CSC Blog

I suppose I should wait to see a black one…nah, it’s done.  I just changed my order to copper.  It’s stunning.  It’s almost a deep brown.  It’s mine…

Much more to follow, folks!

What a cool find this is!  Our good buddy Dan (who owns an RX3 and will soon be the new owner of a TT250) has a motorcycle travel site, and you can see it here!  Dan rode with us on the recent CSC Baja Run, he owns interesting motorcycles, and he’s a great guy.  I enjoyed reading about Dan’s travels, and I know you will, too!

5000 Miles at 8000 RPM.

Moto Colombia!

Whoa…how does Chinese Food for 3500 Miles sound for a working title of the next one?

More info to follow, folks, but it looks like this is how I’m going to be spending my summer vacation…

And here’s the bike I’ll be riding…

I know, I know…it ain’t easy being me!

Hey, the first shipment of TT250 motorcycles went on the truck today, and we should be receiving them tomorrow!  As always, more to follow…so stay tuned!

The first container of TT250s is due to arrive at the CSC plant on Friday!  More to follow in a subsequent blog, folks.   Please hold the phone calls and other inquiries (the guys are going to be very busy), but please call us if you want to order a new bike or any parts or accessories!

Rider magazine is wrapping up their test of the 2016 RX3, and they’ve posted about it on their Facebook page.  You can see their post here.

As usual, a few trolls are emerging from under their bridges.   Would you like to weigh in, too?   Let the folks know what you think of your RX3!

Gerry just finished servicing my RX3 and I rode over to Pepe’s for lunch.  The bike runs better than when it was new, and the tacos were amazing…

I was putting the finishing touches on the TT250 manual this morning, but it’s in the 80s here today and you can see what the weather is like.  Folks, I’m putting my computer away after this blog and heading for the San Gabriels!

Hey, the TT250 ship is in the harbor, and usually it’s only a day or two before they start unloading.   I don’t have confirmation yet that the unloading has started, but as soon as I get it, I’ll let you know.

Me…I’m outta here.   Time to ride!

Boy, are we embarrassed.   We posted a photo last year in one of our RX3 maintenance tutorials showing the oil/air separator, and the separator was shown upside down (it had been installed that way at the factory).

In a nutshell, here’s the deal:  The correct orientation of the oil/air separator is as you see it in the photo below:

There’s a little cap-like closure on the oil/air separator, and that should be on top as you see it in the photos above and below.  We’ve noticed people discussing this on the forums and we wanted to give clear guidance on the correct orientation.

The problem crept in with some of the oil/air separators installed upside down from the factory, including the ones on the three prototype RX3s we used for the maintenance tutorials (hence the incorrect photo I used in the maintenance tutorial).  As I discovered this weekend, the oil/air separator on my very own RX3 (from the first shipment) was also upside down.   Wow.  As Bud Abbott would say, “Who’s on first?”

There’s been an enormous amount of confusion on this, so Gerry and I cut a separator open yesterday to find out what’s going on inside.   Here’s what it looks like:

That cotton-like thingamajig on the inside is the actual separator.   It’s a thick mesh arrangement.  The idea is that air comes out of the crankcase heavily laden with atomized oil and fuel vapors (the fuel that sneaks down past the rings goes into vapor form as the engine heats up).    When this air exits the crankcase and enters the separator, it flows back to the engine intake (to the air box).  It has to go through the separator to get there, and when it does, the atomized oil is captured in that white mesh.  From there, it drips down into the drain tube (that’s the clear plastic tube with a plug on the end).   The air (stripped of most of the atomized oil) goes on to enter the airbox and get sucked back through the engine.

If you have the oil/air separator reversed (as originally shown in our maintenance tutorial photo), the vapors with atomized oil will go directly to the airbox, with less of the atomized oil being captured by the separator to subsequently go into the drain line.

The bikes are arriving with the oil/air separator in the correct orientation, but some folks think it’s upside down because of that earlier photo we used.   They’re turning it to the incorrect orientation.  Don’t do that.  If your oil/air separator is as shown here, leave it alone.   Our apologies for the confusion.  I’ll correct the maintenance tutorial photo this week.

Our service department works on all kinds of bikes, and with Gerry’s BMW background, we see Beemers in here all the time.   There were a couple in the shop this past weekend that caught my eye.   One was an 800cc twin that was exceptionally clean.   What caught my eye was the mileage…

I asked Gerry if the bike really had only 202 miles on it, and he smiled.

“No, it has 400,000 miles,” Gerry said.   “Take a look at that emblem on the rear fender…”

I have no doubt we’ll be seeing RX3s with those kinds of miles.   We’re going to take a look at awarding mileage buttons like the BMW boys do.  I think that’s a cool idea.

The next one was an older 900cc twin that just looked elegant.    Take a look and see if you agree…

I’m hoping to see my TT250 this week.   I know you are, too.

Today was a good day…I spent the morning at the plant polishing up the TT250 Service Manual after riding my RX3 20 miles in a gentle rain.   It was a cold and invigorating ride.  Good times.

I bought my Rx3 in so Gerry could change the oil, do the valves, and generally check things over…

Gerry told me he’s seeing some good results using 20W-50 oil instead of 10W-40, and that’s what went in my bike today.   I’ll let you know how it’s working out after I put a few miles on the bike.

While I was at the plant this morning, it sure was busy.   A fellow stopped in on a KLR and it was a good opportunity to shoot the TT250 next to it to give you a sense of the two bikes’ size…

Oh, hey, something else is cool.  Steve has been working on the TT250 accessories and I watched him checking out a new rack that bolts right up to the existing TT250 platform.   I really like it…

You can place your pre-order for that new aluminum rack now.   They’re going to sell for $79.95, and they’ll also be available in a black anodized finish.   I don’t know if the guys have them up on the website yet, but you can call us at 909 445 0900 on Tuesday to place your order.   Steve told me we’re going to set them up so you can buy the standard RX3 topcase and directly attach it.  My guess is we’ll have more cases available, too.   Keep an eye on the CSC website.

I’m excited about the TT250s coming in.   I’ve probably already told you about a thousand times I’m getting a black TT250.  You can bet I’ll be reporting their arrival here on the blog.  I’m already thinking through the next Baja adventure, and it’s going to be on my new TT250.   It’s going to be fun.

Oh, and one more thing.  There’s been a lot of buzz on the Internet about the rumored Zongshen 450 single.   Guys, that bike is not going to happen any time soon.   My guess is 2018 at the earliest, and that’s if everything goes smoothly.   I’ve ridden the prototype 450, and there’s still a lot of work left to do in finishing it.   We’ll bring the 450 to you when it becomes available, but I’m here to tell you this:  Ignore all the idle speculation and predictions on the forums.   It’s going to be at least a couple of years before the 450 is available.

That’s all for now, folks.  Stay tuned.