CSC Blog

We won’t be doing this much dirt riding when we are in Baja, but I still love this video…

Our departure for Baja is just around the corner, so it’s fitting that Motorcycle Classics pimped this Destinations piece I did for them 10 years ago…it popped into my Facebook feed just a few minutes ago.  It’s going to be an awesome ride!

First things first…the next shipment of TT250s has arrived.  I’ll be posting photos of the new bikes in the near term.  I’ve been out of action getting my leg fixed up for the last few days, and today I had a steroid shot to take care of what seems to come naturally with getting old (aches and pains in places I didn’t even know I had).  Anyway, the 2018 TT250s are here, so watch for the photos in the next few days.

You guys and gals who follow the CSC blog will remember our second night’s stop in Panguitch, Utah, on the 5000-mile Western America Adventure Ride.  As you know, that story is chronicled in 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM, a book that has recently seen a spate of nice comments on both the Chinariders.net and ADVRider forums…thanks very much, guys!  It seems that a couple of folks who bought the book thought my waxing eloquent about the RX3 was a bit over the top, until they bought the bike themselves (and then they realized I was just telling it like it is).

Anway, back to Panguitch, Utah.   We had dinner that night in the Cowboy’s Smokehouse Café, with our RX3s parked outside, and both the town and the restaurant made a hell of an impression on me, Joe Gresh, John Welker, and a whole bunch of great new friends from China and Colombia…

I liked the place so much that last year Sue and did a trip up to Wyoming for the eclipse, and I knew I wanted to have dinner with my sweetheart at the Cowboy.   Like the year before, we had to wait for a table (the place is amazing, and there’s always a crowd waiting out front for a table).  Anyway, shortly after we were seated, another couple about our age came in.   The guy came over to our table, smiled, and pointed to my Nikon.

“Are you a photographer?” he asked.

“Well, I’ve got a guy named Steve and a bunch of folks who read the CSC blog fooled into thinking I am,” I said, and that, as they say, was the start of a beautiful relationship.   Burt and Roz joined us, we freed up a table, and we had a wonderful Cowboy’s Café dinner.  Like us, Burt and Roz were motoring around the US, and it just so happened that our paths crossed that night in beautiful downtown Panguitch.  We talked about the places we visited, cameras, lenses, and traveling the whole night.   Burt shoots with an Olympus camera, and he and Roz have been to some interesting places.  Sue and I have been, too, but Burt and Roz have one box checked we haven’t managed to hit yet:  India.  Someday, folks.  I can only imagine the photo ops.  And the riding…

Burt is a much better photographer than I am, and his winning entries in magazine photo contests prove it.  He sent some of his recent winning photos to me, and my first question to Burt was:  Can I share them on the CSC blog?   The answer was yes, and here they are…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

And this last one is a photo that Burt grabbed of a newly-married couple.   I can only hope these two young folks get to travel, see the places we have, and have as much fun as Burt and Roz (and Sue and I) have had.  It looks like they are getting a great start…

Hey, it happens, and I think this is the 3rd or 4th time your CSC blog has been designated as one of the top moto blogs out there.   This list was from an outfit called Motorcycle GPS and Gear, and these folks listed their selection of the world’s 22 best motorcycle blogs.

I looked through some of the others and I enjoyed the reading.   You might consider doing the same, and the link is here.

ADVMoto published Joe Gresh’s great story on the Destinations Ride (it went online yesterday), and it’s great.   You can read Joe’s awesome retelling of the event here:  https://www.adventuremotorcycle.com/rides/group-therapy-ride-report

One of the questions I frequently hear when people read the blog, visit the plant, see us at the shows, or follow our moto adventures is: How do you get into the motorcycle business?

Well, if you want to get into the motorcycle business, it’s like most other businesses: You start in an entry-level job. And we’re hiring folks in entry-level positions right now. We’re talking about working in the stock room, pushing motorcycles in and out of the shop, maybe doing an oil change now and then under the tutelage of our more experienced moto techs, detailing bikes, sweeping the floors when they need sweeping, and things like that. We’ve got a lot going on right now with new bikes coming in from Zongshen, tire shipments arriving daily, the daily inflow and outflow of parts and accessories, and more. The most important attributes for success here at CSC are a willingness to work hard, the ability to show up on time every day (and wow, that’s never been an easy thing to find), working well with others, and a desire to learn and grow.

So, do you think it have what it takes? If you do and you’re in So Cal, shoot your info to us at info@cscmotorcycles.com.

During our stay in Baja, we’ll spend a night in Santa Rosalia and when we do that, my favorite place to stay is the Frances Hotel.  It’s a former brothel situated high on a mesa overlooking the city and the Sea of Cortez.  It’s a really cool old place landmark goes back to the 1800s, it’s made entirely of wood, and it’s just a neat place to spend a night…

Keep an eye on the blog next month, folks…we’ll be posting the Baja sights every night right here on the CSC blog!

I can’t wait to ride my RX3 into Baja on the 10th…the food, the people, the places we’ll stay, the things we’ll see…like fish tacos from Tony in Guerrero Negro…

…and sea bass in Malarrimo’s…

…and chicken burritos at Mama Espinosa’s…

…and street tacos in Ensenada…

…and tortillas in Santa Rosalia…

…and more.It’s going to be awesome! And we’ll be seeing all of it from the greatest adventure touring motorcycle in the world…the CSC RX3!

Like I always say, we do see interesting motorcycles here at CSC.   The focus today was on two interesting 3-wheelers this morning.  The first is a really cool Gold Wing trike on our showroom floor…

…and the second was on a super-cool, sidecar-equipped Ural…

The Urals have an interesting history.  They were basically reverse-engineered from a BMW just prior to World War II, which is something I describe in more detail in my book about military and police motorcycles.  The book is out of print now, but it is about to go back into print (watch for more info here on the blog).   I always thought it would be cool to have a Ural.  One of these days…