A favorite ride…

This is a ride I had not ridden in a long time (as in roughly 50 years), but it was as good yesterday as it was back in the late ’60s and early ’70s.   It’s a run from central Jersey to New Hope, Pennsylvania, across the mighty Delaware River.   It was awesome…

Speeds tend to be a bit lower along these country roads, and as I passed through the bucolic New Jersey towns of Kingston, Rocky Hill, Hopewell, and Lambertville, I thought that my TT250 would have been perfect for this ride.  I never got above 55 mph, and that’s the TT250’s sweet spot.

The bridge across the might Delaware is one of those with a grated roadway that allows you to see the river below.  I photographed it extensively…

The bridge’s road surface is an iron grate.  It’s one of those deals where you can look down and see the river directly beneath you…

I stopped and at one point stood directly in the roadway (that’s how I got the two photos above), and then I heard this voice saying “Sir, you can’t stand in the roadway to photograph the bridge.”  I looked all around me and I couldn’t see anybody, until I finally noticed a little brick guardhouse kind of deal just behind me.  The police officer was standing on a platform several feet above me.  Oops!

Then I took a few photos from the walkway, including this panoramic shot I stitched together from several photos…

It’s a fascinating area.  It wasn’t too far from this very spot that George Washington had his headquarters, and it wasn’t too far from here that he crossed the Delaware.

The town of New Hope is a cool place.  It has lots of old buildings, lots of shops, a theatre, cool restaurants, a couple of interesting historic hotels, and more.  The last time I rode a motorcycle here I was still a teenager.

From time to time we’ve talked about organizing a ride along the lines of our Destinations Deal run (you know, all in the US) on the east coast, and the ride yesterday brought that together in my mind.  If you would like to do a CSC TT250 and RX3 ride retracing some of the key American Revolution spots (and maybe a bit of the Jersey shore), well hey, let me know and we’ll start setting it up.  It would be fun!

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Daytona 2018: More Races Than a Wheel Bearing Factory!

…and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the title of good buddy Joe Gresh’s latest story on Daytona, with writing and insights that only Joe can provide.   You can (and should) read it here!

Typical outstanding Joe Gresh photography, this time at Daytona. Great work, Joe!

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A cool video…

Yeah, I do stuff like this on my TT250 all the time…take a look at this video my goody buddy Burt sent…

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RX3 Police Motorcycles!

My good buddy Fan shared a few photographs with us showing the RX3-p motorcycle in police service.  The RX3 has been enthusiastically accepted as a police motorcycle in several countries, including, of course, China.   The photos below show commissioning ceremonies in Chongqing and Argentina.

The police version of the RX3 is quite a motorcycle, one we think is ideally suited for rural, off road, and urban police duty. We sell them, including special versions in matt black. Riding an RX3-P on the street is quite a rush. Traffic just seems to open up when you’re on a police motorcycle. It’s fun.

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A nice note from Dave…

You guys will remember our good buddy and RX3 rider Colorado Dave…

Dave is quite a guy.  He rode his RX3 from Colorado to Azusa for one of our Baja rides, rode the 2000 miles with us in Baja, and then rode back to Colorado.   Dave is not afraid to pile on the miles, and his RX3 is a bike that can handle it.

When Dave rode in Baja with us, I noticed that he had incorporated a number of interesting modifications to his RX3.  The latest is a new set of custom wheels.   Here’s the note Dave sent to me last week…

Hey Joe this has been on my to do list for quite some time. Anyway here is my RX3 with aluminum Warp 9 Wheels! I laced them up with spokes and hubs from OEM Wheels.

Those are awesome wheels, Dave, and thanks for sending the note and the photos to us! We greatly appreciate hearing from you.

Ride safe and ride often, my friend!

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…and another from Joaquin!

Good buddy Joaquin!

Wow, this is kind of funny.

We had floated the idea a few weeks ago of hosting guest blogs from others here on the CSC blog, and I did my best to push the idea with the folks we ride with and others.

Yesterday morning I woke up, wide awake, thinking about a rifle I was considering buying.   It was one of those mornings where I knew I would not fall asleep again, so I got up, made a pot of strong coffee, and started catching up on things.   One of those things was sending an email to Steve explaining that I didn’t think this guest blog thing would work out because I just wasn’t getting any traction with the idea.

No sooner had I sent that email to Steve yesterday when the guest blog from my good buddy Andrew Pain arrived (see below).   “Never mind,” said my next email to Steve.

So, this morning, what do you know, I have the great pleasure of sharing another with you.  This is from my good buddy Joaquin, who rode with us in Baja earlier this month.  Joaquin was invaluable on this trip.  He’s fluent in Spanish, he’s a great guy, he was fun to be with, and his family hosted a magnificent Mexican dinner for us along the Ruta del Vino between Ensenada and Tecate (you can see my blog about that here).

Here’s what Joaquin sent to us…

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Finally, the ride I was not able to do last year, due to my Mom passing.

This year I was ready for it. New friends, new outlook towards life and a celebration to an anniversary of my Mom wanting me to do this ride.

The mission in Loreto.

I had to give my best and I should enjoy it together with my new friends, the presence of my Mom and the best medicine for the daily stress: the RX3 aka “Shaman”.

The night before the ride I was sick, exhausted, we changed the rear tire, the chain, the battery and still was able to attend a family reunion. Excitement was rushing through me via a hurting head. I only slept 2 hours.

On the road in Baja!

Next day I was so nervous that we would ride all day until getting to the middle of a peninsula longer than Italy.

The ride is taking place; it’s a rushing feeling of sharing the true adventure with 8 other guys that barely knew each other, but we were already bonded by the spirit of adventure and the love for our motorcycles.

The Hotel Frances in Santa Rosalia.

Amnesia towards pain and worries was clear and evident; I was just enjoying the moment, living the now.

As the vista opens up towards the Sierra de la Asamblea, were the Cardon forest shows its majesty and after traveling for about 8 hours, I came to an awakening; a realistic notation of my physical condition; I could not believe what I felt: I was resting, instead of getting tired. The saddle of my Medicine Man (RX3), the smooth ride, the magnificent vistas, the camaraderie and the infinite guard of my Mom, made what was the rest of this great trip, organized by Joe Berk from CSC Motorcycles in Azusa, California.

It was definitely a spiritual ride.

Joaquin

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Joaquin, the writing and the artwork you sent to us are magnificent!  Please tell us the story behind the water color paintings; I know it’s going to be good.   Thanks very much for sending this to us.  I really enjoyed reading it and I know our readers will, too.

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A guest blog from Andrew Pain!

I didn’t always ride small bikes. I did start on a small bike (a 1980 Yamaha SR250). I think that isn’t uncommon – maybe it was more common in the early 90s when I finally started riding. Small bikes were a lot cheaper back then, anyway.

But I didn’t stay on a small bike. I moved on to larger and larger models, until I was riding around North American on an XS1100. It wasn’t new – I didn’t want to spend the money on a new bike – but I liked that it could go on the interstate for hours and hours without making me sore or tired as my little bike did.

I discovered endurance riding, and with my schedule as a paramedic I was given 5 days off every few weeks. Long ride out, long ride back, a few days to explore wherever I was. It seemed like a good deal. I had one XS1100 set up for long rides – upgraded seat, larger fuel tank, satellite radio – and I could ride it from gas stop to gas stop without needing to stop for anything.

When it was time for me to take a long trip – riding around North and South America for a year – you would think having a bike all set up like that would be the obvious choice. But, instead, when I left the empty house on a May morning, it was on a 1981 Yamaha SR250 (named “Curiosity”).

So, what happened?

Well, first, let’s talk about that endurance bike. I could ride for hours and hours without stopping. But I wanted to stop on this trip. I didn’t have anywhere to be, at least not on any real deadline. I needed the motorcycle to dictate the pace of my travel, since I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it myself. Not back then, anyway. On my XS1100 I would have been in Alaska in a few weeks, rather than a few months, and I would not have seen anything along the way. Yeah, I could say I’d been to Alaska, but this wasn’t about the accomplishment – this was about the trip.

So, I was on an old, small, bike which encouraged me to stop every hour or so to look around, stretch, and generally not ride. Over the next year the length of time between stops would vary, but I would never feel the need to keep moving. Never say to myself “I’ll come back and see that later,” wondering if I ever would, and knowing I probably wouldn’t. Later on, when I got to know the bike (and upgraded its seat when the foam finally gave out), I could ride out a whole tank of gas (175 miles or so) without stopping, but I rarely did. What was the point of travel (or life, for that matter) if you passed everything by?

Now, let’s talk a minute about actual bike size. Motorcycles are getting bigger and bigger all the time. In the early 90s, a thousand cc engine was HUGE. Now, it’s still usually called a big bike, but on the low side of things. 650s used to be big, now they’re mid-sized or even “small.” 250s were around for MSF courses and as dirt bikes, but that was about it, at least in the USA. Outside of the USA, 250s were still considered respectable sized motorcycles. Some places they are actually called large motorcycles, things people only dream of buying. And those “small” (and even smaller) motorcycles serve as serious workhorses for their owners, not weekend toys or things used when the weather is nice to save some money on gas.

While Texas admits it, most of the USA, and the American consumer, like things big. So, bigger engines, more power, more torque, are always welcomed and seem as positive improvements. At a motorcycle show in Chicago a few years ago, I overheard a Triumph salesperson talking someone up to the Explorer, commenting that “In dirt, you are really going to need that extra power.” It seemed to make perfect sense to the customer, who didn’t ask “why?” Or “how much more does it weigh?”

I remember when the RX3 coming to the USA was just leaving the “internet rumor” stage. Even back then, when there were three bikes in the country and no one posting in forums had ridden one, people were complaining about the engine size. “I’d buy one if it was a 400,” was common. In their defense, they really didn’t know the motorcycle and were speaking from the experience they had.

My Yamaha 250, the SR, wasn’t that common a bike in the USA. In other countries it was popular for quite a while, but it was only available two years here. So, most people haven’t heard of it, and don’t know it’s actually a Yamaha XT250, with a larger tank, better seat, street suspension, and higher gearing. This means it can actually go places, rather than being trailered to the woods somewhere, with much better speed and fuel range than any 250cc stock dirt bike. Even with 16 horsepower on a 30 year old engine, Curiosity can manage 70mph with me and luggage (though I usually cap at about 60 or so), and still have throttle left.

Most of those people complaining about the small engine were thinking of their dirt bikes – all torque and no speed. Or they were thinking of their big touring/adventure bikes, and how bigger had to be better. When the RX3 was finally available, I encouraged everyone who wanted to buy a motorcycle for travel to look at them. My wife and I each bought one, after she decided she wanted more power when riding two up with one of her girls on the back than we had with the aging SR250s.

That’s right. We travel on two RX3s, each with a girl (12 and 14, as I write this) on the back. Camping gear, clothes, and food stashed in the luggage. We had a close encounter with bear in Canada, and saw one of the most amazing rainbows ever. We hiked to Hidden Lake on Logan’s Pass off the Going To The Sun Highway, and smelled all the sulfur Yellowstone had to throw at us. We played in a water hose before riding Needles, dodged a hurricane in North Carolina, and tamed the dragon (with the 12 year old (10 at the time) asking “Can you go faster?” “This is as fast as I can safely go.” “Yeah, but can you go faster?”).

All on small bikes.

Now, I’ve always said I don’t care what people ride, so long as they are riding – going places and seeing things. If you are on the road, it shouldn’t matter what you are on. If you want to start traveling and need a bike – get a small one. It’s true you probably won’t set any speed records, but travel is about the times you stop, not the speed you get home.

If you just have an opinion without experience, I’ll listen but don’t expect me to give your words as much weight as, say Austin Vince (Filmmaker, RTW a couple times, Mondo Enduro and Terra Circa) “You will never wish your bike was bigger, or heavier.”

Andrew Pain is a motorcyclist, photographer, speaker, and author. Currently living in Wisconsin, he is planning a second ride up and down the Americas with his wife, and then heading off to some other continents. His newest book is titled Beginner to Overlander, available on Amazon, and you can follow his occasionally updated adventures at AndrewCPain.com.

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Andrew, your guest blog is awesome.   Thanks very much for sharing it with us.

My good buddies Andrew and Sue are pretty cool people.  I had corresponded with Andrew when we first became involved with the RX3 and I was impressed with his work.  Andrew has written a number of books on small motorcycles, and my recommendation is that you buy and read all of them.  I met Andrew in person at the Overland Expo two or three years ago (we called it the “Snowverland” Expo that year because of the weather), and I wrote about him on the CSC blog.  He’s a good guy.  Here’s a photo of Steve with Andrew at that cold and wet event…

And for everyone else out there…have you ever thought about writing a guest blog?  It could be a trip you’ve taken on your CSC motorcycle, your guidance on prepping for a long distance ride, something about a book you’ve written, what it’s like to participate on one of our group rides, or any other topic you think our readers would have an interest in.  There’s no guarantee we’ll publish it, but there’s a pretty good chance we will, and we’d sure love to hear from you!

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An interesting business model…

I saw this photo pop up in my Facebook feed this morning…

What caught my eye, of course, was that it’s a gorgeous blue CSC RX3, but I read a bit further and it was all about a story in ADVPulse, which was all about a motorcycle rental business called Riders Share.  The concept is that you can list your motorcycle and rent it.   That’s something new.  We’re not endorsing and we’re not against this service as we don’t know too much about it yet, but it seems interesting.   Nice looking bike in the photo, too!

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Soon to be purring again…

I had no sooner finished that last blog and used the phrase “purring again” when this came in over the LA Times news feed about another visitor right here in good old Azusa…

Resident had ‘staring contest’ with mountain lion roaming Azusa neighborhood

Residents in an Azusa neighborhood were told to stay indoors Monday morning after a mountain lion wandered into the area and prowled around several homes, police said.

The animal was first sighted before 7 a.m. in the 600 block of Virginia Ann Drive, where it jumped a residence’s wall and climbed into the backyard, said Azusa police Officer Mike Bires.

“We have the mountain lion contained to the rear of the residence and we do have [California Department of Fish and Wildlife wardens] on the way,” Bires said. “It’s just hanging out.”

Deborah Moore, 65, was among the first locals to see it. She was walking home from a neighbor’s house when she spotted it from across the street, standing on her front yard.

“I was stunned and amazed at the beauty. I didn’t feel scared, it didn’t seem like it was aggressive,” said Moore, who was returning from checking on her neighbor’s small Yorkie while she was out of town. “We just had a kind of staring contest and I didn’t want to take off and have it chase me or something.”

Moore said the mountain lion was the size of a small horse or pony. They broke their stare when an Azusa police officer drove up and told her to go inside. The mountain lion saw the officer and scampered into Moore’s backyard, where it hid in bushes and trees near her spa.

Police deployed a drone to monitor the cat’s movements, Bires said.

The mountain lion eventually hopped a fence and moved into a neighboring backyard, where it climbed a shed and hopped into the rear of another home.

The homes are next to a golf course in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

By 9:30 a.m., a warden with the Department of Fish and Wildlife had arrived and tranquilized the animal. Authorities then scooped it up and carried it to a truck, where they would check on it before releasing it back into the wild elsewhere, officials said.

And here’s a video telling the story…

 

This is pretty cool stuff. I’ve never seen a mountain lion other than in a zoo. They’re out there, though, and I guess I should be careful about saying I’ve never seen one in the wild. I used to say it all the time about bears here in So Cal, and then on one of our Saturday Dual Sports and Donuts rides in the San Gabriel Mountains behind the plant, a huge black bear walked onto the road right in front of us!

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Marty’s Yamaha…

I received a nice note from good buddy Marty this morning with a great photo of his Yamaha…it’s one I had featured several months ago on the blog…

Hey Joe,

I thought you might enjoy this photo of my 82 Yamaha XT250. You once got a shot of this bike when it was in your shop and put it on the blog. This photo was taken Sunday in Diamond Bar looking north toward the mountains above Upland. Hope you are doing well and I hope I can get out for your next Saturday ride.

Marty

I sent a note to Marty asking if I could use the photo on the blog, and he suggested what I might say.  I can’t say it any better than Marty did, folks!

Sure if you want to. The story could be “…found an old bike on Craigslist and brought it to Gerry to freshen it up. Now enjoying it regularly.”

Thanks for the photo and for your notes, Marty! And folks, if you have a classic motorcycle you’d like to get running again, or it just needs a little freshening up, please give us a call at 909 445 0900. Gerry will have it purring again for you!

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