’s really the town’s name; Jack Benny wasn’t making that up).   The RedHill is about 15 miles from the plant, and we had a nice ride over there.  This place has the best breakfasts in southern California.  You gotta try it sometime.   The coffee’s great, the people who work there are great, and the food is incredible.   Their omelets are awesome, and I had my standard…egg whites only, mushrooms, onions, more mushrooms, sourdough toast, mushrooms, and, oh yeah, did I mention mushrooms?    Like always, it was wonderful.   Steve, Jim, and I grabbed the counter, and Josh and Carlos grabbed a table.  We were lucky to get seats when we pulled up; the place is always packed.  We had a secret weapon, though…as soon as we parked the Scooters, they drew a crowd (just like they always do)!  While folks were oogling our bikes, we grabbed their seats!

As a great breakfast spot, the RedHill attracts more than a few interesting motorcycles.  One of the guys at the RedHill had a high-end performance V-twin, and while he was admiring the Scooters I noticed his custom paint.   He said it was okay if I grabbed a photo of it…

After a very hearty breakfast (thanks for treating us to breakfast, Jim!), we made tracks for Mt. Baldy and Glendora Ridge Road.  You’ve heard me write about it on this blog before…it’s my favorite ride (I’ll be doing a Destinations piece on it for Motorcycle Classics soon, so keep an eye on that magazine for my story). 

The weather was great this morning and I grabbed a few more shots on this great road…here’s one of Josh and Steve with their California Scooters…

Here’s a shot of Carlos…

This was Jim’s ride this morning…one of the Greasers…

My friend Jim…

Jim and I go back a ways…we’ve had some great rides on the big bikes.   You might want to check out our ride to Prescott and Sedona for the Moto Guzzi rally last year when you get a chance.   That was a fun one.   They’re all fun.   Lately, though, Jim’s been watching the fun I’ve been having with my California Scooter, and he had a chance to experience the excitement first hand in an environment in which the California Scooters excel…twisting, tight, scenic mountain roads.  We were having a lot of fun mixing it up with our 150cc canyon carvers this morning!   When I fell back a bit (which didn’t happen too often!) I had a chance to grab a few photos of the guys on the way back down.   Here’s one on the way out of the San Gabriel Mountains…Steve is way out in front on this shot.

Here’s one of Josh and Carlos headed down the mountain, with a guy on an SV650 Suzuki going the other way…these are popular roads with local enthusiasts…

A shot of my good friend Josh while we waited for a light to change in Glendora, just below the mountains…

When we returned to the plant, we had a welcoming reception just like when we left.  Everybody wanted to know how the ride went, how much fun we had, and all the questions we hear when we get back from one of these magnificent rides.    This is what the California Scooter Company is all about, and everyone wanted to hear about it!

We also saw some of John’s latest custom paint jobs, including this slick set up with a yellow-and-black tank and matching fenders.   These John Esposito custom paint jobs are selling like hotcakes.  (I’m probably dating myself with that expression, but I go to IHOP regularly, and I can tell you, hotcakes do sell briskly!)   This is a good color, I think, for Josh.   It matches his new name (BumbleBee), and it kind of goes along with his attraction to bees of all sorts.

We had fun telling people about the ride, the Red Hill Cafe, the route we took, what the roads were like, where we stopped, and all the other fun we had this morning…everybody liked hearing about the ride and we all did our best to tell tall tales.   Drifting through corners, hitting 130 mph on the downhill sections, passing GSXRs in the corners…all the things we like to talk about, with maybe just a little bit of embellishment.   Well, maybe we embellish more than just a little bit… 

We were all telling good stories, except for Jim.  Jim was back in the showroom, taking an even harder look at one California Scooter in particular.   You can guess where this one is going…and it’s no tall tale…yep, take a look at Jim and Steve with Jim’s brand new California Scooter!

Jim’s pretty excited about his new toy, and he should be…it’s a great bike!  When I asked Jim what he liked best about it…his answer was immediate.   “There are lots of great bikes out there,”  he said, “but where else can you go for a ride before you buy with the guy who actually designed the motorcycle and is president of the company that makes them?”

Where else, indeed.

Jim’s not planning to let his California Scooter gather dust…if you’re in the area tomorrow, stop in at the Beach Side Cafe in Covina tomorrow night.   There’s usually a great gathering of interesting bikes and people, and we’ll be there on our Scooters!

And, oh yeah, 30 days to Baja!