CSC Blog

The CSC TT250 has a cool ignition lock feature I’ve never encountered before.    It has a locking cover to protect to the ignition switch.

The ignition switch operates conventionally.  You insert the key into the ignition and turn it clockwise to turn on the motorcycle.

When you want to turn off the motorcycle, you turn the ignition switch counterclockwise.  If you wish to lock the forks, you turn the forks to the left, push the ignition key deeper into the switch, and turn it further counterclockwise to lock the forks.

After removing the key, you can manually operate the OPEN/SHUT lever.  Pushing the OPEN/SHUT lever from the OPEN to the SHUT position will mechanically actuate a door that closes, preventing access to the switch.

Note the cover that slid into place over the ignition switch.

You can use the motorcycle key to open the OPEN/SHUT mechanism to allow access to the switch.   The motorcycle key has a shape molded into the plastic fob.

Insert the molded key fob shape into the receptacle between the ignition switch and the OPEN/SHUT lever and turn it counterclockwise.   This will slide the ignition switch cover away from the switch opening, providing access to the switch.

Like I said, it’s a cool feature. It’s not a technological breakthrough and there’s no rocket science here; it’s just simple, and cool, and it provides a bit of added protection from the elements and the bad guys. I like it.

Even though it looks like rain is rolling in, I wanted to ride my motorcycle this afternoon….and I have an app for that…

I rode one of my favorite roads this afternoon…Glendora Ridge Road.  I had not been up there for a while and it felt good to ride it again.

There were some cool bikes up there today, including a white Triumph Speed Triple….

I’ve always thought the Speed Triple to be a beautiful motorcycle.  That white one above is a 2008; my lime green S-3 was a 2007.   Here’s a photo of it…

When I owned the Speed Triple, I was amazed at the power it had, but I always felt it wasn’t really usable power in the twisties.  I like a light and responsive bike, and that describes my RX3 perfectly.

Well, today, after stopping and chatting with the Triumph guy for a bit at the intersection of Glendora Ridge Road and Glendora Mountain Road, the white Triumph headed east and I followed.   He was hitting the corners pretty aggressively.   Hmmm, I thought.   I knew he would walk away from me on the straights, but I wondered…

The bottom line?  I’m not wondering now.   If there was any kind of a straight, that Triumph was gone.   But in the corners, he couldn’t shake me, and in fact, when the road stayed twisty, I gained.   That felt good.

That’s all for now, folks.   Stay tuned.   As always, more to follow…

Our good buddy Mt. Ranier Mark sent this nice note to Ryan with great photos of his RX3, and we thought we would share them with you:

Hello Ryan:

I just placed an order for a few parts and I then remembered the link to purchase Moto Colombia on the CSC blog.  I was wondering if you had copies of Joe’s book in your shop?  If you do could you please include one with my order and adjust the charge on my CC.  I really enjoyed 5K at 8K and look forward to reading Moto Colombia as the weather is changing and riding trips are in the works (the books are an inspiration).

I have included a few pictures of a fun little ride we took last weekend.  Mt Rainier is a short 150+ miles from my house and I have made that ride on every bike I have owned over the years.

Mark

Those are great photos, Mark, and we sure appreciate you sending them to us!  The area around Mt. Ranier is beautiful.  Sue and I did that drive in a rental car more than 20 years ago.  I’ve never ridden it on a motorcycle…but one of these days I will.   Thanks again for your kind words and for sharing your experiences with us.   You’ll enjoy Moto Colombia!  I had a lot of fun on the Colombia adventure and I had a lot of fun remembering it as I wrote the book.

I thought I would share with you a couple of the photos we’ll be boosting on Facebook in the next day or so.   It’s a chance to get a peek at the copper TT250, too!

You’ll remember John and Louis, about whom I wrote last Saturday here on the blog.   It seems they both put their RX3s to work immediately on  the ride home, and Louis sent this incredible photo to me…

Louis, thanks for sharing your photo with us!

More good stuff…I was out and and about over the last couple of days following up on the RX3-P police motorcycles.   We’ll be posting more about that in the near future, but for now, check this out…

More to follow, folks.   Stay tuned…

We had a great weekend and Monday looks like it’s going to be an equally great day.   The stock market is up (hey, the Dow broke 18,000 today!), it’s 90 degrees and sunny out here in So Cal this afternoon, and life is good.

We had a fantastic afternoon yesterday.   My good buddy Willie was the subject of a surprise birthday party yesterday (that’s Willie in the photo above in front of the Mulege mission), and Willie’s wife Dalia invited the folks who were on the CSC 2016 Baja run.   I partied with Willie, Sara, Fathi, and Doina yesterday, and we relived parts of the Baja adventure (you can see my Baja buddies in the two photos below).   It sure was a great party.  The stories get more interesting and we get to be faster and better riders each time we tell them!

I’m headed north on another secret mission for CSC tomorrow, so I may not get to post on the blog for a day or two.   Hey, I’m having fun, and you should, too!  The weather is great….get out there and ride!

You’ve probably already seen our good buddy Willie on the 2016 CSC Baja “Most Interesting Man in the World” video…

I was watching that video again this evening, and when it finished, this one followed…enjoy, my friends!

…of ADVPulse magazine’s Top 10 All-Time Lightest Adventure Bikes, that is.   It’s a cool read and a cool story.   You can read it here!

After my morning cup of coffee and a not-too-shabby spinach omelet this morning, I suited up for my Saturday morning ride to the plant.   I looked at the two bikes in the garage (my trusty Baja-blasting RX3 and my KLR), and I realized…I just don’t ever ride the KLR any more.   “Why am I keeping it?” I wondered, and I realized that was a good question….so I fired up the KLR, I rode it to the plant, and I asked Steve to sell it for me.

I had a lot of fun with the KLR, but the truth is the RX3 is just a much better motorcycle.  It handles better than the KLR, it’s lighter, it gets better fuel economy, and for me (to borrow a phrase from my good friend Melissa Pierson) it’s the perfect vehicle.

The KLR has been a good bike, and a few months ago, Gerry went through and did everything:  Valves (they were in spec), coolant, oil, fork oil, new chain, carburetor overhaul, and all the rest.   This KLR has the doo installed, the Kawi soft bags, it has good Shinko tires that Ryan sold to me, a good battery, and it looks about like a new KLR would look.   I’m the original owner (I bought it new in 2006 from my good buddy Art Wood at the local Kawi dealer), and the bike has never been down.  Ever.  Oh, yeah…it has 14,600 miles on the clock.   Just nicely broken in, as they say.

This is going to be interesting.  When the trolls come at us on the Internet knocking the RX3, one of the comments we sometimes hear is “but you could buy a good used KLR for what an RX3 costs.”

Well, boys, here’s your chance!

One of my good friends and colleagues at Cal Poly Pomona (Dr. Jawa) posted this photo of himself on Facebook earlier today…

Very cool.   And as the title says, don’t wait for the movie.   There was some discussion about making a movie with Warner Bros., but I wanted Matt Damon to play me.   The studio countered with Danny DeVito, and the discussions kind of fell apart after that.