CSC Blog

Okay, boys and girls, here’s the tentative plan for our California Scooter Baja blitz…

Day 1

We’ll depart the CSC plant no later than 7:00 a.m. (we’ll be trucking the bikes from the plant to the border), and we’ll roll across the border around 10:00 a.m.  From there it’s a toll road from Tijuana to Ensenada that runs along a beautiful stretch of the Pacific ocean, and we’ll stop for lunch in Ensenada at Velero’s (a restaurant I really like).  Tijuana to Ensenada is the tourist zone (most people who go to Baja never get past this stretch…they have no idea what they’re missing). 

After Ensenada, we’ll ride through the wine country and then across the first of many mountain ranges.   There’s an agricultural region about 100 miles long that skirts the Pacific all the way.  The Transpeninsular Highway then turns sharply left and we’ll enter the Vizcaino Desert, which is where the true Baja begins.  You’ll see amazing cactus and amazing panoramas.  We’ll stay at the Desert Inn in Catavina (it’s one of the nicer ones in Baja).  Catavina is like another planet (the boulders are as big as houses, there are massive Cardon cactus and Cirio plants, and a whole lot more new and exotic stuff). 

We’ll average around 40 mph or so on the Scooters, so our seat time will be about 7 ½ hours on this first day.  We’ll cover just under 300 miles (it’s why I want to get a very early start this first day).

The boulder fields in Catavina

Day 2

After an early breakfast in Catavina, we’ll continue through the Vizcaino desert and mountains, and then the plains heading toward Guerrero Negro.  The town is named for a ship that sank off the coast in the 1800s (it means “Black Warrior” in Spanish).  This time of year the whales aren’t in Mexico (they’re stuffing themselves up in Alaska), so we’ll only stop on the outskirts to top off. 

We’ll continue across the sea plains, and we’ll want to keep our eyes open for the wild burro herd that hangs out in this area (they make a cool photo).  The road turns southeast, and we’ll be heading diagonally across Baja toward San Ignacio.  It’s a fascinating little oasis, with an old church that looks like something in an old western movie.   The Jesuits introduced date forming here hundreds of years ago, and it will seem weird to see these beautiful data palm groves in the desert. 

We’ll continue to Santa Rosalia on the Sea of Cortez, descending through the La Cuesta del Infierno (dropping 1500 feet in just a few miles).   We’ll stay in the Frances Hotel.   It’s very cool (you’ll see).  Our total mileage this day will be 284 miles.

Santa Rosalia, from the Frances Hotel balcony

Day 3

This will be a very interesting day.  We gotta get up early, cause this will be a high mileage day.  We’ll skirt the Sea of Cortez to Mulege, where we’ll stop for coffee.   We won’t see the Mulege mission yet; we’ll catch that on our way back.   We’ll skirt Bahia Concepcion, and if you’re like me, you’ll think about why you’d ever want to live anywhere else.  Then it’s Loreto for an early lunch, and the long haul (just over 200 miles) to La Paz.   I haven’t decided where we’ll stay, but it will be a bit pricier than the other hotels (La Paz is a big tourist area).   It’s a great party town (John said he’s buying margaritas for everyone).  Our total mileage will be 342 miles.  It will be a long day, but a good one.

Sunrise on the Sea of Cortez

Day 4

The good news is the mileage will be a little lower today.  We’ll continue south to (you guessed it) Cabo San Lucas, at the southern tip of the peninsula!   At this point you’ll have accomplished what most riders only dream about…we’ll have buzzed the entire length of the Baja peninsula on our California Scooters! 

We’ll hang around in Cabo for as long as we like, and then we’ll continue around the southern tip, skirting the coast of the Sea of Cortez and then the Pacific Ocean.   The road turns north, and we’ll get to another cool town – Todos Santos.   We’ll check out the Hotel California (yep, that Hotel California…the one made famous by the Eagles’ song).   We can either spend the night in Todos Santos (that would put our mileage at 150 for the day) or push on to spend the night in La Paz again (that would put our mileage at about 240).

Senor Juan, enjoying lunch in Todos Santos

Day 5

We’ll be well into the ride home by now.  We’ll run from La Paz to Ciudad Constitucion (kind of a boring 130 mile stretch), and then we can decide to spend the night in Loreto (the day’s total mileage would be 218) or Mulege (which would put us at a hair over 300 miles for the day).   My vote is Mulege…I think staying in the Las Casitas hotel, having dinner there, and visiting the Mulege mission would be a lot more fun.  Better photos, too.  

The Mission in Mulege

Day 6

I’d like to get as far north as Catavina (323 miles north of Mulege) or, if we are really feeling hardcore, El Rosario (whoa, 399 miles!).   We’ll play it by ear (or perhaps more appropriately by this point in our trip, by butt).  We’ll see.

One of many cool churches we'll see along the way

Day 7

Back to the border, boys and girls.   The only difference is that instead of continuing north all the way to TJ, we can pick up Highway 3 in Ensenada and head through the Ruta Vinicola (the wine country) to Tecate.   It’s really nice.  We can stop at one or more of the vineyards, and there’s an awesome restaurant called Naranjo’s we need to visit (trust me on this one).  Getting back into the US through Tecate is a lot easier than the Tijuana border crossing, too.

Day 8

Wait…there’s a Day 8?  Only if our plans change….this is our day in reserve.

One of my Baja buddies posing for me in the Vizcaino Desert

Things are hopping, folks!

A bunch of us are riding over to Mike’s NoHo Scooters in North Hollywood, and from there we’re going to Philippe’s for dinner.  Philippe’s is actually the birth place of the French dipped sandwich (no kidding).  It’s gonna be a fun trip.  Mike said about 25 scooters of various other makes showed up on the last NoHo Scooter ride, so when we get there with our California Scooters it will make for an interesting mix.  Like many of our new dealers, Mike’s gaining traction selling California Scooters, and we’re happy to see that happening.  We’ll be taking both stock and custom bikes on this ride, so the step-through scooter crowd will get to see CSC style from one end of the spectrum to the other.   Like I said, it’s gonna be fun.

Tomorrow night will be cool, too.   We’ll have a booth at the Glendora Flashback show.  This show attracts a lot of classic and custom cars and bikes, so I know I’ll get a bunch of great photos.  I’ll post them for you in the next few days.

Hey, here’s a cool shot I grabbed yesterday….our good friend Hans is taking his beautiful new BabyDoll to the Doodlebug Reunion (Sep 17-18) in Webster City, Iowa.  

The Doodlebug was a scooter made in the late 1940s…there’s only about a thousand of them left.  Steve and I took this photo yesterday before Hans’ new bike shipped…it sure is a beautiful bike.   

More good news…we got to talking about it, and we’re leaving for Baja on the 10^th instead of the 11^th.  Yep, you got it…we are just two weeks away from our departure.  Man oh man, I am so excited about getting back to Baja on two wheels again…I just loving riding down there!  I’m going to rough out the ride plan later today and send it around to John, Simon, Arlene, and J, and I’ll post the text of that e-mail on this blog for you a bit later. 

Good times, folks.

We’ll be there with several of our show bikes this Saturday night in Glendora, California!  It’s from 6 to 11 in the evening.   If you’re in the area, please stop by to say hi!

Yep, the countdown is on….just 17 more days and we’re on our way to Cabo San Lucas…

Hey, check this photo out from a trip my good buddy John and I took to Cabo back in the mid-90s…we’re about 800 miles south of the border in this shot.   That’s the Sea of Cortez on the right, Mexico’s Transpeninsular Highway on the left…and the marker with all the graffiti is right smack dab on the Tropic of Cancer!

We’ll be passing through this very spot on our California Scooters about 3 days after we cross the border! You can bet we’ll stop for a similar shot I’ll be sharing with you!

Lots of folks are asking about this trip…I realize it’s a bit much for most people to just stop what they’re doing, hop on a motorcycle, and buzz the Baja peninsula for a week…but so many people want to know all the details I thought I would share our emails planning the trip.   Here’s one I sent to John, J, Arlene, and Simon earlier this evening…

J, J, S, and A:

One option to consider…how would you feel about departing on the 10^th (that’s a Friday) instead of the 11th?  We could either leave early in the morning, or we could leave mid-afternoon, get to the border around 5:00 p.m., and ride down to Rosarito Beach to spend the night there (it’s halfway between TJ and Ensenada, and it would give us a big jump on the first full day’s ride into the interior).  The Rosarito Beach hotel is a cool place to stay and there’s a 5-star well-hidden restaurant I especially like in Rosarito Beach.  Please let me know at your earliest convenience regarding leaving on the 10^th.

Don’t buy any insurance for Mexico just yet…I will send details to you on that shortly.

You will need a current passport to get back into the US; I believe you all have a passport.

J, John, and Simon, you are probably going to want to get in town here the day before we leave (especially if we go for an early morning departure).  Please let me know when you plan to arrive in our area at your earliest convenience.

It’s a certainty we’ll be searched; there are lots of checkpoints along our route.  The Mexican infantry units manning these checkpoints are polite and the young kids carrying those .308 assault rifles are always interested in the bikes, so it’s not scary or anything.  But we will have our stuff searched.

Within reason, don’t worry about having too much to carry.   We have J and his Power Wagon, so we will be carrying very little on our California Scooters.   Please don’t pack like you’re moving, but we should have enough capacity with J’s truck for each of us to bring a reasonable amount of stuff.  We’ll be on the road about a week.  I usually bring old clothes that I discard along the way, and I’ll usually wear a pair of jeans for 2 or 3 days before I toss them.  In the next day or so, I’ll shoot you the list of what we normally pack on these trips.  My strong advice is that you bring a camera and good motorcycle rain gear (I’m not expecting rain this time of year, but you never know).

Folks, I can’t wait.   But you probably can tell that from my earlier posts. 

More to come…

How’s 98 mpg and $98 a month sound to you? 

Yep, 98 miles per gallon is the kind of fuel efficiency you can get on one of these little jewels…and $98 per month is what it will cost you to own one!

Oh, and there’s insurance, too…the annual fee to insure my California Scooter is (wouldn’t you know it) $98 per year.   Your insurance might be different, but that’s what I pay.

98. 

It’s a special number!

So…..would you like to be in this picture?

A thousand dollars down, and $98 a month for 60 months...and you can get on a California Scooter!

Here’s how it works…with all the fees that go for registration and other government stuff, a new California Scooter goes out the door for about $5600.   If you can scare up a thousand dollars, we’ve got a way for you to start riding one of these for just $98 a month.   Yep, that’s right…98 miles per gallon, and just $98 a month!  

These photos are just above the California Scooter Company factory in the San Gabriel Mountains, but the roads are exactly like the ones we’ll be on in less than three weeks when we point our bikes toward Cabo San Lucas, way down at the end of the Baja peninsula.   Would you like to go with us?

Yep, this can be you!

You can do it…you can get your own brand new California Scooter in time for our Mexico trip…I’ll keep a spot open for you!

TK went to the motorcycle block party in Harbor City this past weekend sponsored by the half dozen dealers along the Pacific Coast Highway.   This was the first year of a planned annual block party with live bands, barbeques, and of course, lots of interesting bikes.  

TK's Road King

TK is an interesting guy with eclectic motorcycling interests.  He’s an old school Harley guy (he has a Road King and a Softail), but he also rides his way cool Kawasaki ZX-14 (it’s the one Kawasaki did up in flat black with flame pinstriping…a really radical blend of high performance, sportbike handling, and chopper-inspired paint).  And, of course, TK is a regular on our California Scooter rides. 

You might wonder…why does a guy like TK (who rides big Harleys and Kawasakis) also ride a California Scooter?   I can answer that…I have a Triumph Tiger and a KLR-650 Kawasaki sitting at home in my garage.  The Tiger and the KLR mostly do just that these days…they sit in the garage.   The fact is that I ride the California Scooter way more than the other two bikes.   My little red Classic is just more fun to ride.

As you know, Boss Hoss in Harbor City is one of our California Scooter dealers, and they asked TK to stop in to help present our bikes to the literally thousands of people who attended the block party.  TK grabbed some great photos while he was there – take a look and see if you agree! 

Boss Hoss in Harbor City, with our California Scooters parked out front.

A Chevy-V8-Powered Boss Hoss Cycle. Check out the paint job on this bike!

Block Party attendees checking out the California Scooters

TK said taking these photos was hard work, but somebody had to do it!

Look at this...a 502-cubic-inch engine in a motorcycle!

Boss Hoss also sells Ural motorcycles...check out Natasha!

TK had a good weekend.   Thanks for the photos, TK…glad to see the block party went well!

It’s late, I’ve been glued to the computer all day, but I promised a few shots from our ride yesterday and I need a break…so here we go!  My friend Jim and I had talked about an early morning breakfast ride during the week, and Saturday was the day.   Jim rode his black and chrome Classic over to my place early yesterday morning.

Here’s Jim on his new California Scooter, with chrome everywhere…fork lowers, both triple tees,the controls, the speedo case, the speedo mount, you get the idea…

Jim’s a pretty serious rider, like me, I guess.  He’s owned any number of Beemers since I’ve known him, a Guzzi, a Suzuki DR650, a Kawi, and too many others to list.   He knew he wanted a California Scooter as soon as he saw one…just like I did.

Jim and I pointed the bikes toward the San Gabriel mountains…the plan was Shinn Road up to Mt. Baldy, Glendora Ridge Road over to the East Fork, breakfast at Camp Williams, East Fork down to Highway 39, and then home.   We like riding Glendora Ridge Road heading from Mt. Baldy to Azusa in the morning because the sun is at our back…it’s hard riding straight into the sun going the other way.

The racer boys checking out my Scooter where the East Fork, Glendora Mountain Road, and Glendora Ridge Road converge…it’s a popular spot to stop and talk to the other riders.  Those guys are wearing full leathers, and with the hot weather we’ve been having, I’ll bet they were sweltering by the time they got home.

Here’s a shot looking west, toward the Pacific Ocean.   In the winter (when there’s less haze in the air) you can actually see the ocean from here.  It’s amazing…no matter how dirty and smoggy the air gets in the Pomona Valley, a 20-minute ride from my place and this is what we get to see…

Jim and I rolled down the East Fork Road (a series of downhill, tight switchbacks).  We zoomed along the eastern fork of the San Gabriel river and headed over to Camp Williams.   There were lots of campers along the East Fork Road, and they were already barbequeing.  Those hot dogs and hamburgers smelled good!  

You know, one of the great things about riding a motorcycle is that you get to smell what’s going on around you.   A car is insulated…you just don’t get the same feel for a place as you do on a motorcycle.  Think about some of the great rides you’ve had, and I’ll bet the smells were a big part of it.   The Yucca plants after a desert rain.  The ocean.  The pine trees up in the mountains.   You know what I’m talking about.  I used to like riding my Harley along Valley Boulevard in the early evening here in southern California for just that reason…the hamburger stands, the pickle factory, the salsa factory…it was great.   My friend Bob and I had a good laugh about Baja for just that reason…he called it the “land of 1000 smells…”  Anyway, our morning ride yesterday along the East Fork was great…there’s nothing better than the fragrance of hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill…unless you’re smelling them while you’re on a motorcycle ride!

When we pulled into the Camp Williams restaurant, Jim and I had barely parked the bikes before we drew a crowd.   The guy in the photo below is the Camp Williams restaurant owner…he saw us pull up and and he wanted to check out the bikes.   There were a half-dozen guys around us in just a few minutes.

This is pretty nice ride…it’s about a 55-mile round trip from my place, and more than half of it is on incredible mountain roads.  

Once we sat down to eat, we got serious.  I had my usual two eggs over medium, and Jim went all out for his usual hearty breakfast.   Jim is a health food nut…or so he says…what do you think about this chili omelette?

After a great breakfast, it was a quick slalom down Highway 39 into Azusa (boy oh boy, do these bikes handle well in the twisties!), and then home.   It was a super ride…just the ticket for starting a busy weekend.

It’s gonna be a good week…I can feel it…and yep, we’re getting closer to the Baja ride!  Planning starts in earnest this week, and we’ll be talking about our plans right here.  Less than three weeks to go, folks!  I’m thinking about blogging portions of the trip while we are on the road.   Many of the places we’ll be staying won’t have Internet access, but I may try to post a photo or two while we are tooling along Mexico’s Transpeninsular Highway if you want me to.   What do you think?  Wanna see our pictures and read about the trip while we’re out there?

A very busy week in and around the Scooter factory, folks!   I gotta type fast…my friend Jim is coming over this morning, and he and I are taking our California Scooters for a ride up in the mountains (maybe I’ll post some photos of our ride later this weekend).

Lupe, with one of John Esposito's factory custom California Scooters...this red and black Classic has my vote for the best-looking-bike built to date!

In addition to the normal production, development, and sales activities going on at the California Scooter Company, we had a number of special things happening this week.  For starters, Steve sent Tony and me on an errand to North Hollywood on Monday, and that took us right by NoHo Scooters.   When I was there a week or so ago, I saw a very cool helmet, and I wanted it.  I didn’t buy it last week, and I wasn’t about to let that mistake continue.  NoHo is closed on Monday, but I figured if I banged on the doors enough, my buddy Mike Frankovich would be in there…and I was right!  Hey, what small business owner doesn’t work on his day off?  Mike fixed me right up, and I might even wear my new Bell helmet on the Baja trip!

Artwork on the NoHo Scooters building in North Hollywood

The Man...Mike Frankovich (on the left) talking to a couple of guys about California Scooters

My new brain bucket...it's a Bell, and it's swell!

More good stuff last week…we had a trio of great fellows in from Australia to visit us….Ian (who runs a Pro-One dealership), and Paul and his son Gerard (who are engineering consultants).   The Australia contingent had heard about the Rock Store and they wanted to see it, and that made for a great evening.   Steve has this monster Mercedes van, and we all piled in for a ride to the Rock Store, Malibu, a fantastic dinner at Duke’s (right on the ocean), and a stop at the world-famous Santa Monica pier.  Wade came along, too…he builds the Pro-One bikes.   Those guys from Australia have a great sense of humor (I know they do because they laughed at all of my jokes, and they had a few good ones themselves).   We had a lot of fun.

The boys in front of the world-famous Rock Store...Gerard, Paul, Wade, Ian, and Steve

Gerard on the Santa Monica Pier with his dessert

The ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier

Paul and Gerard on the Santa Monica Pier

John and Steve are continuing to do great things on the land speed record bike, and it’s hard not to hang around and get in the way.   It’s very exciting.  The time trials are in November, and we’ll be ready!

The LSR bike, cloaked in secrecy...

And yesterday, we finished up the week with a direct descendant of the Mustang royal family…yep, Dave Cavanaugh and his beautiful wife Sandy were down from northern California, and we had a nice visit.  You’ll remember that Dave is Jim Cavanaugh’s son.  Jim Cavanaugh is an advisor to the California Scooter Company, and he was the production manager at the original Mustang Motor Products Corporation.   Steve and Dave had a lot of great stories to tell, and a lot of them were along the lines of “My Dad’s bike is faster than your Dad’s bike..”  Well, sort of…Steve’s Dad (that would be Ed) has seen photos of Jimbo Cavanaugh’s Mustang, and Ed has let it be known that he’d like to see that bike parked in his garage…so the real tag line here is “My Dad wants your Dad’s bike…”

Sandy and Dave Cavanaugh, two of the California Scooter Company's greatest fans, with Steve showing them the LSR bike..don't try asking them questions about this skunk works project...they're sworn to secrecy!

Like I said, what a week!  But wait a minute!   Yep, I hear my buddy Jim’s new California Scooter making the turn onto my street.  Gotta go!

Just received this photo from Bill Murar, our Lake Erie Loop endurance rider, with the following note…

Joe,

I know it’s not to much of a shot, but here I’m riding the California Scooter Classic during the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Experienced Rider Class ( the ERC) Exercise 6, “Riding Finesse.”

I’m half way through a 135 degree right hand turn. Not sure if you can use this for anything, but the class gave me the opportunity to showcase the Classic 150 to 8 other scooter enthusiasts. The ERC is primarily a motorcycle class but I take the opportunity to hold “Scooter Only” classes twice a year.

Bill

That’s a great photo, Bill, and thanks very much for sharing it with us.  We love seeing these shots of the bikes and our riders, so keep ’em coming, folks!

There’s something special about summer evening motorcycle rides, and last night we rode the California Scooters to the Beach Side Cafe in Covina, California.   If you know southern California, you know it’s a good 50 miles to the nearest beach, but hey, who’s counting?  Josh, Kevin, TK, Steve, and I met at the plant and rode over to live music, good food, and lots of receptive onlookers.  My friend Jim was already there on his brand new California Scooter.

There's a California Scooter in there somewhere!

The event is a regular thing at the Beach Side Cafe, and it mostly draws big V-twin cruisers and the people who like them.   That crowd appreciates good styling, and as always, the Scooters drew quite a few admirers.  The food was great, too!  I talked the boss into coming along (my other boss, Sue, the one I’ve been married to for 27 wonderful years) and she had a great Beach Side Cafe dinner with my friend Jim and me.   Good food, good company, and good conversation. 

The California Scooters drew lots of admirers...check out the experimental exhaust system on the Scooter in the background! The bike in the foreground is Jim's new Classic.

We hung out at the Beach Side Cafe for a couple of hours, and then rolled back to the plant just after dark.   That ride home was fun!  Cool summer evening weather, no traffic, and our little group of five California Scooters tooling along Arrow Highway…a perfect formula for fun.  The way the traffic lights were timed, TK and I were just making it up to the speed limit before the next one turned red.   You know what that meant…a series of impromptu, up-to-the-speed-limit drags from light to light.   Man, was that ever fun!   TK and I were pretty evenly matched.   It was a hoot.

The real deal...fish tacos from Antonio's truck in Guerrero Negro (a real beach side cafe) about 550 miles of the border...we'll be stopping in on our California Scooters!

We’re having some folks over for dinner later today, and the boss (Sue, not Steve) is telling me I have to cook up some stuffed peppers, so I’m outta here for now.  I like to cook, and I especially like stuffed peppers. 

More good things are happening next week, so hang in there and we’ll keep you posted.  Work is continuing on the land speed record bike, John and Steve are cooking up more customs, and the guys and gals in the factory are continuing to pour their labor and love into your California Scooters.  Preparations are moving along for the Baja trip, too, and I am getting more excited by the day.   Sometimes I wonder what’s more fun…the anticipation that precedes one of these adventures, or the trip itself.   Then I get on the road with my friends, and I know…it’s the trip and being out in the world on a great motorcycle.   There’s nothing like it in the entire world.

The stuffed peppers are gonna be good (they always are), but I know in just 28 more days we’ll be enjoying fish tacos…the real ones, cooked up by my friend Antonio, a cool 700 miles south of here!