CSC Blog

Nope, not Gordon… 

The gecko I’m talking about is the one you see on TV…in what I consider to be some of the coolest commercials ever!

I mentioned a few months ago that my old insurance company had raised their rates in what I felt was a capricious manner, and I shopped around a bit.  I was surprised at how inexpensive Geico Insurance was (just $98 per year for my California Scooter), so I went with them. 

When our favorite people (that would be you folks) ask about insurance, I always mention what I discovered, and I guess more than a few of you did the same thing I did…you went with Geico.

I was in the office yesterday, and a box in the mail had my name on it.  I sure was surprised when I opened it…it was a box of goodies from our good friend Dan Chao at Geico, and it included a stuffed gecko.  Yep, it’s the gecko hitching a ride on my red Classic (as you see in the photo above).  Everybody at California Scooter wants the Geico gecko that Dan sent to me, but sorry folks…this one’s mine. 

I told Dan about the reaction to the green lizard, and he’s sending a bunch more our way.  We’d like to return the favor and send a bunch more customers Dan’s way, and we’d like you to get a good deal on your insurance.  So if you’re looking for insurance on your California Scooter, give Dan a call at (925) 676-1111 or drop him an email at dchao@geico.com.  Tell him Joe sent you…

Thanks again, Dan!

And here’s another great photo from James in Santa Barbara showing motor officers in Lompoc, California…this one goes all the way back to 1924!

All the way from 1924!!!

James, a big California Scooter thanks to you, too!  What a great photo!

As some of you know, I run a page featuring police motorcycles over on the www.motofoto.cc site, and I often receive interesting photos from folks who visit that site.    Here’s one I received earlier today from Mr. Donovan, with his note to me below it…

Al Donovan on his 1950 Police Harley in Clearwater, Florida

Here’s what Al had to say…

Al Donovan on his 1950 Harley 61 ci. It would run 93mph with a tail wind. But with big a big sprocket it was good for a drag which made it practical for city work.  The radio had tubes and we had to keep the transceiver shut off as the battery wouldn’t hold up. To send a message we had to stop and turn it on. The siren was run by friction off the front wheel so it was useless if you slowed way down and stopped. One of my favourite non-approved things to do was to go downtown at late night and rev the engine in a low gear and retard the spark and cut the throttle and enjoy hearing the great loud backfires reverberate off the building walls of the empty businesses. The steering head had damper which was manually tightened or loosened to help control handling. All bikers learned early to retard that spark when kick starting the bike or else it could throw you up and off. My regular police cap was without the wire shape stiffener as with it in the thing would blow off even at slow speeds. So when we ran down the highway it looked really silly as it billowed up like a large blue chef’s cap. My regular beat was Clearwater Beach and the causeway over to the island. We worked 6 days a week back then and the key word was we worked a minimum of 48 hours week. If your day off came on a holiday you just lost it, there was no such thing as overtime. Our starting pay was $150 a month but after a year it rose magnificently to $175. We were allowed to park the bike when it rained or if the temperature got below 32f. That only happened once. I remember one cold day riding by the beach on New Years day and looking at all the Yankee tourists swimming in the water while I had on every bit of clothing I could get on and freezing to death. Ah! The good old days!

Al, you made our day with this photo and your note…thanks very much for sharing it, and the next time you’re in California, please stop by.  We’d love to let you ride one of our California Scooters and get your impressions of how it compares to your police motor!

Yep, we made the news again…the Whittier Times, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and the Pasadena Star News all ran stories about California Scooter Company motorcycles being fully ADR-compliant (“ADR” stands for Australian Design Rules).  You can read the story here.

The holidays are fast approaching…and we’re still going to get some riding in.   Arlene’s coming over on Friday, and we’re gonna fire up the Scooters and head for the hills.   If you’re in the neighborhood, why don’t you join us?  We’re gonna be up on Glendora Ridge Road, my favorite riding spot.  

And guess what?  Motorcycle Classics magazine is using one of our GRR rides as its next “Destinations” piece (please be sure to pick up a copy).    Our good friends at Motorcycle Classics are going to use this photo of Steve on the Rockstar bike, looking at a few of Glendora Ridge Road’s 234 curves!

Steve and the California Scooter Rock Star on Glendora Ridge Road

I’ll grab a few shots on our Friday ride and post them here!

Oh, and if you like reading about Baja, pick up a copy of RoadBike magazine.   The January/February issue has a great story about riding in Mexico’s Baja peninsula, with a lot of photos you haven’t seen before.

That’s it for now, folks…ride safe!

We recently received this email from Macrae Brunker of the Brown Ford dealership in Cordell, Oklahoma (one of our highest volume California Scooter dealers)…

Greetings from Cordell, OK.  Thought you’d like to see Henry Ford riding a California Scooter.  We get a lot of double-takes from people thinking it’s a real person and he’s been the center of a few practical jokes around the dealership.  Have a good day!

Like Henry used to say, you can get a California Scooter in any color you want, as long as it’s black, red, blue, pink and white, flat black, or any one of John Esposito’s custom colors…

Hey, Macrae, thanks for sending your photo to us!

Yep, that’s right, we’ve passed all the tests, filled out all the forms, and California Scooters are ready to rock and roll in Australia.  We’ve been selling the big Pro-One Performance V-twins for years Down Under, and now our California Scooters are good to go, too! 

I had a lot of fun watching the guys loading a 40-foot shipping container this morning with 18 California Scooters, 6 Pro-One bikes, and lots of accessories.  It’s all headed for Magnum Performance, one of our dealers.  

An Australian collection of bikes and other good stuff, all headed for Magnum Performance!

Good stuff, this is!  And if you’re reading this in Australia, the answer is yes, we are looking to expand our dealer network…give us a call if you are interested!

The Lone Star State, and one of our best sales areas…we’ve sure had a great group of folks buy California Scooters in Texas.   Did you know that Texas was one of the best sales areas for the Mustang motorcycle, too?    What do you think…is it something in the water, or do those good ol’ boys just recognize a great thing when they see it?

Our good buddy Fred sent us this photo from Bluff Dale, Texas, which is a bit southwest of Fort Worth and Granbury.   As you may know, “Foat Wuth” is where the west begins…just ask anyone who lives there! 

Check out Fred, a proud Texan on his brand new red Classic…

Our good buddy Fred, riding tall in Texas!

What a great shot!  I wish I could say I took that photo, but I didn’t.  That Texas flag behind Fred sure looks good, too!  And that would be a great color combo for a custom Scooter…maybe we would call it a “Texas Two-Wheeler” instead of…no, Steve might not go for it.

I gotta tell ya, I used to live just outside of Fort Worth, and those roads through Granbury and the surrounding areas are awesome.  I’ve explored a lot of them on my Harley and my Triumph back in the day.  I love everything around Fort Worth and, well, Texas in general.   Camp Bowie Boulevard, the Amon Carter Museum, Angelo’s Barbeque, the warm summer nights…it’s a great area with great people.

Fred, I’m jealous…

This arrived in the mail today…it’s my Mexico moto buddy John Welker’s video of Sylvain at speed last Sunday, setting the new land speed record at 74 mph on a 150cc California Scooter.   Take a look at Sylvain flying below the cloud cover!

Great job, Syl!

Our Holiday Specials are gonna be running flat out starting next week…just like Syl on the LSR bike!

Call us at 800 884 4173 after this Thanksgiving weekend to learn more! 

This won’t last long, folks, so give us a call!

And have a great Thanksgiving!

Our good buddy Fred just bought a red California Scooter Company Classic (my favorite color for these great bikes, as you well know), and he sent a nice note to TK about his new toy arriving yesterday…

Hi T.K…….

Hope you guys are at work today because I need to brag a bunch more about the bike, the packing and just general customer service.  I’ll probably put a lot of words on you….but just hit the delete key when you’ve had enough!!  The Bike came yesterday as I mentioned in my previous memo.  The packing and crating was like opening up a surprise package.  Everything was there and arrived in “perfect” condition…..well built skid and crate.  The transportation guys took very good care also…..and I was super relieved.  The entire order taken by you was in the box, except for the paperwork and that came in the mail today.

The bike is built well and is heavy gauge steel and should last for a whole lifetime…..nothing tinny at all.  Looked over all the parts and everything looked good at first blush.  Thanks for installing the windshield hangers in the proper place on the forks.  The chrome pipe didn’t seem to be in a large enough package…..but as I opened it, there were the pieces all laid out.  Was surprised to find the pipe came in two pieces and that it is really a “Sneaky” chrome pipe.  I didn’t expect the header pipe to be so thick and stout….and the fact that the chrome piece covers the black pipe makes it even better.  Now I won’t have to sit under a tree and polish the bluing off!!!  The most amazing assembly line plus was when the handle bar grip was slipped on the throttle sleeve, the guys left me enough room to add a vista throttle lock without having to horse the grip back 3/16”.  I could go on and on but this memo would be 3 pages!  Very nice professional job throughout the process from you, T.K., taking the order, the order verification, the payment method, crating, transportation and the paperwork.  All is complete…..except for a couple of pics I’ll zap to you probably Friday after Thanksgiving.

It’s time for me to get out and add the reflectors, check the windshield, fire up Little Red and take her for a spin.  Tell everyone thanks and Happy Thanksgiving.  Catch you again on Friday.

Fred

Fred, you’re going to have a lot of fun.   Ride safe and drop us a line to let us know how you are doing.  We’re looking forward to receiving your photos, too!