Bike Sales Up in 2012, How to Change Oil

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

Motorcycle sales in the U.S. showed 2.6 percent increase in 2012 over 2011, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, with retail sales totaling 452,386 bikes. Sales of street bikes were up a modest 1.8 percent and totaled 318,105 units. The category excludes scooters, dual purpose and dirt bikes.

Scooter sales in 2012 were up 7.7 percent, while dual sport sales rose 7.4 percent. Scooter sales totaled 334,294, while dual sport sales totaled 28,452.

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Honda plans to use this weekend’s Progressive International Motorcycle Show in Chicago to reveal two new 2014 models. “These new models are the first in a whole new family of products that will be rolled out in the future,” said Honda’s Bill Savino.

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Do you change your own oil? If you don’t, here’s a funny primer on how not to do it:

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More to read:

– The merchandising division of Orange County Choppers filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week in Poughkeepsie, NY, listing debts of $1.4 million. The “Times Herald-Record” has the story here. The TV show “American Chopper” which showcased the arguments of Ornge County Chopper-founding Teutel family ended a 10-year TV run in December.

– A Pennsylvania man who gave up smoking after a heart attack used the $200 that he would have spent each month on cigarettes to buy a Harley-Davidson that took on a Baltimore Ravens theme. The “York Daily Record” has the story here.