CSC Blog

We’re hooked on American Pickers.  I’ve mentioned that show a few times before here on the blog.  I like it.  A lot.   It’s great entertainment, the people are fascinating, it’s Americana, and they do a lot with motorcycles.   Mark my words…one of these days we’ll see them buying a Mustang.   Both Frank and Mike are gearheads, and they find interesting things.   Susie and I record every one of those shows on the DVR and we watch them at our leisure.   She loves it as much as I do.

The American Pickers episode we watched last night featured a Royal Pioneer motorcycle.  I thought I knew a lot about motorcycles, but I had never heard of Royal Pioneer.   Small wonder, as only 4 are known to exist and only about 500 were manufactured back in 1910.   The boys bought a basket case for, get this, $55,000!

The Royal Pioneer motorcycle

You know, there’s more to American Pickers than just watching a couple of cool dudes and their delightful inked-up assistant buying cool stuff.  If you think about it, it’s really a subliminal education on how business works.   Buy low, buy quality, rarity counts, treat everybody well, and sell at a profit.   I love it.

The other training topic American Pickers handles well is negotiation.   These guys view negotiation not as an adversarial endeavor, but rather, a situation in which the buyer and seller are working together to find common ground.   Backing off when things aren’t moving forward, bundling things to reach agreement, gentle suggestions…it’s all there.   The show could be titled Negotiation 101 (it wouldn’t be as catchy a title, but it sure would be accurate).  I love negotiating.   It’s a grand game and I love playing it.

Just the other day I took advantage of a negotiating opportunity.  You know I’m a firearms enthusiast.    I enjoy shooting and I enjoy reloading.   I’m always on the lookout, too, for a few guns I still have on my wish list.   One such firearm on the “someday” list has been a 300 Weatherby Magnum.   I’ve been watching the Internet auction boards for 5 or 6 years now looking for one that was priced right, realizing I’d still have to pay the transfer fees, etc., to bring it in from wherever to California.

Why a Weatherby?  Well, I once met Roy Weatherby.  He was a hell of man and a personal hero.   He designed his own rifles and cartridges.   The 300 Weatherby Magnum is his signature cartridge.   It’s why I wanted one.

So one day a couple of weeks ago Susie and I had lunch in Pasadena with a fellow from India.    That meeting may someday lead to another secret mission (this time to the subcontinent, which might be interesting as I’ve never been there).   But all that’s beside the point.    On the way home, the traffic was terrible (it was the Friday before the Labor Day holiday).   We diverted to surface streets on the way back and, what do you know, I spotted a little gun store (“The Gunrunner” in Duarte).    We stopped in and they had a consignment rifle…and it was the one I’d been seeking for several years.  A 300 Weatherby Magnum with a scope, a sling, and a case.  It looked new to me, but it was used.   Used, and in “as new” condition.

“How much?” I asked.

“$500,” the sales guy replied.   Hmmmmm.   That was actually a great price.   It was an especially great price considering I wouldn’t have to bring it in from out of state, there would be no freight or transfer fees, its condition was stellar, and it was what I had wanted for a long time.  I  didn’t answer, but I kept looking at the rifle.   Susie just stared daggers at me.    That’s another negotiating trick.   Bring your significant other with you and have her pretend to be opposed to your purchasing whatever it is you want to purchase.   In this case, though, I’m not so sure she was pretending…

I was just about to say okay when the sales guy spoke up again.

“How about $500 and I’ll pick up the DROS fees,”  he said.    (The “DROS fees” are the fees associated with the background checks, etc., so the State of California can be certain I won’t run out and hold up a gas station with the thing.)

“Make it $475 and we’ve got a deal,” I said.

And that’s how you get ‘r done, folks, as another one of my heroes would say.

My "new to me" 300 Weatherby

The test target provided with every new Weatherby...this one grouped 3 shots into an inch at 100 yards!

That’s it for now, folks…the President is about to give his address to the nation, and I don’t want to miss that!

Ride safe and stay tuned…

No, that’s not the beginning of our toll free number (although if you must know, it’s 800 884 4173).   The 800 in this case refers to this blog post.   Yep, this is our 800th blog entry!   Wow, like the bullfrogs say, time’s sure fun when you’re having flies (or something like that).  800 blogs.  Wowee!

There’s an interesting thread over on the ADVRider forum about scooters and sidecars.   When I saw it I knew I had to post this YouTube we did some time ago when Lupe and I went for a ride at lunch time.   It’s a favorite of mine.  All right, since you asked….here you go…

I’ve got five or six blog entries backed up, folks, so keep an eye on us.  Lots of fun stuff coming up!

Here’s that note from our good buddy Howard I mentioned earlier, folks…he’s riding the Black Hills of South Dakota!

Joe…

I had another really good ride this past weekend. A couple of friends from Keystone, SD took me through Custer State Park, the Black Hills, and some great back country very few people from outside ever see.

Another real good day of riding, in some beautiful country, with friends.  These are my friends John and Karen from Keystone, SD, who took me on the great ride.

Howard

Wow, what a couple of great shots!  Howard, that photo of you on your California Scooter could be a magazine cover…it’s awesome!   You sure do get around, and we sure love reading about your exploits.

I’ve visited South Dakota’s Black Hills for Motorcycle Classics magazine, and in my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful places on the planet.  I especially liked Custer State Park.  Susie and I had a wonderful time while we there and I grabbed some really great shots.   There’s a lot to see and do in South Dakota, and if any of you have ever thought about a visit, I’d strongly recommend you do so.   If you want to see a few more of my South Dakota photos, just click here.

That’s it for now, guys.  I’ve got a session on the rifle range scheduled with a few friends this weekend, so I need to reload some ammo to get ready for it.

Ride safe, shoot straight, and keep an eye on the blog!

The Crest, of course, is the Angeles Crest Highway…also known as California Highway 2.

Take a look at this nice note I received yesterday from San Marino Bill…

Joe:

That little Bobber project bike is running great, thanks to the crew at CSC.  

I finally left the city limits today at about 9:30am (9/5/13).   I started up Highway 2 thinking I would go up to Clear Creek Junction.  Well that was only 9 miles, so Mt. Wilson was next, then Chilao campground.

Once I was above 5000 ft. it cooled off.

Thanks to the crew at CSC for making this possible.  

Bill

San Marino Bill's Bobber

Thanks for your nice note, Bill!

The Crest (Angeles Crest Highway, or Highway 2 as it is officially known) is the stuff of legends.   It cuts across the San Gabriel Mountains from the Los Angeles side of things over to the High Desert through Wrightwood.   On the weekends there are tons of bikes up there and lots of CHP, which is probably a good thing because of the squids who use it as their own private race track.  I still like to ride it, though, and if possible, I’ll ride on the weekdays instead of the weekend (like San Marino Bill did yesterday).  Newcomb’s Ranch, the famous biker restaurant, is the place to be for breakfast.   It’s not unusual to see Jay Leno and other celebs up there.   We even had one of our company rides on it a year or two ago, and it’s figured prominently in a few of our videos…

There more good stuff coming on the blog, folks.   I received some great photos from Howard this week…he’s cruising through South Dakota on his P-51 California Scooter.   And TK has outdone himself…you know how he sometimes sells bikes two at a time?   Well, in his latest achievement, not only did he sell two bikes…but he sold them to twins!   Yep, you read that right…and I can’t wait to get photos when those boys pick up their bikes!

Don't let the scowl fool you...customers love TK, and he's selling bikes two at a time!

Stay tuned, boys and girls!

This is one awesome snake, and I just had to share it with you guys…

Yeah, I know.  Everybody has that reaction.   Gotcha, didn’t I?   Like I said above, sorry, folks…

It’s been terribly hot out here in So Cal for the last week.   And humid, too, which is very unusual for us.   It’s just too hot to ride, so my apologies for not having any new videos to show you for a few days.   So I’ve been living vicariously through our earlier videos, though, and in looking back over our them, though, I saw quite a few that I really like.   We have something approaching 100 CSC videos on YouTube right now, and if all goes well, I’ll be adding to that number in the near future.   You might take a look at our CSC videos page, as I’ve updated it with a few favorites.

I’m thinking of doing a new video compilation of our earlier Land Speed Record bike.   That was a fun venture.   As a memory jog, here’s a quick video on of our rider Syl at speed on the CSC LSR bike…

That’s it for now, folks. Ride safe and stay cool!

Wow, it’s been hot out here.   Humid, too, which is unusual for southern California.   Too hot for me to ride…and I thought it was just me, until I received this nice note from San Marino Bill….

Joe:

This is from my ride with my son (from Danville, California) on Sunday 9/1/13.

We had a great ride  through the hills of Pasadena and La Canada Flintridge.  We cut it short when the temperature got to 90. 

Bill

Bill, I sure understand that…it’s not a lot of fun being all bundled up with all the protective gear and riding when it’s hot and humid.   That said, we’re having dinner with Steve and the Boss tonight, and after it cools down a bit this evening I may just fire up the Baja Blaster and go for a short putt.

Thanks for your nice note…the photo of your two CSC motos in front of the Rose Bowl is great.   We’re glad you and your son are enjoying those magnificent California Scooters!

Stay cool…

Howard sure gets around, folks…check out these most recent photos of Howard’s ongoing trip through Wyoming and Montana, including stops at Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Park!

We’re really happy to see you making the rounds on your CSC motorcycle, Howard, and you are a fine ambassador for the California Scooter Company.  Ride safe and keep those photos coming!

When I stopped by the plant yesterday these three bikes were parked out front…these are ready to rock motorcycles you can buy right now!

Here’s a red CSC-150…it’s the same color as my personal ride and it sure looks good…

This is a blue CSC-150…and the sunlight sure makes it stand out.   It’s a beautiful bike!

Here’s the last of the Bobbers…these are awesome motorcycles.   Bobbers are a special breed…there are only 5 or 6 of these CSC bikes in existence!

Give TK a call at 800 884 4173…he’s got the details on all of these and he’d be happy to help.

My good buddy Eric spotted this bright orange CSC motorcycle at Swerve ‘N’ Curve No. 14 a short while ago…he posted it on Facebook and graciously consented to let me use it here!

I checked with TK and we think this just might be Redondo Beach Cindy’s bike…we’ve done quite a few bikes in orange lately and it’s hard to keep track of all of them!   Orange is a very popular color this year and we are seeing it a lot.

For those of you who don’t know, Swerve ‘N’ Curve is LA’s oldest scooter rally.  I didn’t make it this year, but you can bet your fringed saddle (I have one exactly like Cindy’s on my bike) I’ll be there next year.

Thanks for the photo, Eric!

Check this one out, boys and girls!

Yellow just flat works on these bikes….and did you catch the “Mustang” logo on the gas tank?   It’s doubly awesome, or epic, or whatever the kids say these days about something that is cool beyond description!

That’s a hand-painted Mustang logo (it’s not a decal) and the photo just doesn’t do it justice.   I rode this bike in the parking lot when I shot these photos, and I can tell you that 250cc engine rocks!

This particular P-51 is going to California Ed up in Campbell…and don’t worry, Ed, I babied this beauty when I took her out for the photo shoot.   You are one lucky dude, my friend…a custom yellow paint job with a custom painted Mustang logo and the P-51 powerplant…you are going to have a lot of fun!

Congratulations on your new ride, Ed, and thanks from the California Scooter Company.

Ride safe, everyone!