CSC Blog

We’re heading south the third week in March, folks, and if you’re on a CSC RX3, you’re invited!   The RX3 is the perfect motorcycle for this kind of ride, and I  can promise you the trip of a lifetime!

I sent out the first email on this earlier today, so if you think you are on the list and you didn’t receive an email…well, you need to contact me to confirm a spot.   I might be able to squeeze one or two more folks in, so if you want to ride with us, it’s time to get your oar in the water!

We’ll see the whales and the Mission, we’ll ride some of the best moto roads in the world, we’ll dine on the best food in the world, and the tour will be the stuff legends are made of.    Are you in?

Let me know…shoot me an email at jberk@cscmotorcycles.com!

The suggestions for our photo caption contest (see the blog below) are pouring in, and some of them are humdingers.    I think we’ve had close to 50 submittals so far.  Who’d a thunk?

Another cool video came my way…I saw this video on YouTube yesterday.  The 1934 Chrysler Airflow sedan…it’s a delightfully retro video.   Check this out…

And what do you know, that icon of American automobile manufacturing, none other than General Motors, is going to import a made-in-China Buick SUV.   Buick sells well in China (so much so that GM opened a plant there several years ago), and there was an article in The Wall Street Journal this morning about their plans to build in China and export the Buick SUV to the US.   You can read that story here.

It will be interesting to see how this venture goes.   An American automobile, designed in the US, built in China, and then exported back to the US.   American and Japanese auto manufacturers have been building cars in China for years.   To my knowledge, this is the first time an American auto manufacturer is bringing a Chinese-built car to the US.  It will be interesting to see how this wave crashes on shore.  The times are changing, folks.

In a never-ending quest to bring new and exciting models to the North American market, CSC announced this morning that it is introducing the new RX3-U unicycle model in selected areas….

The new RX3-U model will offer a warranty twice as long as the conventional RX3’s 2-year warranty.  “There’s only half as many things that can go wrong,” explained Steve Seidner, CSC’s CEO and Chief Executive Officer, “so it makes sense to double the warranty.”

As CSC’s designated troll slayer and part-time test rider, I’m currently putting the new RX3-U model through its paces.  I’m finding it can literally turn on a dime and the lighting is superb, which are handy features to have when pursuing trolls as they race back under their bridges.  I can’t wait to take it to Baja.

So, by now, hopefully all of you realize that maybe I’m not being entirely serious here.  As we’ve mentioned before, Gerry and his folks work on all kinds of motorcycles, and the bike in the above photo came into the shop a day or so ago.    Not all of the bikes we see are as easy to work on as is the RX3.  I think the one in the photo above needed an oil change or something.

Nah, just pulling your leg, folks.   That bike above went down in a river crossing.  When I saw it this morning, Steve suggested I hop up on it for a photo.  What we are doing with that photo is running a caption contest.   Send your thoughts to me (jberk@cscmotorcycles.com) by this coming Monday, and the author of the winning entry gets a free signed copy of 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM.

Good sales are coming up for Black Friday on all kinds of RX3 and CSC Mustang parts and accessories.   We’re not joking about that.   The deals will be spectacular,  so keep an eye on our website!

2:30 in the morning here in California, and I’m wide awake.  It’s Veterans Day, one of the best days of the year for me.   Allow me to offer a special thank you to all of you vets out there who are reading this…you are the ones who make our way of life possible.

I’m going to have more fun than usual doing what I want to do this fine day.   I’ll be on the range playing with the Garand and the 1911s.   There’s just something right about doing that on Veterans Day.

I’m looking forward to the weekend, too.   We’re having another fun match…we’ll be punching holes in zombie targets with our Mosins, Mausers, Garands, and other milsurp rifles, and then repeating the process with the handguns.   I’m competing with my Mosin, which is an absolute hoot to shoot.  My lifelong buddy Paul, who designed the course of fire for this weekend, is rolling down from NorCal.   It’s going to be awesome.   The winner gets to buy lunch, and that’s usually at a Mexican restaurant I love.   I’ll be having toasted chile rellenos (my favorite).   Good times.   I can almost taste them now.

Speaking of Mexico, my good buddies J and David are in Baja as we speak.    I’m following their journey on Facebook, and (not surprisingly) it looks like they are having a blast.   More good times.  Baja…land of a thousand smells, a million memories waiting to be made, and the best motorcycle riding on the planet.  Interest in our next CSC Baja expedition is high…and for those of you who let me know that you want to join us in March, keep an eye on your inbox.   I’ll have a note to you this week about the ride.

We sure have a lot of irons in the fire at CSC.   The RX3, the bike that is causing the industry and the market to wake up.   The TT Special.  The RC3.  The RX3-P.  The International Motorcycle Shows.   Our Periscope broadcasts.   Wowee!

Interest in the TT Special is high, and the specs we published yesterday on it are getting a lot of attention.  EPA certification testing is progressing well with the TT, and folks, it’s a winner.   I really enjoy getting out on it.  It’s a completely different experience than the RX3.   Not better, not worse, but different.   And fun.

The RC3 is another bike that is generating a lot of excitement.  We’ll be publishing more on it in the near future.  What I can tell you about it now is that it is a gem.  Literally.  The fit and finish on this motorcycle are jewel-like in their precision and quality.   You’ll see.

The RX3-P, our police motorcycle, is beyond awesome.   Our RX3-P motorcycles are being built as we speak.   They’re magnificent.  I can’t wait for them to get here, and I know more than a few police departments feel the same way.

The RX3-P is a stunningly beautiful motorcycle, and it’s one that makes a lot of sense as a high performance law enforcement vehicle.  They’ll be a fifth the purchase price of a BMW or Harley police bike, and the maintenance costs will be less than a tenth of what it costs to keep the best from Bavaria or Milwaukee on the beat.

From a police department’s perspective, a police motorcycle has (until now) been an expensive proposition.  The currently available bikes cost about the same as a police car, but for existing police motorcycles, the maintenance costs are way higher.   The police go through clutches, brakes, and tires on their motorcycles much more frequently than they do with their cars, and getting those things replaced on a Beemer or a potato bike cost big bucks.   We’ve had a few keyboard commandos offer snide remarks (I know, I’m being redundant) about using a 250 for pursuit duty, but the fact is that police agencies don’t use motorcycles in that role.   They’ll break off the chase if a bad guy attempts to outrun them and call in a car or a helicopter.   The police motorcycle mission is different.   Police bikes provide a visible symbol of law enforcement presence offering superior first responder abilities, and the RX3-P will fill that mission supremely well at a fraction of what it costs to do so with a BMW or a Harley.   And as for that command presence thing….well, when you see an RX3-P in person (and you will), you’ll see what I mean.

The Long Beach International Motorcycle Show is the weekend after next.   We’ll be there.   If you’re in So Cal, you should be there, too.   You’ll see the TT Special, the RC3, and the RX3.   You can pick up a copy of 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM (which is doing very well…the book is getting a lot of compliments on Amazon).

Later, my friends.   Time to scarf up some ammo and start loading the Subie for that trip to the range…and once again, to all you vets, thanks for your service.

We have information for those of you who have been asking about the new CSC TT 250 specifications, and I thought I would share that info here with you.   Much of this is still preliminary, and we’re not ready to announce a TT Special price yet (but when we do, trust me on this, it will surprise you).  There will be an introductory offer (much as we did on the CSC RX3, and trust me on this, too…it’s a boat you won’t want to miss).  The warranty approach will be similar to the RX3 (the duration may differ; we’re working through that now).  There will be online maintenance tutorials, and we will provide a service manual with each bike (much the same as we did on the RX3).   In short, our approach to market will be about the same as the way we brought our very successful RX3 to you.

First, a series of photos of this great new motorcycle…

The TT Special…

The dash…note the lockable ignition key cover…

The left handlebar switchgear…we may change this later, but this is what it looks like on the certification bikes…

The right handlebar switchgear…with the save caveat as described above…

The toolkit in its compartment on the left rear frame…

The tire tread…

The passenger grab handle and muffler….

The carburetor….

The right engine case…

The rear disk brake…

The front disk brake…

The front headlight and bikini fairing…

So those are a few of the macro shots…and here are the specifications…

Bear in mind that any of these are subject to change at this point, and where we list TBD, that’s because it’s “to be determined.”  As always, it will be interesting to hear your opinions on all of the above as long as you’re not a troll.  If you have comments, please let us know.

So there you have it, my friends. The TT Special, while street and freeway legal, is much more offroad oriented than the RX3.  Yep, it has a taller saddle, but even a runty guy like me (with a 29-inch inseam) has no problems getting on and off this bike.  The much lighter weight makes it a joy to toss around in the dirt.  I’m going to tour on this bike (a trip on it to Baja is in my future). It doesn’t have the luggage, liquid cooling, and other amenities of the RX3, but it won’t cost as much as the RX3, either.   You know the RX3 has amazed people with its super-low $3,495 price…the TT Special will dazzle you even more when we announce its price.

That’s it for now, folks. I’ve got some exciting things coming up, including assembling new information about our exciting new RC3 sportsbike, getting more seat time on the TT Special, a Mosin-Nagant rifle match this weekend, updating you on the March Baja trip, and a whole lot more!

Ride safe and stay tuned!

I received a nice note from my good buddy Jay up in Washington last night…

Joe,

I just wanted to send you guys a quick email and a couple pictures of my delivery today! Everything went perfect with receiving the orange RX3. It wasn’t an hour after un boxing it that my buddy and I were cruising the country roads. It was raining and freezing cold in central Washington, but we didn’t care. Neither my buddy Bill or I had seen one in person, only read your book and read all the reviews and blogs online. We decided to go in half and half and buy one to see what we thought. That way if we didn’t like it or it didn’t fit right, we’d only be out $2000, not $4000.

I’m 6’2″ 200 lbs and I can honestly say, it fits me as good if not better than his V-strom. It’s just a fun bike to ride with plenty of power. All the extras and the free shipping is what had us sold on the one bike to start with without seeing one first. The only problem we have now is deciding what other color to buy and who gets to keep the orange one. Great stuff you guys do at CSC with the blogs and now the Periscope.

We both hope to meet you someday and who knows, maybe even take a ride with you and all the other RX3 riders out there. Thanks again for the great product. I’ll be signing up to get on the forums so I can share my experience with everyone else interested in this cool bike. 

Thanks again, 

Jay 

Jay, thanks for your note.   We’re glad you and your buddy are enjoying the RX3, and we’ve got another one here ready for you.   We could even send another orange one!

My good buddy Bob rode up from San Diego yesterday to help us with the first CSC Tech Day, and early this morning I found these cool photos from him in my email…

I used my iPhone for the Periscope app…whatever it sees is what gets broadcast to the world.  Cool stuff.

Thanks very much, Bob!   It was a good day and a lot of fun.

I had a great ride on the TT Special yesterday afternoon, and I’m going to hop on my RX3 in an hour for the 20-mile ride to the CSC plant.   My deprimed, resized, and trimmed 30 06 brass is kicking up a ruckus in the tumbler out in the garage (I’ll finish reloading it tonight and send some 173-grain full metal jacket Garand rounds downrange tomorrow).  I’m going through the TT Special photos I grabbed yesterday.  The aroma of a fresh pot of Colombian coffee is permeating my kitchen and I’ve got a tasty cup in front of me.   The ride next month in Colombia and the Periscope broadcast later this morning are on my mind…

Life is good, my friends.  See you on Periscope later this morning…

Hey, good stuff here, folks.   We’re now set up to broadcast on Periscope, and we’re going to do our first Periscope broadcast (on changing your chain) this Saturday.  It will be available worldwide.  If you want to watch it, allow me to walk you through what you have to do.

Go to your app store (on your iPhone or whatever device you’re using) and download the Periscope app.   I think you can do that on your computer, too.   Guys (and gals), I’m no expert on Periscope, and by tomorrow you’ll probably know more about this program than I do.

If you want to follow us, our Periscope name is CSC Motorcycles.   You can type that into the Periscope app to find us, and then tell the program you want to follow us.  You should do this today before I start the broadcast tomorrow.   I understand that if you miss the broadcast tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. (ant that’s Pacific Standard Time, folks), you have up to 24 hours to catch it as a replay (and then it’s gone forever).   We’re not going to put this stuff on as a permanent video, although we may opt to post a maintenance tutorial on this topic later (photos only; no videos on the maintenance tutorial).

Your other option, of course, is to come on over to the CSC plant tomorrow and watch the chain change in person, and maybe even throw a new chain on your RX3 in the process.   Either way, we’re good to go!

Folks, meet our good buddy Richard and his new RX3, a So Cal rider who is one happy camper…

Richard just picked up his beautiful white RX3 this afternoon.    Richard, ride safe and enjoy your new motorcycle!