SOMERS, NY – Harley-Davidson may have been founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, but an interesting element in the company’s history can be traced to Somers, which west of I-684 in Westchester County. That’s where William B. Johnson had the first Harley-Davidson dealership owned by an African-American. Johnson opened the franchise in …

BANGKOK, THAILAND – Motorcyclists tend to associate brands with countries; Harley-Davidson with the United States, BMW with Germany, Ducati with Italy, Triumph with England, and Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha with Japan. But those same riders may not realize that seven of those manufacturers build bikes in Thailand, the exception …

PICKERINGTON, OH – The 2017 dates for the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH were announced this morning by the American Motorcyclist Association. They are July 7-9. The three-day festival, which raises funds for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, features vintage motorcycle racing, …

FARMINGTON, CT – Motorcycle training classes run by CONREP are held rain or shine, but it was another kind of intrusion from above that provided a teachable moment at the Tunxis Community College training site on Sunday morning. Hot air balloons from the nearby Plainville Hot Air Balloon Festival began …

VALCOURT, Quebec – Might a Can-Am motorcycle be on the horizon? BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) builds snowmobiles, watercraft and the Can-Am Spyder three-wheelers and is now reportedly considering expanding into motorcycles.  The “Montreal Gazette” quotes company spokesperson Sylvain Morissette as saying the company is evaluating the market, but did not …

OK, I’m thoroughly confused… Having not grown up around motorcycles, I’m not up to speed on a lot of motorcycle history. Consequently, when Harley-Davidson unveiled its new “Milwaukee-Eight” engine this week, it got me wondering about the power-plants that had preceded it. While I was aware of some of the …

NASHUA, NH – Rocket Moto Sport will soon become the first New England dealer of Tilting Motor Works three-wheelers. Already a dealer of American-made Motus motorcycles, Rocket Moto Sport will by mid-fall start converting Harley-Davidson and Honda touring models into trikes using Tilting Motor Works kits. Tilting Motor Works is …

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson this morning unveiled a new engine, the ninth Big Twin in its history, dubbed the Milwaukee-Eight. It will be offered in two displacements: the Milwaukee-Eight 107 (107 cubic inches/1,750cc) and the Milwaukee-Eight 114 (114 cubic inches/1,870cc). The company says the new engine “is a clean-sheet design that combines …

LOS ANGELES – GasGas has launched a new consumer website to better serve the North American market. The company says the new website is further evidence of GasGas’s continued growth and resurgence under

SANTA CRUZ, CA – Electric motorcycle-maker Zero is now offering discounts of up to $500 for student riders, riding school instructors, members of the military and first responders. Discounts of $500 are being offered on the Zero S, Zero DS, Zero SR and Zero DSR models, and $250 on the …

BROOKLYN – The date for the eighth annual Brooklyn Invitational Custom Motorcycle Show is now set. It will be staged Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Root Studios, 131 n. 14th St. in Brooklyn, NY, according to a new post on Facebook. Using a gallery setting, the motorcycle exhibition showcases unique …

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown today signed into law legislation making lane-splitting by motorcyclists legal in California, becoming the first state to do so. The law gives the California Highway Patrol the authority to

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson has settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over illegal engine devices that the EPA said caused excessive pollution. Harley-Davidson will pay a $12 million civil penalty plus $3 million to mitigate air pollution as well as buy back and destroy thousands of “super tuners.” The EPA …

What’s life without a little romance, although at my age (62), marital status (single) and location (rural Connecticut) that means enjoying the company of a motorcycle? Consequently, any time I see a motorcycle, I tend to look closely – whether it’s

WEST HARTFORD, CT – It was happenstance that the white and teal Harley-Davidson motorcycle ridden by actor Michiel Huisman ended up parked next to a flat black Indian outside of Westfarms mall. Commenting about their adjacency to the “Games of Thrones” star was only natural, though, because