The Coolest New Motorcycle Under $2,000
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TechTranscript
00:00Spurgeon here with RevZilla, and by this point in the video, you're probably wondering what's
00:25in the box.
00:26Well, this is a CSC San Gabriel 250, and the reason it's in this giant shipping crate is
00:31because this is how it shows up to your house once you purchase the bike online.
00:36That's because CSC is disrupting the dealership model.
00:38They've eliminated the dealership.
00:39They're allowing you to buy the motorcycle online and have it shipped directly to your
00:43front door.
00:44In this video, what we're going to do is we're going to walk you through the entire experience
00:47of what it's like to get a CSC motorcycle.
00:50The first thing we need to do is get this thing out of the box.
01:05That was pretty damn easy.
01:06I mean, about 20 minutes start to finish to get the thing out of the crate.
01:09I'd definitely recommend having a friend like Joe around to help you out with lifting the
01:12crate off and getting the bike out of the base, but I mean, we pulled this out.
01:16We put the key in, and we fired it right up, and we were set to go.
01:19The only thing we had to really install were the mirrors.
01:21It had gas, oil, a charged battery already set for us to ride.
01:25I mean, just taking a look at this thing in the studio, not too mad at it.
01:28I mean, it's got a really rad paint job on it.
01:31You got a full dash set up with a speedo, a tack.
01:34I got a gear indicator, a fuel gauge, really well backlit set up there.
01:38Got bright LED turn signals.
01:40I mean, the style of the bike, it's pretty cool.
01:43I will say there's some areas where you can tell it's a $2,000 motorcycle.
01:46The levers aren't the best.
01:47You got wires kind of running everywhere.
01:49I got a brake pedal down there the size of Kansas.
01:52And then our seat is definitely a bit crooked on this model, but there's nothing you can't
01:56live with.
01:57I mean, it's a $2,000 motorcycle.
01:58At the end of the day, if I was buying my first bike, and I shipped away for this thing,
02:02and it showed up like this on my front door, I'd be pretty damn stoked.
02:06But now what I want to know is what is this bike like to ride?
02:09This is the moment that I've been waiting for.
02:10So let's go out, and over the next few days, put a couple hundred miles on this thing,
02:14and we'll see what it can do.
02:17Alright, so let's get this out of the way first.
02:36This bike is actually a lot of fun to ride.
02:38Aside from a few off-road escapades that I've had on my 1090, the SG250 has pretty much
02:43been my bike of choice since we unboxed it.
02:46And I think a lot of that is because this reminds me of being a broke college kid, throwing
02:50my leg over a motorcycle for the first time.
02:53It's part of the reason I came out to these backcountry roads south of Kutztown.
02:56These are my old stomping grounds.
02:57You know, you get out here in the country, and there's a lot of fun to be had.
03:01I mean, I'm easily breaking the speed limit, as long as the speed limit's 35 miles an hour.
03:07So the speed limit here is about 70 miles an hour, and in spite of the fact that my
03:12speedometer says that I'm going about 80, I passed the speed trap sign earlier that
03:18said I was doing about 61, so that speedometer's a bit off.
03:21For as small as this bike is, it's actually pretty peppy.
03:24Don't get me wrong, it's beginner-friendly.
03:27You're looking at like 16 horsepower and 13 foot-pounds of torque.
03:31This bike is not going to get away from anyone.
03:33I'm having a lot of fun blasting from stop sign to stop sign.
03:38Not too mad at this thing at all.
03:39I kind of hate this bike at the moment.
03:42I am fully maxed out, and I feel like I'm standing still.
03:46This is not an appropriate machine for highway travel.
03:51That being said, I mean, it's like $1,000 less than a Grom, but I wouldn't even consider
03:56taking a Grom on the highway.
03:57I know the one that we have at the office, my top speed on it was like 47 miles an hour,
04:02so this will at least get you on the highway.
04:06It's just not a lot of fun.
04:07This bike is so much fun.
04:09There's nothing to be afraid of because it's so small.
04:11I'm pretty much going wide open throttle on these curvy country roads.
04:15I mean, it handles itself pretty well.
04:18This bike actually steers surprisingly well, especially considering the fact that the front
04:24forks look like they're something off of a Huffy I had as a child growing up.
04:28I could complain about the fact that every time I hit a small pothole at speed, I will
04:32bottom out the front fork, but the bike steers easy enough.
04:36We just avoid the potholes.
04:38It solves that problem.
04:39I think the SG250 could be an appropriate commuting machine, depending on the kind of
04:44commuting you're doing.
04:45Going back and forth from your job to work within the city limits, that's one thing,
04:49but if you were doing a Lemmy-style commute, 50, 60 miles on the freeway in both directions,
04:55man, that would be miserable.
04:57I could totally see myself riding back and forth to school on this if I was 20 years
05:01old back in college.
05:02I mean, showing up to class on a motorcycle is a heck of a lot cooler than showing up
05:07to class in a f****** Camry, or in my case, a 1987 Dodge minivan.
05:14That's right, ladies.
05:15That is a minivan owner.
05:16I don't know.
05:17When you wake up in the morning, getting in a car just isn't the same.
05:19Getting on a motorcycle, riding to class, at least you get to enjoy your commute, even
05:24if you're heading off to algebra.
05:26Woo-hoo-hoo!
05:27Wee!
05:28Watch this.
05:29Wee!
05:30There are no safety features on this motorcycle.
05:35No traction control, no ABS, this is a bare-bones basic bike.
05:39I mean, then again, there's really not too much to control.
05:42I've been going pretty much wide-open throttle all day long, and there's not really been
05:46one point where I felt out of control on this bike.
05:49The brakes feel like two pieces of wood clamping down on the rotor.
05:54It's not making a lot of speed here, so I'm not too worried about it, but I wouldn't mind
05:58a little bit more bite out of that firm brake, but all things considered, this bike is pretty
06:04stable on the highway, considering I'm maxed out right now.
06:07Man, if I was only ever riding in the city, I don't think I would ever need more power
06:12this bike has to offer.
06:13I've had a lot more fun on this than some of the big horsepower sport bikes I've ridden
06:18in the city.
06:19I am very excited to get off this highway.
06:23I'm going to work my way back to Philadelphia and find a spot to pull over, and we can carry
06:28on this conversation when I'm off the bike.
06:35So, what have I learned thus far?
06:44Well, I've learned the engine is not the fastest, the brakes are not the best, and as far as
06:48the suspension is concerned, I'm going to quote our fearless leader over at Common Tread,
06:52Lance Lightning Oliver, when he says that the suspension is both plush as well as harsh,
06:57something he's never experienced before in a motorcycle.
06:59But considering all of that, this bike is still a ton of fun.
07:03It's simple, it's small, it's easy to ride, and most importantly, it's affordable.
07:08It has an MSRP of $1,995.
07:12Even after you factor in all the costs that are clearly listed out on CSC's website, this
07:17bike comes to your house, shows up at your front door for about $2,500.
07:20I mean, that's awesome, especially considering something like the Honda Monkey that Lemmy
07:25was just riding out in Catalina Island is almost double the price.
07:29When you look at this bike, it's a real full-size motorcycle.
07:34It'll get you up to highway speeds.
07:35Now, do I want to ride back and forth to my parents' house, 40 or 50 miles in both directions
07:39commuting to work?
07:40Absolutely not.
07:41But can I leave my front door, hop on 76, and ride six miles down the Navy Yard to RevZilla's
07:47headquarters every day?
07:48I can.
07:49And when I consider that fact, when I think about all the other modern motorcycles out
07:53there from major manufacturers, the one that this thing reminds me the most of is probably
07:58Suzuki's TU250X.
08:00And that's a motorcycle that still has an MSRP of about $4,600.
08:04So really, where this wins is its price point.
08:08It's a motorcycle that pretty much anybody out there can afford.
08:11It's the gateway drug that we've really been looking for.
08:13But we're not done reviewing this yet, because the number one question that you, the viewers,
08:17our readers, had for us was how this thing is going to hold up over time.
08:21I mean, this is a Chinese motorcycle, and there's a lot of doubt surrounding CSC.
08:26So we're going to keep riding it.
08:27Not just me.
08:28Lemmy, Lance, Greaseman, the new guy over at Common Tread, we're going to put miles
08:31on this motorcycle.
08:32And if you want to see how this thing does, make sure you sign up for our mailing list
08:36to keep up with all the Common Tread articles we're rolling out.
08:39And as always, subscribe to us on YouTube to keep up with all the video content that
08:42you can find at RevZilla.com.
08:44I want to thank you for joining us for this first ride review of the SG250 from CSC.
08:49I'm Spurge.
08:50Enjoy the ride.