CSC Blog

Our new aluminum headlight guards are in, and they sure do dress up an RX3 (and provide headlight protection).   I like this accessory a lot.  We have them in black and the brushed aluminum finish.  I’ve got the black one on my RX3.

The new headlight guards go for $119.95, and you can purchase them here.   We’ve got a bunch of other aluminum guard accessories for other parts of your RX3, too, including the rear master cylinder, radiator covers, rear caliper covers, and more.   It’s all on the CSC website at this location.

I had my old D200 Nikon out on Friday and I saw three RC3s lined up in red, white, and blue.   The fit and finish on the RC3 looks really good, and the bike is stunning in any of its colors.

My good buddy Sean, who organized the China tour this summer, rode his RC3 on a 10,000-kilometer ride through China earlier in the year.  Here’s a YouTube video from the Zongshen page about that ride…

As you know, I’ve been traveling a lot this summer, and that meant I wasn’t able to spend any time at the gun range.  Well, I took care of that problem yesterday.   My friends and I (including my good buddy Duane, another RX3 rider) spent the morning punching holes in paper.  I had my .45 auto.   I like the 1911 a lot and I guess my enthusiasm is contagious; two of the guys bought 1911s after trying mine (I am a bad influence, I guess).   It was a lot of fun.  I love the 1911 handgun.  I’ve been shooting the 1911 since 1973.  I believe it’s the perfect pistol.  It just feels right, it’s accurate, and it’s a classic design.

Speaking of classic firearms, when it comes to long guns, I am a big fan of the Ruger No. 1 single-shot rifle.   This is one I’m considering…

The Ruger No. 1 first hit the market in the late 1960s, and it is about as classy a rifle as ever existed.  It’s a real specialty item.  Today the craze is all about black plastic semi-automatic rifles with big magazines; but none of that nuttiness has ever appealed to me.   A single-shot rifle, on the other hand, gets my attention immediately.  They are just cool.   Not very many companies offer single-shot rifles.  It’s a limited market, but there’s just something inherently worthy about having to make that one shot count.   There’s only one other guy at my gun club who shoots one.  We laugh about the young guys with their Rambo guns and multi-round magazines who just don’t get it.

If a Ruger No. 1 has pretty wood and it is an interesting caliber, I’m an easy sell.  The one in the photos above scores on both counts.  You can see the wood is sweet, and the rifle is chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor.  The 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge was developed specifically as a target round, and it’s been catching on for the last few years.  It has the same trajectory as a .300 Winchester magnum but with substantially less recoil, and everything I’ve read about the Creedmoor says it is inherently accurate.  Hmmm, it sounds like I am talking myself into pulling the trigger on this one.   I’ll let you know.

That’s it for now, folks.   Monday is my day for running errands.  It’s time to fire up my RX3 and get out and about.

Oh, one other thing.  We’re growing, folks, and that’s creating opportunities within the CSC organization.  If you’re someone with a proven track record who wants to make your mark in the motorcycle world (in sales, parts and accessories, or as a service tech), send us your resume.   Shoot it in to info@cscmotorcycles.com.

That’s it for now.  Ride safe, my friends.

We’re looking forward to seeing you at the HU event in Mariposa.  It’s 22 to 25 September!   Show up on a CSC motorcycle and we’ll have a free T-shirt for you!

Good stuff, folks.  I’ve been signing copies of Riding China, Moto Colombia!, and 5000 Miles at 8000 RPM, and they are on their way to you.   You’ll enjoy reading the stories of our grand adventures; I sure enjoyed these awesome rides through the American West and Mexico’s Baja, Colombia’s Andes Mountains, and most recently, China!   Imagine that…5000 miles through the US, 4000 miles through Mexico, 2800 kilometers through Colombia, and 8800 kilometers through China…and all of it on the RX3 with no failures on any of these rides!

The big question now is:  What to do for an encore?  I’m working on that one, folks!

Hey, if we get enough guys, we’d like to do a TT250 ride this Saturday morning from the CSC plant.   It will be mostly asphalt, with a bit of dirt thrown in for good measure.   Are you in?  Drop us a line at info@cscmotorcycles.com if you’d like to come along, and I’ll send the details to you.

One of our favorite people is Colorado David…a real deal mechanical engineer and an RX3 rider extraordinaire.   You’ll remember David as one of the great folks who accompanied us on the second annual CSC Baja ride.   Here’s a cool note and some dynamite photos David sent to us!

Hey Joe,

I loved following the blog during the grand China tour.  Been doing a few moto adventures this summer on the RX3 and here are couple of pics from the Alpine Loop in southwestern CO.

David, it’s always great to hear from you.  Those photos are awesome!   Thanks very much for sending them to us.   I’m hoping you can ride with us on the next Baja run, my friend.  The riding in Colorado looks to be amazing.  I’m jealous!

I’m glad you enjoyed following the China adventure.  It was quite a ride and I’m missing my Chinese friends.   I was able to relive the ride putting the Riding China book together.   Good times, to be sure.  The RX3 motorcycle is an international phenomenon.   Mexico, China, Colombia, Turkey, and many other countries…the bike is gaining traction worldwide.   You, our fellow RX3 riders, and we at CSC knew the bike was a winner as soon as we saw it.   It’s been one hell of a ride, and it’s just getting started.

Check this out, folks!   I received this nice note from our good buddy Ray in the early hours this morning!

Hello Joe.  My name is Ray and I am from Texas.  I recently purchased an RX3 motorcycle and just wanted to say that the bike is fantastic!  I went on a 3000+ km trip with some strenuous riding like through the Chihuahuan desert and through mountain roads and the bike did absolutely wonderful.  Keep doing what you’re doing!

A short video of the ride on the RX3, if you have time.

Ray, your video is awesome!   We’re glad you are enjoying the bike and please stay in touch.   Thanks very much for the note and for the video; our readers will love it…I sure do!

Yep, we get paid for this…

Here’s my interview at the end of the trip…

The Chinese video guys interviewed us at the end of the China ride in Qingdao.   Here’s my good buddy Joe Gresh’s interview…

After 20.5 hours of traveling time spanning two days, it sure is good to be back home in California.   I had a good time in Turkey, but it seems like this summer has just been nonstop travel, with just a little more to come later this month at the Horizons Unlimited event in Mariposa.   CSC and yours truly will be there with demo bikes, and copies of 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM, Moto Colombia!, and Riding China.

Much of that nonstop travel found its way into print over the last year, as in nearly a thousand pages and close to a quarter of a million words in the three books you see above.   And this blog entry is the 1,912th one I’ve written on the CSC blog…but hey, who’s counting?

Turkey was great and I enjoyed my time there.  Security was tighter than usual, undoubtedly because of the situation in the Middle East and Turkey’s recent coup attempt, but it was not intrusive and it was actually less than I had anticipated.  I enjoyed meeting Burak, Caner, and Enes and seeing their RX3s (all three ride white bikes, and they explained to me that white is the fastest color).   I learned there’s a Turkish RX3 Facebook page, and it lit up with the photos of our dinner that evening.  It would be cool if we could do some kind of ride across Turkey, although I think I have done enough riding for a little while.  Nah, I was just kidding.  I’m going to fire up the RX3 and get out on it this afternoon.  The weather in So Cal is perfect for motorcycle riding today.

The only casualty of the China ride was the circular polarizer I use on a couple of my Nikon lenses.  It started getting these weird squiggly lines (I first noticed it in China) and then those lines continued to grow (and more of them appeared).   I took the polarizer to the camera store, and the camera store guy told Steve and me that the thing had fungus.   That’s the first time that’s ever happened to me, but it rained so often (and it was so hot and humid) in China I guess I should have known that was the problem.  But I was still surprised when I heard the diagnosis.  I tossed the polarizer and ordered a new one online while I was in Turkey, and it was waiting for me when I returned home last night.   I’m going to snap a few photos today to see how it works.

We’ve had more cool photos come to us from you (our readers and riders) in the last few days.  We love getting them, so please keep the photos and emails coming.  Our good buddy Gabe wrote to us with these cool photos of his customized TT250.   Check out the front fender Gabe installed on his bike…

The subject line in Gabe’s email was “I Love My TT250” and I thought that pretty much says it all.   We know the TT250 is a great bike, and it has been wonderful seeing how well it has been received here in America.   Steve and Maureen did a great job specifying the features CSC wanted on it.  I feel a little guilty I haven’t put that many miles on mine, but I just haven’t been home that much this summer.

We received a fresh batch of photos from Chuck and his wife showing sand dunes in Nevada, the Bonneville salt flats, and the Big Horn mountains.  You’ll remember that Chuck and his wife flew to California, bought two new RX3s, and rode their motorcycles across America to return to their home in Wisconsin.

More good inputs…our good buddy Reuben, who rode with us on the inaugural CSC Baja ride, is currently doing a Four Corners ride around the US.  I’ve been following Reuben’s adventures on his Facebook page.  Reuben is an awesome man, and his Four Corners photos and narrative have been a real treasure.

This thing we are doing (we being CSC and you, our riders) is magnificent.  The RX3 has been a worldwide success story, and Zonghen’s CG-based motorcycles are similarly found all over the globe.  Bringing the bikes to America and making high quality, right-sized, and affordable motorcycles available in this country has been an incredible ride for all of us.   We sure are having fun.

So that’s it for now, folks.   I’m still a little jet-lagged.  I think I’ll take a nap and then go for a ride.   I’ll talk to you later, my friends.