CSC Blog

Things seem to arrive in clusters, and currently, that cluster seems to be focused on Harleys.   We’ve recently taken in several on consignment, and with Wade coming on board we are seeing a lot of Harleys in for service.  Wade has a following in the Harley community just like Gerry does in the Beemer community.   I grabbed a few photos just walking around the plant today…

Cool tanks, and we sure are seeing a lot of them!

Here’s an interesting take on the TT250 by a fellow from Pennsylvania named Sully…

https://sullybiker.wordpress.com/2017/04/24/the-csc-tt250-smiles-per-gallon/

I thought I’d share the link here.

We’re out of stock on TT250s, but the wizards at Zongshen are building more and we expect to have them soon.  Keep an eye on the blog and the CSC site for when the next shipment will be here.

Sully, nice job on your blog.  I enjoyed reading it.

It’s an old one, but it still makes me laugh.  It goes like this:  A friend asked me what he should do for home security.  I told him a 9mm, a couple of clips, and a box of shells would do nicely.  A few days later he sent this photo and asked me how to make it all work…

I’m flying up to Portland this weekend to shoot a few photos of the Columbia River Gorge for a magazine article.   The Columbia River Gorge is one of my favorite spots.  It’s scenic and it’s an amazing area to ride.   My first exposure to this magnificent was on the Three Flags Rally when my buddy Marty and I rode from Mexico through the American West and then up to Calgary.  On the return leg, we rode due west through Canada and then turned south through Washington and Oregon, and it was on that last leg when we rode into the Columbia River Gorge.

RX3s parked below the Bridge of the Gods in the Columbia River Gorge on the Western America Adventure Ride.

A view from the RX3’s saddle on the Washington side of the Columbia River.

I’m looking forward to getting up there again, and my good buddy Rob (who lives not too far away) is giving me good advice on the best spots to see.   Good times, and I’ll have some cool photos to post here next week!

A cool TT250 video I saw on my Facebook feed this morning.   Nice work!

While enjoying a cup of coffee with my standard two hard-boiled eggs for breakfast today, I read two great columns. The first was in the Wall Street Journal and it was another interesting A.J. Baime article (you’ll remember that I mentioned Mr. Baime’s stellar writing last week).  Today’s story was about a retired high school teacher and his wife recently completing a coast-to-coast ride on (get this) a 1915 Harley-Davidson.  Folks, this is cool stuff. I’d give you the link to the article, but you have to be an online WSJ subscriber to be able to read it. If you are not a subscriber, my recommendation is to pick up a copy of today’s WSJ – it’s a great read.  The guy Baime wrote about is 67 years old, which is a milestone I’ll hit early next year (time does fly when you’re having fun).  And that guy is retired while I’m still glued to my laptop doing the blog, posting Facebook stuff, writing books, and doing all of the other fun things I like to do.  I suppose someday I’ll join the ranks of the retired. Just not today, though.

Which brings me to the next article I wanted to mention this morning…one penned (I supposed I should say “keyed”) by Steve Lopez, who is one of my favorite writers on the LA Times staff.  The Lopez piece today was on his getting older and falling apart, but having no shortage of role models who kept on working well beyond retirement age.  You can read the article without being an LA Times subscriber (here’s the link).  A lot of the Lopez piece made me smile, especially his line about pulling a muscle opening a box of cereal.  I had a similar experience picking up a rifle and giving myself tennis elbow.  Wow, that was painful, and it’s taking a long time to heal.  I suppose it’s funny because I don’t even play tennis.  It just seems like it’s easier to do damage as I age and it takes a lot longer to heal.

When you wrap up all of the above with the fact that most motorcyclists in America tend to be older folks, it makes for an interesting combination.  I should think about what all this means, but I’m not going to do that.  Nope, I’m going for a motorcycle ride.  I haven’t been out on the TT250 in a while, and that’s a situation I’m going to fix today.   Maybe I’ll even grab a photo or two.   Keep an eye on the blog, and you’ll get to see them.   Before I do that, though, I’m going to watch the China video one more time.   My good buddy Joe Gresh (who is also an old dude, although he is a few years younger than me) posted it on his Facebook feed earlier this morning.

Wow, check this out!  It looks like our good buddy Rob, his camper, and his TT250 are making the rounds.   The first photo is from Big Bend, Texas…and the second is from Goblin Valley in Utah…

Thanks for the photos, Rob.    I’ll bet you are having a great time with your TT250!

Don’t forget our next company ride on the 6th of May up to Newcomb’s on the Angeles Crest Highway!

Newcomb’s is a great destination and getting there is a great ride!  You can sign up for the ride on our Meetup.com page.  We’ll meet at the CSC plant, have a cup of coffee or two, and get our knees in the breeze.   We look forward to seeing you!

Wowee…that first CSC250CR video has had over a thousand views within the first 11 hours of my posting it this morning.  It will be interesting to see how it fares over the rest of the weekend, especially considering that Sunday is typically a peak Internet traffic day.   It’s quite a response, and there are more than a few things that I find extremely interesting about all of this:

• The first is that there is a market for a simple, reasonably-priced, 250cc motorcycle.  We proved it with the RX3, we proved it again with the even-lower-priced TT250, and we’re about to prove it again with the Café Racer.
• Our riders and our followers like to be involved in what we do.  We’ve asked for and received lots of suggestions on Café Racer color schemes and accessories.   All of your ideas are receiving serious consideration.  We greatly appreciate your inputs.
• There’s been a complete absence of the kind of anti-China comments we heard when we introduced the RX3.  Wow, a lot sure has changed in just two years.   With the help of our riders and our fans, we’ve collectively changed that mindset.  That’s a good feeling.

Okay, on to Topic 2.  I had a quick trip to the east coast this past week.  I actually enjoy flying (although I think I’m going to steer clear of United in the future, mostly because I value my front teeth and my magnificent nose).   I like flying because it’s a chance to catch up on my reading.   People ask how I can tolerate being cramped in a tiny airplane seat for 5 or 6 hours.  Hey, give me a good book and a few hours away from cellphones and computers and I love it.   And after the 14-, 15-, and sometimes 17-hour flights I make to Asia, the Middle East, and other places, a flight to New Jersey almost seems like it’s over before it starts.

So I had my quick-turn trip to New Jersey last week and on the way back I picked up a copy of The Lost City of Z in Newark Airport.  Newark Airport:  It’s an airport that brings President Trump’s comments about our deteriorating infrastructure to mind.  He said our airports are third world.  I’ve traveled in the third world, and I can tell you that most third world airports are a big step up from good old EWR.  It’s absolutely the worst-laid-out airport I’ve ever transited.

So why I am mentioning The Lost City of Z?   It was a great read…real Indiana Jones stuff, and I read the entire book on that flight home.  I couldn’t put it down, actually, and I didn’t until I reached the last page (which happened just a few minutes before landing in California).

I just saw a commercial for the movie based on this book.  The movie is due to be released on the 22nd of this month and you can bet I’ll see it.   But don’t wait for the movie…read the book.   If you enjoy a great adventure story (a true one, by the way), The Lost City of Z is one you’ll want to pick up.

And the ride goes on!