Columns

Nathan Muscaro of New Hartford pops a wheelie on his 2014 KTM 500 EXC.  Winter is the time when most of us put our bikes into storage and stuff our riding gear into the closet, although there are a few hardy street riders who don’t mind a little salt on the …

By Bob Rose With the unlikely name of Dad’s Vintage Ads, you will find this Tennessee based mail-order company to have a veritable treasure trove of old bike info in the form of vintage motorcycle ads and magazines. The site is organized by brand and features a lot of way-cool …

  How does the dealer decide what to charge you for repairs and maintenance on your bike? If you’ve been to a dealership a few times, you probably think you have a pretty good idea of how things work. But, there’s a lot more going on that isn’t obvious to the average …

Dave Rosen and his Thruxton at New York’s IMS When the January/February 2014 issue of “Motorcycle Classics” magazine arrived recently, I immediately noticed the full-page Triumph advertisement on the back cover. It shows a customized Thruxton model being ridden on the Bonneville Salt Flats by pro motorcycle racer Jason DiSalvo, its …

By Steve Smith Most of us are thinking motorcycles during the winter, but cannot do much riding. This down time is a perfect opportunity to tune up your mental skills or, if you’re planning on getting into motorcycling, to prepare for

Kawasaki W80 It was at the end of last year that I was griping about the fact that Moto Guzzi doesn’t sell its Bellagio mid-sized cruiser here in the U.S. and that got me thinking about other models that never see our shores. While Honda withheld its CB1100 for a …

By Bob Rosen “Motorcycle Classics” is a magazine dedicated to all things vintage. Their website is loaded with interesting restoration stories and hundreds of photographs.  Pay particular attention to the title bar listing different countries of origin.  Clicking on the country of your choice will bring you into a world of bikes …

As motorcycle enthusiasts, we get a real kick out of accessorizing our rides, maintaining them, acquiring riding gear and occasionally buying a new or used bike. We have many choices of how and where we can scratch this itch, and local dealerships are always glad to provide an outlet for spending urges.

  Heading into the colder season many people begin thinking about the next riding season. This includes entry riders who are considering their first motorcycle. Some have some prior riding experience with dirt motorcycles or ATVs, but many have never ridden a motorcycle before.  Here are some tips to help

It’s Friday morning and I’m just wondering… …how long the riding season will last? The forecast for the weekend looks promising temperature-wise, but after Monday it’s supposed to get cold again. I normally put the bikes into winter storage the first week of December and remove them from mothballs the …

You might have thought I was going to say: “Start with $2 million.” That’s actually the time-worn answer that some dealers will give you with a chuckle when discussing the financial reality of their chosen profession. Like any business, keeping score for the typical motorcycle dealership is largely a matter of …

Father Jim Gregory on his Honda scooter For many motorcyclists, taking up riding was the result of a mid-life crisis. They never rode in their younger years, but felt the need as they got older to experience the wind their faces. Jim Gregory, who certainly qualifies as middle-aged at age …

By Steve Smith of RIDE-CT.com Have you met someone who seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to riding in traffic? These folks just seem to know when there will be trouble ahead. These riders have strong “situation awareness.” Situation awareness is the perception of

By Steve Smith of RIDE-CT.com This is the time of the year when roads are being resurfaced with chip seal, which causes problems for riders. And that’s not the only road surface hazard out there.  As motorcyclists we need to be diligent to

How popular is motorcycling in the U.S. and, specifically, New England? It depends on where you live. It also depends on how the figuring is done, according to Bill Belei, founder and webmaster of MotorcycleRoads.com. Belei’s gathered some stats that show that