CSC Blog

Here’s our travel itinerary for the Baja trip, folks!    We’re planning on 5 days in Baja, with a pre-meeting the night before we leave.   I’m going to post one day at a time, so here we go.    Before we do that, though, let me remind you that you’ll need Mexican motorcycle insurance, and Baja Bound is ready to process your policy.

The insurance will be about $10 to $14 per day (depending on the level of coverage you select.   Here’s the link to do so, and you’ll want to take care of this sooner rather than waiting to the last minute…

www.bajabound.com/buy

So, let’s talk about Tuesday and Wednesday.

Pre-Day 1 (28 April)

On the Tuesday night before we leave, we’ll have a company dinner at a local restaurant in Azusa (it will be at Spaghetti Eddie’s in Glendora; they have a private room we can use).   Steve’s going to spring for that dinner, and I’ll go over the safety requirements, our riding approach, and the trip itinerary.   It will be a good chance to get acquainted.

Day 1 (29 April)

We’ll depart on Wednesday morning at 04:30.   That means you need to be at the plant before 4:30 a.m., because we’re pulling out on time.   When you arrive at the plant, have a full tank of fuel.   FYI, I run 87 octane (regular unleaded) in the RX3.

We’ll take the California freeways all the way down to the border (the 210 to the 605 to the 5), and we’ll take it slow.  Although we’re authorized to ride in the carpool lane, the early morning commuters in So Cal are stupid and aggressive (they view the carpool lane as the fast lane).

We should miss most of the traffic in LA, Anaheim, and San Diego leaving at our early hour, and that’s a good thing.   We’ll stick to the slow lane and vary our speeds a bit to help with the bikes’ break-in period.  With the ebb and flow of traffic it will be a good break-in run.

From the plant, it’s about 130 miles to the border.    We’ll stop somewhere around Irvine for a rest break (that will be about an hour into our run).    That will be our routine for most of the trip…we’ll stop roughly every hour to take a break.  We’ll stop again just north of the border to top off the fuel tanks (about another hour later), and to pick up one or two riders from San Diego who are joining us.

We’ll cross the border where Interstate 5 ends and head into Tijuana.    I’ll be the first one across and I’ll slow down quite a bit when doing so.   Things happen very quickly when you roll across that border, and it’s important that we stay together.  We’ll roll through TJ’s northern edge at a leisurely pace.   We don’t want to ride too close together for motorcycle safety reasons, but we don’t want to get separated, either.  We’ve got a couple of turns to make in TJ to get on the toll road down to Ensenada.

We’re going to stick to the right…you can see that sign that says Rosarito-Ensenada, and that’s what we want.

Once we get on the toll road, we’ll be rolling at about 60 to 65 mph.   There are three toll booths along this 80-mile stretch, and the way we usually work this is one guy in front (that would be me) will pay for all the bikes.   It speeds up getting through the toll booths.   Even with me doing this, though, we’ll have to go through the toll booths one bike at a time, as the Mexican toll dude has to raise and lower the barrier for each bike.    You guys can pay me back at the end of the day.

After that run down the Cuota (the toll road) we’ll be on Ensenada’s northern edge, and it’s stop and go for a little bit.   We’re headed to Velero’s for breakfast (that meal is on our good buddies at Baja Bound).  It is a breakfast fit for a king, and it’s where the Ensenada shakers and movers hang out.   Great food, and a three course breakfast (pastries, your choice of empanada, and the main course).   Folks, we are going to eat well on this adventure.

Right after breakfast, we’ll stop at La Migracion in Ensenada to pick up our tourist visas.   They’re free.  At that point, it’s follow me to get through Ensenada, we’ll stop for gas again, and then it’s into the wine country and agricultural district.   We’ll have about 200 miles under our belts when we leave Enseneda heading south.

It’s an easy and relaxed roll through the little ag towns, and depending on what the group wants to do, when can divert to an abandoned mission or two, or maybe take a dirt road for a few miles to see the Isla Del Carmen shipwreck.   You guys tell me what you want, and that’s what we’ll do.

After about 80 miles or so of the ag district, we’ll hit the coastal plains, climb into the hills at the northern edge of the Vizcaino Desert, and roll into El Rosario.   That’s where we’ll call it a day.   We’ll have dinner at Mama Espinoza’s (the lobster burritos are on Steve), we’ll top off at the Pemex station, and we’ll head south the next day.

Our destination on Day 1 is El Rosario.   It’s going to be about a 350-mile day.  We’ll stay at the hotel at Mama Espinosa’s.    It’s inexpensive (I’ll post prices in a subsequent post), and it’s even less expensive if you double up.  Primitive, but we’re not doing this ride to bask in the luxury of overpriced hotels.

For those of you who are using this run to break in your bikes, you can change your oil our first night in El Rosario.   You’ll need to bring your tools, a filter, and 2 quarts of oil if you wish to do so, as well as a tin foil pan to catch the oil.    I’ll be there to help you if you need help.  I will have already changed my oil before I leave on this trip, but I’m going to bring a quart so I can top off if I need to.

That’s it for now…I’ll post Day 2 in the next day or so…

I’m going to be making reservations at the hotels in Baja tomorrow, folks, and if you’re riding with us, I’d like to know if you want your own room or if you want to reduce your expenses by rooming with one of the other riders.  If you could shoot a note to me at jberk@cscmotorcycles.com today, I’ll know how many rooms to reserve.

Thanks!

We’re strongly recommending for those of you joining us on the Baja ride that you roll into Azusa sometime on Tuesday (we’re leaving at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday), and I promised we’d recommend a couple of local motels.   We have two local Best Westerns that are close to the plant:

• The Best Western Plus Route 66 Glendora Inn, at 625 East Route 66, Glendora, CA, 626 335 2817 (for Reservations call 1 800 528 1234).
• The Best Western San Dimas Hotel and Suites, 501 West Bonita Avenue, Sand Dimas, CA, 909 592 0500 (for Reservations call 1 800 845 7080).

Of the two, the Best Western in Glendora is a little closer to the plant, so if you can get in there, that would probably be better for you.   I wouldn’t wait to make my reservations.

Now, a word on the hotels in Mexico.   The rates are up a bit from what they were a few years ago, and the hotels themselves may not be what you are imagining them to be if you’re thinking of a resort in Acapulco or someplace like that.   The fanciest ones in Baja (at least where we’ll be going) are about on a level with a Motel 6.   Some of the others are a bit more, um, primitive.   I’m trying to get us set up for the Frances Hotel in Santa Rosalia, and the La Pinta in Catavina.   Nice, real character, but not fancy.  The rooms have real keys.   We may or may not have Internet access.  The TV reception is not good, and in any event, there’s usually only one English-speaking station when you have reception.  They’re all clean, though, and it’s all part of the adventure.   And I don’t know about you, but when I’m riding exploring Baja, I’m not down there to fool around on Facebook or watch TV.   We’ll be doing the stuff that other folks dream about.

The Frances Hotel Lobby in Santa Rosalia

The Catavina Desert Inn Courtyard

I’ll be posting blogs in the next few days on what to pack, how much money to bring, our probable route with some options, and more.  In advance of that, here are some things you definitely want to consider while you’re getting organized.

We’re going to be on the road for 5 days, not 5 months.   Most folks bring way too much stuff.   Pack light.   For me, it’s a couple of pairs of jeans (one of which I’ll be wearing the first day), my riding boots, riding gloves, a couple of underwear changes, a couple of sock changes, deodorant, toothbrush, toilet paper, a couple of T-shirts, a sweatshirt, my motorcycle jacket and pants, and my helmet.

Make sure your jacket and pants are rainproof.  I have never ridden Baja without encountering rain, and I’ve been going down there for over 20 years.  Don’t think you can tough it out by just riding in the rain and getting wet.   I got hypothermia down there once doing that when I was younger and dumber (when I used to ride a Harley), and it was not fun.

The ultimate dweeb…all that unnecessary stuff, and I didn’t bring rain gear.

My advice is don’t bring an extra pair of shoes.   They take up too much space.  I wear a pair of Haix combat boots that I’ve had for 10 years.  They’re comfortable as slippers and they give good protection.

If you haven’t been to Mexico in a few years, bring a small bottle of Immodium.   You most likely won’t get sick, but you might (the same thing happens to the Mexicans when they come to the US).   I’ve been going down there so often the Baja bugs are living comfortably in my body, and the food doesn’t bother me.   If you haven’t been in Mexico for a while (or ever), it might get to you.   Don’t get scared.  It’s all part of the adventure, if it happens at all.

Immodium is your friend. Bring some toilet paper.

You might want to pack a couple of emergency bottles of GatorAde.   If it gets real hot (and it might), your minerals and such can get depleted.   GatorAde works wonders.    Not too much, just a small bottle or two.   Remember, pack light.

The temperatures will range from very hot to very cold.   We’ll actually come very close to being in the tropics, and it can get very cold in the early morning.

I’ll be posting about recommended tools in another blog.  The RX3 has a tool kit, but you’d be in a better spot with real tools.  You don’t need a Snap-On roll around tool chest; the RX-3 only needs a few tools and I’ll post what they are later this week.  A Swiss Army knife or a Leatherman tool (I use a Gerber) is a good thing to have.

I’m bringing a small tire pump.   You won’t need to.

I’m bringing a spare front and rear tube.   You should consider doing the same.

If you haven’t already bought the sheepskin seat cover, you should consider doing so.

You should bring some Bungee cords.  I have a Bungee cord net sort of thing (like the ones in your RX3 saddlebags) that I always bring with me on any motorcycle ride.

Bring a digital camera.   You’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t.   Don’t get carried away with extra lenses.  They will just be added weight.   Do bring extra batteries or your battery charger.  You can do a lot of zooming with your feet, so you won’t need a lens for every situation you can possibly imagine.

Wear a watch with an alarm.   You won’t have cell phone coverage down there unless you have international coverage, we won’t wait around for you to charge your cell phone, and if you’re not ready to roll in the morning, we’re still leaving on time.

Factor tips into your meals in your financial planning.   We want to treat these folks well.   My guess is all of you will be back.

One more bit of great news…I just got an email from my old Bajaeno traveling buddy, Primo.   He’s flying in from Florida to buy an RX3 and ride with us…so you’ll have two experienced Baja explorers to ride with on this trip!

Primo and Yours Truly, back in the day when real men didn’t wear rain gear and they froze their butts off!

That’s it for now, my friends.  Oh, this is going to be fun!

Our next three motorcycles went out the door this fine Sunday morning to the third, fourth, and fifth people to own RX3s in America!   Here are photos of Juddy, Abe, and Jack and Kimberly taking delivery of their new motorcycles…

We sure are having fun here at CSC, and all the good folks who are taking delivery on their new RX3s are going to do the same.

Watch for more info on the Baja run later today!

Folks, meet Greg and Paul, the first two guys in America to take delivery on an RX3!

Really cool, and congratulations, guys!   You are indeed the early adopters marketing folks dream about!

Greg is definitely going with us to Baja, and Paul is a strong maybe.   We’ve got about 11 people signed up for the Inaugural Baja Run as a result of me asking you to send your intent emails yesterday.  It’s going to be fun!

Whoa, the response to the Baja ride is strong!   I’m looking forward to this ride, and I know you are, too!   It’s going to be great.

We’ve had a few questions emerge in your various emails to me, and there’s more info I want you to have.   Here’s a partial set of comments and answers, and we’ll be posting more in the near term.

Motorcycle Payment.   If you’re going with us to Baja, you need to get your bike paid for right away (call Sara on Monday at 909 445 0900 to make this happen).    We need this so you can get your bike registered in your home state if you’re from out of California, and so that we can get it registered if you’re in California.

Bike Delivery/Pickup.   We need to know right away if you’re planning to pick up your bike here, if we’re delivering it to you, or if you want us to do the setup.

Setup at the CSC Plant.   Some of you have asked if you can set up the bike at our plant before the Baja trip.  It’s possible, but we want to discourage you from doing that.   We have room behind the factory and you can put your bike together back there, but if you want to do this, you will have to bring all required tools, gas, oil, an oil pan, a battery charger, etc.   We’d like to be able to help more here, but we’re a business and all of our people are extremely busy right now with the arrival of the RX3 motorcycles (and we do not lend out tools).   If you’re riding with us to Baja, my advice is to pay the $195 setup fee and let our techs do it for you (it’s what I’m doing on my bike).    You’ll know the bike will be properly assembled and you won’t have to carry all the tools and other stuff you’ll need to do the setup here.

Liability Release.   Yep, the legal beagles are at it again.   We are going to require that you sign a release if you’re going to Baja with us.

Insurance.   As mentioned earlier, you’ll need proof of US insurance and you’ll need a printed copy of your Mexico-specific insurance.    We recommend Baja Bound, and I’ll post info on how to get that.  Baja Bound has this wired, and you after you buy the insurance online, you can print the required proof of insurance stuff online.

Passport.   You’ll need a current US passport.   There are no exceptions to this if you want to go into Mexico with us.

Automobile/Truck/Trailer Parking.   We’ll have a spot for you to park your car, truck, or trailer if you’re driving out here to pick up your bike.  It won’t be at the plant (we don’t have room here), but it will be within a few miles.

Air Travel.   Ontario is the best airport to fly into.  It’s about 30 miles from the plant.

Local Hotels.   We’ll publish a list of nearby hotels for folks coming out here the night before we leave, and trust me on this, you need to be out here the day before we leave.   Don’t plan on riding in from Timbuktu Wednesday morning and making it here for our 4:30 a.m. Wednesday departure.

Break-In Oil Change.   If you’re picking up your bike immediately before the Baja trip or if you haven’t put enough miles on your bike to do the first oil change, we’ll do an oil change our first night in Baja.  You’ll need to bring your own oil and a new filter.  I’ll have the tools you’ll need for the oil change, but it would probably be a good idea for you to bring your own tools, too.

That’s it for now….and there’s much more to follow, so mantener los ojos en el blog!

Things are happening fast now that the RX3s are here.   Our new good buddy Ken was down from San Francisco with his family visiting Disneyland, he saw us on the Internet, he stopped by, and he pulled the trigger.  Yep, Ken’s buying a blue RX3, and he’s one happy camper!   All this happened while I was writing the previous blog showing the white RX3!

Welcome aboard, Ken!

The white RX3 is awesome, guys.   The first two we unpacked are white, and that color is stunning!

It’s difficult to get a true representation of the colors under fluorescent lights, so let me tell you just a bit…the white has a bit of pearl tone to it, and it has a very slight bluish-gray hue.   In a word, it’s awesome!

Jim, think Baja!

On the road…Baja’s Transpeninsular Highway through the rock formations around Catavina!

So, the RX3s are in, the dates are cast in concrete, and come H-E-Double-Hockeysticks or high water, we’re Baja bound, baby! We’re making this run from April 29 to May 3 (that’s Wednesday through Sunday), and here’s what we need to know:

• Are you in?
• Are you picking up your bike here at the plant now, are you picking it up here immediately before the Baja trip, or do you plan to have us ship it to you before the Baja trip?

Shoot me an email directly (jberk@cscmotorcycles.com) so I’ll know how many are going. We’re going to have a great time, my friends. I can’t wait.

Here are a few preliminary answers to the questions I know you’ll be asking:

You’ll need to be here the night before.  We’ll be pulling out of Azusa at 4:30 in the morning on Wednesday to avoid the LA and San Diego rush hour traffic.  Coffee is your friend, and we’ll have a pot going here.

The rule for our departure on each morning of the trip is this…if you’re not ready to leave when the group is, you’re on your own, because we’ll be down the road. I’ve done this before, and (trust me on this), if we don’t leave on time, we won’t be able to finish the trip on time.  That 0:Dark:30 departure on Wednesday, though, is for our first day only…we’ll leave at a more reasonable 8:00 a.m on all of the following days while we are in Mexico. 8:00 a.m. Not 8:10, or 8:15, or…well, you get the idea.

You’ll need your US passport, US insurance on your bike, and insurance for your bike in Mexico.  As I posted before, we strongly recommend Baja Bound Insurance. It’s the company I always use, and they are awesome.

Baja Bound: Our preferred Baja insurance provider!

Our good buddy Geoff, a VP at Baja Bound, will buy us all breakfast in Ensenada at Velero’s.     Trust me on this, folks…we’ll have covered about 200 miles at that point on our first day, and a breakfast at Velero’s is an awesome way to start a trip into Baja!

Breakfast at Velero’s in Ensenada courtesy of Baja Bound Insurance…it doesn’t get any better than this!

Well, maybe it does…we’ll all get fish tacos at my Guerrero Negro buddy Tony’s place…courtesy of your blogmeister!

Whoa…it just keeps getting better….another free meal…the lobster burritos at Mama Espinoza’s courtesy of CSC Motorcycles!

The next thing to consider…I want you to think very seriously about your riding skills from this perspective:   When we get on the open road, we’ll be running at speeds up to about 65 mph.   If you’re not comfortable riding at highway speeds yet because you are a new rider, you should take a pass on this Inaugural Baja Run.   We’ll be doing this ride every year, and if you have an RX3, you’re automatically invited.  If you’re not comfortable riding at these speeds, though, it would be better to plan on making the trip next year after you have a few more miles under your belt.   I did a group ride once with a guy that wanted to run 35 mph the whole distance, and I’m not going to do that again.  It’s unfair to the rest of the group.

You need to be on an RX3.   We’ve had a bunch of other folks write and tell us they want to ride with us on their BMW, or their Harley, or their whatever.   Folks, part of the CSC RX3 ownership experience is that we’re running these adventure rides for our riders.   If you have a Tiger or a Ducati or whatever, check out the adventure rides they run (you’ll find they don’t have any).   Better yet, if you ride anything other than an RX3, take the money you’d spend on your first couple of years of scheduled maintenance on your BMW or Ducati or Triumph, buy an RX3, and come ride with us!

The abandoned Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana Velicata

The ride will be exclusively on asphalt, or it will mostly be on asphalt.  It’s your call.  If you want to see the cave paintings, the abandoned Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana Velicata, Coco’s Corner, or the Isla Del Carmen shipwreck in San Jacinto, it will mandate a few miles on dirt roads, but we’ll make that decision as a group, and if anyone doesn’t want to ride in the dirt, we’ll take those places off the list.    Believe me, there’s plenty of other cool stuff to see in Baja.

You’ll probably need about $850 (maybe less) for expenses along the way.  If you want to share a room with one of the other riders, that number will drop sharply.   I’ll refine the cost estimate based on the scouting run I did a couple of weeks ago with Susie, and I’ll post that in the next few days.

I’m off on another secret mission this coming Wednesday for Steve (it’s Canada this time, folks), but I’ll be reachable via email if you have any questions.

That’s it for now, boys and girls.   Don’t read anything negative into the above.  I want you to ride with us and I (as always) can’t wait to get my knees in the breeze and point my new RX3 toward Baja.   I’m getting the orange one….I hear they’re faster than the others!

As many of you know, Revzilla recently published a piece on the CSC RX3 on their online magazine (you can see it here).    The article is getting some interesting comments, including one from our good buddy Jay in Malaysia I’ll quote a few excerpts from…

…thanks to online tutorials from Joe Berk, and the good guys from CSC,  I can now…change oil by myself…and even TRY to change tyres (kept pinching the freaking tube).

The point is, I believe the CSC business model is encouraging new riders such as myself to get our hands dirty, operating on a motorcycle and all. Being a rider who loves adventure-riding, sooner or later I will have to make my own repairs by the roadside. Or riverside. And I rather have the knowledge beforehand than trying to figure out which wrench I have to use to open up my wheel in the middle of nowhere.

And, when I’m stuck at some desolate jungle in Borneo here with my flat tyre, I will be sure to thank Joe for the tyre-changing tutorial.

Thanks CSC!

Well, after reading that, you’d think I might get a swollen head.   Actually, it’s a bit late for that…I already have one, as evidenced by the XL full face helmet I wear.  But that can come in handy, too!    Here’s another comment on that Revzilla article…this time from our buddy Piglet2010…

Will an XL Bell Vortex fit in a pannier or the top box?

Well, Piglet2010, I don’t know about your Bell helmet, but just for you I took the following two photos a few minutes ago.   My HJC carbon fiber helmet (size XL, by the way), fits in there just fine…

Please note that the top box you see in the photo above is our optional Tourfella luggage set ($849.95).   A full face helmet will not fit in the stock RX3 luggage.