National News

MILWAUKEE – After laying off some 200 production workers last October, Harley-Davidson plans to eliminate another 180 permanent positions this fall in the wake of weakening sales of its motorcycles, the “Journal Sentinel” newspaper reports. The company said Tuesday that U.S. sales in the second quarter of 2017 were down …

HARWINTON, CT – Wintertime is normally the slow news period when it comes to motorcycles, not summer when new models are out, when rallies and shows are being staged, and when new roads and eateries are being discovered. Winter is the time for trial balloons and cockamamie suggestions, not summer. …

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson is recalling about 57,000 of its 2017 model-year motorcycles due to an oil line issue. The line can detach,  causing a sudden loss of oil, potentially in the path of the rear tire. The company says a clamp on the engine cooler line may not have been …

These are uneasy times for Ducati owners. Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati is now reportedly up for sale as car company VW scrambles for cash the wake of its diesel emissions scandal. A story Monday by “The Times of India” says Royal Enfield has been approached about buying Ducati. Ducati could …

The recent video from electric motorcycle-maker Zero is titled “For Us?” It shows a guy going through some mental gymnastics in trying to figure out how to justify his purchase to his partner. Interspersed are shots of the guy riding the bike to the beach, to the desert and to …

BATON ROUGE, LA – Riders ticketed for wearing helmets? Odd as it sounds, there’s a bill currently in the state legislature in Louisiana aimed at stopping police officers from ticketing motorcyclists for wearing helmets when operating their machines. The bill, authored by Rep. Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport), would exempt riders from …

The motorcycles may be state of the art but television coverage of the American Flat Track racing series, which has streamed on FansChoice.tv, has so far this season looked more like it has been produced by a high school audio-video department than by experienced, professional broadcasters. Sloppy camera selection, rubish …

MILWAUKEE – Last year was a very, very good year for Harley-Davidson’s top executives, most notably President and C.E.O. Matt Levatich. His total compensation in 2016 was $9,350,303 – or nearly $180,000 per week ($179,813 to be exact). That takes in salary, bonuses, stock awards and more. This also means that …

HARWINTON, CT – There’s a saying in the news biz that “There’s no rooting in the press box.” It means that reporters – more specifically, sportswriters – should judge and report on events objectively and without favor. But I couldn’t help it last night when watching the Daytona TT on …

MEDINA, MN – Government filings often provide a glimpse into corporations and a notice of an annual meeting of stockholders filed Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Polaris Industries revealed dramatically shrinking compensation for Scott W. Wine, the company’s chairman and C.E.O. In 2016, Wine only earned slightly …

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson’s small Street models haven’t been robust sellers for dealers since their unveiling in November 2013, but the company’s belief in the need for a broad lineup that includes entry-level machines hasn’t wavered, and now comes another model dubbed the Street Rod that is a bit more sporty …

CARMEL, IN – Five months after coming out with a clever, fast-paced and sometimes slapstick video on how to operate a sidecar rig, which RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland told you about here, Good Spark Garage and twin brothers Corey and Casey Wilkinson are out with a sequel primer on sidecar safety for kids. …

It’s not being released as a street model – at least not yet and here’s hoping that it will – but Indian is making its Scout FTR750 flat track model available for purchase; at least by other racing teams. It won’t come cheap – $50,000. The FTR750 “features a unique, …

ITASCA, IL – As many as 40,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents last year, according to the National Safety Council, whose estimate is based on preliminary data from 2016. That’s a six percent increase over 2015 and a 14 percent increase over 2014; the most dramatic two-year rise since …

WOODCLIFF, N.J. – BMW Motorrad USA is out with MSRPs for some 2017 models, with the price of two popular GS models getting boosted $200 apiece. The R 1200 GS will now cost $16,695 and the R 1200 GS Adventure going to $18,895.  The cost of some GS options is …