Folks, there’s a pretty lively discussion going on right now over on the Adventure Rider board concerning your favorite motorcycle! Why not weigh in with your opinion?
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=762803
Be nice, it’s easy to get some of these discussion board commandos tweaked!
A thousand words. Or so they say.
Boy, do I feel like a dummy…a great ride yesterday and no pictures for the blog. So why do I feel like a dummy? Read on, my friends.
I just returned from Southeast Asia (now there’s a phrase that conjures up a strong sense of déjà vu). The time change coming from Asia to the US is always tough for me. Going there, I’m tuned into the local time in a day. Coming home, it takes me a good week or two to stop waking up at 3:00 a.m., wide awake, and unable to fall asleep again. So I’ve been getting up that early and doing things all week long. Like writing this blog.
It really caught up with me Wednesday. I’ve been traveling almost nonstop for the last three months. A trip to Thailand, back home, a long trip to China, back home, a quick trip into Mexico to see the whales, back home, another trip to Bangkok, and back home again last Friday night. One week ago, exactly. By Wednesday of this week I was fried. I almost didn’t think I’d make it through the day without falling asleep, but I did, and I got a good solid 8 hours Wednesday night. When I woke up yesterday, I was fresh, and that was a good thing because I had a lot of stuff to get done.
Some off-the-main-topic advice…if anyone ever asks you to be the executor of their estate, take a pass. No one ever told me that, so when my cousin asked me to be his executor, I said okay. Folks, it was a lot of work, it took a year and a half, but I knew it was all coming to an end yesterday. How much work? Cleaning out my cousin’s apartment, paying all of his outstanding bills, getting copies of death certificates, multiple visits to all of the banks he used, lots of lawyer meetings, papers back and forth to the courts…you get the idea. But yesterday was the day I had been waiting to see. I had to get up early, do one more transfer of a bunch of estate money into one big account (more trips to different banks), and then there was what I hope will be my next-to-last meeting with the lawyers to sign it all into their trust accounts. Now the legal beagles can start making payments to all of the charities to whom my cousin left his estate. It’s a good feeling to get it behind me.
So good, in fact, that I needed to go for a motorcycle ride. And for me, that means hopping on my California Scooter. The Baja Blaster. Bright red. Chrome. Cool. The most fun ride I’ve ever owned. I pushed the bike out of the garage, and I felt a little guilty as I did so. I hadn’t ridden in about a month. You know the feeling when you ignore your baby for too long…is she going to start?
No problem here, folks. I put the key in, no choke at all, and briefly touched the starter button. Instant gratification. The little CSC 150 engine jumped to life and settled into an easy purr. A quick collection of my riding gear (helmet, gloves, and jacket), and I’m in the wind. What a day! I know some of you readers are living with snow, rain, and cold weather. It was 80 degrees in California yesterday, and not a cloud in the sky. Life is good.
Hmmm. Where to? Well, we need a new tax guy. I think I’m a pretty savvy guy, but I don’t like doing my taxes. I’m not afraid of too many things, but one fear high on my list is giving too much money to the Big G. I’m a pretty conservative guy, and I just don’t like what the guys in Washington do with the money they take from us. So I always want to get a guy to do my taxes who’s not going to leave anything on the table. The problem with this philosophy, though, is there are a lot of flaky tax guys out there. I’ve been through three of them in the last three years. I used to have a great one, but he retired.
There’s a tax service I’ve seen for years down on Foothill Boulevard. I always thought the guys who work there must be pretty good and pretty cool. No, I didn’t get any referrals from other folks…my conclusion is based on more tangible evidence…the two 1956 bright red Ford pickups parked out front. Anybody with those wheels has to be good at what they do.
So as I pulled up on the Baja Blaster, my new best friend and tax guy Brian was just climbing into his classic ’56 Ford. “What have you got there?” he asked. Brian was really taken with my modern Mustang, I was really taken with his ’56, and we started talking. Turns out we’re both riders (he’s got a Triumph, a BMW, and a KLR), and even though ol’ Brian’s not taking on new clients, he agreed to take my business.
A good day, off to a good start, and it’s gonna get even better. It was almost noon by that time, and I was getting hungry. You know, on a nice day, a good aroma travels, and there’s an In-N-Out just up the road. Grilled onions and hamburgers…I can smell them from here, and I know where I’m headed for lunch.
I rolled up on my California Scooter. Everyone in the outdoor In-N-Out line turned and smiled at my bike. Yeah, I know…I’m a rock star. I parked, took my place in line, and the questions started. It’s a California Scooter. We make them right here in southern California. 98 miles per gallon. Yep, they’re fully street legal. Ah, I’m up to the window now. I love this part because I know about the secret menu, the good stuff that’s not posted on the In-N-Out board. “I’ll take mine Animal Style,” I said. A knowing smile from the pretty young girl behind the counter. 10 minutes later I’m enjoying the best burger on the planet. Grilled onions. Secret sauce. A diet Coke. Absolutely perfect fries. Wow, this is good! Lynda, thanks to you and your family for this little slice of Heaven on Earth!
My Baja Blaster started up again, and I thought I’d head home. Nope, it’s too nice a day. The bike found its way up to the little artist colony of Padua in the foothills. My little thumper is running just perfectly. It’s gotta be my imagination, but I swear that thing is getting faster every time I ride it. On up into the San Gabriels, cranking along at a good 50 mph climbing up to Mt. Baldy Village. The scenery is magnificent, and that’s when I realize I should have brought my Nikon. I know I’ve posted a lot of photos of this road on the blog already, but the views were so vivid and the skies so blue that I felt like I was cheating you guys without taking photos. I sure wished I had my camera. Ah, well. The ride was too beautiful to worry about it too much.
I rolled past the Mt. Baldy Lodge. As is usually the case, there were a handful of V-twin Buffet Racers parked out front. Lots of chrome. Lots of fringe. Open pipes. Ride to eat, eat to ride, or something like that.
I didn’t want to stop at the Mt. Baldy Lodge (it’s my usual turn-around point), so I didn’t. I rode all the way up to the ski lift, another several miles of 15% grades and switchbacks. Pungent pine smells in the crisp mountain air. The temperature dropped another 15 degrees (maybe it got down to a cool 65). The sky became a darker blue. Stunning, stupendous, magnificent, picture postcard scenes. And me with no camera. Sorry, guys.
Last night, as I was falling asleep watching whatever the TV folks are trying to pass off as entertainment these days, I thought about all of the great views I had on my ride earlier in the day. Then my cell phone rang. I remembered checking it on my earlier motorcycle ride several times. I always get nervous that the cell phone case is going to fall off my belt when I’m riding. The cell phone case that holds my new iPhone. You know, the one with the built-in camera that takes absolutely beautiful pictures. Yeah, I know, I forgot I had it while I was riding, even as I was checking to make sure it was still there. Now you know why I feel like a dummy today. Or maybe not. I could just take that ride again….
And about that business of picture being worth a thousand words…I don’t know. You tell me. No pictures, and this blog entry is exactly 1,513 words.
Next time…more pictures, fewer words. I promise.
I don’t watch much football, but I always catch the Super Bowl, and I do so mostly for the commercials. They’re the greatest, and sometimes they’re so edgy they cut. Heard the latest about Ford going ballistic over Chevy’s Super Bowl commercial? Seems those boys just can’t take a good-natured jab…
Personally, I liked it, but I liked Clint Eastwood’s Chrysler commercial even more…
Clint Eastwood…he’s an American original and the greatest motion picture artist in the world. I’ll bet I’ve seen every movie he’s ever made at at least three times.
All that aside, there’s even controversy about Clint Eastwood’s Super Bowl commercial. Some folks think it’s an endorsement for the auto bailouts and the Obama administration. I didn’t view it that way. I don’t know Mr. Eastwood personally, but if I had to guess, I’d bet his view of the world is not too different than yours and mine.
Maybe I’m just getting old and I’m not sharp enough to see the trouble other folks find where I’m pretty sure none exists. Nah, I don’t think so. I think some of these other folks just need to lighten up a bit.
I’m still feeling pretty good and I’m still feeling pretty young…and if I ever do start to feel like I’m getting crotchety, I’ll just hop on my California Scooter and go for a ride. I know that works, and so does my good buddy Simon Gandolfi. You’ll remember Simon from our Baja trip. This youngster turns 80 tomorrow…and he’s planning his next round-the-world motorcycle trip as he does so…
Simon Gandolfi, who turns 80 tomorrow, with his California Scooter somewhere in Baja!
Happy Birthday, Simon, and best wishes from the CSC crew for many more!
And you folks who have your shorts in a knot over those Super Bowl commercials, swing by the plant and we’ll take you for a California Scooter ride up in the San Gabriels. Life will look better when we do!
I have been traveling almost nonstop for the last few months, and today is the first day in a long time I’m kicking back with a cup of coffee at the plant. Feels good to unwind for a bit and catch up with the blog. I asked the guys what’s new and what’s good to put on the blog..and the standard answer came back…”well, not a lot….”
Ha! Not quite. I took a quick walk around the plant and there were all kinds of goodies…like this barn bike that Steve took in a few days ago…
It’s a ’59 Mustang, and it was literally stored under a porch since the 1970s! Here’s a few more shots of the goodies that came with Steve’s latest acquisition…
By the way, Steve told me he’d sell that bike…and he also said if any of you have vintage bikes you’d like to unload, we’re interested! Speaking of which, check out this cool little sidecar-equipped Trail 110 Honda Steve scored recently…
I gotta get out on that little Honda….maybe Lupe will let me take her for a sidecar ride. And speaking of Lupe, a couple of you bloggistas asked how come she hasn’t graced the blog recently…so here you go!
I gotta confess, I love taking photos, and I especially love grabbing shots of interesting people. I sure did a lot of that with this burst of travel over the last couple of months. Wanna see?
Okay, you got it…here are just a few…let’s see if you can guess the locales for these secret missions!
That’s it for today, boys and girls…and like always, there’s more to come. Keep coming back, ’cause we’ll keep posting!
Barn finds. Vintage bikes in pristine condition that someone discovers hidden away under the hay and maybe a tarp. Always in an abandoned barn. Tall tales, to be sure…
We’ve all heard the stories…somebody finds a brand new Knucklehead left in the horse stall when the owner went to war. Or how about the rumor that went around when we were kids…surplus US Army Harley 45s for $25?
Most of those stories are the stuff of legends, but I suspect most bore a striking resemblance to what emanates from the southern end of a northbound horse.
But this one is real.
Steve found four brand new 2010 California Scooters. Yep. Brand new. 2010 models. Two of them are in that gorgeous baby blue that you can’t get anymore (I always thought that was one of our best colors ever). Another one’s a black Classic. And the fourth one is a Greaser. They’re all in Texas. I’m not sure if they came out of a barn, but they’re all brand new bikes, they’re all real, and they’re all gonna go to their new owners for just…well, read on!
Don’t believe me?
Hey, a picture’s worth a thousand words. Check this out…
So here’s the deal…Steve bought them all. He doesn’t want to ship them back to California. If you want one of these and you can pick them up in Houston, they’re just $3295 (except maybe the black Classic, ’cause that bike has a pipe and a rack). You gotta pick up the bike at this low price, though. I suppose we can make arrangements to get them shipped elsewhere, but these are gonna go fast and they’re probably gonna go to lucky folks in Texas.
Yep, that’s what the man said…$3295, and you pick up your new bike in Texas. Brand new. Don’t sit on this one, folks! Give TK a call at 800 884 4173. But you gotta act fast!
No, it’s not likely we’re going to release a boxer twin CSC any time soon, but when my good buddy Carlos sent this elegant video to me, I knew in the first couple of seconds I’d have to share it with you!
Thanks very much, Carl…it’s a super video. You know, I think in another 50 years or so people will be viewing some of the bikes we’re making right now the same way that video shows those elegant Teutonic twins. In moving from the old Mustang to the modern CSC, we’ve kept the magic while improving the breed…
Sully checking out Steve's all original '53 Pony, and our latest show bike (which sold within minutes of appearing right here on the blog)!
And maybe something a little less elegant in the way of interesting videos…being a gearhead on a secret mission, I couldn’t resist trying out a new trike. I’m just a passenger in this one, but boys and girls, grab a cup of coffee and let’s go for a tuk tuk ride!
About 1,000 lbs, that is…watch how gracefully Motor Officer Donnie Williams throws his weighty Harley police motor around…
Now y’all remember…you take this course, and you could ride your motorcycle just like that!
Yep, that very same one that lurks in any gearhead’s mind! Coast-to-coast! No rules! Whoa!
We all know of it. Most of the rest of the world first heard about it in one of Burt Reynold’s less-than-stellar road trip movies (I really liked Smokey and the Bandit, but ol’ Burt should have fired the writers who did The Cannonball Run). Burt’s misadventures notwithstanding, the concept of the Cannonball is something that sticks in any gearhead’s mind…a coast to coast “rally” and all that it entails.
The Cannonball Run is actually named for Erwin “Cannonball” Baker, an early American motorcycle and automobile racer who completed no fewer than (get this) 143 coast-to-coast motorcycle runs! Yep, you read that right, boys and girls. 143 runs across the good ol’ USA. That’s about 550,000 miles! The thing that makes all of this even more interesting is Cannonball Baker did this well before motorcycles attained their current reliability levels…his riding was done in an era of kick starters and baling wire repairs. Absolutely awesome stuff.
Cannonballers Extraordinaire...Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, Bill Murar on a California Scooter in the Lake Erie Loop, and Alan Spears of MSILSF!
Wanna hear something even more awesome? Our good buddies Alan Spears (of Motor Scooter International Land Speed Federation fame, the same folks who sanction the Salton Sea and Hell’s Loop rallies and the land speed trials) and Bill Murar (of Lake Erie Loop fame) are organizing a Cannonball Scooter run. Arlene Battishill (the Go Go Gear president) is riding her CSC motorcycle in the Cannonball Run, and we’re really excited about that! Not only is she riding in the New York to California event…she’s riding from California to get to the starting point in Manhattan (as are Alan and another rider named Jeff Corsaro)! Wowee! A coast-to-coast run to get to a coast-to-coast run!
If you’re one of the real riders and you want to test your mettle and your metal, you just might be interested in riding in The Real Cannonball, too! Check out the event at the MSILSF website!
Our good buddy Lloyd and his beautiful wife in Palm Springs are the proud new owners of this beautiful CSC Classic…
In metallic ruby red and with chrome wheels and a rack, this bike’s colors really work! Way to go Lloyd!
And in the somewhat unusual category, check out this interesting photo our friend Jimbo Cavanaugh found for us…
Seems like these fellows found a way to fix the left side/right side issue…which would work well for the cars I’m seeing on the street right now. Yep, they drive on the wrong side of the street in this latest secret destination!
More to come, folks, including Alan’s photo of a V-twin stuffed into a little scooter frame…it’s gonna be a good one…keep coming back!
TT250 Enduro
SG250 San Gabriel Cafe Racer