OSSINING, NY – European Cycle Services (ECS) is merging with Hudson Valley Motorcycles with ECS President Stephen Saucier becoming service manager for HVMC. ECS’s technicians are joining the Ducati-Kawasaki-Suzuki dealership as well. ECS was started in 2007 in Middletown, NY and has specialized in performance upgrades and restorations for Ducatis, …
Read More »Sidecar Sequel From Good Spark Garage
CARMEL, IN – Five months after coming out with a clever, fast-paced and sometimes slapstick video on how to operate a sidecar rig, which RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland told you about here, Good Spark Garage and twin brothers Corey and Casey Wilkinson are out with a sequel primer on sidecar safety for kids. …
Read More »MOMS Buying F.B. Spaulding In NH
LANCASTER, NH – The MOMS chain of New England powersports dealerships is adding a fourth store. MOMS has signed a letter of intent to buy F.B. Spaulding Co., a Polaris and John Deere dealer that has operated in Lancaster since 1902. MOMS says the expansion will allow the store to …
Read More »Dealers Rebuild, Move And Reconfigure
Some news from dealers around New England (and beyond): – Cumberland County Scooters & Cycles in Portland, ME is now shooting for a mid-April re-opening after being severely damaged by a fire last June 22. No one was injured in that nighttime blaze at 341 Warren St. The business had …
Read More »FTR750 For Sale, Himalayan Coming
It’s not being released as a street model – at least not yet and here’s hoping that it will – but Indian is making its Scout FTR750 flat track model available for purchase; at least by other racing teams. It won’t come cheap – $50,000. The FTR750 “features a unique, …
Read More »RIDE-NewEngland: Collection Has Valmobile, Welbike
WILLIMANTIC, CT – Mark Turkington is a familiar figure at motorcycle shows around New England. The 72-year-old Bolton resident is a life-long rider and a collector of rare, vintage models, and he enjoys showing off his two-wheeled artifacts. For Brit Jam in 2015, he brought a British-made 1924 Douglas SW/24. …
Read More »Five Forgotten Brands You May Not Remember
Over the years, RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland has written about many forgotten brands and obscure models. Not many folks today recall the Neracar or the Schickel from the U.S., the James or the Sunbeam from the U.K., or the Griffon from France. For every brand, though, there is an enthusiast. Dipping …
Read More »U.S. Road Deaths Rise in 2016
ITASCA, IL – As many as 40,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents last year, according to the National Safety Council, whose estimate is based on preliminary data from 2016. That’s a six percent increase over 2015 and a 14 percent increase over 2014; the most dramatic two-year rise since …
Read More »Quincy Isn’t Banning Overnight Riding
QUINCY, MA – An ultimately misleading post on the website Quincy.com suggesting that the city was enacting an ordinance prohibiting the riding of motorcycles between midnight and 5 a.m. has been spreading on social media in recent days. Today, the city offered an explanation of how the misunderstanding occurred, and …
Read More »Film Festival Seeks Entries
BROOKLYN – Submissions are now being sought for the fifth annual international Motorcycle Film Festival, which will be held at the Wythe Hotel here Sept. 20-23. The deadline for entering is July 15. The festival celebrates “the world’s best dramatic, documentary, short, and experimental films created by the international motorcycling …
Read More »If You Had Asked Me, I Would Have Told You…
After a two-month absence that can be chalked up to the website’s recent redesign, it’s time for another installment of the catch-all column titled “If You Had Asked Me, I Would Have Told You…” The purpose is to get a bunch a news items that maybe didn’t warrant a full …
Read More »Website Writers Favor Helmet Law In CT
With the Connecticut General Assembly once again considering a universal helmet law, members of the writing staff here at RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland were asked if they had any strong feelings on it, and whether or not they favor the proposed legislation. By a 5-0 margin, the scribes, who have decades …
Read More »National Powersports Is A Used Bike Bazaar
PEMBROKE, N.H. – Ever traded in a motorcycle at a New England dealership and wondered what became of it? In some cases, the dealer may have simply tied a price tag to the handlebar and put it on the showroom floor for resale, not even bothering to inspect or clean …
Read More »Maine Builder Wins J&P Show
SANTA MONICA, CA – Nick Beaulieu, owner of Forever Two Wheels in Windham, ME, has taken the top prize as “King of the Builders” at the eighth annual J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show. “Pretty crazy. Definitely didn’t expect it,” he said today. The competition, which is a show …
Read More »BMW Reveals Some 2017 Prices
WOODCLIFF, N.J. – BMW Motorrad USA is out with MSRPs for some 2017 models, with the price of two popular GS models getting boosted $200 apiece. The R 1200 GS will now cost $16,695 and the R 1200 GS Adventure going to $18,895. The cost of some GS options is …
Read More »