Wow, another secret mission coming up…this time to Bangkok if all goes as planned. I’m hoping to get some great photos over there, so keep an eye on the blog, folks, and I’ll do my best. But that’s a week or two out. Next week I’m headed back into Utah to see Zion again, and from there we’re off to the Grand Canyon. Then it’s a speed run back to LA and a 17-hour direct flight to Bangkok. 17 hours, and it’s a nonstop! There’s a 15-hour time difference, too, so I get there two days after I leave!
I was playing around on FaceBook this morning (Betty White, who I think is fantastic, once referred to FaceBook as the greatest time suck of all time), but I will admit it is one of the more modern things I enjoy using. There’s lots of other new stuff I don’t like (cell phones and texting top that list, followed closely by the goofy spelling I see in text and Twitter messages), but FaceBook I can handle.
Anyway, I saw this FaceBook photo of Simon Gandolfi and me on our trip to Baja a little while ago, and it brought back many fond memories…
Joe and Simon in Mexico...photograph by John Welker
Are you a California Scooter Company fan on Facebook? If you want to be, click right here and then click on “Like” when you see our page pop up.
You know, in a few days it will be one year since that ride all the way down to Cabo San Lucas and back. Yep, it was 2200 miles under some of the toughest riding conditions on the planet, and we did it…all the way down and back on our 150cc California Scooters!
The year since the Baja run has just flown by. I miss the time I spent in Mexico with Simon (the world’s most interesting man), J, Arlene, and of course, my good riding buddy John. John is riding his red Classic in Florida now (he lives in the Tampa area), and he’s also a CSC affiliate. If you’d like to meet John and see his bike, just let us know. And if you want to read about our adventure in Baja last September, you can do so by clicking right here.
It’s been really hot out here in California, and I know from my east coast buddies it’s been really wet out there in IreneLand. Wanna see just how wet? Check out this YouTube my buddy Dennis sent to me from my old neighborhood…
Wow, I’m sure glad all of our friends came through Irene all right. For my west coast buddies, stay cool…for my east coast buddies, stay dry. And for everyone, ride safe.
We’ve got a couple of events coming up in the near future here in California, and if you’re in the neighborhood, we’d sure love to have you stop by. We’re going to be showing our latest customs at the Good Guys show in Pleasanton, California (Friday through Sunday, August 26-28) at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds, and then we’ll be out again at the Kiwanis Club Chili Cookoff in Malibu, California (from September 2nd through the 5th).
Take a look at this latest custom designed by Steve and built by our master bike builders…it’s a relatively mild custom with chrome billet wheels, a performance exhaust system, a custom green flame paint job on a pearlescent metallic white base, and a custom matching seat!
Green flames on pearlescent metallic white...it really works!
A matching custom seat, and a close up of the custom tank...
These colors really work, and when you see the bike in person, I think you’ll agree!
We’ll have a couple of additional milder customs (a metallic blue Classic with billet wheels, and a black Classic with wire wheels, along with a bunch of our standard models.
A custom metallic blue Classic with billet wheels, and a custom black Classic with wire wheels
And speaking of customs, check out this very early Sportster I spotted in Wade’s shop…it was chopped and customized way back in the 1970s!
An old school chopper in Wade's shop!
That’s an old ironhead Sporty XLH motor (the hotter XLCH had a stamped steel primary cover), with a radically-raked out frame and vintage custom paint. Wade let me sit on it and it was cool.
Lots of good stuff going on these days, not the least of which is a funny photo our good buddy Jimbo picked up from the Mustang site. The original Mustang had a two-seater model they called the Thoroughbred, and apparently some of the guys on that site started posting about bikes with increased seating capacity. Jimbo pointed out to me that this particular bike may have what is perhaps the original bucket seat…
The original bucket seat?
We’ve all seen these kinds of photos on the Internet, showing small motorcycles being used for all kinds of things and carrying way more people than their designers ever intended. I thought it might be interesting to see what’s out there, so first, let’s take a look at the “increased seating” category…
A long wheel base model...it probably has more people than the engine has cubic inches!
SUV? We don't need no stinkin' SUV!
Only four people?
You gotta wonder how these things handle!
Don't ask me...I have no idea...
The next category (do you have your score cards ready?) is for cargo carrying capacity. You’re not gonna believe some of this stuff…
Obviously, a hula hoop delivery bike...how many of you even remember what a hula hoop is?
I'm not sure...eggs, maybe?
A china cabinet...maybe in China?
If this bike is propane powered, it's probably got enough range to leave our solar system!
A tow bike?
A Christmas tree delivery bike...check out the rider's legs!
Enroute (obviously) to the 99-Cent Store...
Hmmmm....the pinyata delivery man?
This guy is going to get hosed!
I'm not sure what these are, but I'm pretty sure there's an aerodynamic penalty with this load...
This guy should get cited for obstruction to vision!
The Home Depot model...
There's a joke in there somewhere...
The next category only has one entrant….with apologies to my good buddy Johnnie C., it looks like some enterprising entrepreneur is starting a two-wheeled RV company!
A Winnebago biker...
And of course, the animal category. I saw some of this when I was a kid in the Army stationed in Korea a long time ago…
Obviously a Moto Gootsy!
Headed toward a barbeque...
What are you staring at? You don't take your goat for a motorcycle ride on special occasions?
And finally, this last one, which leaves even a wordsmith like me speechless…
Ansel Seidner's award-winning photo of yours truly, TK, Richard, and the CHP's finest!
I sure had a great ride on my favorite roads (and on my favorite motorcycle) this morning…yep, we ran Glendora Mountain Road and then Glendora Ridge Road, followed by a great breakfast at the Mt. Baldy Lodge. TK, Steve, Richard, and yours truly fired up the California Scooters and we hit the twisties. What a great day it was for an early Sunday morning ride! It was cool enough to be comfortable wearing the motorcycle jackets, and the bikes ran just great (like they always do).
We all met at the CSC factory early and we were on the road by 7:30. I hung back a bit because I like seeing the other motorcycles in front of me. It’s cool…a bunch of California Scooters on the road, leaning left, leaning right, winding up into the mountains. If you ride in a group you know what I’m talking about.
We had a fairly leisurely ride from La Verne, and with Steve in the lead, we meandered through the town of Glendora until we picked up Glendora Mountain Road…that’s where the mountains begin. I get excited when I turn onto this road because I know there’s great riding coming up. And it sure was…it was a glorious morning.
As we slalomed up into the mountains, we saw a CHP motor officer coming down the mountain on a big BMW R1200 RT-P (the police cruiser), and to my surprise he waved hello to us. They usually don’t do that, but I guess it’s hard not to wave when you see a California Scooter. It was one of those mornings when it just feels great to be alive and out in the world. You ride. You know what I’m talking about.
It was a super ride up. We rode into the mountains until we reached the intersection of Glendora Mountain Road, Glendora Ridge Road, and the East Fork Road. There’s a wide spot in the road at the intersection and I always like to stop there. You see other bikes, and it’s a cool place to socialize. You’ve seen this spot here in our blog before. It’s awesome.
To my surprise, there was another CHP motor officer. Wow, two Chippies in one morning. In all my years of riding this road, I’ve only ever seen a police officer once or twice on Glendora Ridge Road.
The CHP motor officer was all grins when we rolled to a stop, and he wanted to know all about the bikes. Motor officers are cool guys (they have great jobs), and this guy was no exception. We talked about our bikes, we talked about BMW police motorcycles, and we talked about the new Kawasaki police motorcycle. Then we talked about our bikes more. It was great.
Like most any rider, I like talking about motorcycles, but the day was too glorious to stand around talking. And the best was yet to come, because Glendora Ridge Road was waiting for us. My bike purred this morning, and I traversed the twisties, dragged the pegs, and had more fun than any human being has a right to. Twelve short miles and 232 corners later, we arrived in Mt. Baldy Village. We had a great breakfast (I had a spinach and mushroom omelette!) with great coffee and great conversation, and then it was a spirited dash back down out of the mountains. A grand day!
Last week I grabbed some photos of Steve’s latest customs, but you’ll have to tune to tomorrow’s blog to see them…later, and ride safe, everybody!
Most of us don’t ride our motorcycles every day. A few of us do, like my good buddy Bob in New Jersey.
I had a real nice conversation earlier this week with Bob and he told me he uses his bike all the time. Bob lives not too far from where I grew up, and it was fun talking about the riding in New Jersey. When the weather’s good back there, the riding is great. When I used to live in New Jersey I was on my bike every day, too. But I know what happens when it starts to get cold and wet. Even Bob will get to a point where he’ll have to park his California Scooter for a while. In Bob’s case, living in New Jersey, there’s something called “winter.” I know, that’s a strange term to us folks here in southern California, but it’s a real thing in the northeastern United States. You just can’t ride in that kind of weather. So, we thought we’d include a blog that explains what you should do if you’re not going to be riding your motorcycle for a while.
I guess the first question is: How long is “a while?”
That’s tough to say. If I know I’m not going to be riding my motorcycle for the next month or so, I’m going to do a few things differently than I would if I were only going to go a few days or maybe two weeks without riding.
Let’s take a look at three scenarios:
Scenario 1. You’re a daily or weekly rider, and you may go a few days or a week or two without riding. If you fit into this category (and I usually do), I don’t do anything to my CSC motorcycle other than put the fuel petcock in the off position. Basically, I just park my California Scooter and shut the fuel petcock.
The fuel petcock in the OFF position
Scenario 2. You’re a monthlyrider. If you fit in this category, you might get out on your CSC motorcycle once a month (maybe a little more, maybe a little less). There are two things I’d do in this case. I’d shut the fuel petcock when I park the bike (as mentioned and shown above), and I’d keep the bike on a trickle charger. We’ve got a pretty cool writeup about trickle charging right here on our blog. You’ve probably read it already, but here’s a link to it so you can find it easier.
Trickle charging...red goes to red, and black goes to black (or anyplace that's grounded)
Scenario 3. You’re not going to ride your bike for several months or more. You might fit into this category if you are storing your bike for the winter, or if for any other reason you know it’s going to be months (or longer) before you ride your bike again. In this situation, here’s what we recommend:
a. Shut the fuel petcock.
b. Keep the battery on a trickle charger.
c. Put ½-ounce of fuel stabilizer in the fuel tank with a full tank of fuel (the brand we use is Stabil).
d. Drain the fuel in the carburetor float bowl.
e. Change the oil.
Draining the fuel in the carburetor float bowl is pretty easy. There’s a little screw at the bottom of the float bowl that you can see from the right side of the bike. Just take the drain hose off, hold a small cup under the float bowl, and after you’ve shut the fuel petcock, open the screw to drain the float bowl. Make sure you screw the drain screw back in, or when you open the fuel petcock when you’re ready to ride again, the fuel will just drain out of the float bowl!
The carb float bowl...after you've shut the fuel petcock and disconnected the hose at the bottom of the float bowl, unscrew the brass screw about 1/2 turn to drain the fuel.
If the bike’s going to sit for a long time (many months or longer), you might want to drain the tank before you fire it up again and then refill it with fresh fuel. With Stabil in the tank, you can probably go through the winter, start the bike up, and be on your way (you don’t need to drain the tank). But if you’re leaving the bike untouched for a long time (perhaps 6 months or more), I’d drain the tank and refill it before I started riding again.
If you're storing your bike for months, put 1/2 ounce of Stabil into a full tank of fuel. The Stabil container has a built-in measuring feature...it's pretty cool!
If you go for an extended period without riding your California Scooter, you should change the oil before starting the bike again. Over extended periods of time with the bike experiencing big temperature swings, condensation can form inside the crankcase. You don’t want to run the bike if there’s water in the oil. As you know, your CSC motorcycle only takes one quart of oil and changing the oil only takes a few minutes, so changing the oil is not a big deal. We did a piece on the blog a few months ago about oil changes, and you can see it here.
We had a rip-roaring magnificent ride yesterday on one of the world’s greatest motorcycle roads…
The Angeles Crest Highway!
The Crest, as it’s more popularly known, is a wonderful road that cuts through the Angeles National Forest and across the San Gabriel Mountains. Great scenery. Titanic twisties. Wonderful weather. It was awesome! But it wasn’t the only road we rode yesterday…
Oh, this is gonna be a good one, boys and girls. Grab a cup of coffee, and let me tell you a bit about our putt…
Our objective yesterday was to have a great ride, stay completely off the freeways, and do the grand loop around and through the San Gabriel Mountains. Defining the route was a challenge. Even though we’re here in California and we’re known for our freeways, there are some places that are tough to get to if your objective is to stay off the freeways. For us, that meant a short stretch on a dirt road, but more about that later…
Bruce's turquoise twins...
The day started with us all meeting at the plant early in the morning. I knew it was gonna be a good one when I arrived early and saw Bruce waiting at the gate.
Bruce, you’ll remember from a blog a few months ago, bought a CSC Classic and had us paint it to match his ’91 Harley Heritage Softail. This turquoise-and-white CSC bike is a true classic, and it’s beautiful. Bruce keeps it absolutely immaculate, but we all knew it wouldn’t stay that way long…we had plans to do a bit of dual-sporting with our California Scooters!
Indulge me in a short diversion…Bruce is the first guy we know of who outfitted his California Scooter with a burglar alarm. It’s pretty cool and we had fun watching Bruce demo it for us in the CSC parking lot. Check out this video showing how it works…
Arlene, Martin, and Hector filtered in, and Steve and I enjoyed checking out everybody’s bikes. Doc Martin (hey, I’m not making this up…he really is a doctor) was the only guy on our ride who wasn’t on a California Scooter, but in watching Martin examining our bikes, that’s a situation I suspect won’t last long.
Our first order of business was to decide where to go for breakfast…and Merendero’s got the nod. It’s a little Mexican place just up the road from the CSC plant, and it sure was good. I told everybody to order whatever they wanted and not to worry about how expensive anything was, because (this was the surprise), Hector was buying. I said it as a joke, but Hector readily agreed! Then I felt guilty, but that feeling sure passed in a hurry when my breakfast arrived. It was good!
Breakfast at Merendero's...Arlene, Martin, Hector, Bruce, and Steve
Hector is a pretty cool guy. He’s an artist. You’ve undoubtedly seen his work in motorcycle and car publications, and you’ve seen it in new vehicle designs. More than a few manufacturers put Hector’s talents to good use when they want to see their design concepts on paper, and we’re pleased to tell you that we do, too. Hector’s amazingly talented, he’s a fun guy, and as I found out up in the mountains, he’s a tough guy to catch on a motorcycle!
A sample of Hector's artistry...
Our route took us up to Baseline (so named because it runs along the southern base of the San Gabriel Mountains), onto Duncan Canyon Road, and then onto old Route 66.
Yep, the original Route 66. It’s hard to believe that this old two-lane road was once the major east-west thoroughfare from Chicago to Los Angeles. The stretch we were on was all but abandoned…the only vehicles we saw on it were other motorcycles out for a ride like we were. Route 66 paralleled Interstate 15 through the Cajon Pass around the eastern edge of the San Gabriels, and then we found the road we wanted…Swarthout Canyon Road.
Swarthout Canyon Road is paved for a bit, it crosses the railroad tracks, and then the pavement ends. I’ve ridden this road before, but it’s always been on bikes like my KLR Kawi (bikes built for the dirt).
After waiting for a long freight train to pass and traversing a cool section of twisties, we came to the end of the pavement…
On Swarthout Canyon Road waiting for a long freight train in Cajon Pass
Pavement? We don't need no stinkin' pavement!
California Scooters become dual sport bikes on Swarthout Canyon Road in the Cajon Pass!
I had confidence in our California Scooters. I knew they would have no problems in the dirt because of our experience riding these great motorcycles down to Cabo San Lucas and back in Mexico (we found ourselves on plenty of dirt road detours on that ride). A CSC motorcycle’s light weight, low seat height, low center of gravity, and wide tires are actually ideal for riding in the soft stuff. Wanna see what I mean?
Here’s a cool shot I especially like of Bruce, just after we finished riding Swarthout Canyon Road…
A cool shot of Bruce at the end of Swarthout Canyon Road
Our romp in the dirt was only 3.5 miles long, but that road was rough and it sure felt a lot longer. The bikes came out of it dusty and dirty, and then we arrived at Lone Pine Canyon Road.
Lone Pine Canyon Road is a long uphill slog into Wrightwood. All of our bikes did just fine on the several-mile-long climb into the northern slope of the San Gabriels. The scenery, the weather, and the road were awesome.
The intersection of Swarthout Canyon and Lone Pine Canyon...there are lots of canyons in these mountains!
Scenes from my California Scooter's saddle...charging up Lone Pine Canyon Road...the weather was great!
More scenes from the saddle on Lone Pine Canyon...yeah, I know...it's a tough job...
We stopped to top off the tanks in Wrightwood before we took to the Crest (there would be no more gas stations until we arrived in Glendale on the other side of the mountains). The bikes really didn’t take much fuel, but we wanted to make sure we would be okay.
We drew a crowd in the small gas station in Wrightwood, as is always the case when you’re on a California Scooter. Everybody wanted to know about the bikes, and we handed out a bunch of brochures. A mother and daughter on a Kymco were particularly intrigued. It’s all part of the rock star experience…if you ride a California scooter, you know what I’m talking about.
Mom and daughter on Brand X, wishing they had California Scooters instead!
Arlene and Bruce in Wrightwood...we're about to turn left onto the Crest!
From that point on, we were on the Crest, and the scenery, the riding, and the overall experience were fabulous. It’s some of the best riding in the world. If you’re into motorcycles, riding the Crest has to be on your bucket list…it’s that good. But enough talking about it…let’s have a look at what this Angeles Crest Highway riding is all about!
That's Hector way up there...a tough guy to catch!
Bruce, Arlene, and Steve on the Crest
The tailgunner's view...that would be me!
Riding the Crest, trying to keep up with Steve on the yellow CSC motorcycle...
A quick shot of Steve...California Scooters absolutely excel in this kind of riding...the short wheelbase and small-diameter wheels make the bikes super adept in the twisties...those old Mustang guys really knew what they were doing!
After riding the Crest for about an hour, we arrived at Newcomb’s Ranch, which is a super place to take a break, have some lunch, check out the bikes, and enjoy the company of other good folks. At its core, motorcycling is primarily a social activity, and I always enjoy meeting new people on these rides. I got lucky again…Martin popped for lunch this time. I had the Ortega chili pepper cheeseburger, and it was good. I figured that Martin is a doctor, so it had to be healthy eating!
Here’s a quick video in front of Newcomb’s…
There were a lot of cool bikes in the Newcomb’s parking lot, but this one really caught my eye…
An absolutely pristine 1965 305cc Honda Super Hawk...what a beautiful bike!
My Dad used to ride a 1965 Honda Super Hawk like the one in the photo above…he bought it new for $765. They were great bikes back in those days. It felt good to see one up on the Crest, still in use, and still providing a good ride for its owner. I believe in another 40 or 50 years people will be seeing our California Scooters doing the same thing. I’m convinced that California Scooters are already classic bikes, and they will be for many years.
We had a lot of folks milling around our California Scooters after we ate lunch, and I let a few guys take mine out for a ride. As always, they returned with smiles. It’s hard not to on these bikes.
Everyone wants to know more about our bikes, and we hear a lot of the same questions. The one I always like is this: What’s it like on the road? I like to tell folks about the Baja ride. When I mention that we rode our California Scooters all the way to Cabo San Lucas and back, it’s always the same reaction…and here it is…
On the way down from Newcomb’s, we took it pretty easy. It was a nice, relaxed, leisurely ride…letting our California Scooters swoop through the curves on the legendary Angeles Crest Highway. The views were incredible, and I stopped for this last photo of my Baja Blaster looking out over the San Gabriel Mountains…
My red Classic California Scooter taking in the scenery along Angeles Crest Highway
We came down out of the mountains in Glendale, and from there it was a spirited surface street ride all the way home. What a day!
If you liked reading about our ride, well, hey, why don’t you join us on the next one? Just let us know, and we’ll make sure you’re invited on our next California Scooter Company ride!
As you know from reading our blog, we canceled the 3-day ride because our numbers were dwindling. Arlene and I were chatting about this on FaceBook last night, and she floated the idea of a Saturday ride. My first reaction was “duh…of course….why hadn’t I thought of that?”
So, thanks to Arlene’s suggestion, that’s exactly what we are going to do. I’ll be there on my Baja Blaster, Steve will be with us on his custom yellow CSC FrankenScooter, Bruce is joining the party with his turquoise-and-white Softail look-alike, and maybe a few others will sign up between then and now.
We’re gonna ride due east from the plant along the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, we’ll take a gravel road (at very low speed) for about 5 miles to get to Lone Pine Canyon Road, we’ll follow that to Wrightwood, and then we’ll pick up the world famous Angeles Crest Highway. Yep, the Angeles Crest Highway…one of the best motorcycle roads in the world! (If you want to know more about the famous Crest, you can read about it here.) We’ll stop along the Crest at Newcomb’s, perhaps the ultimate mountain road motorcycle eatery, and then it’s a short shot down into Glendale. We’ll pick up Colorado Boulevard for the ride home. It will be about 130 miles in total, and it will be fun!
One thing about Newcomb's on the Angeles Crest Highway...they always attract lots of moto exotica, and we'll be adding to it when we show up on our California Scooters!
If you want to join us, all you need to do is be at the California Scooter plant in La Verne no later than 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. We look forward to seeing you!
Check out this latest creation…a very cool black Classic with lots of chrome, lots of accessories, saddlebags, and our latest aerodynamic windshield…
A sleek black Classic with our latest windshield...
The photo doesn’t really do this bike justice…it’s awesome in person. I sure like the look.
We had to cancel the upcoming CSC ride this weekend. We just didn’t have enough participants, which I guess is understandable given the state of the economy and all the uncertainty surrounding the world’s financial situation. Next time for sure, boys and girls.
As mentioned below, we’ll be in Pleasanton, California from the 26th through the 28th of this month at the Good Guys show. If you’re in the area, please stop in and visit us!
We’re going to be at the Good Guys show in Pleasanton, California, from the 26th of August through the 28th of August. It’s the 25th West Coast Nationals, and if you like seeing custom cars, restored cars, hot rods, and all kinds of automotive exotica, then making it to this show is a “must do” for you. The Good Guys shows are always great. I’ve been to a number of them (you can find them by searching on “Good Guys” in this blog), and every one has been a blast. Great cars, great folks, and great photo ops!
Steve and the guys are putting together a bunch of custom bikes, including one with the wild green flame paint job you see in the photo to the right (the fenders match, too). That’s going to be a wild one, and the boys are putting it together next week. You can bet I’ll grab a shot of it for you (and you’ll see it right here), but there’s nothing like seeing a custom California Scooter in person. You can do so at the Good Guys show, or you can swing by the plant late next week! I won’t be in the plant toward the end of next week, though…I’ll be on our CSC ride throught the mountains and along the Pacific Coast Highway!
We’ve got a couple of other milder customs we’re doing for the Good Guys show, too. One is a metallic blue Classic with billet wheels (yep, that’s the one coming together in the photo to the right). Another is a black Classic (a classic Classic) with our deep chrome wire wheels. The black Classic is one of our best selling models. It’s a very elegant motorcycle. There’s just something about black and chrome that really works on a motorcycle, and this bike takes it to the next level with wire wheels and other nice chrome touches. It’s a great look, and you can see it and the other customs described here at the 25th West Coast Nationals!
During a lull in the phone action today, TK and I were out in the plant while the rest of the crew took their lunch break. TK said we needed to do something to let everyone know about the quality of our chrome.
“I have an idea,” I said…
Anybody know where the nearest barber is?
Hey, here’s something else that’s kind of cool…there aren’t too many motorcycles in this video, but it’s cool nonetheless…it’s the grand Silver Circle tour Susie and I took in the Z06 this weekend…1600 miles in 3 days…a real blast!
Good stuff coming up, folks, and we’re less than 2 weeks away from our CSC road trip through the mountains and along the Pacific Coast Highway!
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