New England News

Panhead Held Up Well In Crash

TORRINGTON, CT – The fate of the motorcycle is inconsequential when a rider goes down. A bike can be replaced, but a person cannot. Fortunately, Glenn Royals survived after recently finding himself confronted by a driver in a pickup who pulled across his path. He suffered some extensive injuries when …

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New “The Lot” Vintage Show Set In Brooklyn

BROOKLYN – After three years of staging the Split’n Lanes & Dodgin’ Gutters show at the Brooklyn Bowl bowling alley, Basket Case Productions plans to “step it up a notch,” according to promoter Girard Fox, and move outdoors this year with a new vintage motorcycle show called “The Lot.” Set …

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Firefighter Rides To Help Children’s Burn Victims

WATERBURY, CT – Waterbury firefighter Bill D’Occhio has been training for weeks. “The gym five days a week; a lot of spinning,” he said. He’s also been schlepping to Bethlehem where farmer and Bethlehem V.F.D. chief Jon O’Neill has allowed him to ride his off-road bikes “twice a week” on …

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Riding Abandoned Route 8 In Colebrook River Lake

COLEBROOK, CT – Route 8 in Connecticut runs north-south from Bridgeport on Long Island Sound to Colebrook at the Massachusetts border. Before the flood of 1955, it was a narrow, winding road with numerous cities along the way. After the flood, dams were built on the Naugatuck River to prevent …

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Harley-Davidson FXB Sturgis Keeps Rolling

AGAWAM, MA – The shiny black 1981 Harley-Davidson FXB Sturgis that Paul Murphy still rides was purchased new from what was then Easthampton Harley-Davidson for approximately $5,200. Some 36 years and maybe 150,000 miles later, it’s still on the road, although its motor has been rebuilt four times and many …

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Hilltop Farm Harvests Indians, Other Brands

SUFFIELD, CT – Year two of a revived motorcycle show at Hilltop Farm, once owned by original Indian co-founder George M. Hendee, proved satisfactory on Saturday with a bluegrass band livening the proceedings. “The big change is the music. There’s nothing like live music,” said Kacy Colston, president of The …

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A Whopper Of A Tale Involving A 1954 BMW R67/2

THOMPSON, CT – If this were a fish tale, it might be considered a whopper. However, unlike anglers who sometimes exaggerate the struggles involved in landing a prize catch, motorcyclists don’t need to embellish when storytelling because the truth alone is usually sufficient. Maine “Ted” Smith of Cheshire had such …

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