CSC Blog

Yesterday morning I went for a ride on Glendora Ridge road with my good buddy Marty.   Marty has a superbike…a BMW K1300S…

I took my KLR instead of either the RX3 or the TT250, mostly because I haven’t ridden the KLR in months and I wanted to color match Marty’s bike.   Nah, I’m just kidding about that color thing.   Truth be told, I like the handling of my two CSC bikes much better than the KLR.  But, I still enjoy riding the beast…and it is running better than it ever has!

I was really surprised at how top heavy the KLR felt yesterday.  I guess I’m just used to more nimble bikes like the TT250 (the air-cooled TT250 is incredibly light to the touch…you just think where you want to go, and the TT250 is there).    Don’t get me wrong; I still enjoy riding the KLR (especially after Gerry made it a new bike again for me).  It’s just that the RX3 and the TT250 are so much better motorcycles.  And a note to all of you guys out there who ride KLRs…if you want to get your Kawi purring better than it did when it was new, Gerry is your guy.   He went through my bike and touched everything, including:

• Cleaning and adjusting the carb.
• Installing a new air filter.
• Installing a new battery.
• Changing the oil and the filter.
• Flushing the radiator.
• Replacing the fork oil.
• Replacing the brake fluid front and rear.
• Adjusting the clutch.
• Checking and tightening the spokes.
• Installing new fork seals.
• Fixing and remounting the windshield (the KLR cracks windshields on a regular basis due to its high vibration levels).
• Installing a new chain.
• Adjusting the valves (actually, Gerry just checked my valves; they were still in spec).

I probably missed a few things in the above list, but you get the idea.  The bike runs extremely well now.

When we were about halfway through our ride in yesterday morning’s crisp and cool mountain air, we stopped for the photos you see above at the intersection of Glendora Mountain Road and the East Fork Road, and to my surprise another guy on an RX3 rode by.  It was my good buddy Mike, who was out doing the same thing we were…

Mike has over 16,000 miles on his RX3.  He’s done that in just a little over a year.  In contrast, I have just under 15,000 miles on the KLR and I took 11 years to do it.    And for those of you who are wondering, I have about 12,000 miles on my RX3 (and maybe another 12,000 on other RX3s, like the ones I rode in Colombia and China).

That’s it for now, although I may post another blog later today.   There’s a lot happening around here.  I’m wrapping up an article on the China trip for one of the motorcycle magazines, and I’ve got another cool topic to tell you about in the next blog.   The writing thing is a hobby for me, and there is a lot more to it than just sitting down and banging out stuff on the keyboard.  Writing is both a joy and a burden…I love the writing, but I hate it when I’m not happy with what I write (which is what always happens with the first draft of anything).

There’s an old saying in the keyboard-punching business:  There are no good writers; there are only good rewriters.  I sure agree with that.  I don’t write anything without rewriting it multiple times, including every one of these blogs.  I always worry if I am clearly stating the message I want to communicate, if the writing flows, if the paragraphs make sense, if I screwed up the spelling anywhere, and on and on it goes.   When I do the “Destinations” pieces for Motorcycle Classics, they are only about 600 words, but I put an enormous amount of time into those 600 words.   And then there’s the actual visits to the places I write about and the photography.  I’ll send the magazine the 15 or 20 photos I like best, knowing that they are only going to use two.   It’s always fun to guess which two photos my good buddy Landon at MC will select.   I’ve been doing it long enough that I can usually nail which ones he’ll pick.  The latest issue of MC (the one hitting the stands now) has my story on the Naval Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon (one of our stops on the 5,000-mile Western America Adventure Ride), and the next issue will have my story on…well, you’ll have to buy the magazine to read all about it!

This writing and rewriting business is the same with the magazine article I’m doing right now on the China trip.  It’s only 2,000 words, but I’ve spent several weeks trying to select the perfect 2,000 words.   And I took about 7,000 photos during my 40 days in China.  I’ll pick the best of those and give the magazine maybe a hundred to pick from.   The photos help, but the real story will be the article.   We’ll see if the editor likes it.  I will when I’m done with it, but it’s not my vote that counts.

So I got off track for a bit and I didn’t mention the most important development of our ride yesterday.   After our morning ride, Marty and I stopped at the CSC plant, and there’s exciting news there:  We’re going racing!  Yep, we are, but you’ll have to wait just a bit to read about it.  Stay tuned, and I’ll tell you about that in the next blog!

…has already started at CSC.   Everything (other than the motorcycles) is on sale at a 20% to 60% discount!    That’s either in person or online, so don’t let these deals get away.  Helmets, luggage, jackets, fluids, tires, accessories, parts, books…you name it, and it’s been steeply discounted for our Black Friday sale!  Even yours truly picked up a helmet (a cool neon green number you’ll see in future blog photos), as the Black Friday sale knocked the price to something even lower than my “official CSC blogger” discount!

Don’t let this one get away from you, folks!

I love vintage bikes, and coming back from the rifle range today, I spotted this beautiful machine on the 210 freeway. It’s a vintage 1976 Honda Gold Wing (one of the very first), it appeared to be all original, and it was loaded for serious travel.

The bike had an out-of-state plate. I was in my Subie and the Gold Wing was gone in an instant, which was too bad. I would have enjoyed learning more about it.

Is not always where the squeak is coming from….on those rare occasions when you have a squeak…

This is cool stuff…I write for Motorcycle Classics magazine and as you might imagine I follow what they do fairly closely.   MC is a great moto mag (the best, in my opinion), and their CB350 project has been nothing short of amazing.  Richard Backus is the editor and he’s a cool guy.

I spent the morning at the gun club yesterday sending .45 ACP, 9mm, and 7.62X54R ammo downrange and it was fun.   There was an older fellow there shooting cast bullets from a .30 06 vintage Model 721 Remington (a seldom seen rifle that is the predecessor to the Model 700).  We had a nice conversation.   My new friend Guy is 84  years young and he loves getting out to the rifle range.  I know that feeling!

A 74-year-old Mosin-Nagant that shoots well…cheap fun!

I’m headed over to the CSC plant a bit later this morning.  Steve ordered a new helmet for me and I’m eager to check it out.

Today I tried something new…an external microphone on my GoPro camera. Steve asked me to try it so that I could narrate a ride as I was doing it.   I had a good time…I rode the CSC RC3 through Azusa Canyon on California’s Highway 39.  It was awesome.    Take a look at this one and tell me what you think.

For a long time, I thought this moto vlogging business was pretty silly, but I can see the merits of it (having done one now).  I still prefer an actual blog with writing and photos, and I personally like to read stuff way more than I like to watch videos.  But hey, we are zooming into the future and it looks like this is the way technology is going.   In any event, I’m going to do more of these narrated videos in the future.   In the next one, I think I might ride Glendora Ridge Road while telling the story of CSC Motorcycles.   We’ll see.   Drop me a line (info@cscmotorcycles.com) and let me know your thoughts.

Not me…but another Joe.  Check this out…

Hey CSC, I wanted to drop you a note to tell you about my 2 month experience in owning the CSC RX3 Cyclone.  It goes like this, I didn’t grow up riding motorcycles but got a used Yamaha 650 Maxim in 1989 as a wedding present from my wife.  I rode it occasionally for a few years and then sold it.  Really didn’t like road riding around all the cagers!  I’ve thought about getting another motorcycle for years but wanted something for light duty road riding but could also be used off road as I’m a mountain biking enthusiast and love getting off the beaten path and into nature.

I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on a bike as I didn’t know if I’d really get into it so I started by looking on Craigslist for a used dual sport and they were still expensive but saw an affiliate had posted an ad for the CSC RX3 so my research began into the bike and all the specs and reviews convinced me that it should work out.  I ordered it and received it in September.  The crate well protected the bike and there wasn’t much required to get it running other than attaching the screen, mirrors and top box.  I spent some time adding a few inexpensive mods like the billet covers, skid plate, hand guards.

Now to test it out and I was happy to find that I could still ride after all these years.  I immediately put in a bunch of long days to get the break in miles completed so I could ride it full out.  I then began riding it a bit more ‘normally’ and also took a motorcycle safety foundation class to re-learn the skills to survive on the road.  Next I started heading out for long rides on forest service roads, learning how to use all of my “hard learned YouTube DS training.”

So here I am, 2 months into ownership and loving the bike, I’ve had no issues, and feeling sort of ready to take it to the next level.  I got that chance that past weekend when the Pacific Northwest Dual Sport riders posted a meetup at the Tahuya ORV Park in Tahuya, WA.  It was a very diverse group of rider, skills and bikes.  About 30 in total from pure MX bikes to huge BMW 1200 and KTM 1190 bikes.  We headed out on a quad trail call “Overland” for a big loop.  This trail had everything to test this off road noobs skills.  Sand, gravel, baseball sized rocks piled for miles, water-water everywhere, mud and some steep climbs and descents.  Now, I could describe the whole ride but instead I put together a video to show some of the highlights of the trail and my noob skills.  Yeah, I crashed 5 times with a couple of them being pretty hard and the bike took it just fine.  But I can say this about the ride…It hooked me on riding!  I hope you and your blog followers enjoy it.  Thanks again for bringing such a quality value bike to the USA and supporting it so well.

Hey Joe…thanks for the report and the video!   We’re glad you are enjoying your RX3 and the motorcycling experience!   Ride safe and stay in touch!

…and the hills behind the CSC plant are calling…

We are adding quite a few new accessories and parts to the showroom up front.  Helmets, handlebars, tires, gloves, specialty cleaning chemicals and lubes, you name it.  Be sure to stop by and check our website in the next few days for all the additions.   It’s too nice to hang around the office this morning…I’m getting out for a ride!

Fast forward 60 or 70 years (or more), and somewhere there will be a high end vineyard with a vintage CSC motorcycle collection.  I can see it now…beautiful grounds, extreme hospitality, and a famous collection of California Scooters, RX3s, restored TT250s, and CSC paraphernalia.   Maybe they’ll even have on display one of the RX3s that rode the early Baja runs or the Western America Adventure Ride.   Perhaps they’ll display an original signed copy of 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM.   That would be cool…a collection of iconic 250cc motorcycles that changed the motorcycle scene in the early part of the 21st century and brought riders back to the realization that a 250 is the world’s most perfect bike.   And the wines would be first class, too.   Imagine that…a future vineyard with a classic bike collection!

There’s good news here, folks.   You don’t need to travel into the future.   Dial that dream back to today, and you’d be at the Doffo Winery.  It’s an amazing vineyard with one of the world’s great vintage motorcycle collections, and I spent the day there yesterday.  I’m talking about the Doffo Winery and its MotoDoffo collection, and it’s right here in southern California.  Two men with a passion for producing great wines created it all, and the good news for us is that their passion extends to restoring and racing vintage Italian motorcycles.   A father-and-son team, Marcelo and Damian Doffo have an absolutely stunning motorcycle collection.  These are not just two guys with too much time on their hands…they are riders and enthusiasts, and they are passionate about motorcycles.   Red racing motorcycles, to be specific.  The passion for all things moto is real…that word came up constantly during our time together yesterday.

What a day I had spending time with Damian, learning about the MotoDoffo collection, and photographing amazing motorcycles.   Words alone won’t do the story justice, so let’s jump into the photos…

Damian Doffo and yours truly.  Damian is a Cal Poly grad.  Go Broncos!

A Norton parked outside. The MotoDoffo collection emphasizes small displacement Italian motorcycles, but it includes many interesting bikes from other parts of the world

Argentinian? Italian? You’ll have to read the full story in Motorcycle Classics magazine or visit the Doffo Winery yourself to find out!

A portion of the Moto Doffo collection.

Sachs, a German engine in a Dutch motorcycle.

When men were men and brakes were brakes.

A beautiful Bultaco Metralla fuel tank. Is there one “s” or two in Montesa?  (Inside joke for my Riding China buddy…)

A Ducati with a jelly bean fuel tank. These are some of the world’s most beautiful motorcycles.

The jelly bean 250.  When you look at this, the question is obvious: Why would anyone ever want anything other than a 250?

Ah, Celeste. Bianchi. Magnificent. Bianchi’s signature color, whipped together in postwar Italy.   It was created from milsurp OD green paint, with a few other colors tossed into the mix.

Didn’t know there was a domestic market 350cc Ducati L-twin, did you?

A single-cylinder Moto Guzzi baloney slicer, so named because of its external flywheel.

The Boss, Damian Doffo, in the classic bike restoration shop. The Doffo family is heavily involved in motorcycle racing.

I kept coming back to the jelly bean bike. Doffo does all of their own restorations. In a sea of magnificent motorcycles, this one was even more so.

A vintage racing Ducati. The tracks on the primary cover were intended to improve cooling.

Doffo does it all…frame work, body work, and engine work.

An amazing collection, to be sure…this is the belly plan from a racing Ducati.

Seat time, on a vintage Ducati moped.

The view from the veranda, in front of the MotoDoffo collection.

This is a good news and more good news story, folks.  The MotoDoffo collection is open to the public, and it’s right here in So Cal.  Temecula, to be exact.  More good news?   The ride to Doffo’s is amazing…it goes right through Temecula’s rolling hills and amazing wine country.  Even more good news…the Doffo winery specializes in reds, and in particular, they offer high end Malbecs, the crown prince of wines.  I’m thinking maybe a one-day ride through some of the same California countryside we covered on our most recent TT250 Baja adventure ride, with the Doffo Winery and MotoDoffo motorcycle collection as the destination.  That would be a fun day.

There’s more info on line….check out the Doffo Winery and the MotoDoffo collection, and I’ll let you know about our plans for the ride outlined above!

Yes, seriously.   Zongshen knows the best way to wring out a new engine is to race it, and that’s what’s happening here.   The new 450cc engine forms the basis of the Zong 2017 Dakar racebike.   Yep, Dakar.   Hey, why not?

Wow.   And you’re probably wondering…what about the new RX4, the 450cc ADV bike  everybody keeps asking about?  It’s still a long ways off (as in no sooner than a 2018 model, and even that is questionable), but here are a few prototype photos from the EICMA show in Milan…

I was going to go to the EICMA show this year, but duties kept me anchored here in California.   Maybe next year I’ll get to go.