Columns

HARWINTON, CT – I’d love to say that I’m starting 2018 with a new attitude. A fresh, optimistic outlook filled with generosity and cheerfulness would make the next 12 months so much more enjoyable, but with a milestone 65th birthday later this year and some body part always aching, it’s not …

EAST HARTFORD, CT – Motorcycles and music are Joe Barone’s passions. He rides a 2012 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide Custom. It’s dubbed “The Skunk” because of its stark black and white color scheme and it even has a personalized Connecticut license plate on the rear fender that reads “SKUNKD.” He’s also …

LITTLE NECK, NY – How well a sales person handles a showroom visitor can make all the difference between an excited new bike owner and a disgruntled shopper leaving a dealership in a huff. A well-trained, skillful sales person understands how important it is to follow an organized sales process that …

The website Sunday Morning Rides is an interesting way to discover new rides anywhere in the country.  There is an especially heavy content of rides in the northeast.  It is searchable by state and uses zoomable Google Maps to zero in on fine detail.  It appears that some rides have …

Bike-urious is a curious site, derived from reader contributions and internet-wide searches by the sites’ administrators.  Shown are an incredibly diverse collection of bikes that are for sale.  In addition to providing info on the actual sale listing (eBay, etc.) the site provides a substantial amount on background information on the …

It was probably a dozen years ago that a friend urged me to take his worn-orange 1970 Triumph Bonneville for a ride. Having never ridden an old British bike up until that time, I had to quickly adjust to the right-side shifter and left-side brake pedal. What I recall most …

LITTLE NECK, NY – Call it “showroom etiquette.” Simply stated, showroom etiquette is the way customers and potential customers – otherwise known as “prospects” – are treated when they come through the front door. I’ve never met a motorcyclist who didn’t have a few showroom stories to share. While I have …

LITTLE NECK, NY – In my multiple roles as general manager, sales manager, consultant and even customer, I’ve experienced motorcycle dealerships from many different points of view. More than once, I’ve been asked,  “What does it take to be a successful dealership?” and I’ve long believed that small things matter. …

THOMASTON, CT – It’s a case of deja vu for Jason Pinette of Roost Power Sports, the Husqvarna motorcycle dealer in Thomaston. The storyline is simple. Husky gets purchased and the new owner eventually announces plans to expand the brand’s offerings to include street-only models in addition to dirt bikes. Pinette …

CHESTER, VT – When I throw my right leg over the saddle and settle in for a ride on my motorcycle I’m suddenly in a completely different world. It’s a place where the risks are greater, where you need to bring a level of concentration based on situational awareness. Riding focuses …

NORTH GRANBY, CT – To say that I was dumbstruck when my friend Frank Tedeschi recently texted “Google Piet Boonstra. He is my friend’s father” isn’t sufficient. I damn near fell out of my chair before replying, “WHAT?!” because I knew the name of this iconic rider and author well. …

Ready for more bickering, bluster and contrived nonsense? The Discovery Channel is rebooting “American Chopper” after a five-year hiatus and the reaction so far has been predictably polarizing. Some riders never want to see the battling Teutul clan again, while rubberneckers wonder about the current status of Orange County Choppers, …

BARKHAMSTED, CT – Down a narrow, unpaved driveway and behind a house in Barkhamsted sits a weathered, nondescript garage that’s filled with relics worth marveling over – an assortment of classic cars and vintage motorcycles. Among the four-wheeled vehicles are two convertibles – a 1942 Ford and a 1954 Chevy. The …

HARWINTON, CT – Not to belabor the point made in the last column that the future of motorcycling may be battery powered, but the landscape keeps shifting at an ever-increasing pace… It was while having breakfast with Phil Cheney after that column appeared that the subject of electric motorcycles inevitably came …

HARWINTON, CT – Imagine the roads with far fewer motorcycles and without the din of their excessive exhaust noise. Imagine the happiness of homeowners and churchgoers, especially those who live or worship on heavily traveled highways where the continuous roar of loud pipes make what should be quiet Sunday mornings unbearable, …