CSC Blog

Wowee…that first CSC250CR video has had over a thousand views within the first 11 hours of my posting it this morning.  It will be interesting to see how it fares over the rest of the weekend, especially considering that Sunday is typically a peak Internet traffic day.   It’s quite a response, and there are more than a few things that I find extremely interesting about all of this:

• The first is that there is a market for a simple, reasonably-priced, 250cc motorcycle.  We proved it with the RX3, we proved it again with the even-lower-priced TT250, and we’re about to prove it again with the Café Racer.
• Our riders and our followers like to be involved in what we do.  We’ve asked for and received lots of suggestions on Café Racer color schemes and accessories.   All of your ideas are receiving serious consideration.  We greatly appreciate your inputs.
• There’s been a complete absence of the kind of anti-China comments we heard when we introduced the RX3.  Wow, a lot sure has changed in just two years.   With the help of our riders and our fans, we’ve collectively changed that mindset.  That’s a good feeling.

Okay, on to Topic 2.  I had a quick trip to the east coast this past week.  I actually enjoy flying (although I think I’m going to steer clear of United in the future, mostly because I value my front teeth and my magnificent nose).   I like flying because it’s a chance to catch up on my reading.   People ask how I can tolerate being cramped in a tiny airplane seat for 5 or 6 hours.  Hey, give me a good book and a few hours away from cellphones and computers and I love it.   And after the 14-, 15-, and sometimes 17-hour flights I make to Asia, the Middle East, and other places, a flight to New Jersey almost seems like it’s over before it starts.

So I had my quick-turn trip to New Jersey last week and on the way back I picked up a copy of The Lost City of Z in Newark Airport.  Newark Airport:  It’s an airport that brings President Trump’s comments about our deteriorating infrastructure to mind.  He said our airports are third world.  I’ve traveled in the third world, and I can tell you that most third world airports are a big step up from good old EWR.  It’s absolutely the worst-laid-out airport I’ve ever transited.

So why I am mentioning The Lost City of Z?   It was a great read…real Indiana Jones stuff, and I read the entire book on that flight home.  I couldn’t put it down, actually, and I didn’t until I reached the last page (which happened just a few minutes before landing in California).

I just saw a commercial for the movie based on this book.  The movie is due to be released on the 22nd of this month and you can bet I’ll see it.   But don’t wait for the movie…read the book.   If you enjoy a great adventure story (a true one, by the way), The Lost City of Z is one you’ll want to pick up.

And the ride goes on!

Continuing the ride…

Well, I’m glad you asked…

I had a lot of fun on the CSC 250 Café Racer prototype yesterday.   Here’s more info on this exciting new bike.

I shot a couple of hours of Café Racer video up in the mountains yesterday, and I’ll be posting more of that later this weekend.

Folks, this is a very cool bike.   We’ll be announcing the price and how to get on board with your order in a few more days.   You’ll love it!

My good buddy Matt was one of the guys who rode with us in Baja last month, and he just  posted his awesome whale-watching video.  Enjoy, my friends!

Well, not that Willie G, but a William G. nonetheless.

This was waiting in my email earlier today…

Joe,

You don’t just drop a cafe racer on us and disappear to Baja and gun ranges for the next three weeks. Come on man!!! LOL 😉

William G

Harley’s Café Racer

Yeah, I guess that’s pretty much exactly what I did, although there was a quick trip to the east coast a few days ago thrown in there, too.   Okay, guilty as charged.

I’ll fix it, Willie.  I’ve got my GoPro charged up and I’m going for a ride in the mountains on the Café Racer tomorrow.  Our Café Racer, that is…the super light 125 motorcycle that we had Zongshen fit with the TT250’s engine.  It’s the motorcycle that’s posing with the BSA M21 in the photo below…

Say, wasn’t it Willie G who created the Harley Café Racer back in 1978?

As always, keep an eye on the blog…

I had the big Nikon out this morning (the D810, which has about a zillion pixels and low light level capabilities that are beyond amazing) and I snapped a few photos in and around the shop featuring some of the interesting motorcycles in for service and for sale.   Take a look…

We get all kinds of motorcycles in for service, including tons of BMWs (Gerry has quite a following in the BMW camp) and Harleys (Wade is the draw there), as well as vintage Japanese and European machinery.   We get a lot of bikes in as trades and on consignment, too, including several Harleys currently in stock.  We also see more than a few modern Japanese bikes for maintenance and as trades.  We’re busy now with the riding season in full tilt and the most recent shipment of RX3s, but our turnaround time for service is still very quick.   Stop by the next time you’re in Azusa; there are always cool bikes to see!

That’s David in the photo above (along with Jerry).   David brought his TT in for service, and immediately after the above photo was taken, he was literally heading for the hills.   Those hills would, of course, be the San Gabriel Mountains.   David loves riding his TT250 along our favorite roads…Azusa Canyon, the East Fork Road, Glendora Mountain Road, and Glendora Ridge Road.  The weather out here today is perfect…slightly overcast and a comfortable 65 degrees.   I might get out there later today, too.

…die hard, as they say, and I think I am probably living proof of that.   I am at a point in life that I could afford to buy factory ammo, but I just can’t leave brass laying around at the range.  I think it is actually cheaper to buy new factory-loaded 9mm ammo (at least when it goes on sale) than it is to reload it, but I still roll my own 9mm and I still pick up my brass when I’m finished shooting.  It’s what I learned as a kid, it’s what they trained us to do on the range when I was in the Army, and it’s what I still do when I get out to the range.   It’s a habit.

When I see brass laying around on the ground that other shooters don’t want, I scoop that up, too.  It’s just seems wasteful to leave it there.  The bottom line is that I probably have enough 9mm brass stashed in my reloading room to start a candelabra factory, but I’ll still keep picking it up.   I can’t buy 9mm ammo that is as accurate as the stuff I load (and in case you’re wondering, that’s a 125 gr cast roundnose bullet with 5.0 grains of Unique).  To me, the mark of a good day at the range is leaving with more brass than I had when I arrived, and I have a lot of good days at the range.