CSC Blog

Just received this note from Alan Spears, who organized the Salton Sea TT…check this out, boys and girls!

Joe, 

Arlene turned in a stunning performance. 375 miles in 7 hrs. 50 min. for an average speed of 47.87! 

3rd Place Overall! 

She’s an awesome competitor and a gracious lady, ceding her 3rd place overall trophy to Ryan Jeffries (Genuine Scooter Company).  Ryan was leading the 175cc class in 3rd place overall.  About 8 miles from the finish, he suffered a catastrophic belt failure and slid approximately 180′ without crashing or getting run over by a tractor/trailer rig.

Alan 

Thanks for the note, Alan, and thanks for the great work you do in organizing these scooter events!  This is really fantastic stuff!

And Arlene…you are the real deal…a real Go Go rider!

Arlene Battishill, 3rd Place Overall in the 2011 Salton Sea TT!!!

Guys and gals, be sure to check out Go Go Gear’s line of motorcycle clothing…it’s Arlene’s company!

Hey, guys and gals…I just received a text message from my good buddy Tom M.   He just bought Mobil 10W-40 on sale at Autozone for $8 a quart.   Good stuff at a good price, and I’m just passing the word along to you.  

Thanks, Tom!

Remember, you don’t want to use this oil until you have about a thousand miles on your CSC motorcycle (it needs dino oil to break in properly).   And, you never want to use standard automotive oil (dino or synthetic) in your CSC motorcycle (or any other motorcycle with a wet clutch, as standard car oil with so called “friction inhibitors” can make the clutch slip).   But once you get 1000 miles on your California Scooter, I believe that Mobil 4T racing oil is the way to go.  It sure works well in my bike!

And I wish I was there…

You can follow Arlene’s tweets at http://twitter.com/lascootergirls, and Joel posted this photo on Facebook a few minutes ago…

Have a safe ride!

TK just forwarded this nice note from Fred, and I thought I’d share it with you… 

Hi T.K.: 

Haven’t written in a long time but I’m still here and riding with a smile on my face. Still read Joe’s blog daily and want to keep up with all the happenings at the scooter factory. 

Fred's Red Classic and Sheepskin Seat!

Now have 220 miles on it, made my first oil change and got the windshield installed. I was taken aback by how easy the windshield installed…..and can be taken off easily when I put it on the pickup rear carrier. Noticed immediately how much effect it had on the bike….I never thought is would make a lot of difference….but it does! I noticed I got “butt burn” from the seat (and I always do from any seat) and so I sent the seat to Hartco International and they made me a sheepskin cover. I had one of these on my 1990 Honda Pacific Coast and for 13 of the 14 years I road it…..and, it made the ride so much easier and I could last longer in the saddle. I chose the natural color as opposed to black as the lighter color is cooler and fades less. Got it back today and went for a 20 mile ride and it was wonderful. All the special Harley stuff you guys have been building all these years has really paid dividends in the super chrome parts that fit properly and the small things that make production easy…..not to mention ease of removal and reinstallation when things need adjustments. 

The bike was very stiff when I first got it and I felt like I only had about 6 hp. Now at 220 miles, I feel like I have nearly 11 hp and I’m sure at 600 miles I will have the full 13.3. I just can’t tell you how happy I am with my Red Classic California Scooter! Looking forward to joining you guys and gals for a scooter trip one of these days. 

Know you folks are getting busier now with summer approaching and lot of new dealers coming on line. Just wanted to say hi again T.K. and I’ll keep in touch from time to time. Say hi to Steve, Joe and Tony for me.  

Fred 

Thanks for taking the time to write to us, Fred.  Your sheepskin seat is cool.  I have a sheepskin cover on my KLR 650 seat and I know how much they can help.  On the long Baja trip, we left the seats stock…after about an hour in the saddle on the first day they were uncomfortable, but after that I guess I just got used to it because it didn’t bother me anymore.  Yours is very cool, though, and it may be a good idea for another CSC accessory.  

The bikes do get smoother and more powerful as they break in.  When you hit 1000 miles, you might use Mobil 4T synthetic oil instead of dino oil (you can buy it at any Triumph dealer).  It’s pricey at about $10 per quart (the good news is you only need one quart).   When I put Mobil 4T oil in my red Classic, the difference was very noticeable…more power, a smoother idle, and easier shifting.  Make sure you use the Mobil 4T motorcycle oil; Mobil 1 synthetic oil for cars won’t work in our motorcycles. 

Glad you are having fun, and again, thanks for writing, Fred!

Yep, it’s this weekend…the 396-mile Salton Sea Endurance TT!  We have two CSC-mounted riders in the mix…Arlene Battishill and Joel Walta.   I’ll let the pictures and MSILSF procedures do the talking on this one!

The Salton Sea TT poster...organized by MSILSF!

Arlene Battishill of Go Go Gear, in the wind in Mexico!

Joel's racing license and event passport

The Salton Sea Rally Protocol

Good luck and have a safe event, Arlene and Joel!

Dick Reier from Santa Rosa, California…now here’s an interesting man, folks!   Dick is another one of our new CSC Affiliates, and he’s quite a character.   I sure enjoy chatting with these fellows…I felt like I had a new friend 10 seconds into my conversation with Dick today.

Dick Reier and his California Scooter Classic!

No fish stories here, folks...Dick Reier is the real deal!

My first question was the same one I always ask CSC owners…and that’s why they decided to buy a California Scooter.   Dick had a quite a story to tell, and one that’s not too different from many others we’ve heard.  When Dick was a kid, the big guys all rode Mustangs, and as Dick explains it, those guys were the definition of cool.  “We all wanted to be like them, and we all wanted to ride a Mustang,” Dick said.  “They all wore t-shirts with cigarettes rolled up in the sleeves.  When they rode by us, we’d all run after them to get a better look at their bikes.   I remember being one of the kids running up the street when the guys on Mustangs were around …I wanted one bad.”

Dick’s been interested in cool vehicles all his life, and he’s owned some interesting scooters, including Doodle Bugs and others.   He likes anything with a motor, and he loves to go camping with his ‘70s-era Chevy pickup and camper.   Dick also has a 1954 Terry travel trailer he’s restored, and he gets out in it frequently.  It’s all interesting stuff. 

Dick does other cool things, too.  He surfs and he free dives for abalone up there in northern California, and he loves to fish.  He’s been in northern California all his life, and it sounds like he’s had a lot of fun. 

Dick's friend Lori loves the CSC Classic, too!

Dick joined the US Coast Guard right out of high school.  After serving in the military, Dick went on to continue his education, and he stayed in the northern California area.   He’s been a Nor Cal guy his entire life.

When I asked Dick about the kind of riding he likes to do, he told me all about northern California’s great roads.   I heard enough to know I need to get up there on my CSC motorcycle.  I told Dick we had to get together for a northern California ride, and he’s up for it.   Watch the blog, folks, because we’ll be planning something this summer…we’re thinking about a ride along the Trail of the Giants (the giant Sequoia trees), the Eel River, and the other jewels that comprise northern California.  It’s gonna be fun!

Dick, welcome to the California Scooter Affiliate program!  Ride safe, and I’ll be up there to cover some miles with you this summer!

Kenny Slimp's custom CSC Greaser

The response to our CSC Affiliate program has been wonderful, with numerous owners eager to show their bikes to interested riders signing up.  We’ll feature our new affiliates here on the blog periodically, and the first is our good friend Kenny Slimp from El Reno, Oklahoma.

I had a real nice conversation with Kenny earlier today, and I really enjoyed talking to him.  Kenny is one of the very few guys I know who’s been riding longer than me.  He’s been two-wheeling it for a cool 55 years!

Kenny told me that he bought his first bike when he was 13 years old (it was a 3.5 hp Allstate scooter that he used on his newspaper route).    Like a lot of us, he has some interesting stuff in his garage, too.  Kenny owns a stock 1958 Suzuki that he bought from his brother-in-law many years ago.  Yep, that’s right, a 1958 Suzuki.  It’s a  50cc bike with just 996 miles on the clock, and it still has the original tires.  Kenny’s Suzuki has to be one of the first bikes imported into the US by Suzuki.   Kenny also has a customized 2003 Honda Shadow.   Cool rides, Kenny…your CSC motorcycle will be in good company!

I asked Kenny what prompted him to buy a California Scooter.   Kenny told me that he saw his Greaser on display at a car show in Oklahoma and it stopped him in his tracks.   Kenny said he stared at it, walked away, and kept coming back…boy oh boy, do I know that feeling!  One of our dealers (Eddie Brown, in Cordell, Oklahoma) had brought a few California Scooters to the car show, and it was a good move. Kenny was hooked.

Dr. Ken and his Oklahoma Cruiser!

Take a hard look at some of the custom features on Kenny’s Greaser. In addition to a bunch of factory options, Kenny worked some real magic on his bike. I especially like the saddlebags…Kenny fabricated them from a pair of windshield storage bags intended for use on larger cruisers. There are lots of other custom touches on Kenneth’s Greaser….see if you can spot them all!

Kenny's California Scooter over the North Canadian River in Oklahoma

Kenny, thanks for buying a California Scooter, and thanks for joining our Affiliate Program!

I got into this video thing after a bit of encouragement from some good friends.   I resisted video at first because I thought it was silly (I considered myself a still photo purist).   I always sort of felt that you could convey a lot of cool information with a still image, and I’m a photography nut, so the whole video idea was lost on me.  

That changed big time when we did the Baja trip last September.  My good buddies John and Jay both had video camera capabilities built into their digital cameras.   When we got home and they downloaded their videos to my computer, I was blown away.  This was cool stuff.

The next day, I made a beeline to Costco and found a kid working there who seemed to know what he was talking about.  He steered me to the Flip video camera, and I bought one based on his advice.   The Flip was only $170 or so, it was compact, and I figured if I didn’t like it, Costco is cool about returns (they really are a  high quality outfit). 

To make a long story short, I am hooked on video and it’s capabilities.  It’s not immediately easy to use, and the game doesn’t end with just the purchase of the video camera.  If you want editing capabilities, you need to buy software (I bought Pinnacle’s Studio for about $90), and there’s  a learning curve associated with that (but it’s fun).   You can add music, insert still photos, make a video comprised entirely of still photos, string video segments together, change how the video transitions from one part to the next, and do all kinds of neat things.   When you finish making your movie, the next step is uploading it to YouTube (there are other online services like YouTube, but YouTube seems to be 800-lb gorilla in this game).  I’m just starting to scratch the surface of this video technology, and I’m having a lot of fun in the process.  My objective has been to learn one or two new things with each movie, and that approach seems to be working well.

So, what’s the call to action?  Here it is…post a YouTube with your CSC motorcycle, send the link to me (jberk@californiascooterco.com), and we’ll send you a CSC T-shirt when we post it here on the blog!  We really want to see what you are doing with your California Scooter!

In the meantime, I went through some of the videos we’ve seen with California Scooters, and I thought I’d post my favorites here for you!

Wow, there are just so many good things happening!  One of these is that we’re going to be at the Good Guys All American Get Together in Pleasanton, California, in a couple of weeks.  These are always great shows, and we always do well with the custom car crowd.   You might wonder why, and I’m happy to tell you…these are guys and gals who appreciate the best in custom vehicles, and our CSC motorcycles just fit right in.

Some folks like to leave their motorcycles in relatively stock form (hey, guilty as charged…my bike only has a few minor mods because, well, I fell in love with the way it came from the factory).   I added a windshield when I found out how much it increased the top end, I had the guys put the Greaser’s red wheels on it, and I added bags and a rack.  For me, it’s perfect as is…a tribute to classic American motorcycle style and the design genius that’s a natural part of the California Scooter Company.

But that’s just me.   Like they say, your mileage may vary…and for some of you, it sure does.  One of our newest dealers, Modesto HD, sent these photos to Steve and me today.   One word, folks….Wow!  Check out the custom work on Nino’s Greaser! 

Nino, that’s one of the most impressive bikes we’ve ever seen.  Nicely done! 

We had a lot of comments and emails on the last blog entry.   Seems like a lot of you guys like the colors on that Mustang Stallion going to our buddy William, and the excitement surrounding green and maroon as two new CSC motorcycle colors is very high.  

Well, our boys don’t sit still.   Check out these first shots of our new vintage green, grabber orange, and burgundy bikes…

We don’t have the new logos on these bikes yet, but we will soon, and we’ll have them with us at the Pleasanton Good Guys show.  In the meantime, take a look at our sneak peek video…

No, we’re not talking about a shipment that took 50 years…we’re talking about two kindred spirits 50 years apart shipping on the same day!

Our good buddy William in Kenilworth, Illinois, purchased a new CSC Classic from us (in my favorite color) AND a very slick Mustang from someone in our area.  Check this out!

William asked if we could arrange shipping both bikes from the CSC Motorcycles La Verne manufacturing facility, and we were happy to do so.  Both bikes left the plant this morning, so William, your new Classics are on their way to you!