CSC Blog

Yes, we set a record…with “we” being the genius of Steve, Tony, John, and our rider, Sylvain.

But that’s not the good news…the good news is how much fun we had on Sunday at the Motor Scooter International Land Speed Federation time trials yesterday!

Syl Binau at speed, working to keep the front end down on his LSR California Scooter

It’s official: We are the fastest 150cc hybrid motor scooter on the planet.  We’re called a hybrid because we’re not a step-through scooter, and the good folks at MSILSF created a special class for bikes like ours.  And yours. 

Can we go faster?  You bet.  But we’re not in business to make land speed records.  We’re in business to make motorcycles, and we want to make one for you.   We want you to set the next record. 

Think about it, folks…where else in the world is there a motor sport where you have a shot at doing what Sylvain Binau did this weekend – set a land speed record – for under $5K?

Walt Fulton on a Mustang at 100 mph

You might be thinking there’s no way you can compete with the factory, but we want you to.  And we want you to smash our record.  And we want you to top what Walt Fulton did on a Mustang back in the ‘50s, which was to top 100 mph on a Mustang.  Walt had more than twice the engine displacement we do, but we have 60 years of internal combustion engine and transmission advances.  We think it can be done, and we want to help you do it.

We’ll share everything we did to this bike.  No secrets here, boys and girls…we want you to take what we did and do it better, and we want you to do it on a California Scooter!

I gotta tell you, I froze my butt off on Sunday, and the weather was atrocious, but I can’t remember ever having this much fun. Take a look at some of the photos we grabbed for you…it was wonderful!

Jerry Nelson on a California Scooter

I suppose I should back up a bit and tell you how all this came about.   My good friend Jerry Nelson (a retired LAPD police officer, committed motorcyclist, and scooter rider) sent an email to me one weekend about a bunch of guys planning to hold land speed record trials for motor scooters.  After an initial smirk (which is probably the reaction a lot of people had), I sent Jerry’s email to the boss.   Within just a couple of minutes, Steve fired an email back.  “This is great,” he said, “we’re in!”   Whoa, I hadn’t expected that.

One thing led to another, and before I realized it, the entire shop was fired up about taking the trophy home.  It was exciting!  Everyone had ideas on everything…the frame geometry, the engine, the handlebars, the gearing, the colors.   You name it, and the guys who designed and built the land speed record (LSR) bike had lots of input.  Things moved along nicely.  

The real stars of the design and build effort are John, Tony, and Steve…and this bike is magnificent.   The boys just finished it last week, and there really wasn’t any time to dial it in, but wow, this bike is something special!

John and Tony, assembling the Beast

Your's truly, working the Nikon, capturing the LSR bike build

I knew this would be great, and I knew there would be a lot of opportunities for capturing some great photos.   There are so many cool things that went into this bike.   Like the number plate.  We had to have one on the front of the bike.   One of the guys said let’s just paint the headlight black and put the number on it.  I got a shot (and posted it) of the black headlight before we put the number on.  “Why the black light?” we heard….and we answered, “it’s infrared…we’re doing our test runs at night!”

We knew we’d need a rider.   Oh, all of us can ride motorcycles, but we needed a real jockey.  A light, small, wiry guy with lots of talent.   One night we went for a ride with the NoHo Scooters crowd, and after racing all over LA, we wound up at Phillippe’s for dinner.   When Steve and I were standing in line to order our sandwiches, he nudged me and pointed to a guy behind me.   “He could be our LSR rider,” Steve said.   The guy looked thin.  I didn’t know who he was.  Never met him, but he rode in on an R1 Yamaha and he handled it well.

“How much do you weigh, Dude?”  I asked.

“104 pounds,” he said.  Wow.  That’s exactly half of what I weigh.

“You wanna be a famous motorcycle racer?”  And the rest, like they say, was history.   Sylvain Binau became our factory rider.

Syl and John with the California Scooter LSR bike days before the event

We were going to use stock wheels, but Syl suggested we go with something lighter.  Steve designed our 3-spoke billet wheels, which shaved over 4 lbs off each wheel.  And their looks are awesome. 

Syl came out to the plant and rode the bike around the building.   We had just three days before the race.   It was the first time Syl had been on the bike.

We heard that it was supposed to rain over weekend, and sure enough, on Saturday morning, it looked bad.  Steve and I jumped in his Ford pickup (it’s more like a limo…that truck is a sweet ride), and we headed up into the Cajon Pass.  Lots and lots of rain. 

When we got to the track, the gate was locked.   We tried to find a back road in, and after exploring every dirt road in the Cajon Pass, we went back to the competition staging area.   By then the gate was open.  Mind you, this was not the day of the race…it was Saturday (the day before)…and we met Alan Spears for the first time.   We made small talk standing in the rain.   We liked the guy immediately.  Alan’s a lawyer, and Iraq war vet, and a scooter geek, and it’s fun listening to him speak.  Alan’s the guy who put this whole thing together.   He did a great job.

Alan Spears, aka "Scootermeister"

My Mexico moto buddies J. and John came down for the event (you met them on the Baja trip blog), and they stayed at my place Saturday night.   Good food, good drinks, and good company.  

We were up with the roosters Sunday morning.   More rain.  Lots of rain.  We rolled over to the plant where Steve had the gear packed and ready to go.   Syl arrived with his Dad and his friend Piedad, and we were off.   Like they say, off to the races.  For real.  The day had arrived.  It would be the first time Syl would have an opportunity to get the bike past 3rd gear.

So, let me shut up for a bit and I’ll let the photos do some of the talking…

Checking in on a very cold and wet morning

Syl getting a tow from Steve to the starting line

It was pretty miserable weather, but we were having a great time.   There was excitement in the air, and everybody was in high spirits.   Hey, anybody can race in dry weather.   This was going to be something special.   And the bikes…wow, they were awesome.   They ranged from ultra-exotic classic scoots to modern stuff.   The common denominator was a love for anything with two wheels, and the excitement of competition!

Moto-exotica! A Salsbury! They made less than 2000 of these, and this one had a sidecar!

Syl checking out the track on a stock Classic California Scooter

Syl ran up and down the track a few times on a Classic (wow, it looks wet in that photo above, and it was!), and then it was show time.   How much of a show?  Well, check out Syl on his first run of the day…

Syl, staying ahead of the snakes

He looks good, doesn’t he?

Syl clocked a 73 mph run on his very first pass down the track.   I was busy snapping photos, but I noticed the streamer behind the LSR bike.   My first thought was that the guys had left the tow strap on the bike, but then TK told me it was the heat tape coming off the muffler.  That was our only mechanical issue the entire day.  Our very own Crocodile Dundee (that would be TK) whipped out a titanium knife and cut the tape off when Syl returned to our pit area, but not before I had a little fun with him.   Syl had never been to the Cajon Pass before, and a couple of days before the race I told him to watch out for the big rattlesnakes we get up there.  After his first run, I asked Syl if he saw the snake chasing him.   Then I showed him the photo.   We had a good laugh over that one.

I was in awe of the guys and gals on their scooters.   I grabbed some great photos, too. 

Take a look…

A scooter with a sidecar dodging the raindrops

And I have many more like the one above, but take a look at Syl rolling back into our pit area after his first high-speed pass…

Syl rolling back after one of his runs

Steve and Syl during a break in the rain

A T-max at V-max

This next one was very cool, too…it had an expansion chamber with a great sound!  It was only a 50cc bike, and this guy was doing well.  

It was a hoot watching all of this!

A 50cc bumblebee

I’m not knowledgeable enough to identify all of the scooters I caught with the Nikon, but I sure enjoyed seeing them. 

This one below…what do you think…is that an auxiliary gas tank?  Or maybe a nitrous oxide tank?

At speed in the rain

The riders were having fun, but they were serious on the track.   Check out the concentration and determination in these pictures…

An older Lambretta

This Buddy Blackjack caught my eye…it’s the same color as our Greaser.

A Genuine Buddy Blackjack

Check out these fellows in the pit area…they are on a Mustang and a Valmobile.   Never heard of a Valmobile?  I sure hadn’t.  Yet here it was.   Japan made these bikes in the ’50s and ’60s.  I have another photo of it below…

A Mustang and a Valmobile

Yessirree, a Valmobile.  These 49cc two-strokes folded up into a suitcase.  They weigh about 75 lbs and they are reputed to get around 165 miles per gallon.   Amazing stuff, this is!

A Valmobile...the first one I've ever seen

And here’s another shot of that beautiful Mustang!

Mustang!

A minimalist scooter, stripped down and at speed!  The photos don’t do these riders justice…here they are, riding in a downpour, in temperatures just a bit above freezing, and having a great time.

Scoot Speed!

This next photo is one of my favorites…it’s my new friend Kirk on his 1966 Vespa.  He cranked out 72 mph!  This bike started life as a 125, but Kirk bored it out to 135cc.   He told me when he wants to ride on the street he just puts the headlight back in.   This is hot rodding at its finest!

A very hot Vespa...this bike ran 72 mph!

Another cool shot.   There were a lot of female riders.

Zoom zoom zoom!

This looks cool, doesn’t it?

Another scooter at speed

I’m not sure what the original bike is, but this bike has had a heart transplant…it’s powered by a 250cc Kawasaki motorcycle engine.   I think this bike hit 80 mph!

A 250cc hybrid scooter

These things are interesting inside, don’t you think?  Check out the pipe!

Scooter innards

Sylvain’s dad Patrick is a rider, too…he pilots a 600cc Kawasaki sports bike.   Here’s a shot of two great riders…can you feel the pride here?

Syl and Patrick

Later in the day the sun finally put in an appearance, but it stayed cold.   The snow line was only a few hundred feet above us, and the sky was a very, very bright blue.   It was a beautiful morning.  My buddy John and I walked down to the starting line and a grabbed a few shots of the riders as they started their speed runs.

The sun is on!

John Esposito…a serious bike artist!  John is a great guy…he’s a lot of fun to be around.  Nobody can do what he does when it comes to painting a motorcycle.  It’s magnificent stuff, and if you follow this blog, I’m not telling you anything new…you’ve seen lots of John’s work here.  John painted our LSR bike, and it is a show stopper.  And a land speed record holder.

John Esposito, artist extraordinaire

I noticed this fellow using an 8mm film movie camera.  Wow, I hadn’t seen one of those since the ’60s.  This is Oscar, a rider from Tijuana, who came up for this event.  Cool stuff.  Classy gear.

Oscar and his 8mm movie camera

We ran into a lot of interesting people at the MSILSF land speed trials, including Josh from Scoot! magazine.   He’s a cool guy.  We talked for a bit.   He may ride with us on our next Mexico trip.   Josh has a scooter trip lined in Italy.  I’ll bet that one’s going to be fun.

Josh from Scoot! magazine

And one last shot of that magnificent Salsbury – an absolutely gorgeous machine.   It’s the first one I’ve ever seen.   My good buddy Jim up at Raceway Motors (our dealer in Oregon) tells me that a Salsbury can go for upwards of $20,000.  This one was beautiful, and with a sidecar, it’s got to be a rare animal.   What a bike, and it’s obviously not a hangar queen…it was out here racing in the rain, like everybody else.   Well done!

That beautiful Salsbury one last time

Well, folks, that wraps up this blog entry.   I probably put too many photos in, but hey, I’m having fun!  In another day or two, I’ll add some videos, too. And if you’d like to see what the other folks did yesterday, check out the MSILSF results right here.

So, are you feeling lucky?  You wanna race?  Give us a call, and we’ll get you started!

Get on a California Scooter, and run with the big dogs!

Sylvain Binau setting a new 150cc land speed record on a California Scooter! Go Sylvain!

Cold, wet, more cold, and more wet…but Sylvain showed ’em how to do it!

We’re all pretty tired, and I have a lot to talk about…so hang in there and in another day or so I’ll have the whole story up here on the California Scooter blog!  It was fun!

One quick note…yep, we set the new record, but we don’t want it to stand.  We have a few ideas about what to do next year, but what we really want is for you to compete, too!  Our bike created a new class, and when you get your California Scooter out on the track, we want you to run against us!  We’ll share all of our engine and bike secrets with you, and we’ll help dial you in with the accessories you’ll need to run with the big dogs…you know, guys like Sylvain! 

So come on out…and run with us (and against us) next year! 

Keep an eye on the blog…because this is gonna be fun!

Paint by John...and photo by Sandy!

Slow would be the way to describe my Internet connection tonight…seems like Verizon could take a few lessons from the wizards out in the shop who put Sylvain’s bike together, because it is FAST!

I’ve been posting LSR photos and videos as the bike has been coming together, and the comments have been flying.   The best question was probably from my good friend Justin who wanted to know why we painted the headlight black.  

I couldn’t resist…reaching back to my Army days, I told Justin it was an infrared headlight because we were doing our high speed work at night!  Yeah, I’m a bit of a trouble-maker, but the guys in the shop tell me I’m in the minor leagues compared to John Esposito… 

Late this afternoon we tossed the LSR bike in the back of Steve’s F-150 and snuck out to our secret high speed test track  in the Cajon Pass.   We wanted to let Sylvain get some seat time before Sunday, and maybe stretch the LSR’s legs a bit. 

Wow, this bike is impressive…Sylvain only had about a quarter of a mile to accelerate from a standing start and then decelerate to a stop…and this puppy rips!   The GPS registered 67.4 miles per hour and Sylvain didn’t have room to get the bike out of third gear!  

And the sound…no 150cc bike I’ve ever heard sounds like the beast our boys put together. 

Well, hey, listen to this yourself and tell me what you think…  And, take a close look at the video below…you’ll see why we went with a black headlight for old No. 142!

Here’s another one from our shakeout runs earlier today…

And one more…our Green Meanie flying along!

Sylvain, our land speed racer, stopped by the shop to check out his new ride today…

Sylvain and the land speed record bike

…and we had a hard time getting John Esposito to give the bike to Sylvain…John was having too much fun!

But we finally pryed John away from the green monster, and Sylvain had a chance to get some seat time on the future land speed record holder!

Sylvain’s gonna stop by tomorrow and we’re going to take the bike to our top secret desert test track…so keep an eye on our blog, folks…more to come!

Yep, that’s our LSR bike…all together, all painted…and ready to roll.   Sylvain’s coming over this afternoon to wring it out a bit, but while we’re waiting, here are a few shots for you…

The California Scooter Company LSR bike...this puppy goes for the record this Sunday!

The LSR bike's steering damper

The deadman's switch

The LSR engine is ported, polished, millled, cammed, and custom-CDI'd

There’s lots of excitement here in the California Scooter Company over the LSR bike…but we’re still making production motorcycles, too. 

Is one of these engines going into your bike?

Lupe and John setting up engines for the next production run

So I’m armed with my new Flip video camera….and I’ve been playing with it a bit.  When Sylvain rides the LSR bike today, I’ll grab a few movies. 

In the meantime, check out my commute home last night…I’m having fun with this video biz…

I may follow Sylvain around a bit today when he fires up the LSR bike to get a Heads Up Display read on just how fast this bike will be.  Like we always say, stay tuned…

Hey, another quick add…yep, it’s the LSR bike…listen to it!

Half the fun of writing these blogs is dreaming up titles…my other choice for this one was “Sylvain’s Steed Awaits….”

So, here she is, folks…not quite finished, but coming along…

Steve and I are just starting to figure out this video business (I actually ran out and bought a video camera today, too), so you can expect more videos as things progress.

And yes, it’s gonna be this Sunday…our run at the 150cc land speed record!

Our good buddy TC (not to be confused with our TK) sent this photo to us…it was taken in 1966 after TC rode his Mustang all the way to the top of Pike’s Peak! 

TC, at age 32 in 1966, sitting on top of the world on a hot Mustang

TC, thanks for sharing this great photo with us…TK and I may just have to grab our California Scooters and ride up there to grab the same shot!

Oh yeah, this is looking good…more photos to come in the next day or so, folks, but check out John Esposito’s artistry on our Land Speed Record bike’s fuel tank!

John Esposito and the future fastest fuel tank on the planet!

We’re actually using original Mustang motorcycle gas tanks on the LSR bike (they’re in halves, like on that Milwaukee motorcycle),  We’re only using one tank for fuel…the other half is going to house the LSR bike’s electronics.   Candy lime green, gloss black, silver leaf, yellow pinstriping…oh boy oh boy oh boy…this is shaping up nicely!

Stay tuned!

I originally started this blog with the title “What a day!” and then I realized it’s not just a great day…it’s been a great week!

TK, Steve, and I left Las Vegas early Saturday after the SEMA show to haul the bikes back to La Verne, and along the way, we stopped in Barstow for lunch at Del Taco’s.  You might be wondering what’s so special about that, and if you are, it’s only because you’ve never stopped in Barstow for a Del Taco burrito.

Lunch at a Del Taco in Barstow...Wow!

You see, the guy who originally started Del Taco (Ed Hackbarth) built it into a national chain and then sold the business, but he kept the three original restaurants in Barstow.  The new Del Taco corporation told Ed he could keep the original three restaurants just as they’ve always been, and that means fresh meat every day, nothing’s frozen, and the serving size is up to Ed.  Ed is a great guy who loves pleasing people, and in these restaurants, that’s what happens!  Folks, it’s incredible, and it was a great stop.   I grabbed that shot above of the mural in the back of the Del Taco just off the I-15, and I added the inset shots of Steve and TK enjoying some of the best Mexican food on the planet!

It’s windy as all get out today here in La Verne and it’s a typical crisp wintery day, but the skies are clear and it’s the first day of the NHRA Finals!   Yep, we are right across the street from the drag strip, and the sound of those AA fuelies is almost a religious experience.  It all kind of fits in with what we have going on here in the plant, which is also cool.    It’s not that cold that we can’t keep the doors open, but the wind is sure sweeping through!   Check out this shot of Steve’s Mopar…

You can thank our So Cal windy day for this good look at Steve's 500-cubic-inch hot rod!

The guys have been hard at work on Sylvain’s ride, too….our land speed record 150cc California Scooter.   John Esposito is completing the bike’s body work, and the bike (without tank and panels) is coming along nicely.   Sylvain will pilot this bike for a go at the 150cc land speed record just one week from this coming Sunday!

The California Scooter LSR bike

Love those 3-spoke billet wheels!

Very cool heat wrapping on the LSR bike header

And the last few photos I have for you today are of just a few of the big group of California Scooters destined for Magnum Performance in Australia.  Ian’s a California Scooter dealer (he also sells our Pro-One Performance motorcycles), and we have a bunch of California Scooters headed his way.  Ian ordered a few with custom paint, too, and John did his usual outstanding work…take a look at these!

Our standard blue tank with gray scallops...these colors work!

Burgundy and black...another great color combo headed to Australia

And one more...a black Classic with a red panel...these look great!

That’s it for today, folks…time to get back to work!

TK and Steve manning the California Scooter booth at the 2010 SEMA show

GM had a booth that took up half of one of the exhibit halls, and the Corvette collection was unlike anything I’d ever seen.   I’m a Corvette nut, and these cars are just gorgeous.   Old ones, new ones, concept cars built around the standard Corvette, the Z06 Corvette, the ZR1 models, racing Corvettes, and…well, here…take a look!

GM's carbon concept Z06 Corvette

A rear quarter shot of the carbon concept Z06 Corvette

I’ve got a lot Corvette photos from SEMA, and I’ll just mix it up, throwing in some of the Corvette shots as we progress through this blog.  

Oh, and the SEMA models…well, I’ll add a few photos of the SEMA models here and there, too.

The Barret-Jackson girls

The SEMA show folks fell in love with our bikes, and the new catalog Sandy put together was a winner.  Everyone wanted to get some seat time on a California Scooter and take home a California Scooter catalog.

A SEMA show attendee checking out the black Classic California Scooter

Yellow is a very popular color this year, and we saw various yellow concepts on a lot of cars.   Flat black is in, too.   I’ll show you a photo at the end of a flat black car that’s very, very cool.

Here’s a photo of a yellow racing Corvette… 

A very bright yellow racing Corvette

Flat white is in, too.   Harley has a variation of this color that I think they call Denim White.  Chevy painted a Z06 Corvette in this satiny flat white and the effect was stunning.

Flat white, a color that just works on this Z06

Ah, and this one…a Corvette Stingray from the 1960s (they made the Stingray from 1963 to 1967), completely race prepped.   The colors, the car, the details…this is a magnificent automobile.

A Stingray race car...this car was beyond awesome

Yeah, I took more than a few photos of this Corvette…

Another shot of the Stingray

One of the coolest touches on this car is the leather belt hood tiedowns.   They look almost industrial, and the effect really works…this car is all business!

A tiedown belt detail photo

 So, how about the models?

One of the SEMA show models

I still had a good time.

Here’s another happy SEMA show participant.   Nobody could get on a California Scooter without smiling…

Our new friend from South Africa

Here’s another Corvette…a race car on a trailer…something you might have seen in the early ’60s, while the original Mustangs were still coming off the assembly line in Glendale…

A 1960 Corvette race car

 And check out this early Corvette done up in turquoise and white, just like our California Scooter Beach Cruiser…

A mid-50's Corvette...a car built when the original Mustang motorcycle was being manufactured

There were other cool things in the SEMA show…I think this is what the kids call a Transformer.  Like I said, I think that’s what it is.  Whatever it is, it makes for a cool photo.

A transformer?

Custom cars were all over…there was just so much to see.  I was only at the show for a day, and I would guess I saw maybe a third of the entire show.   I was splitting my time between the California Scooter booth and wandering around taking pictures of cool cars and pretty girls.  It was a great day. 

Take a look at this old Chevy pickup truck…

A beautiful 1950's Chevy pickup

One of the booths featured chrome paint.  I’d never heard of it, but these guys make paint that looks like tinted chrome.   They had an awesome monster truck.   I don’t know which aspect of this vehicle was more fascinating…the green-tint chrome paint, the machine work, the tires, or the graphics…

Wild tires and chrome paint

These folks did up a Suzuki Hayabusa with copper-tinted chome paint, and it worked.  The original Suzuki Hayabusa had a copper color, and this bike was vaguely reminiscent of it.

Steve checking out a chrome painted Hayabusa

I went back to the California Scooter booth…and more folks were checking out your favorite motorcycles.  We saw enormous interest in our bikes from everyone, including a SEMA photographer who came to the show to photograph all the cool stuff on display…

An SEMA event photographer trying out a red Classic

 Full Throttle Videos had a cool display, and Lisa let me take her picture…

Lisa from Full Throttle Videos

Steve spotted this ATV with interesting body work.   It had that chrome paint I mentioned earlier, too.   Pretty wild stuff!

A wild ATV with chrome paint and awesome bodywork

Here’s a car I lusted after when I was a teenager…a 1965 GTO.   Wow.

A 1965 Pontiac GTO convertible

Ford had a dynamite exhibit.   Ford is doing amazingly well, and their stock is continuing to climb.  They had a lot of new and interesting models on display, and Mustangs were all over the place (Mustang cars, that is…not Mustang motorcycles).  

Here’s a shot I grabbed of the grill on a custom F-350 truck…

Steve and yours truly

I was surprised to see just how popular yellow is…there were a lot of customs, factory concept cars, and accessories with metalflake yellow, pearlescent yellow, solid yellow, and various shades of yellow.   There was a Saleen Mustang at the SEMA show with a yellow paint job that was probably the prettiest color I’ve ever seen.   And here’s a custom yellow NSX Acura.   The car, guys…look at the car…

That's an awesome yellow paint job on the car in the background

There were lots of interesting details, too.   I took a lot of photos, but there are just too many to put on the blog.  I especially liked this Mustang emblem…

An interesting Mustang grill emblem treatment

A Mustang pool table

This very cool Caddy was just around the corner from our California Scooter booth.  I was lucky, because we got there early and I could get photos before a lot of people entered the show.   By mid-morning, the place was packed.

A Cadillac not too far from our California Scooter booth

One of the prettiest cars at the 2010 SEMA show was this 1963 Impala convertible, complete with a 409 (the biggest engine Chevy offered that year).  There was a black ’63 409 hardtop right next to it, too.

A 1963 409 Chevy Impala convertible

Robert and his wife Dorothea were particulary taken with our bikes.   We greatly enjoyed our time with them and all of the other great people who stopped by our California Scooter booth.

Our new friend Robert on a blue Classic

Dorothea, the sharp-shooting Mustang collector

These are the Ford girls.   They were happy to pose for me.  I reminded them of their dads.

The Ford ladies

As I mentioned above, the Ford exhibit was pretty cool.  Ford really has its act together, and it’s great to see an American car company showing the rest of the world how to do things right.  It’s how things should be.

The Las Vegas Speedway had a booth right around the corner from ours.  They made fresh chocolate chip cookies, and I spent a lot of time over there because of that.   Monique let me grab a shot while I was there.

Monique, one of the models in a neighboring booth

There were a lot of people from other countries at the SEMA show.   We had visitors in our booth from South Africa, Lebanon, Australia, several European nations, and Mexico.  Alfonso from Mexico likes our bikes a lot…

Alfonso, from Sinaloa, Mexico, checking out our bikes

My last shot of the day was a flat black CL455 AMG Mercedes.   DPE Engineering in Irvine does this work (www.DPEWheels.com), and Manu, the owner, told me a bit about it.  It costs about $15K to do car in flat black like this.  The overall effect was visually arresting.   This is one fine-looking automobile.   I’d still rather have the Greaser (and I’ll bet you would, too), but the Mercedes would look nice parked next to it.

Two classics...a California Scooter, and a 100K Mercedes with a matching paint job

I had a little fun pushing our Greaser over from our booth for the shot above.   One of the SEMA guys came running over because he thought I was stealing the bike.  I’ve heard of the old expression “ride it like you stole it,” but I didn’t even have the engine running!  Once the SEMA guy saw my California Scooter shirt, he was okay.   It was pretty funny.

SEMA was great, and I had a great time with TK and Steve seeing beautiful cars, meeting folks interested in California Scooters, taking lots of photos, and just enyoying the excitement of being in Vegas.   

Our booth was great.  We have a new booth design (you can see it behind the guys on the California Scooters in the photos above).  Sandy created the new design and the booth’s photo montage, and she did a wonderful job.   Many of the folks who visited us complimented Sandy’s work.   I’ve been to a lot of shows in a lot of different industries, and I think the California Scooter booth is the slickest I’ve ever seen.  I like it.  A lot.

I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is yes, they actually pay me to take photos like the ones above.   I could tell you my standard line (you know, the one about this being a tough job and somebody has to do it), but I won’t lie to you.  Sometimes even I can’t believe my luck in landing this gig.

And there’s lots more coming up.  Like I said, tomorrow we’re off to the Griffith Park Sidecar Rally, where we’ll get to see very cool motorcycles, mingle with industry giants like Doug Bingham, and show our bikes to a lot of fine people just like you.   And then in two weeks, Sylvain’s piloting the Land Speed Record California Scooter in our quest to set the new 150cc world speed record.   

We’ll share it all with you.  Right here.