You remember my post on being a bad influence? You know, I get a new rifle, get all pumped up about it, and then my buddies buy the same thing? And you remember that at least couple of the gun blogs we’ve done have been “A Tale of Two (fill in the blank)” gun stories, with the other guns owned by good buddy Greg, or Paul, or one or another of my shooting buddies?
Well, it turns out I’m not the only bad influence in town. There was a movie not too long ago (Wind River) where the main character carried a stainless steel, scoped, .45 70 Marlin lever gun, and he reloaded his own ammo to boot. Good buddy Greg saw that movie and decided his life wouldn’t be complete unless he had a similar rig. Here’s the trailer for Wind River to give you a bit of background if you haven’t seen the movie…
You might have noticed the Harvey Weinstein credit at the start of the movie (now there’s a guy who’s fortunes have certainly reversed). I saw Weinstein speak (in person) at a Bud Ekins and Steve McQueen motorcycle tribute event about 10 years ago, but I digress…that’s a story for another blog and another time. Back to the main attraction for this blog.
Anyway, Greg pulled the trigger on what I’m calling the Wind River Marlin, and we took his new rifle to the range this weekend. Greg’s new 1895 is awesome from both accuracy and power perspectives. Highly-polished stainless steel, laminated stock, big loop, long-eye-relief scope, Picatinny rail mount, 16-inch barrel, and more. It’s very impressive…
Greg and the Wind River Marlin, settling in to drop the hammer.Deep breath, let it halfway out, gently squeeze……and another 400-grains of lead heads downrange. I tripped the shutter just as the rifle was recoiling and caught the thing in midair. Note the rifle lifting off the rest in recoil.
Here’s a very short video of Greg firing the Wind River special…watch it bounce around when it recoils. The lens caps dance around a bit, too!
And here’s what it looked like on the target at 50 yards…that’s outstanding accuracy and great shooting.
The guy is good. That’s four 5-shot groups, and it’s great shooting in any caliber. It’s amazing in a cartridge as powerful as the .45 70.
The concept of a scoped lever action rifle, and particularly one with a long-eye-relief scope, kind of fits in with the Jeff Cooper Scout Rifle idea. I like it because I’ve always wondered what kind of accuracy these big bore lever guns are truly capable of, and Greg’s new stainless steel 1895 confirms that the Marlin lever guns can be tack drivers with the right load and a skilled rifleman. Some might argue that a lever gun should use iron sights (the traditionalist approach), or that a scope looks out of place on a lever action rifle. Greg’s rifle dispels both notions. The Wind River rifle looks great, and it has the accuracy t0 match its looks.
Another school of thought holds that the modern Marlins are not as good as the older ones. These folks generally push the notion that when Marlin was an independent company (before Remington acquired Marlin a few years ago) the quality was better. That’s hogwash, again as shown by Greg’s stainless steel Marlin 1895 and Paul’s blued-steel version of the same rifle. The current production Marlins are every bit as good as the older ones.
I, too, had a new Marlin on the range today (mine was of the .30- 30 flavor, but it was different rifle than the 336 Octagon covered here) . But that’s another story for a another blog, which is coming up in the next few days. Stay tuned!
We promised a series on police motorcycles, and this is the first installment. It’s an article that appeared in Rider magazine in January 2010, and the research for it was a lot of fun. Police officers love to tell stories, and I think motor officers have the best ones. With apologies in advance for the fine print, here you go, folks…
I staged one of the photos above to show a couple of San Fernando Valley police officers stopping me on my Triumph Tiger. That was one of the most interesting parts of the research. I interviewed the two SFV officers in the police station and they were regular guys. Joking, telling stories, you know the drill. I was having fun listening to them and trying to capture it all in my notes. One of the officers suggested going outside for more photos, and with that, both of them put on their helmets and sunglasses. The transformation was dramatic. With their helmets off, they were two regular (and different) guys. When the helmets and shades went on, they became RoboCop. They were indistinguishable, all business, no room for nonsense. Serious. Emotionless. No more smoking and joking. The real deal.
We parked the bikes like you see in that photo above, and one of the motor officers asked for my license, registration, and proof of insurance. All the fun and games disappeared. This was a traffic stop, and I was the object of it. Like I said above, it was serious. I knew we were doing this just to get a photo, but the tension was real. I felt like I’d somehow been caught committing a felony. Hell, had I remembered to bring my registration and insurance card with me? I couldn’t remember. I thought it might be in one of my saddlebags and I started to open it. Both officers’ hands instantly went to their sidearms. “Step away from the vehicle, sir!” Damn, this was scary business.
After the above story ran, a series of letters to the editor appeared in the subsequent edition of Rider magazine from several motor officers…
Fun times, to be sure. I really enjoyed doing that story, and before we wrap up this blog, here’s another bit of trivia: I first saw “Motors” in print while recovering from a motorcycle accident (I got busted up pretty good and I had a lot of time to catch up on my reading). The first responder on that one was Jim Royal, a La Verne, California, motor officer. Just a few weeks before my crash I shot photos of Jim for this very story. One had Jim holding a radar gun; it’s the photo you see in the article above.
On our recent Baja trip, I asked Devin Biek, one of the Janus co-founders, about the meaning of the Janus name. Devin explained that Janus was the Roman god of the road, a god that was looking to the future and to the past. That’s what the Janus logo, formed of the letter J facing forward and rearward to form an M (for motorcycle) suggests.
As Devin explained all of this, I remembered that somewhere I actually had a photograph of Janus. The Roman god, that is. I had taken it on a swing through Rome in 2007, and I’m pretty sure it was in the Vatican.
A quick peek at several Internet references shows Janus to be the god of passages, transitions, doorways, time, beginnings, and endings. I like the Janus name, the symbology associated with it, and the Janus motorcycle…a modern machine with vintage styling, looking to the future, and based on the past. It’s all very cool.
Battery Potter, with steam-powered retractable hidden cannons. Sandy Hook was an early Army proving ground, and the advanced coastal artillery pieces hidden underground behind these walls were tested here. Boom boom!
Hey, check this out…that blog I did a few months ago on Sandy Hook, New Jersey, made it into print in Motorcycle Classics magazine! It’s always cool getting something published, especially in a premier mag like Motorcycle Classics. Your good buddies Joe Gresh and yours truly, being the vain dudes we are, each have a page on the ExhaustNotes site listing our magazine articles. Just click on the Gresh or Berk links to take a gander.
But enough about us. How about you? Are you signed up for our automatic email notifications list? There’s a widget on the right where you can add your name, and you’ll get a short email each time we publish a new blog. Add your email address and you’ll automatically be entered in our moto adventure book giveaway. You’ll find out on 1 January who won!
Okay, back to us: Here’s more good stuff…good buddy Dan notified us about two things we want to explore more…a moto video series on South America, and an article about another good buddy named Dan featured on ADVRider. Gresh knew about the video series (he gets around way more than me), but I didn’t and I’m looking forward to viewing it. Those are both coming up in a future blog. And I found that Spencer Conway did another video series on Africa. I’ll be getting into those later today, too.
The CSC San Gabriel…wow, is that bike ever taking the market by storm. Revzilla and my good buddy Spurgeon Dunbar have a San Gabriel, and there are at least two great videos on that bike floating around on YouTube (I did one of them). We’ll be doing a blog on that awesome motorcycle in the near future. One of the best parts of the story is how the bike got its San Gabriel name. The honors for that go to my good buddy Mike, and we’ll tell you the story behind it.
As you know, the ExhaustNotes layout is a series of index pages with links to our blogs, which is where most of the ExNotes content resides. We have pages on Baja and our Baja adventures (watch for lots more coming up on that page), Gresh’s Z1 resurrection, Gresh’s articles, our books, Berk’s articles, Tales of the Gun, the CSC RX4 (and how it compares to the RX3 and the KLR 650), and our videos. We’ll be adding another page in the near future (along with a bunch of content) on military and police motorcycles. That’s a fascinating and most interesting topic. And another on minimalist motorcycles. The idea behind the minimalist moto page is to consolidate a listing of (and add to) our blogs on small bikes. The CSC RX3, the TT250, the Janus Gryffin and Halcyon models, the GMW G310 GS, the Kawi Versys 300, the Kawasaki KLR 650, and few more we have coming down the pike. And another on electric bikes. And here’s a heads up on a future blog: Dealer, or no dealer? It’s a new world out there, folks, and at least two manufacturers (CSC and Janus) have blown off the traditional path to market by selling direct. It’s a fascinating story.
This popped up on my YouTube feed this morning. It’s a series of videos from a guy named Spencer Conway. I never heard of Conway before this morning, but his videos are impressive. It’s a series of videos about Conway’s circumnavigation of South America. I don’t think this is the entire series, or maybe he hasn’t finished the entire series yet, but I found these five and I thought I would post them here for you. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy!
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I’ve been a huge fan of the .30-30 since the mid-1970s, which is when I first owned a Marlin 336. I think I paid something like $50 for it, and it was an incredible rifle. We hunted jackrabbits in west Texas in those days and that rifle seemed to be laser guided. I just couldn’t miss, even when Bugs Bunny was on the run. The old Marlin had a front sight shroud, and it served as a good aiming device when Mr. Bunny was vigorously hopping down the bunny trail. I just held on the rabbit between the front sight post and the inner edge of that shroud, and whump! Yep, I did my duty as a soldier in the Great Bunny Trail Traffic Reduction Wars of the mid-1970s. As I recall, one of my friends offered me $70 for that first Marlin back in those days, and that ended my .30-30 career for the next several years. But I remembered the .30-30’s light recoil (it’s only about half that of a .30 06), its tremendous accuracy, and the off-the-charts fun factor.
Fast forward to about 10 years ago when I told the above story about that old Marlin to my good buddy Chris. I mentioned to Chris that I would like to own a .30-30 Marlin again. A week later, Chris emailed a link to a California sporting goods store’s online used gun listing, and there was a Marlin 336 for sale. The store was in Redondo Beach (about 60 miles away). I called and asked them to hold the rifle for me, but they wouldn’t do it. “You need to get in here if you want it,” the kid on the phone said.
Which I did. I told my boss I wasn’t feeling well, and his response was “Another gun?” Yep, you got it, Boss, and it was Subie WRX wheels-in-the-wells time. I was Redondo-Beach-bound.
I arrived at the store and explained to the kid the behind the counter that I was there for the Marlin. The gun department manager overheard me and told the sales kid, “Good! Take that damned thing off the Internet. The phone’s been ringing off the hook.”
I didn’t know it at the time (even though I considered myself to be a knowledgeable gun guy) but this particular Marlin was highly collectible. It wasn’t just a Marlin 336. It was a 336 Octagon. The story goes something like this: In 1970, Marlin produced a run of commemorative 336 rifles with fancy walnut, real cut engraving (not the rolled-in cheapo engraving you see on most commemorative guns), and octagonal barrels. The commemorative rifles were offered to celebrate Marlin’s 100th year in business. The Marlin wizards in North Haven had purchased a run of octagonal barrel blanks and after producing the commemorative rifles, they had a few octagonal blanks left over. The Marlin guys decided to use up the extra octagonal blanks, which they did with an uncatalogued run of standard Model 336 rifles. And that’s what this rifle was…one of the overrun 336 Octagon models that never made it into any Marlin sales literature. They’re scarce. The sporting goods store guys, not being experts (it was a chain store) didn’t understand what they had. Nor did I, at the time. I paid what they were asking for the rifle (which was $300, a fair price for a used Marlin .30-30). Then I found out what I had. Wowee! I’ve since turned down offers of $1000 for this rifle. My 336 Octagon was a real score, not that I’d ever be interested in selling it.
Yep. There are only about 300 of these in the world, all made in 1970. The Marlin 336 Octagon was a real score for me. Nope, it’s not for sale. Never will be.The 336’s standard post front sight. The 336 I owned in the mid-1970s had a front-sight shroud. A shroud would look out of place on an octagonal barrel.Caliber .30-30 Winchester. In the 1890s, Marlin didn’t use the Winchester designation for the chambering; Winchester and Marlin were competitors.I added a Williams receiver aperture rear sight with oversized eyepiece, undersized aperture, and click adjustments. Even though it’s 50 years old, this is a very accurate rifle.
The .30-30 is as cartridge with a history. It was introduced in the mid-1890s as the .30 Winchester Smokeless for the Model 1894 Winchester. I’ve played with the 1894 Winchester and I don’t much care for it. The Winchester is a lever gun (like the Marlin), but it’s not as accurate (in my opinion) and it is a much more difficult gun to disassemble for cleaning and reassemble after cleaning (in everybody’s opinion). Nope, I’m a Marlin guy when it comes to lever action rifles. It’s a Ford versus Chevy, Republican versus Democrat kind of thing. I like Marlin.
My reloaded .30-30 ammo. This particular load used 22 grains of IMR 4198 powder and a 150 grain Speer flat point bullet. I have other reduced loads using Trail Boss and Unique powder with Extreme plated bullets. This is one of those rifles that seems to shoot everything well.
You might wonder about the .30-30 cartridge designation. It goes like this: The first .30 refers to the bullet diameter (it’s 0.308 inches in diameter), and the second 30 refers to the grains of smokeless propellant behind the bullet in the original factory loading. That’s another thing…this was the first cartridge to use smokeless powder (instead of the smoke-belching, corrosive black powder in use up to that point). It has a muzzle velocity of about 2400 feet per second. The experts say it is a good for deer up to 200 yards. I would pass on a shot at that range. I can tell you that in the 50-to-100 yard range, the .30-30 is awesome. I once shot a 5-shot, 1.25-inch group at 100 yards with this rifle (using open sights). I only did that once, but I’ve been bragging about it ever since.
In its day, the .30-30 was a real breakthrough cartridge, and even today, it is wildly popular as a deer cartridge (it’s estimated that more deer have been taken with the .30-30 than all other cartridges combined). It’s a hoot to shoot (especially in a rifle as classy as the one you see here), and it’s one of my favorites.
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How does this old Marlin compare to a modern one? Hey, check out this Marlin Texan!
Hey, maybe you noticed, maybe you didn’t…but we’ve added a few new header images at the top of our blog. Gresh suggested we needed more motorcycle oriented pictures, and I agree with him. Gresh is smart that way. I never claimed to be the brains in this outfit; I’m just the good looks.
I’ll be adding more header images in the coming weeks, too. We’ve got tons of photos from our travels, and yeah, I like to show them off. The photos have to be ones that will crop to a 1200×280 pixel format, which eliminates most almost immediately. But I have a few that will work.
The way this header thing works is every time you visit the blog, one of six images randomly pops up. I could have set the header up so the images would scroll, but I did that when I wrote the CSC blog and I found it distracting (while you’re reading the blog, the header image keeps changing, drawing your attention away from the blog du jour). And I didn’t want to put a description directly on the image because I didn’t want it to take away from the photo, so I thought I would add a description here.
So, to get to the point, these are smaller versions of the header images, along with a brief explanation of each.
This is the original ExNotes blog header image, which will still pop up from time to time. I love this photo. I took it on the ride through Colombia in Mompox, a mystical town tucked away in a magic land. I’d like to invite you to read the blog I wrote on Mompox a few months ago. If you look real close, you’ll see my good buddy Juan, who I rode with in Colombia and on the CSC Western American Adventure Ride.Ah, the whales Scammon’s Lagoon, Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur. Gresh and I are going to ride there in March. It’s one of life’s real treats. We’ll be blogging the entire trip, and we’ll be insured with BajaBound Insurance (the best there is).Wow, another Guerrero Negro photo, this time after the bikes had been put away for the evening at the Don Gus Hotel. I love the hotel and the restaurant (and the bar, too!) at the Don Gus Hotel. This was on one of the CSC Motorcycles Baja adventure rides.One of the best parts of any Baja adventure ride is the cuisine. These are tacos we enjoyed on the recent ride with Janus Motorcycles. The food down there is fantastic!Janus Motorcycles parked along the Malecon in San Felipe. This was a great Baja ride, and the Janus machines performed perfectly. It was a grand adventure. Hell, they all are!A photo of Jordan Swartzendruber (on the left, hugging the center line) and Devin Biek (on the right), both on Janus Motorcycles. We did about a thousand miles in 4 days on these 250cc motorcycles. It was one of the coldest rides I’ve ever done, but we had a grand time!
And there you have it. Like I said, we’ll be adding more header photos in the future, and we’ll tell you about each one as we do so. I shot all of these photos with my Nikon D3300 digital single lens reflex camera and its 18-55 lens, which is a very reasonably priced, entry-level DSLR outfit. I find the photos refresh my memory of the great times I’ve had on each of these rides. In fact, those pictures above are making me feel like getting out on an adventure ride again. Soon, folks, soon…
I’m back after a 4-day, thousand-mile ride through Baja on a Janus Gryffin. I’m well-rested, I’m warm, and I had a great time. It was a ride I’ll remember.
Brrrrr. That’s Devin Biek on the left, one of the two Janus founders (Richard Worsham is the other one). The guy on the right is Jordan Swartzendruber, the Janus video and photo guy.
On our first day we rode up to Idyllwild on icy roads, on to Julian, and then to the border near Tecate. Wow, was it ever cold! On every motorcycle trip, there are those “Why I am doing this?” moments, and I had more than a few of those on that first day. We stayed in Pine Valley on the US side that first night, a wide spot in the road with one restaurant open that evening, the appropriately-named Frosty Burger with outdoor seating only. Nope, too cold for that. It was to be a general store with sandwiches and pizza that night, which we ate standing in the store (the place had no seating). We joked with the two ladies behind the counter. “I’m married, ladies,” I told them, “but my friends Jordan and Devin want to know if you’re single.” It was that kind of an evening. We were out in the world on a motorcycle ride, headed for Mexico.
We crossed the border the next morning and the Mexican immigration officer successfully pitched his homemade salsa to us. It was funny. I tried to imagine a US Customs officer examining my passport in LAX and asking “hey, have you ever considered becoming an Amway rep?”
The bikes drew a crowd of Mexicans at the immigration control point, and that occurred every place we went. Even folks with no motorcycle knowledge knew they were looking at something special. Those who knew bikes understood these machines even better. A Mexican gentleman about my age examined the leading link front suspension and said “Ah, like Montesa.” His knowledge of vintage Spanish motorcycles surprised me and I immediately thought of Joe Gresh (it’s a private joke, folks).
Devin’s Halcyon model on the Rumarosa Grade. Note the Montesa-like leading link front suspension. I rode the Gryffin model, which I liked a lot. Richard Worsham rode this bike across the United States.
That day we stopped for photos as we rode through the Rumarosa Grade, and then it was on to the Mexicali bypass. We picked up Highway 5 south, and it was on that stretch that I really bonded with the Gryffin. I can only do that on a motorcycle with a soul. Some motorcycles have no soul and no character. But the Janus did. My good buddy Marty once bought a new Honda CBR1100XX, a bike with incredible performance stats. But he sold it after only a few months, and when I asked why, Marty told me it had no character and no soul. I realized as I rolled through Mexico at a steady 50 mph that the Gryffin was something special. It spoke to me. The burble of its CG engine had a good sound. The cold air felt less cold, and the bike just felt right. It’s not something that’s easy to explain. Some of you will know what I’m talking about.
I knew a taco stand I wanted to visit for lunch, but we were already out in the desert coastal plains north of the Sea of Cortez and I had not seen it. Maybe it closed since I was here last, I thought, or maybe I just missed it. That would be disappointing. Then, nope, there it was. It was to be our first meal in Mexico. I was hoping Devin and Jordan would like it. Some folks get Baja, and others don’t. I would soon know if these guys would understand Baja’s magic.
The boys, about to savor their first Baja cuisine. It was grand. One bite and these fellows totally understood Baja.
Jordan ordered tacos. I ordered a quesadilla, and Devin did, too. We sat at one of the tables in front of the counter, all outdoors, and I looked at Jordan. He was chomping down on a taco bathed in guacamole sauce. He nodded approvingly, savoring the best of Baja. My quesadilla was delicious. Devin took a bite of his and smiled. At that instant, I knew this was a great trip, one for the ages. These guys get it, I realized. Devin, who had said something about being a vegan at the start of our trip, abandoned all thoughts of vegan purity. Hey, it’s the 500-mile rule. We were outside the perimeter of all mortal regulatory constraints and anything went. Devin wondered aloud if he had time to order a second quesadilla. He looked at me. You bet, I said. Go for it. More Mexicans stopped to admire and ask us about the motorcycles parked at the edge of our table. It was fun.
We burbled further south on Highway 5. The bikes purred. There’s just something about a single that says all is well with the world. And all was that fine day.
Dinner in along the Malecon in San Felipe that evening was fun. It had grown cold again, but it was not the bitter cold of Pine Valley. We looked out into the dark over the Sea of Cortez, knowing we had been carried to this spot by our Janus motorcycles. We had Tecate cerveza, con sal, with a wedge of lime. Devin ordered a bowl of guacamole. Chips and salsa were before us. They say you truly know the limits of your self-control when the chips and salsa are in front of you. I had none (self-control, that is). It was a wonderful dinner.
“So how does it feel,” I asked Devin, “knowing that you’re riding a motorcycle you designed and built, being in a place like this?”
Devin smiled. “It feels good,” he answered. He ordered another Tecate, one of the life’s grand treats, bottled in a city we had ridden through just that morning.
Burbling along on Highway 3, headed to Ensenada along a road few ride. We owned the road that fine morning.
We were up early the next day, and we were on our way diagonally across Baja to Ensenada. We owned the road; there were almost no other vehicles on Highway 3 that morning. The photo ops were great. The scenery was impressive. We stopped for fuel at a Pemex in Valle Trinidad. It was grand, as riding a motorcycle in Baja always is. We rolled on for 70 miles and entered Ensenada from the southeast. It was a heavily-littered area and the traffic soon grew heavy. We caught glimpses of the Pacific Ocean. We passed an intersecting road that entered Highway 3 at an angle at least 45 degrees steep. I wondered how any vehicle could make it up such a grade, stop, and then enter our roadway. Ah, Mexico. I love it.
We rolled into Tecate late that third night. The Janus motorcycle’s headlight is impressive; it did a much better job than I expected. The El Dorado hotel had no vacancies, so it was on to the Hacienda (a mile further up Benito Juarez Boulevard), and we were in luck. Dinner that night was Chinese food. Yep, Chinese food in Mexico. Chinese restaurants abound in Mexico, and they are excellent.
We were concerned about the next day, as the forecast was for rain. Up early again, we turned in our tourist visas at the Mexican immigration office (no pitches for salsa this time), and we cut through the K-barriers to jump the line to the US border crossing. That little trick took at least an hour off our trip, and nobody tear-gassed us for rushing the border. The US border control officer was intrigued by my motorcycle. I told him about Janus and mentioned that the founder was on the next bike. I think he found that even more intriguing.
Our ride home yesterday began with the mountains and twisties of southern San Diego County, and then we entered San Diego’s morning rush-hour traffic. It was the 94 to the 805 to the 15, and then a 120-mile drone north. Rain hit us just south of Temecula. We rode through 30 miles of it, we stopped to top off the bikes in Elsinore (yep, a Honda was named for the very same city), and a few miles further down the road the rain stopped.
That was our ride. Like I said above, I loved it. Even the cold parts and the rain. Those are the parts of any motorcycle trip I always remember. Time washes away the fleeting discomfort and it all blends together as part of the adventure.
So, on to the Janus motorcycles themselves. What are they like?
In a word, they are unique. They are vintage, but new. They target a special kind of rider. They are not for everybody and not everybody will understand what they are. But those who do….well, read on, my friends.
I’ve read comments about Janus on the forums saying they’re too expensive, they’re Chinese, Janus won’t last, you won’t be able to get parts, they’re overpriced, and on and it goes. There’s a behavioral science term for this kind of Internet forum negativity and nastiness: Online disinhibition. It means that folks say stupid stuff on the Internet they would never say in person. Couple that with the fact that a motorcycle is an emotional purchase, and you see some really wild stuff out there. Anyone with a keyboard and a connection thinks they are an expert on motorcycle design, manufacturing, procurement, service, and of course, marketing. My take on all of this? If ignorance truly is bliss, there are lots of really happy people out there.
As I said above, somewhere on the road to San Felipe I bonded with the Gryffin. It just felt right to me. The motorcycle had a gem-like quality, with the precise and exquisite feel of a Rolex wristwatch. The fuel tank is a work of art. The leading link front suspension has a hint of R69S to it; the bike doesn’t dive on braking (a benefit of this kind of suspension). The colors just flat work and they are elegant. The seat looks right (Devin apologized about the comfort level and he told me they have a new seat coming, but it felt okay to me as is). The frame is a deep gloss black. The rear rack works and it looks good. The switchgear was slightly different than what I am used to, but I became comfortable with the Janus layout quickly. The fit and finish are superior.
I know the CG engine well, having ridden many long-distance trips on CG-engined CSC motorcycles. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the CG engine, and the Janus bikes showcase the engine well. I know where the engine is made (China) and I know where the design originated (Brazil and Japan), but this vertical single has a distinctly British look. In fact, even though the Janus and nearly all of its parts are fabricated and assembled in Goshen, Indiana, the bike looks British to me. Not British as in Triumph’s Kawi-inspired multis or today’s Thai-built Bonnevilles, but British of the Cotton 650 single, the BSA M20, or Brough Superior days (and I realize as I type this that the naysaying keyboard commandos will have no idea what I am talking about). I like that early British look, and I think the Janus guys nailed it. Maybe that’s why I bonded with the bike. Cue in the theme music from any James Bond movie, with Sean Connery’s voiceover: Bond. Janus Bond.
I like that you can see the motor. It’s a motorcycle, see? You’re supposed to be able to see the motor on a motorcycle. You can see the engine on this bike. It’s the way God intended a motorcycle to be. Body work? Fairings? We don’t need no stinking fairings!
Here’s something else I like: The Janus folks don’t like chrome. That doesn’t mean the bikes have no shiny components (they have many), but when you see something on a Janus that’s shiny, it’s not chrome. In nearly all instances, it’s polished stainless steel. Made in Goshen, Indiana. That’s right here in the US, you know. Tell me again why you think $7000 is too much for this hand-built motorcycle?
About 25% of our trip involved riding in the mountains and that meant tons of twisties. The bike handles well, even with the weight I had strapped on the rear rack. Devin told me that I went through a corner with the motorcycle leaned over way more than he had ever seen. I told him I wanted to assess how the bike took a corner hard; I didn’t tell him I hadn’t been paying attention and I entered that corner way too hot. Trust me on this: The bike handles.
The Janus motorcycles excel in drawing a crowd, far more so than any other motorcycle I’ve ever ridden. The things are magnets. People know they are seeing something special, and once they get close enough, the Janus attention to fit and finish makes the motorcycles even more visually appealing. The closest thing I’ve ever seen to a bike attracting this kind of attention were the CSC Mustangs, and the Janus was even more of a magnet. Many folks thought the Janus motorcycles were restored vintage machines. We experienced this kind of attention at virtually every stop.
Look, I know you can buy a used (fill in the blanks here, keyboard commandos) for less than the cost of a new Janus. That’s missing the point entirely. I’m fairly confident that no one ever considered a used Sportster as an alternative to a Janus. Nope, this bike is for someone who wants something special, something different, something that is not made to appeal to the broadest possible market. I asked Devin if he and Richard Worsham (Janus’ other founding partner) did a market study before they introduced the bike. You can guess the answer. “No,” Devin answered. “We built the bike we wanted to build.” So, if you’re a person who follows the crowd, this is not your motorcycle. If you’re a person who makes your own decisions, though, then you’re in the zone here, folks.
About that $7K price: The keyboard commandos have said that’s too much for a 250. I don’t think so. Consider the BMW G 310 GS recently reviewed here on the ExNotes blog. That’s a 250-class bike made in India that goes for something north of $7K. Consider the Versys 300 Kawi. Same story there by the time you’re done screwing around with the typical dealer’s larcenous setup and freight charges. Yeah, there are other machines out there for less, most notably the CSC motorcycles with the same CG engine (the TT250 and the SG250). The CSC motorcycles are phenomenal motorcycles and their value is off the charts. They don’t have the look and the exclusivity of a Janus, though, and they are not made in America. Is that important? I’d say no, but a lot of people think otherwise to read their Internet forum comments (which they type, of course, on computers made in China).
Think about that for a second. Motorcycles made in America. Yeah, the Janus CG motor is Chinese. What’s your point? Nearly everything else is fabricated and assembled right here. Maybe it’s time for some of the naysayers and keyboard commandos to put their money where their mouths are. It’s not likely the strokesters would ever do that, but maybe it’s time they should. Me? I think what the guys in Goshen are doing is amazing. You have two young guys with a vision and a great team building motorcycles in America. Exquisite motorcycles with style and a unique character. Motorcycles that can take you through Baja and bring you back safely. Motorcycles with a soul. A motorcycle with which you can form a bond. What’s wrong with that?
Want to read the rest of the story? Please visit our Baja page for an index to all of the Janus Baja blog posts!
Back in So Cal on a rainy and cold day, after a Janus ride through Baja. Good times!
Jordan, Devin, and I made it home safe and sound today after four awesome days on the road. I’m beat. It’s been a fun ride. I have much to tell you about the grand time we had on these amazing machines, but I don’t want to do a half-baked job trying to write well when I can barely stay awake. It’s time to invoke the greatest labor saving device ever created…that concept we know as “tomorrow.” Wait for it, folks. It will be good, I promise. Thanks for riding along with us.
Want to read the rest of the story? Please visit our Baja page for an index to all of the Janus Baja blog posts!
The day started early in San Felipe this morning, and that’s a good thing because our hotel, the Costa Azul, has no room heaters. For most of the year I think that’s probably okay, but we are riding through a cold snap and it was chilly last night. It’s all part of the adventure.
Janus Motorcycles in San Felipe!
Our first stop was at the San Felipe sculpted sign along the Malecon, and then it was on to breakfast at the Rice and Beans restaurant. San Felipe is empty this time of year, and the cold snap isn’t helping things. We were the only folks in the restaurant this morning.
After a great breakfast (thanks again, Jordan and Devin) we were on Highway 5 headed north. We encountered the first military checkpoint of the day about 30 miles up the road, where we were inspected by a very young and very heavily armed Mexican infantry soldier who pronounced us good to go, and shortly thereafter it was a quick turn onto Highway 3 for the ride across Baja.
That’s when the fun began. Jordan picked a good spot to use the drone, and he grabbed great footage of Devin and I riding through the desert. Then it was time for Devin to head into the soft stuff, and the digital cameras came out…
Devin putting the Gryffin through its paces in Baja.A Bajaeno at heart, Devin is…Jordan photographing Devin. We had the road to ourselves.Devin and his Halcyon. This is the same motorcycle that Richard, Devin’s business partner, rode across the United States.Jordan and the Halcyon.
We continued our northwest journey across northern Baja, and we rolled into Ensenada sometime in the mid afternoon. While we were on the road, I grabbed some photos of the guys…
Devin, at speed. It was a great ride.Jordan and Devin on their way to Ensenada.One more photo…that’s Devin on the Halcyon on the right, and Jordan on the Gryffin on the left. I’m also on a Gryffin on this ride, and I’m liking it!
We had a great lunch at Veleros (one of my favorite spots), we rode through more Ensenada traffic, and then we were on Mexico Highway 1. That’s the famous Transpeninsular Highway that runs south all the way to Cabo San Lucas. Our direction today was north, though, and at El Sauzal we peeled off and took Highway 3 again (heading northeast this time) to Tecate.
We’re in Tecate tonight, and folks, it’s cold again. More good news: It’s supposed to rain tomorrow. But we’re having a good time. More to follow, my friends. Stay tuned!
Want to read the rest of the story? Please visit our Baja page for an index to all of the Janus Baja blog posts!
I staged one of the photos above to show a couple of San Fernando Valley police officers stopping me on my Triumph Tiger. That was one of the most interesting parts of the research. I interviewed the two SFV officers in the police station and they were regular guys. Joking, telling stories, you know the drill. I was having fun listening to them and trying to capture it all in my notes. One of the officers suggested going outside for more photos, and with that, both of them put on their helmets and sunglasses. The transformation was dramatic. With their helmets off, they were two regular (and different) guys. When the helmets and shades went on, they became RoboCop. They were indistinguishable, all business, no room for nonsense. Serious. Emotionless. No more smoking and joking. The real deal.
Fun times, to be sure. I really enjoyed doing that story, and before we wrap up this blog, here’s another bit of trivia: I first saw “Motors” in print while recovering from a motorcycle accident (I got busted up pretty good and I had a lot of time to catch up on my reading). The first responder on that one was Jim Royal, a La Verne, California, motor officer. Just a few weeks before my crash I shot photos of Jim for this very story. One had Jim holding a radar gun; it’s the photo you see in the article above.
