CSC Blog

We’re due to receive our first three prototype RZ3 motorcycles within the next couple of weeks, and we’re very excited about these exciting new motorcycles…

I need a fourth motorcycle in my garage about as much as I need a summer cold (my garage is already packed to the gills with my RX3, my TT250, my old KLR 650, my wife’s car, and my Z06), but there’s just something about a naked bike that’s cool.  I want one.

I rode all three of my motorcycles last week, but I probably should sell one to make room for the RZ3.  Like many of you who have bought the TT250 (and as my good buddy Matt noted on Facebook), the TT250 is the bike that usually gets the nod when I get out for a ride.   My RX3 sees a lot of seat time, too (they are great bikes).   About the only motorcycle that gets the obligatory once-a-month, keep-the-battery-from-going-dead-and-the-carb-from-gumming-up ride is my KLR.  My KLR is in terrific shape (it’s 10 years old this year), but the KLR is just such an evil-handling, bloated, top heavy beast that I don’t get out on it very often.   The Zongs are a lot more fun to ride.

Anyway (and please pardon my old guy thinking processes here if I’ve already told you this), I have a firm idea in mind for a custom paint job on the RZ3.  Yeah, I’m going to have to make room for a fourth bike in my garage when these arrive.  I want one.  One of the prettiest color combos I’ve ever seen on a motorcycle is the gray-and-orange motif Buell used quite a few years ago.  Buells never really made it in the market, but I thought their bikes were intriguing and way ahead of their time.  They sound cool, too (there’s something about the way a Harley idles that I really like, and I’m willing to guess you do, too).  I PhotoShopped the Buell gray-and-orange colors onto an RZ3, and I like it.  A lot.  Tell me what you think…

One of the colors we’re doing on the RZ3 is the gray you see above in the photo.  I think that with the frame repainted like you see above (a subtle, minor bit of customizing that will require an incredible amount of labor, unless of course we order them this way from the factory), the RZ3 would go well beyond its already drop dead gorgeous looks.  I could see getting the RZ3’s wheels powder coated orange, and maybe a Seat Concepts seat with orange stitching to round out the package.

We’ll see.   Stay tuned to the blog for more updates.  We’ll be posting a lot about the RZ3.  I’m excited.  These are going to be a great addition to the CSC line.

That photo above is one I took of Sam Manicom, adventure motorcycle traveler and author extraordinaire, at the Horizons Unlimited event in Mariposa a couple of months ago when I purchased the two Manicom books you see above.

I just finished reading Into Africa (Distant Suns is next on my reading list), and I’m here to tell you Into Africa was an amazing read.   Africa, from top to bottom, on an 800cc BMW, with no support outside of the occasional fellow travelers Sam rode with and his own wits.   Folks, trust me on this one…if you like a great story, Into Africa should be on your reading list.   You can visit Sam’s site and order his books here.

…was the grand loop through Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.  It was part of our 5000-mile Western America Adventure Ride, and it was in this very location that I first met our good buddy and RX3 rider Rob.    Highway 71 to the Brownlee Dam (on the wild Snake River) was one of the best roads I’ve ever ridden!

Good times.  That was a great ride.  You can read all about it (and a lot more) in 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM.

Nothing fancy here, folks…just a frame grab from a video I shot when I ran through the tunnel on my TT250 on the road to Mt. Baldy…

Most video editing software allows you to grab a frame from the video and capture it as a single shot.  I was playing around with this a bit and I thought it was cool.

It’s Sunday morning here.  I’m going for a motorcycle ride.

What?   A CSC dealer?

Well, not quite. As you know, we don’t sell our motorcycles through dealers.    We’ve had several dealers contact us about selling CSC motorcycles and our answer has always been a polite but firm no.   There are a lot of reasons for that (you can read about them in 5000 Miles at 8000 RPM), and they’re all centered around our customer-centric focus.

One dealer, though, just wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and that’s Motos of Michigan.   Our good buddies Mike and Christy have been persistent and they’ve been avid fans of what we are making happen in the motorcycle world (and by “we” I mean CSC and you, our customers).  We are shaking up the industry, and we are doing it for the better.   You know all about that.   So do a lot of other people.

Christy and Mike with their new Motos of Michigan RX3!

Motos of Michigan recognized that what we are doing makes sense, and Mike and Christy have been avid CSC fans (so much so, in fact, that they openly tout CSC and our bikes on their Motos of Michigan Facebook page).   Mike and Christy wanted to be a part of the CSC excitement and they proposed an alternative:   Could they buy an RX3 and become an Affiliate Program member?

The answer to that question, of course, was a polite, enthusiastic, and firm yes.

The Mike and Christy Motos of Michigan RX3!

Folks, this is a good thing. It’s a win-win all the way around for Motos of Michigan, for us, and for you (especially those of you in the Motos of Michigan area).  Here’s why:

• If you want to see the RX3, you can stop by the Motos of Michigan store any time. Their hours are 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  On all other days, Mike and Christy will be open by appointment based on your schedule (personal appointments are the norm at Motos of Michigan…as Mike and Christy like to say, they’re always open for business).
• You can buy CSC parts and accessories from Motos of Michigan (and they can perform the installation for you).
• Motos of Michigan will service your bike.  In fact, as a result of this arrangement, Motos of Michigan is our first authorized CSC Service Center!

Motos of Michigan is located at 124 South Hartel Road in Potterville, Michigan 48876, their phone number is 517 231 9838 (you can call or text any time), and their website is www.motosofmichigan.com.

You know, it’s fitting that we’re announcing this new arrangement with Motos of Michigan with this report to you.  It’s a milestone blog for us…I checked when I posted it today, and incredibly, this is our 2,000th CSC blog entry.  Wowee!

You will remember that I visited my RX3 friends in Turkey a few months ago.  Well, earlier today this interesting YouTube from Turkey showed up on my feed…

This is interesting and it’s good stuff.   The young Turk (sorry, I couldn’t resist) riding the RX3 in the video above hit an indicated 170 kilometers per hour.   I’m going to assume the Turks’ speedos have the same error as our initial three prototype RX3 motorcycles.   On those first three RX3s, the speedometers were 20% optimistic (our production bikes have speedometers that are about 10% optimistic).  Converting 170 kph to mph and then lopping 20% off of that number yields, whaddaya know, 84 mph.   That’s exactly what Zongshen tells us the top speed of the RX3 is.   How about that!

No, I didn’t pull the trigger on this one, but it sure was tempting…

That’s a 2017 Chevy Corvette Z06, and MSRP is a cool $111,485.  650 hp, it’s supercharged, it has an 8-speed automatic that provides better quarter mile times than the 7-speed manual transmission, and it just looks incredible in bright red.   The guy at the dealership started it for me, and I could have listened to that thing idle all day long.  It just sounded wonderful.   More good news…I get the GM employee discount (it’s a long story why), and those wheels could be mine for a cool $99,000 and change.  I think I need to hit Steve up for a raise.  What do you guys think?  Should we deluge Steve with “give Joe a raise so he can buy a Z06” emails?

My good buddy Tom wrote to me today to tell me he had just been inducted into the Old Fogeys.   I didn’t know what that meant, but Tom patiently explained when you reach 70 years young you’re eligible….

Tom is the guy on the right in the Honda T-shirt.  He’s been a friend for years.   We first met at a BMW dealership and Tom had just arrived in a new Subie WRX.   “What’s it like to drive that thing?” I asked.  Without batting an eye, Tom tossed me the keys and told me to keep it under 120, which I did (just barely).   I bought my own WRX a few days later.  Tom is a great guy, a good friend, and a superior rider.

Which brings me to my next topic, and that’s this:  What about the Young Fogeys?  Hey, in the US, there’s a lot of us geezers riding motorcycles.  What’s reassuring is that we are starting to see more and more “Young Fogeys” riding motorcycles now as well.   The TT250 at its super low price of $2195 is attracting riders both young and old, and we are seeing a lot of our RC3 sportbikes go to younger riders.   On the recent Baja ride, our good buddy Matt rode with us, and he’s younger by two to four decades than were the rest of us on that run…

We’re bringing younger riders to the table, and that’s a good thing!

I had just a few more photos from our most recent TT250 San Felipe run I wanted to share with you…

Entering Mexico in Tecate. We’re still on the US side of the border in this photo, but just barely.  It’s a little blurry because I shot it while riding, and it was already starting to get dark.

Leaving Tecate the next morning bound for San Felipe.

Brother Matt at speed on Mexico Highway 2.

Our only mechanical casualty…Willie lost a muffler cap bolt somewhere along Highway 2.

The view from the road riding down the Rumarosa Grade. I love this stretch of road.

Skulls decorated with US football team colors in San Felipe.

Fish at the seafood restaurant in Ensenada. I had one of those for lunch.

The one that didn’t get away.

That sure was a fun ride.   I’m ready to do it again.

Based on our insanely-restrictive California firearms laws, that beautiful Mk IV Turnbull Ruger I showed in the blog below is not available in my home state.   It seems the gun doesn’t have a feature on the firing pin that would allow for identifying the firearm from a shell casing in the unlikely case it was ever used in a crime.   It’s called microstamping, and rather than implement it on this gun, Ruger basically told California to, well, you can imagine.   Ah, well, that’s one new toy I won’t be getting.   I suppose I could send the barrel from my old Mk I to Turnbull for the color case hardening treatment, but I really wanted that new Mk IV.

Win some, lose some, I guess.