And they sure are beautiful! Check these out, folks…either with or without studs…
Here’s a set with studs on a CSC motorcycle…
Our new bags feature an improved mounting system and a stash pouch on the front of each bag. The new mount bolts directly to the luggage rack. I really like these, and you will, too. Give us a call for more information at 800 884 4173.
My New Year’s resolutions? Well, here you go…
No, I’m just kidding folks…but it would be nice to spend less time on the Internet. I am hooked on the Internet. When I was a kid I used to like to go to the library because there was just so much interesting stuff to read. Now, the library pretty much comes to me via my laptop. There are so many good sites and interesting things to see on the Internet. In fact, I may be guilty of causing you to spend more time on the Internet with the CSC blog. If so, hey, that’s the way it goes. Let me compound the felony by offering up a few of my favorite sites.
The Mustang forum has to be one of the more interesting ones out there. If you are interested in California Scooters (and you have to be if you are reading this blog), you are probably also interested in the bike that inspired it all…the original Mustangs. The Mustang forum is at www.mmcoa.org, and I highly recommend it. There’s a bunch of fascinating information and it is the “go to” place for all things Mustang. Drop by, sign up, and post an entry or two if you get a chance.
www.ADVRider.com is another interesting site. I tuned into it many years ago with their forum posts about adventure riding and the site has grown far beyond just that specific focus. They have a “shiny things” board that is a place where I spend entirely too much time.
www.MotorcycleClassics.com is the Motorcycle Classics magazine site. It’s awesome. If you’re into classic bikes, this is the place to be. I also happen to think it is the finest motorcycle magazine in existence. I think the writing, the photography, the stories, and the editorial stuff is a significant cut above what you’ll find in any other moto mag. But then, I’m not entirely objective on this topic…if I was, though, I’d still say Motorcycle Classics is the best publication out there.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com is a site focused on international motorcycle travel. I’ve done some of that and the site naturally appeals to me for that reason alone. The fact that it includes entries by many other world motorcycle travelers (guys and gals who have done way more than I ever will) makes it even more interesting. Be forewarned, though…this is a site that is particularly addictive. It’s that good.
One of my all time favorites is www.DaveBarr.com. You can buy Dave’s books through the site (Riding the Edge and Riding the Ice), and these are two books everyone who has ever even thought about riding a motorcycle needs to own. You probably remember the story about the two actors who rode part way around the world with a bankroll the size of the GM bailout and a support crew that would rival an Apollo mission. Dave Barr did it on his own on a motorcycle that had a 100,000 miles on the clock when he started. Dave is my hero. Read Riding the Edge and you’ll find out why.
And the last site is one of my own…www.motofoto.cc. It’s the site I started about 15 years ago focused on motorcycle photography (the photo above is one of my favorites), and it’s ultimately the site that got me hooked up with Motorcycle Classics and CSC Motorcycles (along with a recommendation from my good buddy Joseph). There’s lots of cool stuff on it, including a lot about the California Scooter Company.
Oh, and one more site…don’t forget to visit us on Facebook, too. Stop by and become a friend!
So, enjoy the new year, and do what I plan to do: Get out and ride more!
About a year ago, I discovered that my good friend Paul lives just a few hours north of us in the town of Hollister, California. I say Paul is my good friend (and he is), but we lost touch with each other 50 years ago. Paul was my next door neighbor back in the wilds of New Jersey when we were kids. We hung out together until he graduated from high school in 1966 (I graduated 3 years later). Through Facebook and another good buddy Buddy (no, that’s not a word repeat typo…our mutual friend’s name really is Buddy), we reconnected. When I linked up with Buddy, I saw that Paul was one of Buddy’s Facebook friends. I sent a friend request to Paul, and we connected. Wow.
When I saw that Paul lived up in Hollister, I knew I had to get up there for a visit, and this weekend, we did. Susie and I pointed the Subaru north, we braved the weather and snow (at least for folks from So Cal it was cold – but it was nothing compared to what we grew up with in New Jersey), and a few hours later we were standing on Pauly’s front porch.
An iPhone photo...heading north in the Subie through the Grapevine
Yep, you read that right…I called my friend “Pauly.”
Maybe it’s an east coast thing. Maybe it’s unique to New Jersey. We always put a “y” on the end of everybody’s name. Bud was Buddy. Paul was Pauly. Sue knew I was excited about this trip because I had reverted to talking about Paul as “Pauly” on the ride up as I told stories about our past (and I have a lot of stories).
Will he call you “Joey?” Sue asked.
“I don’t know…” I answered. “We’ll see.”
So there we were, up in Hollister, ringing the doorbell. A few seconds later, there was a smiling Pauly opening the door.
“Joey!” he said. I looked at Sue and smiled.
Pauly and Joey, each with 60+ years of great stories...
We had a marvelous visit. I don’t think there was a single second when we weren’t telling stories of the old days in Deans and the paths our lives had taken since. Pauly took us to one of the best dinners of my life…a place right on the Pacific Ocean in Moss Landing in the middle of a commercial fishing district. Absolutely awesome seafood. A great breakfast the next morning. Incredible stories and memory jogs about things that happened 50 or 60 years ago. Stories about our Dads, our Moms, our kids, our relatives, our friends, our teachers, our cars, our motorcycles, our guns, our fishing and hunting adventures, and our past. The weekend was incredible. I couldn’t fall asleep that night. My mind was racing with everything we had discussed. I was remembering things I hadn’t thought about in half a century.
Pauly's SS 396 looked a lot like this...it was the fastest car in town
Over breakfast, I mentioned that I didn’t sleep much. I was energized thinking about things I saw in Pauly’s house, the stories, and all of the memories. Pauly showed me things my Dad had given to his Dad. Both of our fathers were world class trapshooters, hunters, fishermen, and yes, motorcycle riders. We talked about our cars (Pauly had a ’67 SS 396, easily the baddest car in town, I had a GTO, and Pauly’s cousin Richie had the ’65 GTO that started the car craze in our crowd). Pauly showed me a recent photo of Richie, and he looked exactly as I remembered him…slim, trim, and a full head of blond hair. The things I thought about that night seemed as if they had happened just a day or two ago instead of a half century in the past. At breakfast the next morning, Pauly said he experienced the same thing – he couldn’t sleep, either.
Paul lives in Hollister, a beautiful and historic town. The ride up was awesome, and I’ll bet many of you have already heard of Hollister. Hollister is the town that put the bad boy motorcycle rider image on the map. There was a motorcycle event there in 1946 that turned a bit rowdy. It was the same year Mustang started producing their first bike, the 1946 Mustang Colt, about 350 miles to the south.
A first-year-of-production 1946 Mustang Colt
1946 was the year of the Hollister motorcycle riot. Sort of. It wasn’t really much of a riot, but something that really wasn’t much of a riot wouldn’t sell magazines, so Life magazine amped it up a bit. Actually, they amped it up a lot. Life staged a photo and presented it as genuine (ah, the lamestream media at work). Hollywood created a movie called The Wild Ones, Marlon Brando’s image was launched, and Harley-Davidson spent the next 60 years simultaneously distancing themselves and profiting from the bad boy motorcycle rider image. And it all started in Hollister, my good buddy Pauly’s new home town.
Life magazine's faked photo in Hollister...the photo that started the the bad boy biker image
Marlon Brando and friends faking real life
So there you have it…the real wild ones’ weekend in Hollister (the wild ones being Pauly and yours truly) – living large and having fun.
What a weekend!
Just like the title says…these are in the shop and going into bikes now!
These engines have lots of power and the new 250cc P-51 California Scooters are lots of fun. These bikes really haul the mail, so if you’re thinking about pulling the trigger on one, now’s the time!
I just watched The Bourne Legacy on my television here at home. The cold weather has been giving my hip a hard time so I’ve been laying low lately waiting for things to settle out, and after channel surfing all afternoon I finally ponied up the $6 to download this movie. All I can say is “wow!” The chase scene is one of the all time great motorcycle chase scenes ever…it ranks right up there with The Great Escape.
The clip doesn’t do it justice, but here’s an excerpt…
And speaking of The Great Escape…well, here you go!
…to appreciate this….
This is beyond awesome. When I saw it I knew you guys and gals would enjoy it, too!
No production plans on this one yet, folks…at this point, it’s just an engineering exercise…
We’re tentatively calling it the FLHT-MMG Mini Me Glide, but we’re not sure about the name yet (we’re thinking maybe we need more initials in the FL prefix…). We’ll be coming out with a complete line of “Live to Scoot, Scoot to Live” accessories if this one makes it to production.
One of the larger manufacturers (I can’t tell you who, but I can tell you they’re from England) asked us to develop a Mustang-sized bike for them…
They said we could design it however we wanted, but it had to be a triple…
Well, you did ask for a bigger motor…
It’s not available yet. We’re still working through some of the issues with the Department of Transportation. Seems they have a concern about flames spitting back through the carbs…
RX1E Electric Motorcycle
SG250 San Gabriel Cafe Racer
TT250 Enduro