CSC Blog

So here we are, the afternoon before our departure for Baja.   The guys who are riding with us are filtering in from Colorado, Iowa, northern California, Nevada, and elsewhere.   It’s cool.   It may literally be the calm before the storm, as we’re due for some rain tomorrow (I’m betting we’ll miss it, but we’ll see).   We always have a dinner the night before, and we always have a pre-ride briefing with dinner.   You know, there’s a lot that’s involved in getting a group of guys all pointed in the same direction and having a safe international multi-day motorcycle ride.   A big part of it is the pre-ride briefing.  We’ve been doing this for three years now, and I thought I might share that briefing with those of you who aren’t traveling with us…

So that’s it, folks.  Keep an eye on the blog (we’ll be posting daily), and you’ll keep up with one hell of a motorcycle ride!

You guys and gals have heard me talk about TK before, a good friend here at CSC.  TK and I go back about 9 years, ever since I became associated with the company.   We’ve covered a lot of miles together, including a 400-mile, 1-day circumnavigation of Death Valley on the CSC 150 scooters during the Hell’s Loop Rally (you can read that story here).   People sometimes ask what TK stands for, and the story I hear is that it’s “Tommy Knives.”   I don’t know if that’s true, but what is true is TK is a serious knife collector, and he has some incredibly beautiful ones.  He showed me his latest acquisition on Monday, along with an earlier personal letter from Ed Fowler, the knifemaker and author….

The knife you see in the photo above is an original Ed Fowler knife, and to give you an idea of what these custom creations sell for, I’ll tell you that a Fowler knife is in the same range as a new RX3 motorcycle.  Yep, these knives are the real deal, folks.

It’s a beautiful knife, TK, and thanks for sharing the photos with us here on the CSC blog.

We leave for Baja in less than 48 hours, and I am looking forward to the trip.  The forecast is for rain on the first day or two.  Hey, that’s not a big deal for me.   In fact, on one of my very first Baja rides, Welker and I rode into Baja during one of the El Nino storms.   A good 30% of the China ride was done in the rain.  Like I said, no big deal.

I put a lot of miles on my RX3 this week, partly just to make sure everything is in working order, and partly because the weather was too nice not to ride.  I grabbed this photo by the Wigwam Motel on Route 66 a little bit west of San Bernardino…and then I changed it to black and white because I like the way it looks.

We’re having our safety briefing and dinner tomorrow night, and then Saturday morning we are pointing the bikes south.  It’s going to be grand!

I grabbed three photos a few minutes ago of our TT250 colors…

I asked Steve if we had any special names for the TT250 colors, you know, like Bonneville Salt White Diamond or something like that (I saw a bike at a dealer this weekend in that color).

“White, black, and copper,” Steve said.

Got it.

I think all of the TT250 colors look good.  My personal TT250 is black, and I love it.  White is probably our biggest seller.   The copper is stunning.   They all look great.

It was a Monday, CSC was closed for the day, and TK and I decided to send a little lead downrange this morning at the West End Gun Club…

If you’ve ever called into CSC, it may well have been TK who answered the phone.   TK is one of our ace sales and parts guys, and like all of us, he’s a rider.  He has a beautiful custom Harley and a beautiful blue RX3.   Funny thing about that…many of our RX3 riders own multiple bikes.

TK is a naturally good marksman, and he was shooting nice tight little groups with his Mini 14 this morning (even in today’s blustery weather).  We’re still having unusually cold temps (unusual for us, anyway), but we had a good time on the rifle range this morning.   We had a great breakfast at the Red Hill Café after (hot black coffee and their signature omelettes), and we called it a wrap.

I put a hundred miles on my RX3 this afternoon, just tooling around and making sure everything is working for Baja.   It’s going to be a grand trip.

Good times, folks.

It’s a brisk 40 degrees out there this morning, and I thought I would have a second cup of coffee, read the Sunday papers while enjoying my wild boar chili breakfast, and wait for things to warm up just a bit before firing up the RX3.  For a lot of you, 40 degrees might sound like warm weather.  I’m a So Cal boy, though, and to me, that’s cold!

Wild boar sirloins sliced thin, an Ortega chile pepper, a chopped onion, diced tomatoes, black beans, garlic, cumin, and a bit of grated cheddar, along with a strong cup of black coffee…it’s a great way to start the day.

I grabbed a few more photos yesterday, and I thought I would share them with you before I get out on the road this morning.  One is a really cool classic boxer twin Gerry’s guys are servicing…

I love those old classic Beemers, and this one looked even better under the shop’s fluorescent lights.  One of these days I think I’m going to have to get a vintage bike.  Or, maybe I’ll just keep riding the RX3 for another 30 years and it will become one.  We’ll see.

Hey, two more photos of the 2018 TT250 before I suit up.  The new digital speedo and tachometer cluster really look good…

That’s it for now, folks.   I know I’m not heading into the mountains today because it will be icy up there.   But even down in the flatlands, it will still be a great ride.  I think I’ll head over toward Redlands.   That’s a nice ride.

Baja, as you know, is just six days away.   I’m ready to go.   Stay with us here on the blog; we’ll have plenty of good Baja stuff coming your way…

Folks, check this out…

That’s Mellody, Will, and Lance, and the smiles are real.  They drove down to the CSC plant to pick up their two new TT250s this morning (one for Lance and the other for my young buddy Will), and they are savoring the experience.   We had a great conversation about the TT250 motorcycle, and it’s highly likely you’ll be seeing Will and Lance on our next TT250 Baja ride.   Will has plans for adding red-powder-coated accents to his bike, and (as you might guess), I told them they chose wisely…black is the fastest color!

After taking possession of my RX3 in 2015 and racking up roughly 20,000 miles on that great motorcycle, the stock seat was feeling a little ragged.   Foam degrades over time, and the foam in my stock seat has taken a beating over the last few years.  Three or four trips through Baja, the 5000-mile Western America Adventure Ride, our monthly Dual Sports and Donuts rides, me just tooling around, and more…it all adds up.   Some of you folks might ask about the circumnavigation of the Andes Mountains in Colombia with my good buddies Carlos and Juan and the ride across China with Joe Gresh and the rest of the great crew over there (Sergeant Zuo, King Kong, and the guys), but those were on borrowed RX3s provided by the folks who invited me.   My personal bike, though, has plenty of miles on it, and like I said, it was time for a new seat.

After talking to Steve, I opted to go with our optional Seat Concepts tall seat (you can see our Internet description of it here).   It was a cold and wet ride in to the CSC plant this morning, but all I can say is Wow!   Folks, this seat really makes a difference!   The guys put my sheepskin cover on over my new seat (it’s in the photo above and on the CSC website), and between the two of these accessories, the riding experience on my RX3 took a sharp turn toward comfort.   It’s a night and day difference, and I’m glad Steve and the guys put that new seat on my bike.  I love it!