Up To Speed

HARWINTON, CT – It finally feels like the motorcycle riding season may be over. While I’ve become a rider who “pushes the season” by wearing heated riding gear and riding a motorcycle with a full fairing to break the wind, I’ve always seemed to have some down time in winter …

HARWINTON, CT – Is BSA’s return to the U.S. finally about to happen? Or has it already occurred behind a curtain of secrecy and no one’s spilled the beans? It appears that a return is quietly moving forward and just hasn’t been publicly revealed, but will an official announcement be …

MILAN, ITALY – No specs were divulged. No prices were revealed. And the first model won’t be available until spring 2026. Royal Enfield also didn’t say whether it can be expected in the U.S. from the get-go, but what the company from India did do Monday was announce an electric …

HARWINTON, CT – It still looks showroom new, and its odometer only shows about 1,600 miles after almost five years of ownership. “It’s definitely a fun bike to ride. There’s no doubt at all,” said John Birden recently of his 2020 Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle.  RIDE-CT was at Yankee-Harley-Davidson in …

NEW YORK – It’s a hard place to operate a motorcycle dealership. A few years ago, New York City lost its sole BMW dealership on West 57th Street in Manhattan. Now, New York City Harley-Davidson at 4211 Northern Boulevard in Long Island City on the west edge of Queens is …

NEW MILFORD, CT – It’s hardly been a secret that owner Max Stratton has been working for quite some time on adding a KTM dealership on the property of his MAX BMW store at 493 Danbury Road (Route 7) south of downtown. In fact, he confirmed his plans to RIDE-CT …

Updated – Sept. 10, 2024 – News today from owner Thea Everest that Kaiba has passed away. A necropsy is planned to possibly determine what caused the abscess that claimed him. As of today, a GoFundMe effort started by Everest to help cover doctors’ bills has raised $600 of a …

TORRINGTON, CT –    When avid motorcyclist Thea Everest of Torrington indulges in what’s commonly referred to as “wind therapy” by many riders, she often takes along a passenger who can literally spread his wings in the breeze as they roll down the byways.  Rather than occupy the normal pillion …

VALCOURT, Quebec – Can-Am moved closer to selling electric motorcycles this week by announcing that select dealers in Canada, the United States and 11 other countries are now taking pre-orders for its Pulse and Origin models. Production is expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year with global …

VERNON, CT – Connecticut now has a third Indian dealer with the addition of Indian Motorcycle of Hartford. It’s located a dozen miles northeast of the capitol city in Vernon. The franchise was granted to the owner of Scranton Powersports in mid-June, but new models didn’t begin arriving until two …

SHARON, CT – It’s not a stretch to suggest that Scott Rabeler became a BMW motorcycle enthusiast and collector by happenstance. Had dealers selling other brands been better stocked or shown more interest when he walked in their door, he likely wouldn’t have ended up with a basement workshop and …

PEMBROKE, NH – National Powersports Distributors is going back to its roots; surrendering new bike brands at its stores in New Hampshire and New York and returning to selling only used motorcycles. The switch is effective this coming Thursday, Aug. 1. The company is giving up Triumph in Pembroke, NH …

FALLS VILLAGE, CT – It’s one of the largest shows in the state each year, but the number of motorcycles that get displayed tends to vary from year to year. There was a sizable number of bikes this year, including vintage BMWs, Harley-Davidsons and Hondas as well as rare models …

It took a bit of easy burrowing to come up with some statistics that just may shock many Harley-Davidson enthusiasts. Unit sales over the past 10 years show a company in severe retreat. Sales have cratered.  To be precise, Harley-Davidson sold in excess of 100,000 fewer motorcycles worldwide last year …

WOODBRIDGE, CT – It’s about time. After a five-year hiatus initially caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Upcycle Helmet Art Show is being revived by Jim LoPresti. It will be staged from noon to 5 p.m. on Sept. 8 at LoPresti’s Lucky Soul Tattoo shop on Route 63 (214 Amity …