CSC Blog

I occasionally mention a product I like outside the motorcycle realm and I always take it as a compliment when people tell me they purchased a watch, a camera, a firearm, a Subaru, or whatever because I mentioned it here on the CSC blog.  One of the products I mentioned a year or two ago was my mechanical Orient watch…

I love that watch.  Good buddy Pat, who rode with us on one of the Baja trips, bought an Orient watch after I mentioned mine on the blog. Well, somehow YouTube picked up on the fact that I wear an Orient watch (maybe they follow the blog). Anyway, for the last several days every time I fire up a YouTube video, it’s preceded by an Orient commercial for their new Bambino model.  The video, I think, is very well done and it is funny. Check this out…

First things first, I guess.  I’m back in the plant today after my whirlwind Canton Fair visit, and when I walked in, the first I head was my good buddy TK asking, “Hey Joe, are you hungry?”   TK has known me for close to 10 years now and I was surprised he would ask a question like that.  I’m always hungry.   “We’ve got some killer breakfast burritos this morning,” he said.  He was right…

Golly, after a week of Chinese food, that burrito sure was good.  It probably was about 10,000 calories, but it really hit the spot.  They say when you’re doing food photography, you should always take your photos before people start eating.  Maybe they’re right.  Hey, I’m still learning this photo business.

A short while later, Sara told me I had to take a look out front in our parking lot.  I did and it brought a smile.  I could have titled this blog “Seeing double…”

And there’s more orange on site here at CSC.  Check out this gorgeous Ural that came in on consignment…

The Ural is a 2016 and it only has 200 miles on the clock.  Man, I would like to put that puppy in my garage.  But Mrs. Berk has a few opinions on these things, too, so it looks like the Ural will have to find a home someplace else.  Maybe in your garage.

Good to be back, folks, and there’s more good stuff coming.  Watch the blog, and stay away from TK’s breakfast burritos.

This always brings a smile.  Enjoy, folks!

I’m back after a quick 5-day visit to China’s Canton Fair in Guangzhou. It was quick, it was fun, and surprisingly, the time change is not bothering me. I made a conscious decision to not get on China time while I was there. When I came back from the Fair each day, if I was tired, I slept. If I woke up at 3:00 a.m., I got up. And I got lucky on the flight back…I slept the first 6½ hours after we took off, and the rest of the 13-hour flight went quickly after that. I watched the video monitor showing our flight stats, and just as we touched down it showed the total distance traveled to be a cool 10,000 miles.

You know, it’s a cool thing to do…flying halfway around the world to see the latest offerings from the country that makes the most motorcycles. I had a blast. I saw a lot of motorcycles, including a handful of adventure touring motorcycles coming to market from other companies hoping to cash in on the RX3’s success. You always wonder…is there something out there better than the RX3? You can wonder about that, but I’ve taken the trip to make the assessment and the answer is: No, there is not. I saw some interesting ADV and other machines, but nothing I liked as much as the RX3. Zongshen hit a home run with the RX3, and we fell into clover picking it up for the North American market. It’s been, and continues to be, a great ride.

Dajiu and Arjiu making waves in Guangzhou!

Another cool thing was the reaction to my business card. Motorcycle folks in China know CSC and they know what we’ve done to publicize the RX3, the TT250, and the overall quantum leap forward in Chinese motorcycles. “Ah, CSC…” was the reaction I heard more than a few times when exchanging cards with the folks in other booths. It was also very cool to see highlights of the 5000-mile Western America Adventure Ride and our trek across China prominently featured in the Zongshen booth. Knowing that we’ve made a difference worldwide is a very satisfying feeling. Yeah, I’m bragging a bit. Or maybe not. Facts are facts.

The business end of the City Slicker. Belt drive!

The next big thing for us? We’re diving into electric bikes, and that will start with the Zongshen ZS1500.  It’s a cool bike with cool features, including a very slick instrument panel…

As I mentioned a few blogs down, I was surprised to see so few electric motorcycles at the Canton Fair; in fact, Zongshen was the only manufacturer there with an electric motorcycle. It’s the one we’ve dubbed the City Slicker. Bringing this bike to America is going to be a grand adventure and I am looking forward to it. We’ve got more IC-engine bikes coming to Azusa, too, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Keep an eye on the blog, and we’ll share the details with you in the near future.

Clearly, the boys in Afghanistan have been spending too much time with their accessories catalog…this was unquestionably the most unique bike I saw at the Canton Fair!

That fender ornament is cool, though. Might have to get one of those for my RX3, so I could keep up with my good buddy Rob’s Donkey Hoty!

Wow, there are a lot of motorcycle manufacturers in China.  A whole lot.  I grabbed a few photos of the different manufacturers’ booths here at the Canton Fair, and you should know that what I’m showing here is not all that I’ve seen over the last four days.   The Chinese motorcycle industry is vibrant.

So, the question you’ve got to be wondering is: Did I see anything new and exciting?  The short answer is yes. A better question might be: Did I see any bikes that I thought were better than the RX3?  The short answer to that is no.  There are other manufacturers trying to replicate Zongshen’s and CSC’s RX3 success, but I didn’t see anything I would prefer as my personal ride.  I did see other bikes I liked a lot, though. One of them is one we are already bringing in, and it was, of course, in the Zongshen booth…

I was surprised about the electric bike situation.  I just didn’t see that many of them, which surprised me because when I rode an RX3 across China a year ago, we saw way more electric scooters than gas scooters.  But there just weren’t that many at the Canton Fair. I saw quite a few electric bicycles, only a few step-through electric scooters, and one electric police motorcycle.   As was the case with the RX3, Zongshen is way out in front with the electric motorcycle (the one you see me on above).   We’re bringing that bike to America, and you’ll see more about it right here on the CSC blog!

The sun finally came out yesterday morning and folks, it was a beautiful day here in Guangzhou. These first few photos are from my morning ride to the Canton Fair.  The Canton fair is on the eastern banks of the Pearl River.

That tower you can barely see in the distant haze is Guangzhou’s radio tower, which is a cool quarter of a mile high.  For a few years, it held the title of the world’s tallest structure. When Sue and I were here a few years ago, we went up in that tower and enjoyed its amazing aerial views of Guangzhou.  It’s impressive.  If you ever have an opportunity to visit Guangzhou, going up in the tower is something you want to do.  Trust me on this.

Here’s a shot taken while I was on the bridge crossing the Pearl River.   The oval building and the building with the wavy roof are part of the Canton Fair complex.

This is another shot looking south.  You can see the radio tower in the distance, and you can see the Canton Fair complex on the left.  Two hours by train (roughly following the Pearl River), and you’re in Hong Kong.  I’ve done that.

This is the Canton Fair’s Halls 9 through 13.  I guess that means Halls 1 through 8 are nearby.  I think there are more halls that go beyond Hall 13.  It’s a huge place.

This is the crowd entering the Canton Fair.   There are a lot of people here.

I have been sticking to the motorcycle exhibits during my time in Guangzhou, but I took a different entrance yesterday morning.   There are a lot of exhibits marketing to the construction industry.  China is still building furiously, and they evidently supply construction materials to a lot of the world.  Here are a few shots as I walked through these areas…

There are people here from the Middle East, Australia, South America, Africa, and  other places.  Yesterday while I was enjoying my now-standard lunch of beef-and-onion dumplings, an older fellow asked if he could sit at my table (the seating is very crowded because there are so many people here).  “Sure,” I said.  His English was a little rough, but he reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of flatbread.  He broke it in two and offered half to me.  Not wanting to be rude, I accepted it. I asked my new friend where he was from and his business.  He was a construction guy from Lebanon. My guess is that piece of flatbread was from Lebanon.  Imagine that…a guy from California at a motorcycle show breaking bread (literally) with a construction guy from Lebanon.   Like they say, it’s a small world, and I think it’s getting smaller.

I almost titled this one “Sleepless in Guangzhou.”  About the time I’ll get used to the 13-hour time difference and I get on a regular sleeping schedule, it will be time to get back on an airplane to California, and then I’ll start the sleep adjustment sequence all over again.  Ah, that’s the way it goes, I guess.  It’s worth it.  I’m having fun.

We’ve had rain ever since I arrived in Guangzhou, so I had to settle for this photo going into the Canton Fair complex yesterday…

I was hoping to get a bright blue sky in the background, but hey, you go to war with the army you have.  The one shot I show above is just a tiny, tiny corner of the Canton Fair complex.  It’s enormous.

The crowds and the action here are incredible.  The Canton Fair is not just motorcycles.  It’s everything (literally including the kitchen sink).  Motorcycles, consumer electronics, household goods, building materials, you name it, and everything new under the Chinese sun is here.  My focus, of course, is motorcycles, but that’s only a very small part of what’s on display this week in the Canton Fair complex.

It takes me a good 20 minutes once I arrive in the morning just to find the motorcycle area (I keep forgetting to leave a trail of bread crumbs, or maybe the janitorial staff is so efficient they clean up whatever I drop within seconds of it hitting the floor).   The place is huge, it’s in multiple buildings, and each building has several floors.  Remember that string of restaurants I mentioned?   This is the action at lunchtime…

There’s even a GS-themed coffee shop at the Canton Fair..

One of the things that’s conspicuously absent are the female models.  At any US motorcycle show, young ladies model the motorcycles at nearly every booth (except the CSC booth, of course; all you get there are me, TK, and Steve).  There were only two models at the Canton Fair’s many moto booths, and I photographed them both..

The Zongshen booth is very busy, and it was grand to see my good buddies Robbie, Tracy, and Hugo there.   Robbie is our main man in Chongqing.  Tracy rode with us on the ride across China.   Hugo (aka “it’s okay, it’s okay”) rode with us on the Western America Adventure Ride…

One thing that has been a little disconcerting for me is the number of people who start talking to me as if we know each other.   I keep thinking I must have met them before and I am embarrassed because I can’t remember their name.   Hugo told me it’s okay (of course it is, and he actually told me that twice), because they know me (and Joe Gresh) from the Zongshen posters and videos.   Don’t believe me?  Check out the action in the Zongshen booth, and check out the poster that’s upper left.  Dajiu and Arjiu ride again!

There are a lot of unusual vehicles on display here, including this Chinese version of the Oscar Meyer weiner mobile…

Some of the paint jobs were pretty cool.   Animal decals are in, I guess…

And that Monkey-Davidson I showed you yesterday?  The folks who did that also have one that looks a lot like a Gen 1 CB750 Honda.

You know, the scary thing about the Monkey-Davidson and that CB750 monkey bike is there are actually people out there riding around on them.  Think about that…

Two startling things here at the Canton Fair are the number of different kinds motorcycles produced in China, and the fact that so many of them use the same engines.  There are only a few engine manufacturers in the Chinese motorcycle world, and Zongshen is one of the major players.  I wrote about this during my very first visit to Zongshen several years ago when we hooked up with these folks for our 250cc Mustang engine.

I photographed a display at the Canton Fair of the different engines Zongshen manufactures, and it’s an intriguing lineup.   What’s even more intriguing is seeing all the other motorcycles and scooters here and recognizing just how many of them are, at heart, a Zongshen.

That’s it for now.  Keep an eye on the blog, folks.  There’s more good stuff coming!