New England News

HARTFORD – How long motorcycle dealer Bruce J. Bemer will be sentenced to prison for his involvement with a sex ring won’t be known until June when a judge sentences him, but the “Hartford Courant” newspaper stridently threw the book at him in an online editorial posted Thursday. “He deserves …

FALLS VILLAGE, CT – A lot of decision-making is involved when Wayne Olson of Tillson, NY decides to go for a ride. Will he ride an old bike or a new one? Will he ride an American-made cruiser, a classic British bike, or something more sporty from Italy or Japan? …

DANBURY, CT – The millionaire owner of New England Cycle Center in Hartford and two other motorcycle dealerships in southern New England has been convicted on multiple felony counts in a trial involving a sex trafficking ring that preyed on vulnerable young men. Bruce J. Bemer, 65,  of Glastonbury was …

HAVERHILL, MA – A 62-year-old BMW rider from Dracut, MA was seriously injured on Saturday when he was hit by a ladder that came out of the back of a pickup truck while he was riding his vintage 1985 motorcycle southbound on I-495 here. The rider, whose name wasn’t provided …

MIDDLETOWN, CT – With the arrival of spring, the Connecticut State Police are reminding drivers to watch for motorcycles as well as  providing advice for motorcyclists for a safer riding season. In a recent “Tips from Troopers Tuesday” posting on social media, the CSP offered six tips for drivers, beginning …

There’s no shortage of motorcycle meets, rallies and other events to attend every year. Keeping track of them can be problematic. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why the Event Calendar page on RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland is the most viewed page on the website over the course of a year. …

HARTFORD – For years, the “Hartford Courant” has been pushing for the passage of a universal helmet law in Connecticut, and this year is no different.  Despite the fact a helmet provision was inexplicably removed from H.B. 7140 last week before the bill was voted out of the Transportation Committee, …

HARTFORD – A day after posting incorrect information under a “BAD NEWS!” headline on its website, asking members to protest to state legislators against a bill that it believed called for a universal helmet requirement for riders, the Connecticut Motorcycle Riders Association has now corrected the blunder and called off …

HARTFORD, CT – Members of the motorcycle riding community who advocate for choice when it comes to helmet usage can once again breath easy. The Transportation Committee at the Connecticut General Assembly removed a provision from a bill that would have made universal head protection mandatory before voting the bill …

OSSINING, NY – The entry of Italian electric bike builder Energica into the northeast will be marked by a day-long open house on March 30 at its newest dealer, Hudson Valley Motorsports, with the company’s CEO for North America in attendance. Joining Stefano Bennati at the open house will be …

It’s been a goodly while since the last installment of “If You Had Asked Me, I Would Have Told You…” In fact, it has been more than a year and a half since what had been a regular catch-all post for small newsworthy items not hefty enough for a full …

LAKEVILLE, CT – The bucolic setting of Lime Rock Park race track will be the site of a new motorcycle rally next month, designed to jump start the riding season in southern New England as motorcyclists get their bikes out of winter storage. Presented by Spectro Performance Oils and Lime …

THOMASTON, CT – Upwards of 150 worried dirt bike riders, fearful that a proposed “greenway” may disrupt or bring an end to more than 40 years of riding on trails behind Thomaston Dam, turned out for an occasionally-contentious informational public meeting at Center School on Thursday night. Representatives of the …

HARTFORD – It was standing room only Monday for a public hearing by the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee with opponents and supporters of a universal helmet law in Connecticut stating their well-known positions. “Both sides made a case,” committee co-chair Sen. Carlo Leone (D – Stamford) told RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland, …

HARTFORD – As opponents and supporters of a proposed universal helmet law in Connecticut spend the weekend urging riders to attend a public hearing on Monday at the state legislature, a result from a poll done in January reveals that nearly 75 percent of drivers in the state support having …