National News

MINNEAPOLIS – Indian has just made a big statement about what the future holds for the growing brand. It has hired Ola Stenegärd as its Director of Product Design. A native of Sweden, Stenegärd has spent the past 15 years working for BMW Motorrad where he has played a crucial role …

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson is following through on its recent promise to “invest more aggressively” in electric motorcycles. This morning, the company announced that it has made an equity investment in Alta Motors, the Brisbane, CA-based builder of lightweight electric bikes for both off-road and street use. The two companies plan …

Would you let a stranger ride your motorcycle? Maybe, but maybe not. If it were a friend of a friend and you had a “good feeling” about the person, possibly. If you wondered about the person’s ability, certainly not. One Monday morning last September when meeting Phil Cheney of MAX …

MADISON COUNTY, FL – An Indian demo truck carrying 15 motorcycles that was on its way to a dealership in Tallahassee, FL went up n flames late Thursday morning when a tire blew out and sparks started a fire. News reports placed the estimated damage at $100,000 or more as …

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson is out with two new Sportsters for 2018 as the company shoots for the introduction of 100 new models by the year 2027. Unwrapped today were the Iron 1200 and the Forty-Eight Special. Both have high handlebars and throwback styling. “Since its inception, the Sportster has offered …

MILWAUKEE – A massive recall of nearly 251,000 motorcycles built between 2008 and 2011 by Harley-Davidson is being implemented overs fears that the brakes might fail. More than 30 ABS-equipped models are affected, including Road King, Road Glide, Electra Glide,   Street Glide, V-Rod and Night Rod models. Nearly 175,000 …

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson this morning announced that its Kansas City assembly plant will close. The announcement came in conjunction with a press release stating that the company’s retail motorcycle sales tumbled in 2017. U.S. sales dropped 8.5 percent from 2016, while worldwide sales dropped 6.7 percent. Harley-Davidson shipped 241,498 bikes …

At least one TV ad in Super Bowl LII this Sunday will feature a motorcycle.  Movie actor Keanu Reeves stars in new spots for website development and hosting company Squarespace. Two ads do double duty as they also promote the custom Arch Motorcycle Company, which Reeves co-founded. One ad and …

It’s a tough time to be in the print business of any kind. Circulation of newspapers and magazines are dropping, and advertisers are going elsewhere to spend their clients’ money. This is especially true in the motorcycle arena where numerous mags have disappeared, while others have been merged or seen …

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 …

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Flat track enthusiasts in the northeast who had to journey to Weedsport, NY on the far side of Syracuse to catch racing action this past season won’t have to travel so far next year. The 18-race American Flat Track schedule for 2018 released recently has the …

NEW YORK – Three examples of the redesigned 2018 Honda Gold Wing were displayed at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show this past weekend. RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland talked with Bill Savino, manager of product planning for Honda, about the new Gold Wing: Here are the specs for the Gold Wing:  

NEW YORK – The Ducati exhibit is traditionally one of the largest and most colorful at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center every year. Ducatisti will be disappointed next month, though, because the high-end Italian brand won’t have a display at this year’s show, …

MINNEAPOLIS – Buried in the press release from Polaris Industries on its 2017 third quarter results this week was some striking news about Indian. The brand’s market share surpassed the 10 percent mark in September. Motorcycle industry sales in the 900cc and above category “were down high-single digits” in Q3, …

SANTA BARBARA, CA – Honda is giving its top-of-the-line Gold Wing a new look for 2018 with sleeker styling, less weight and a greater orientation toward performance. Due in showrooms in February, the new Gold Wing and Gold Wing Tour will range in price from $23,500 to $31,500 (with airbag) …