CSC Blog

The factory folks recently finished a heavily-accessorized candy-apple red CSC-250, and I thought I would grab a few shots and share this beauty with you.

Before I do, and while you’re wondering about that gray block on the right, let me tell you a bit about what I did here.   Modern digital cameras have the capability of adjusting the color for the light in which the photograph was taken.  It’s called white balance, and the idea is to select the right white balance so that the resulting photo most nearly matches what you actually saw when you took the photo (in particular, we’re talking about colors).    The camera has settings for sunlight, shade, incandescent lighting, flourescent lighting, or you can select “A” (for automatic) and the camera will sort of figure it all out.   Most of the time, I just leave the white balance adjustment on “A” (because I am absolutely lazy).

One time I was with a friend of mine in San Felipe on one of our motorcycle adventures during the Baja 1000.  There were lots of race cars in the hotel parking lot, and the parking lot had these high intensity sodium lights.   We tried to get some decent photos, but none of the white balance color settings on the Nikon resulted in a photo that matched what we were seeing.   The pictures all looked too orange.   The sodium lights were confusing the camera.  That’s when I remembered the custom white balance setting (I had learned about it in a Nikon course a few weeks earlier).

The deal works like this:   You turn the color balance setting to “Pre” (which I guess somehow means custom) and shoot a photo of a plain piece of white or gray paper.   The camera takes the photo and thinks deep thoughts about it, and then self-adjusts its internal thought process  to compensate for whatever lighting existed for the photo of the white or gray paper.   We tried that, and son of a gun, we got a great photo!

Okay, okay, I know…this is not a photography website.   The only reason I’m telling you this story is that I used that approach again this week and I shot a few photos of this awesome red CSC-250 that Lupe and crew assembled.   The factory is complicated from a lighting perspective…we’ve got sunlight, fluorescent lights, incandescent lights, and I suppose the natural glow of light reflected from my bald noggin.   So I dusted off the instructions on the custom white balance setting, shot that white piece of paper (that’s the gray image you see above), and wow!   The resulting photos exactly duplicate what the bike looks like!

So here you go…this custom red 250 has it all…chrome everywhere, custom exhaust, chromed aluminum billet wheels, LED turn signals, a rack, billet mirrors, and lots more.   Feast your eyes, boys and girls!

Good stuff, and good stuff to know.

It’s raining cats and dogs out here today…it sure was good timing to get our ride in with the boys from Motorcycle.com magazine yesterday!   Stay tuned for more on that story in the near future.

Ride safe, everyone.

What a day…another glorious adventure on the CSC Cyclone with the good folks from Motorcycle.com today, and what do you know…when I returned home a few minutes ago, our good buddy Rob Dabney from www.ADVPulse.com magazine sent a link to their new CSC Cyclone video!    Whoa…check this out, my friends…

You can read ADVPulse’s post with the video here, and you can read their stories on the Cyclone here, here, and here.    This bike is making news, folks!

My favorite quote from the latest ADVPulse story? Well, here you go…

While it couldn’t match the Kawasaki KLR650 in our acceleration test, it did a good job of out maneuvering it on the rocky dirt roads and twisty asphalt. What it lacked in power, it made up for in fun and we had a blast wringing out every ounce of its 24 horsepower.

With a $3,495 price tag, we were left impressed with the value it offers. Check out the full review of the Cyclone RX-3 here.

Our compliments to Jim Downs (who assembled this video) and to the entire crew at www.ADVPulse.com!

Sometimes living here in So Cal we forget just how blessed we are with our year-round riding weather.    Check out this note and letter we received this morning from Syracuse Lance…

Morning everyone,

Hope all is well for the CSC family there in sunny SoCal. Thanks for posting the photos and the nice compliments on my bike. It’s always nice to hear what others think of these unusual little beauties.

I’m sending one more just for fun because I don’t think you guys see to much of this. We got 2′ of the white stuff yesterday. Anyone up for a ride??? No joy in CNY. : (

Stay warm and Merry Christmas!

Lance

Thanks for your kind note and the photo, Lance.   Having grown up in New Jersey (well, I’m sort of grown up, I guess), I don’t miss that weather at all!

I’m here at the ranch waiting for FedEx to arrive with our passports and visas for the Chongqing adventure (they’re supposed to be here by 10:30), and then I’m doing a KLR speed run to the plant to meet with the boys from Motorcycle.com (an online motorcycle magazine doing a feature story on the CSC Cyclone).    We’re supposed to get rain today, and hopefully, we’ll get in a few miles on the Cyclone before it gets too wet.

Those of you who sent your CSC-150 and CSC-250 photos, they’ll be on the blog in the next few days…thanks again.

Watch for more photos, ride safe, and for all you folks where the white stuff is, stay warm!

And here’s yet another couple of great photos…this time from our good buddy Russ in Arkansas!

Steve:

Here we go…a neat swap…a Mustang P51 for the 150cc.  Easy and satisfying install.  (Yes, that is an airhorn on the front.) 

Well, they are both blue, but my preference by far is Lil’ Boy Blue for handling and just plain FUN!  In the twisties of NW Arkansas the 250 is the one to catch for sure!

Russ

Very cool, Russ!   A Mustang to match a Harley…and the colors work on both!   When I had my ’92 Softail, it was in Harley’s sapphire blue color.   I put the wide whitewalls on that bike and I really liked the look.   You’ve captured it nicely with your motorcycle.

I really like the colors on your jacket, too, Russ.   That hi-viz yellow is a good idea on a motorcycle jacket, and like you probably read below, I am considering getting a custom paint job on my new RX-3 in that color when it arrives.   We’ll see.   There’s a way to change the color in Photoshop and I’ll try to grab one of the blue RX-3 photos and see if I can learn how to do that.

Steve and my good buddy Tom wear hi-viz yellow jackets, and I keep repairing my old Olympia jacket because I like the color so much…

Thanks for sending your photos to us, Russ!   You have a beautiful bike.

And the rest of you folks out there, please keep the photos coming!

Hey, another great-looking bike, this time from Syracuse Lance in the Empire State!

Hello CSC people!

Everyone seems to like showing off their bikes from the right side so to catch the shiny exhaust. I figured I’d be a little different with both and show off LOTS of shine.

Hope you like it.

Syracuse Lance

Folks, check out these photos Lance sent to us…

Awesome photos, Lance…and we especially like the reflections emanating from the shiny spots in that second photo!    Well done, and thank you!

Folks, have you sent your motorcycle photo to us yet?   Eager blogistas want more!

Keep those photos coming, folks!   I’ve got a few more from our loyal modern Mustang riders, and I’ll be adding them in the near future.  We sure appreciate getting your photos, and for those of you who haven’t sent photos of your CSC-150 or CSC-250 to us, please do so!

Here’s the note that accompanied Duane’s motorcycle…

Joe,

Here’s a shot, enjoying my CSC.

I was enjoying a night ride on my CSC-250 on the famous Glendora Mountain Road, where the CSC’s driving lights come in handy!

Duane

That’s a great photo of a great bike on a great road, Duane…thanks very much for sending it to us.

Here’s another note from one of the guys who got on the boat…

Hi Joe,

Question for you and Steve:  While likely premature, I did want to inquire whether Zongshen had an overbore kit, higher flowing head and camshaft for the RX-3?  While I think 250cc is going to be great for 90% of my needs, considering my size and weight, I would love to be able to bump up HP and torque a bit (30 hp a bit too optimistic?)  I suspect a muffler change and improving intake air flow might help a bit with responsiveness.  Don’t get me wrong, I think the RX-3 is the perfect sized Adv Moto (and I can’t wait to take delivery of mine. in orange, of course!) but just wanted to see if options exist to eek out a bit more power on the same sized platform.

I also saw that Joe (and maybe Steve?) are firearm enthusiasts.  It would be fun to arrange a ride up to Burro Canyon (or an overnight BLM trip) that involved some range time, camping and riding.  Perhaps more interest from others when the bikes are delivered?

Thanks much to everyone at CSC for brining the RX-3 stateside!  As I said before. cannot wait to take delivery and ride!

Bob (“rtking” on the forums)

Bob:

Thanks for your note.

I’ll be in Chongqing for discussions with Zongshen later this month and we’ll be asking some of the same questions you are asking.   The RX-3 motorcycle has only been out for a short while, so the aftermarket has not caught up with it yet.   Zongshen has a rich racing heritage, though, and it may be that they are already working in the performance enhancement area.  In any event, I’ll know more when I meet with their engineers.

On a related note, I’ve pretty much moved away from any hot rodding on my motorcycles.   I’ve done that on a couple of street bikes I owned over the years, and I was never satisfied with the results.   To gain a little bit of extra power, it seemed like I had to give up low-end torque, fuel economy, and general streetability.

I once put an S&S engine in my Harley when its motor went south, and although I gained some top end and acceleration, the fuel economy went from about 45 mpg to 30 mpg (which was terrible; my Harley suddenly had a 120-mile range between fill-ups).    I put Jardine carbon fiber cans on my Triumph Speed Triple and had the engine remapped, and it lost quite a bit on the bottom end.   For my money, leaving the powertrain stock seems to work a lot better.

My Harley’s new 96-inch S&S engine…fuel economy dropped to 30 mpg

My Speed Triple…one of the best looking bikes I ever owned

In any event, any engine mods we offer will be fully vetted by us, and we’ll make sure the entire motorcycle works well as an integrated unit.    I’ll know more after my visit this month with Zongshen.

Regarding an overnight camping trip, that might be a possibility.   I thought I had my fill of sleeping on the ground in my Army days, but I’ve since been on a few hunting trips that required camping in some pretty remote areas…so it’s a possibility.   Let’s see if any other riders are interested and we’ll take it from there.   We’ll be staying in hotels on the Baja trip, but a lot of folks camp on those rides, too.

Like you, I am also getting the orange Cyclone.   All of the colors are nice.   I’m thinking of a custom paint job in hi-viz fluorescent yellow, which I think would look cool with black and orange pinstripes.   It would match my jacket.   We’ll see.  One of the really exciting things about introducing a new bike is what happens after the introduction, when we start seeing how our riders customize the bikes.   It’s going to be fun.

Thanks for taking the time to write to us, Bob.

Our good buddy James B from McAllen, Texas, won our “what record did we set” contest a short while ago by correctly pointing out that the record was this:   We posted more blog entries in November than we had ever done before!   The previous record was 40, and as soon as we topped 41 blogs in November we asked the contest question to you, our loyal readers.   We finished the month with 44 blogs in November, and as the guy who writes the blog, I can tell you that record is going to stand for awhile.

We sent a CSC T-shirt to James to thank him for his correct entry, and he responded with the photo you see to the right and this nice note:

Steve and Crew, 

The T-shirt you sent to me arrived today.  It fits well, and will get a lot of attention at the gym.  Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

James B, McAllen, TX 

James, it was our pleasure.   Thanks for your kind words, thanks for your winning entry, and thanks for being a loyal CSC fan!

Hey, Carol answered the call and sent us a photo of her nicely-accessorized CSC-150!   Check this out…

Thanks very much, Carol.  We and our readers love seeing these bikes.  And for you folks who aren’t seeing enough of these great new modern Mustangs, help us out!   Send us your photos!

You have to stand in awe for anything that is the absolute best in the world.   I’ve been a gearhead all my life, and although I never wanted one and I know I’ll never be able to afford one, I’ve always been intrigued by ultra high-end cars.   When I was a kid, I knew the names…Rolls Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati, and on it goes.

One of my very first jobs was working at a farm and garden center back in New Jersey, and the guy in the shop behind us had a business restoring Rolls Royces.   During my breaks, I’d go over there and look at the cars he was bringing back to concours condition.   The owner was a cool dude who saw my fascination and allowed me to take it all in.   I remember him telling me that a new Rolls sold for about $30,000 back then (that’s about the price of a nicely-equipped Toyota today).

After meeting my daughter and her husband for lunch in Pasadena yesterday, the ladies wanted to go clothes shopping, so my son-in-law and I did the same (but for far more interesting stuff).   We first went to a camera shop and we looked at the new Nikons.   Nice, but I just don’t feel like plunking down another $3K to $4K for a new camera.   My old D200 Nikon has been around the block a few times and she’s kind of beat up, but she’s still working just fine for what I do.   The new Nikons are nice, but a new one was not in the cards today.   Shoot, I could buy one of these for what one of those cameras cost…

From there, we rolled on over to Rusnak, a Pasadena new car dealer of super exotic stuff.   How exotic?   Well, let’s just say this $477,000 beauty, a new Rolls Royce Silver Spur, won’t be in my garage any time soon…

Here’s a similar Rolls, but with a fastback roof line…

A cool half-million bucks for each of those cars, folks…or stated differently, it would be this many CSC Cyclones…

Interesting stuff.

I’m off to send some lead downrange this morning with my shooting buddies, folks.

Ride safe and send us your photos!