Month: July 2019

Bonneville Speed Week

Berk and I have a busy ExhaustNotes.us August planned. You’ve already read about his Three Flags tour on the new, untested RX4 Zongshen and I’m finalizing plans for an assault on the Bonneville speed trials. No, I won’t be racing Mini Moto Madness but seeing as how I’ve never been to the salt for Speed Week and I’m not getting any younger I figured this is the year.

It wasn’t really my idea. It was Mike’s. Mike lives on a ranch in Carrizozo, New Mexico. I met Mike a hundred miles north at a little restaurant in Willard. I wanted shredded beef tacos but the restaurant was out of beef. I didn’t want to use up my private stash so I went back to the menu. That’s when Mike piped up and told me to try the pork tacos. I had three pork tacos with beans and rice. I recommend them highly.

Willard is kind of a slow place. The intersection of Highways 60 and 42 is the main topic of conversation in town. Mike and I got to shooting the breeze like all motorcyclists do and it turns out Mike likes to ride dirt trails on his BMW thumper 650. I mean you had me at dirt, you know? We started doing a few rides and then the Bonneville thing came up. We’re going to try and hit a few dirt roads on our way north.

We need to make pretty good time on this trip so Godzilla, while reliable, is too stressed out at 70 mph leaving The Wedge, my Husqvarna 510. The Husky’s fork seals are leaking badly. I’ve bought new seals to install. That should be interesting as I’ve never worked on upside down forks. The clutch lever is broken from a spill I took in Big Bend Park. I’m going to cut the end off a donor lever and weld it to the stub remaining from the original lever. It should make a nice, Frankenstein looking part when I’m through. I know I can buy a new lever. I just feel more at home doing things the hard way. The drive chain is still in fair shape but with 11,000 miles on the thing I’m going to change it as a prophylactic measure.

The tires are new-ish on the Husky but slanted towards street riding and not so good for dirt. Mike’s heavy BMW 650 has decent dirt tires. I’m hoping my bike being 200 pounds lighter will even us up on the trails. I’ll also bring along a leaking plastic jug of fuel so that all my camping gear and clothing will be soaked with gas after 15 miles.

Motorcycle camping is not my idea of fun. Either you carry no gear and enjoy the motorcycle ride only to suffer as you roll around in the dirt trying to sleep at night or you bring enough equipment to camp comfortably and have a miserable ride on your overloaded bike stopping every few miles to repack.

Mike and I will be at the KOA in West Wendover from August 12th to the 14th. If you’re around town stop by and visit us. Bring beer if you want us to be happy to see you. Our campsite is good for up to six people. I’ll have coffee. There will be fire.  It’ll be fun. You’ll see.

5K@8K

As Gomer Pyle would say:   Golllleeeee!

That was my reaction when the photos you see below popped up on my Facebook feed, telling me it had been four years since I posted them.  Yep, it was in July of 2015 that yours truly, Joe Gresh, and riders from China and Colombia descended on CSC Motorcycles to christen the RX3 with a ride through the great American West.  So Cal to Sturgis, due west to Washington and Oregon, and then a run down the coast home, hitting every National Park and site worth seeing along the way. It was an amazing adventure, and truth be told, I was shocked that it has been four years already.  That meant it was about four years ago that CSC brought the RX3 to America, it was four years ago that I first met Joe Gresh in person (a living legend, in my mind), and it was four years ago that we took a ride that made the entire motorcycle world sit up and take notice.   A dozen guys, a dozen 250cc motorcycles fresh off the boat from China, 5000 miles, and not a single breakdown.  Tell me again about Chinese motorcycles are no good?  Nah, don’t waste your breath.  I know better.

It was a hell of a ride, and good buddy John Welker did a hell of a job as our very own Ferdinand Magellan, defining the route, making all of the hotel reservations, keeping us entertained with great stories, and more.  These are the same photos (I took them all) that popped up on Facebook.  They represent only a small portion of the ride, but they give you an idea of what it was like.  It was grand.

Somewhere along Highway 89 in Arizona. The guy in the foreground is our very own Baja John Welker.   That’s Joe Gresh way at the other end of this row of motorcycles.
Same location, with Hugo out front. Hugo is the Zongshen factory rep. He’s a great guy who kept us constantly entertained.
Mr. Tso, posing for me in Zion National Park. This guy makes for a great photograph. He rode with us in China, too!
We stayed in Panguitch, Utah, the night before we visited Bryce Canyon National Park. Dinner that evening was at the Cowboy’s Smoke House. I liked it so much I later returned with my wife just to have dinner there.
Tony and his mascot inside Cowboy’s. Great times.
Bryce Canyon National Park. Everyone was captivated by this place. It was awesome.
Kyle, one of the Chinese riders, and Big John, our chase vehicle driver. Good guys both.
Tony and Kyle, posing at Bryce.
The crew when we returned to So Cal. From left to right, it’s Juan from Colombia, Joe Gresh, Tony from China, Mr. Tso from China, John Welker, Lester from China, Kong from China, Big John Gallardo, Hugo Liu, Gabriel from Colombia, and Kyle from China.
The obligatory photo at Roy’s in Amboy, somewhere in the Mojave Desert. God Almighty it was hot that day.
The guys at the Grand Canyon…Lester, Kong, Tso, and Hugo.
In Capitol Reef National Park in Utah, at an impromptu photo stop.
I grabbed this photo of Joe Gresh along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It looks like he’s Photoshopped into the picture, but he’s not.
Same spot, different guys: Gabriel and Juan from Colombia. Juan later invited me to ride with him in Colombia, and I went. That, too, was an incredible ride.

So there you have it, or at least snippets of what was one of the greatest rides I’ve ever done.  I’m hoping Facebook has more of these anniversary photos pop up for me, as the ride lasted 19 days and I know I posted more on that ride.   Good times.  Great riders.  Superior camaraderie.

As always, there’s more good stuff coming your way.   Stay tuned!

Hey, the whole story of that ride is here.   You can get the whole nine yards by buying your own copy of 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM.   There’s a lot more good information in there, too, like CSC’s no-dealer approach to market, how we dealt with the Internet trolls who tried to hurt the company, the first CSC Baja trip, the RX3’s strengths and weaknesses, and much, much more!

Mini Motor Madness: 3

It’s sort of futile hopping up a 2-horsepower bicycle engine because the rear sprocket-to-spoke connection is so weak. Spindly running gear has never stopped a hot-rodder before and bicycle motor aficionados are hot-rodders to the bone. While Mini Motor Madness is on hold awaiting parts I wandered into the wonderfully inexpensive world of high performance engine goodies.

The bog standard bicycle motor is not heavily finned. Overheating doesn’t seem to be a problem but with an aluminum bore and a recommended 16:1 oil/gas ratio it is clearly something to watch out for. Like all parts for these little motors there are a zillion sellers insuring fierce competition and low prices for the thrifty Rodder. The increase in the quantity of cylinder head metal alone would be helpful in keeping things square and dampening noise. The large, deep fins must do a great job of lowering cylinder temperatures. A cooler cylinder means you’ll be able to run a leaner mixture without melting internal parts. Less oil means more room for fuel going through those tiny orifices in your carb. It’s like changing jet size by playing with the fuel ratio. Any compression increases would probably be nullified by the low-grade gasoline cheap mini motor fans cannot help but use.

There is even more selection when it comes to exhaust systems. Two-piece, welded seam expansion chambers are the most numerous and various finishes are on offer to suit anyone’s budget. Expansion chambers are like free horsepower in that most times you won’t need to do much carburetor work to get the things in tune. Using a combination of black magic and sonic waves, expansion chambers most often move the powerband higher into the rev range and will allow the motor to spin up another few thousand RPM. Those extra RPM’s are a good thing for drafting Indian FTR750s on the long straightaways at The Sacramento Mile but a chambered motor may not get you over that last vertical shelf of a long, rocky hill climb.  It’s the one where you don’t dare downshift for fear of losing momentum.

No matter how well designed, reed valves are an obstruction in the intake tract of a mini motor. They make up for this by stopping the constant re-carburation of the fuel mixture due to the reverse air pulses created by a sloppy piston port intake. Reeds also allow huge holes in the piston skirt to extend the degrees of rotation a crankcase can draw in the fuel/air mixture. Since nothing can blow back out the carburetor, an extra transfer port can be carved into the intake side of the cylinder wall. Combined with an expansion chamber, reed valves can more than make up for blocking the intake tract. Even without all the piston/transfer port butchery low speed running is improved by the cleaner intake signal.

With all the excitement focused on pumping more air through your mini motor you’ll find the stock carb wanting. Large carburetors are really cheap online so why not go all the way? For less than $200 you can convert your mild-mannered, reliable mini motor into an atomic bomb ready to explode between your legs at any moment. Sure it’s stupid. Sure you will burn more fuel and annoy all you neighbors, but when have those things mattered to a Rodder?

A Model 700 Varmint Rifle

A Remington Model 700 BDL Varmint gun in .223. I spotted this at the Gunrunner in Duarte, and it followed me home.

There’s gun stores, and then there’s gun stores.  I can’t pass a gun store without stopping in.  The issue is that most gun shops today are soulless retail outlets with black plastic.  Glocks, ARs, you get the idea.  Guns with no soul and gun shop owners with even less.  But there are exceptions.  One that comes to mind is the Gunrunner in Duarte.  It’s a favorite, partly because the team working there consists of older guys a lot like myself (crusty, maybe carrying a few pounds more than they should be, and a sense of humor).   But it’s mostly because they get it.  “It” being, of course, blue steel and walnut.  And military surplus rifles.  I can’t drive by Gunrunner’s without stopping in.  You never know what they might have in stock, and even if I don’t buy anything, it’s always fun looking.

One day a few years ago on just such a stop, I noticed an older Remington Model 700. It was the varmint model and it had a price that was just too good to walk away from. And the photos don’t do it justice. It had a real contrasty bit of walnut with horizontal dark stripes that were unusually nice on a production gun. As the saying goes, I pulled the trigger. I bought the rifle for a scant $400, which I thought was a hell of a deal (I think new ones are about a thousand bucks now).

The Remington was pretty well gummed up with old oil (so much so the firing pin and trigger were stuck), and the standard M-700 BDL high gloss urethane finish was going south in a big way.  I took the barreled action out of the stock and gave it a thorough cleaning.  Then I spent hours on the stock with 0000 steel wool.

When I was finished, I was pleased with the results. The rifle looked way better than it did with the original high gloss finish (which never really appealed to me…it was too Hollywood for my tastes). The stock had a few nicks and scratches before; after the refinish, those completely disappeared. It became a thing of great beauty with a nice, subdued, European look.  I grabbed a few shots, and then I played with them a bit in Photoshop to subdue the background and highlight the rifle. I like how the rifle and this photo in particular turned out…

The results of 0000 steel wool and a bit of work on my Model 700 Varmint rifle.

I mounted an inexpensive Tasco 6×24 scope on the Model 700. I wasn’t wild about the scope, as it didn’t seem to be able to focus the reticle and the target simultaneously (or maybe it was just my old eyes). A new Weaver or a Leupold might have been in order, but the results with this resurrected old warhorse were still outstanding.  The rifle shot into an inch at 100 yards before I did any load development (which wasn’t too shabby) with what I regarded as junk .223 ammo.

More photos of the Model 700 after refinishing and with the new Tasco mounted.

I went to work on developing a load to get the rifle to shoot into a half-inch, and I succeeded: I broke the half-minute-of-angle barrier with a 0.498-inch three-shot group almost immediately!

A half-minute of angle!

That was with IMR 4320 propellant, and it prompted me to try several different propellants and charge weights:

Load results for the Model 700 .223 Remington.  All of the above loads used the Hornady VMax 55 grain bullet. You should always start at the low end of the charge range and work up; do not simply take my accuracy loads and try them in your rifle!

You might think that with the above results the rifle was a keeper.  It was, but not for me.  A couple of my shooting buddies wanted it, and I transferred it to a good friend for what I had into it.

Want to read more Tales of the Gun?  Just click here!

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3FC19: The Route!

I am getting thoroughly pumped up about riding the 2019 Three Flags Classic this year on the RX4.   There’s just something about the Three Flags Classic that’s magic, and I haven’t been this excited about getting out on the road in quite a while.  It’s going to be grand and it’s going to be a blast, and you’ll be able to follow my personal ride from Mexico through the western United States on up into Canada right here on the ExNotes blog.  I’ll have tons of great photos and the writing will be as good as I can make it.   You’ll be able to follow first hand my further impressions of the CSC RX4, too.  This won’t be a silly superficial set of impressions like you’d read in a half-baked one-page magazine article, either.  Nope, this will be thousands of miles of international riding across three countries on the newest motorcycle to hit these shores.   I’m not worried.  I’ve never been let down by a CSC motorcycle, and I feel comfortable that the RX4 is going to be another home run for CSC and Zongshen.   Whatever happens, you’ll get the straight skinny right here on ExhaustNotes!

In poking around on the Southern California Motorcycle Association site last night, I found this description of the route…

I think it’s going to be great.  If you want to read more about the 2019 Three Flags Classic, take a look at the SCMA site here!  If you’d like to read about our 2005 Three Flags Classic ride, you can do so here.

Make sure you never miss an ExNotes blog with fresh Gresh and yours truly, and get a free decal!  Hey, sign up right here:

Dan, your decals are in the mail!

Tested to Destruction: Haix Boots

My second pair of Haix boots. They’re comfortable as slippers, they last forever, and they are perfect for adventure riding. These will last me until 2027, I think.

You read Joe Gresh’s Tested to Destruction piece on Rossi Boots.   When I read it, I immediately thought of my Haix boots.   My first pair lasted more than 10 years.  After they finally wore out I tried a less expensive brand, but then I went back to Haix.   I had worn the best; no substitute would ever be as good.  Haix is pronounced “hikes” and they are, simply put, the best footwear I’ve ever owned.

I happened upon my first pair of Haix almost accidentally.  The story goes like this:  My good buddy Mike, whom I’ve known since the 7th grade, is a retired police chief.   He worked his way up through the ranks of a major metropolitan city on the east coast, became Director of that department (it’s the top spot), and retired.   Mike goes to the International Association of Police Chiefs conventions every year, in 2004 that convention was here in Los Angeles, and Mike invited me to go with him.   It was a cool experience and we had a blast.

I had a to have a police connection to get in to the event, so Mike deputized me as the Administrative Assistant to the Chief of Police.  My new position included a cool official-looking police ID card and I asked if I could get a gun out of the deal.  Mike’s answer was a curt “No,” but hey, I tried.   We had a hell of a time at that convention.   There was all kinds of interesting gear on display.   Guns.  Helicopters.  Police motorcycles.  Patrol cars. Surveillance equipment.  You get the idea.  Oh, yeah.  And boots.  I’ll get to that in a second.

Facial recognition software. You know, Big Brother. That’s me and Mike being dropped into the data base.

There were cool guys there, too.  Mike introduced me to Willie Bratton, senior FBI executives, and the head of the CHP (I asked that guy if he could help me with a speeding ticket and no one laughed…I thought it was funny as hell).  We saw all kinds of cool  gear, including a police helicopter that you could climb into.   I did that and immediately starting pushing buttons from the pilot’s seat.  One sent power to the turbine starter, the turbine started to whir, and the blades actually started to move.   Mind you, all of this was indoors at the Staples Convention Center. Wow, talk about people descending on us quickly!  When we walked by that helicopter later, it was roped off.  You couldn’t sit in it any more, thanks to me.

Oh, yeah. The starter worked.  We’re still laughing about that one!

But I digress.  The point of this story was that one of the vendors displaying their goods was the Haix boot company, whom I had never heard of before.  The boots looked good, I tried a pair on, and they felt great.   Think slippers for comfort level, great support, and a cool combat boot look.  They were $200, but I was in.   The guy told me to take the pair I had tried on, and they would invoice me later.

I wore those boots everywhere for the next 10 years, and I always wore them on my motorcycle rides.  That included the 2005 Three Flags Rally, tons of weekend rides, tons of Baja rides, the Hells Loop Rally, and lots more.  They were waterproof, unlike motorcycle-specific boots they were comfortable to walk around in, they were lightweight, and they just felt great.  After more than 10 years of abuse, though, the soles started to separate during the Western America Adventure Ride in 2015.   I remember Gresh picking up some Shoe Goo for me in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which got me another year of use.  But finally, I had to give in.  It was time for a new pair.

Yours truly on the right, wearing my first pair of Haix boots, in 2005. Marty and I were standing in front of Lake Louise in Canada. We rode in the 2005 Three Flags Classic Rally from Mexico to Canada.

I cheaped out and bought a pair of S.W.A.T.-brand boots on the Internet prior to leaving for the Colombia ride.  They were stiff, they were uncomfortable, and after 5 days of riding through the Andes Mountains’ heat, humidity, and rain, they were toast.  My take on it is that the S.W.A.T. brand is probably good for kicking butts and taking names, but they didn’t make it for me as a comfortable motorcycle boot.  Nope, I needed me another pair of Haix.

Then good buddy Mike came to the rescue.  There was another IACP convention (in San Diego, this time), I was Deputy Dawg again, and I shelled out $200 for my second pair of Haix.  Which I’m wearing now, knowing they’re worth every penny of that $200.   In 2027, I’ll be due for my third pair, and you can bet I’ll be going for HAIX again.  I’m just hoping that the 2027 IACP convention will be here in southern California.

Dream Bikes: Ossa Pioneer

I must have been around 15 years old the first time I saw an Ossa Pioneer. It was at Haines City motocross track. Mike Mills’ mom was divorced and her boyfriend gave us a ride way out to Chrome Avenue in his boat tail Buick Riviera . What a car! The Riviera smelled great inside not only because it was new, but because the boyfriend wore cologne. This was the first time I had been around a grown man that used cologne. All the other adult men I had known up to that point smelled like dirty socks. I smell like dirty socks right now.

You know what to do:  Click on the popup ads!

“Burn the tires, c’mon!” we pleaded. It was a strange experience sitting in the plush, perfumed Riviera as the big V-8 engine effortlessly spun the tires into clouds of cotton candy. “Want to stop at the hobby store to pick up some sniffing glue, boys?” Damn we laughed and had fun with that guy. He treated us like equals, like he cared what we had to say. I wish I could remember his name. It was like going to the motocross races with Hugh Heffner.

He drove 90 miles per hour every chance he got and it wasn’t long before he was dropping us at the motocross track. He spun the Buick around and said, “I’ll be back at five.” And then lit the tires up again on Chrome Avenue. He was exactly what we wanted to be when we grew up.

Mostly Bultacos and Maicos were racing in Haines City back then but one guy had an Ossa Pioneer with the lights removed. The rider was good. He would get crossed up over the jumps and finished in the top 5 against real race bikes. I loved how the rear fender blended into the bike. That fiberglass rear section had a small storage area inside. One of the bike magazines of the era tossed a loose spark plug in the storage and went scrambling. The plug beat a hole in the rear fender and they had the nerve to bitch about it. Hell, I knew at 10 that you have to wrap stuff in rags on a motorcycle.

It rains most everyday in Florida and it started pouring. The races kept going for a while but finally had to be called because it was a deluge. You could hardly see to walk. There was no cover so we huddled in the leeward side of the ticket stand out by the entrance. It rained harder, the wind was howling. Wearing only shorts and T-shirts we were getting colder and colder. My lips were turning blue, man.

It was like Niagara Falls, a solid sheet of water that the Riviera emerged from. Man, I was so glad to see that car. “How were the races, boys?” Soaking wet and shivering we piled into the Riviera’s soft leather seats. I thought he’d get mad but boyfriend just laughed. You got the feeling he could go buy another Riviera if he wanted to.

Want to read more Dreambikes?  They’re right here!

Mini Motor Madness: 2

I know what you’re thinking: Yet another ExhaustNotes.us project to be half completed and then shunted aside to gather dust in Tinfiny’s ferrous expanses. I can’t blame you, that’s been the pattern throughout my life. It seems like I get a lot done but I don’t get anything Done with a capital “D.” My shed is littered with the semi-cool and the semi-finished.

But there’s reason for hope on this one. Really. Unlike the Zed project that has plateaued due to funding issues everything has been purchased for Mini Motor Madness. The final piece of the puzzle is on order and the only thing stopping me now is United Parcel Service and assembly.

In Mini Motor Madness Part One you were treated to an overview of the little bicycle engine but I still needed a host bike to set “The Jewel” into. I was looking for something vintage like this 1941 Monkey Ward. These bikes are sorta hard to come by though and they run from $250 on up to the sale price of Tinfiny Ranch. The more I thought about it the less I liked the idea of butchering a classic bicycle. No, better leave those oldies to collectors who can stow them away for their heirs to auction off post-funeral.

I started looking at new bikes, which led me to China’s little mom & pop store, Wal-Mart. Wally-World has a sweet 26” Huffy standard style bike for only $88 delivered to my door. Just think: new tires, shiny paint and no rust anywhere! At that low-low price why bother with garage sales and repairing trashed bicycles? So I took the plunge on a white-framed example that should look striking combined with The Jewel’s black fuel tank and chain guard. Assembly is not included with mail-order bikes but would you want some ham-fisted Wal-Mart garden center employee messing with your brand new ride?

I’ve also tapped into a knowledge base at the Facebook page, Motorized Bicycle Builders. These gnarly veterans of the tiny-engine wars have seen it all and done it all. They have given the $88 Huffy two thumbs up providing I scrap the stock wheels, buy heavy-duty replacements, strip off the fenders and add a front brake. Unfortunately, this is valuable information that I will have to learn the hard way.

As recommended by MBM I will replace the flimsy fender braces with something more substantial and repack the wheel bearing with quality grease. I really want to finish a project for once and The Jewel may be the start of a new me: A me that completes the task at hand before…

3FC19 and more…

First up today…our good buddy Gary’s Vintage Yamaha Enduro site.  Gary alerted me to it a few days ago, I’ve enjoyed poking around on it, and you will, too.

This is a cool site about cool bikes.   Spend some time here; you’ll be a better person for doing so!

I’ve always admired those vintage Yamaha enduros.  Gresh has one and it’s one his favorite motorcycles.  I remember the maroon 360 Yamaha offered back in the early 1970s (I was still in college then).  I always wanted one, but it’s an itch I haven’t scratched yet.  Maybe someday.  I’m still young.

Good buddy Buffalo, a world-class artist who rode with us on one of the Baja rides, created a line art RX3 motorcycle and it’s available in several formats.  Buffalo loves riding and he loves his RX3.  Hey, what’s not to like?

This is muey cool, and it’s from a muey cool dude.

Buffalo is a very cool guy who’s done some very cool things.  We’ve written about Buffalo before here on the ExNotes blog.  Buffalo also has a very cool blog (MotoFritz.com), and it’s another I recommend you visit.  Buffalo (along with his cousin and niece) recently toured Vietnam on motorcycles, and there are cool videos on the MotoFritz blog from that trip.

I’m going hunting.  Deer this time, in Idaho.  Good buddy J invited me to head up north with him later this year to chase Bambi, and I’ll be posting about that here on the ExNotes blog.

Good buddy J and the Power Wagon on an earlier Baja expedition.

I mentioned J recently when I described his new website (Sierra Mountain Passes), but J and I go back a few years.  We first met when we were involved in manufacturing high performance sails for ocean racing yachts.  Think a million bucks for a set of sails for one boat (and the sails are only good for one season).  Good times, those were.

Whoa!  Talk about adventure!

But back on the deer quest…I’m starting to research venison recipes (yeah, I know, it’s a little early for that and I am counting my chickens before the eggs have hatched).  I’m really looking forward to this adventure.  We may get a deer, or we may get skunked.  Either way, it’s going to be fun.  I’m thinking I’ll take my .300 Weatherby Vanguard.  It’s way more power than I’ll need, but we’ll be in some rugged country, the Vanguard is my only composite-stocked rifle, and the thing is a tack driver.

The Weatherby Vanguard in 300 Weatherby Magnum.

More cool stuff…you’ve seen the series we did on the 2005 Three Flags Classic Rally from Mexico to Canada.  I rode with good buddy Marty, and it was a hell of an adventure.

Good buddy Marty on the left and yours truly at Lake Louise in Canada during 3FC05.  There were signs warning us of grizzlies in the area!

The 3FC is one of the world’s premier motorcycle events, and it’s sponsored by one of the world’s premier motorcycle clubs:  The Southern California Motorcycle Association.   As it turns out, the SCMA is one of our biggest ExNotes fans.   They’ve run our ExNotes stories in the SCMA newsletter and they follow our zany ramblings daily.  Good buddy Gonzo, their president, suggested that I join the festivities again this year for the 3FC19 rally, and you know what?  I’m going.  I’ll be on a new CSC RX4 (one from the very first shipment), and I’ll be blogging the hell out of the ride the entire way from Mexico through the United States and on up into Canada.  And then I’ll do the same thing on the way home, for which I’ll take a different (to be determined) route.

The CSC RX4 up in the San Gabriel Mountains.

The CSC RX4 is an exciting motorcycle.  There was a recent article on this bike in Adventure Motorcycle magazine, but I thought that review was a bit on the short side.  (How about that?  A review of a review!)  You can read a lot more about the RX4 right here on ExNotes, and you’ll see a whole lot more when I do the 3FC19 on one of the new CSC 450cc RX4 adventure bikes.

Royal Enfields in Baja

The Bullet in Baja. The new 650 Interceptor was a strong and reliable motorcycle. The Bullet, not so much, but it wasn’t the bike’s fault. Read the article, and learn more…

Some say the adventure doesn’t start until something goes wrong; by that measure, the Bullet was every inch an adventure bike…

Ah, quoted again.  That’s my line, and you can read it online in the latest issue of Motorcycle Classics magazine.

Good times and great bikes in Baja, and the story is in the current issue of Motorcycle Classics magazine.

Our story of the Baja Enfield adventure is now available online, and you can read it here.   Joe Gresh and I rode the new 650 Interceptor and an older Bullet, and we had a blast.  Great food, great riding, beautiful people, and we said hi to the whales.  It was awesome!