MONSON, MA – A Zoning Board of Appeals hearing scheduled to potentially determine the future of hillclimb events staged on land owned by the Quaboag Riders Motorcycle Club was short-lived Thursday night when the inadequate size of the meeting room forced a postponement until July 14. State law requires that …

HARWINTON, CT – It wasn’t a surprise really that the battery on my 1987 BMW R 80 RT was dead when spring arrived. I’d neglected to keep it on a Battery Tender throughout the winter, only plugging it in occasionally and for short periods of time. It was 33 months …

BARKHAMSTED, CT – It’s a place that’s easy to overlook; a nondescript gray, one-story building alongside a busy state highway, highlighted only by a bright yellow sign saying “The Brass Horse Cafe.” It’s on Route 44 just northwest of New Hartford if you’re headed toward Winsted. It’s a roadhouse and …

BRIDGEPORT, CT – Four months after closing its retail outlet in Brooklyn, NY, motorcycle gear retailer Union Garage announced today that it plans to reopen with a new downtown store in a century-old former factory building in this coastal Connecticut city, located at the junction of I-95 and Route 8. …

NEW MILFORD, CT – The May 1 death of Max BMW parts advisor Brandon Forlastro, who died in a motorcycle accident on his 22nd birthday, has prompted his parents to launch a non-profit organization aimed at helping others dealing with tragic circumstances similar to those that confronted them. “It was …

Some riders may have vague knowledge that the original Indian “motocycle” company was founded in 1901 and that Harley-Davidson appeared in 1903. Together, they made motorcycling popular in the U.S. in the early 20th century. In-between the founding of those two companies, across the Atlantic Ocean in 1902, Frenchman George …

WINDSOR, CT – To be in the “limelight” means to be the center of attention. Despite being 32 years old, the non-profit Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut isn’t in a highly visible location and doesn’t have a high profile. It’s down a side road off of Route 159 …

GREENWICH, CT – The Greenwich Concours d’Elegance has a practice each year of showcasing old models from two chosen brands in the motorcycle area at the waterfront show ground at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park. Last year, it was Indian and Moto Guzzi that got selected. On Sunday, the old British …

HARWINTON, CT – It was a good idea that had a bad outcome and involved a church and a motorcycle. The obnoxious stunt had spectators at a Memorial Day Parade here covering their ears in pain and disgust, and ultimately reflected negatively on a church that was simply trying to …

LITCHFIELD, CT – The only motorcycle on display at a classic car show tends to get noticed, no matter its brand, model or age. It would be difficult, though, to find a more interesting example of an early brand and model than the entry brought by Peter Downs to a …

HARWINTON, CT – And now the rest of the story, otherwise known as the case of the disappearing doctor. As recounted earlier, a mishap with a log splitter resulted in a sizable portion of my left thumb being sheared off. When the accident happened that Saturday in mid-February, a friend …

CHESHIRE, MA – The longtime owner of the private Museum of Vintage Trail Bikes, Jim Hoellerich, has died at 88. He passed away on Sunday, one day after hundreds of riders attended one last open house at the hilltop museum he founded that houses 100 or so models made by …

BROOKFIELD, CT – Work was still progressing Wednesday afternoon at the new Touratech retail store and distribution center here. History will record that the first sale had already been made with the purchase of a Butler road map. “The only thing that’s not ready is the front counter,” said Touratech …

HARWINTON, CT – This riding season is unlike any other. By this time last year there had already been a three-day trip to an antique motorcycle show in Pennsylvania. This year, operating a motorcycle for even a few miles has been thwarted by an injury.    While I routinely put …

THOMASTON, CT – Anxiousness was replaced by confidence for 45 young off-road riders who took part Saturday in a six-hour instructional clinic at Thomaston Dam. Hosted by the Pathfinders Motorcycle Club of Oxford, CT, the Dam Good Pee Wee Scramblers Clinic was designed to prepare riders ages 5 through 12 …