New England News

WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA – With the overnight forecast calling for snow, riders turned out today and beat the storm by attending the Springfield Motorcycle Show at the Eastern States Exposition. “It’s actually a pretty good showing,” said promoter Doug Sousa. “We’re very happy.” Attendees got to sit on new models …

NORTH GRANBY, CT – The Crotona Midnight Run will be staged for the 101st time next Sunday morning in Nanuet, NY and, for the second consecutive year, “Always Riding” columnist Paul Siciliano will be participating (and raising a little money for charity). This time Siciliano will be fighting the cold …

MIDDLETOWN, CT – Middletown Motorcycle Mania is no more. Last August’s 13th annual event, which drew thousands of riders and created a madhouse in downtown, was the last one. The reason given for the axing of the event was that it “has grown so large that the cost of providing …

VERNON, CT – The New England Motorcycle Museum over the weekend released a schedule of major events planned for 2019, including a 2nd annual Café Fever show in August and auctions in May and September. While the museum’s booking agent, Keith Gorden, reported in a Facebook post that details will …

OSSINING, NY – Energica, the high-performance electric motorcycle brand from Italy, has signed a new dealer in the northeast and its ninth in the United States, RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland has learned.  Hudson Valley Motorcycles expects to have models in its showroom on Route 9 here soon. “They’re beautiful bikes. It’s …

Wintertime is normally a down time for motorcycle activities in the northeast. Riding opportunities are limited at best and events are few. There’s an exception this year, though, as Saturday, Jan. 19 has loads of activities taking place simultaneously and offering a variety of options both indoors and outside and …

ENFIELD, CT – The new year will likely offer a better ending for the former owner of Shark Cycle in Stafford Springs, CT than last year did. Robert Charland has been incarcerated in the medium-security Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institution here since Aug. 15, according to online records from the state Department of …

LITCHFIELD, CT – Jimmy Kelley, owner of Crabby Al’s Seafood Restaurant in Thomaston, went to the Possum Queen Festival & Auction at the Litchfield Inn on Sunday afternoon with the idea of possibly bidding on a 1971 Honda CL 450 that was being offered. He watched, though, as the action …

(Updated at 9 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2019 – Buzz Kanter reports tonight that the Indian Four has been sold to a collector and vintage Indian rider from the South and that it will be picked up on Thursday. “I got my price,” he messaged. “Now I have to decide …

HARWINTON, CT – The April ouster of a high-profile chapter president of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America, the November launch of a posse targeting bike thieves by the founder of the New England Motorcycle Museum, and the July announcement of new non-cruiser models by Harley-Davidson were among the stories …

VERNON, CT – Having spent $6.5 million and obtained more than $4 million in state loans to open the New England Motorcycle Museum in the Rockville section of town in late summer, founder Ken Kaplan is now revisiting crowdfunding to help keep the grandiose project moving forward. On Wednesday, Kaplan …

LITCHFIELD, CT – It’s a crazy annual fund-raiser known as the Possum Queen Festival & Auction. Staged here every New Year’s Day, it raises money for families facing medical hardships. Describing the Possum Queen isn’t easy. Adults, many presumably hung over from New Year’s Eve, dress up in outrageous costumes, …

WILMINGTON, VT – It’s no exaggeration to say that Dot’s Restaurant is the diner too beloved to close. It could have easily stayed shuttered after Tropical Storm Irene came through in late August 2011 and caused the Deerfield River (which runs through downtown) to overflow. Dot’s sits above of the …

LOUDON, NH – The June 15 date for a new American Flat Track event in New Hampshire in 2019 was already known, but now a venue has been announced. New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be the host on a track that’s currently under construction. According to a press release, work …

NEW YORK – The overriding purpose of the Progressive International Motorcycle show is to introduce riders to new models, and this weekend’s event at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center seemed to offer more choices to throw a leg over than in recent years. RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland’s Bob Rosen attended …