CSC Blog

Saturday is our TT250 ride, folks, and I h0pe you’ll be able to join us.   We’re leaving the CSC plant at 9:00 a.m. sharp, and as I previously mentioned, we’ll have a few goodies on sale that day.  It’s going to be awesome riding in the San Gabriel Mountains along the route shown below.   There’s a chance there might be rain, but hey, if it rains, it rains.   The ride we have planned is some of the best riding on the planet, and I know what I’m talking about when I say that (having ridden in a more than a few places on this planet).  I ride a relaxed pace, folks, so if you’re worried about being able to keep up, well, don’t be.

Azusa Canyon, East Fork, Glendora Mountain, and Glendora Ridge Road…it just doesn’t get any better than this!

Please make sure you show up with your bike fully fueled (there are gas stations in either direction, but we’re not stopping for fuel after we leave the plant).   We’ll have coffee in the plant for you before we leave (and we may even have a donut or two).   There’s also a Starbuck’s directly across the street from us if your TT250 thinks it’s a GS.

I’m looking forward to Saturday.  It’s going to be fun.

I am getting more and more excited about the next Baja ride, which leaves on the 27th of October at 8:00 a.m. from the CSC plant in Azusa.   I’m delighted to mention that our two Colorado Dans are going with us, and Dan K wrote a note to me this morning with great questions.

Joe,

I saw your blog post about the Enduro bags. Looks like the solution I can use on my TT250, but before I order I just want to ask about the heat from the muffler.  Can those bags just be strapped on without regard to the muffler, or did you construct some sort of stand-off to keep them away? I can’t tell from the photos you posted.

Also, I definitely want (No, need) that 49 tooth rear sprocket you mentioned in another blog post. Can you tell me when they’ll be ready for sale?

Cheers,

Dan K.

Dan, I  didn’t use any standoff for the Wolfman bags, and in fact, on my bike, the muffler heat shield has been removed because I am using an aftermarket pipe.  I suppose it’s possible to add enough weight to cause a problem, but I think with normal loading you’ll be okay using the bags as is with no standoff.

Regarding the 49T sprocket, we have them on order.  I’ll know more when I get into the plant tomorrow and I’ll post something here about the sprockets’ expected arrival date.   Your conclusion is correct…for road work, that 17T/49T sprocket combo is the cat’s meow.  I expect we’ll have them in plenty of time for the Baja ride, but I’ll find out for sure tomorrow.

You all know how great our ride was in China.   Here’s the video Zongshen assembled for our trip.  You can see it by clicking here.

So I’m up here in San Carlos on yet another secret mission when I wandered into a clothing store (Sarrtori’s)  because I spotted something I knew was going to be special…

It’s a 1955 175cc 2-stroke Husqvarna Silver Pilen (or Silver Arrow, in English).   The bike was beautiful and I happened to have my D3300 with me.

I’m up this way on a fairly regular basis and I think I’m going to visit Sarrtori’s the next time I’m in town.  I had a nice conversation with the owner (Fredy) and he seems like the kind of guy I’d like to do business with.   He told me he’s going to have a couple of different bikes on display the next time I’m in town, and that all by itself is worth the ride up here!

Our good buddy Umut recently posted this photo of his club’s RX3s in Turkey…

As you know, Zongshen motorcycles (and in particular, the RX3) are now sold all over the world.    The RX3 is a worldwide and world class motorcycle!

And to my Turkish buddies…

Benim Türk arkadaşlar güvenli binmek!

The fork seals were leaking on my KLR 650, so I brought it into the shop and Gerry installed a new set.   He replaced the fork oil, too, and as a result the KLR handling is considerably better than it was.    As you know, we work on all motorcycles, so if you have a bike that requires the touch of real experts, please give us a call to schedule an appointment.

The KLR is still no RX3, but its handling is crisper, and that would not have happened without Gerry’s magic touch.   We see a lot of different bikes in here…Hondas, Kawis, Yamahas, Suzukis, Harleys, BMWs, you name it.  If you need your bike freshened up, please give us a call at 909 445 0900.

Wow!  I spotted this post on Facebook from our good buddy Joe Gresh, in which he mentioned that our good buddy Dong posted his video from our epic ride!

Our good buddy Dong in front of a Dave Mann poster in Jinin, China!

I don’t have the code to post the video directly (like I could with a YouTube video), but you can get to it with the following link…

Riding China (from Dong)!

Dong owns an RX3, and he rode one of the new RX1s on the China ride.   I really like Dong’s video because of the “on the road” segments….he captured a lot of what it was like riding in China.   This is great stuff, folks.   I miss those guys and I miss riding in China!

I liked my good buddy Joe Gresh’s China video so much I had to post it again.   You need to watch this one, folks!

Yep, that header above is not an exaggeration.  Gerry installed a 49T rear sprocket on my TT250 yesterday, and my reaction once I was on the road was indeed a hearty Wow!

Our TT250s come stock with a 17T/50T sprocket combination.  I know, we let a few of them get out of here with a 15T front sprocket (the 15T/50T combo is the way Zongshen shipped the first group of TT250s to us; that gear combo is for pulling stumps and climbing walls).   Our stock configuration is the 17T front sprocket with the 50T rear; that’s a good all-around approach for off-road and surface street riding.

We decided to try the rear sprocket with one less tooth (my bike’s current 17T/49T combination), and it completely changed the character of the motorcycle.   The bike pulls an indicated easy 70 mph on the freeway (indeed, on one slightly downhill stretch I saw an indicated 75 mph), and it is quite content cruising at 60 to 65 mph.  For the record, I weigh 180 lbs.  This 17T/49T sprocket setup is what I’m going to leave on my TT250.   It’s going to be perfect for the upcoming Baja run.  Oh, and one more thing…the 17T/49T combo works with the stock chain.

We’ll have the 49T sprockets available with spacers  in the very near future (the stock TT250 rear sprocket is an unusual dished arrangement, so you need the spacers).  If you want one, let us know.

A nice way to start my day…here’s another nice note and a couple of great RX3 photos from our good buddy Russ in New England…

Hi Joe!

Having A great time on my RX3.

I have a R1200GS and a KLR 650 both great bikes but the RX3 has proven that you don’t need big HP to have loads of fun when blasting around the hills of Western Massachusetts and Vermont.

Here is my bike posing for some pics.

By the way why don’t you guys do a ride out to New England so some of us East coast CSC motorcycle owners can hook up for a few days ride.

All the best,

Russ

Thanks for your note, Russ.   Your photos are outstanding and the idea of a New England ride is a great one.  I rode through your area on a CB750 trip from New Jersey to Montreal when I was in college, and I sure would like to do that again.  It’s a great idea.  Let me bounce it around with the folks here at CSC and we’ll see what emerges.

You know, a very large number of RX3 owners have several bikes, with the GS1200 being the one most commonly mentioned.   I once rode a GS and it is a great motorcycle.   I also still own my KLR 650 (it’s a cool bike, too), but I don’t think I’ve put 500 miles on it since I started riding my RX3.  You know how that goes.  I tried to sell the KLR and we even had it on the showroom floor here at CSC, but nobody opted for it over the RX3.   I decided to keep the KLR mostly because I couldn’t find anyone to buy it.

Great hearing from you, Russ, and thanks for the recommendation for a New England ride.   We’ll give it serious consideration!