Up To Speed

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com “Motorcycle” and “comedy” are words that aren’t often linked. Except for the movie “Wild Hogs” and the antics of Eric Von Zipper (played marvelously by Harvey Lembeck) in the beach movies of the 1960s, there isn’t much in the way of motorcycle comedy. Coming soon, …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com BMW is out with a new TV ad campaign that implores viewers to “Feed Your Restless.” Here are a couple of the spots: — Victory is challenging riders to reject its bikes. It’s offering a money-back guarantee on 2013 models. There is some fine print. …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com A rider in Las Vegas was on his way to work at Planet Hollywood about 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 when he got rear-ended by a city cop, who then proceeded to place the blame on the rider for applying his brakes. The rider, John …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It took a few days, but Triumph has confirmed a special edition Bonneville SE as well as a special edition Speed Triple for 2013. The Bonneville SE has a red frame with a matte black and cranberry red color scheme on the tins. It also …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com A proposed bill before the Transportation Committee at the Connecticut General Assembly would require the registration of every all-terrain vehicle, including quads, snowmobiles and dirt bikes that are used solely by their owners on their own property. Should registration be mandatory? That’s the thrust of …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com If you’re a bike owner, you probably own multiple bikes. That’s the conclusion of RIDE-CT.com’s poll question for February: “How many motorcycles do you own?” A total of 63 percent of voters reported owning two or more. The actual breakdown was

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com RIDE-CT.com yesterday provided a link to a newspaper story containing pictures of Tom Cruise riding a Triumph Thruxton while on the set of his new sci-fi movie, “All You Need Is Kill.” Here’s some video: — If you haven’t voted yet in our February poll, …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com A bill that would require the registration of every all-terrain vehicle in Connecticut is continuing to proceed through the General Assembly. A “vote to draft” was taken Monday, meaning the proposed bill will be drafted in full for

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The owner of Pinellas Powersports in Pinellas Park, FL has come up with a well-timed gimmick to sell his Harley-Davidson, Honda and Kawasaki motorcycles: Buy a bike, get a free hand gun. A commercial for the dealership has people talking, and hundreds of people have …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Best Western and Harley-Davidson have extended an ongoing partnership by three more years, with the hotel chain expanding benefits to riders from North America to the global level. Best Western has some 1,200 motorcyclist-friendly hotels in North America, which offer a free wipe-down motorcycle towel …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The trip took 93 days and covered 11,000 miles. The result is a movie called “The Best Bar in America” that is due for release on DVD and digital download sometime in the spring. While the tale revolves around a writer who is on a …

In an effort to improve safety, Harley-Davidson has stopped the music at its factory in York, PA. No more blaring radios. No more headphones. “It’s a distraction,” Maripat Blankenheim, director of external communications for Harley, told the “York Daily Record.” “It’s really important for people – no matter what they …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It’s a graphic video that everyone, but especially those who make it a habit of chatting on cell phones when driving, should view. While it doesn’t show a motorcycle, it does open with a scene that riders will recognize – a driver rolling down the …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It was back in late November that commercial fisherman Jeff Riedemann hooked a 1938 German motorcycle. It had been sitting on the bottom of Big Swan Lake in Minnesota for for 56 years – ever since 15-year-old Dean Allie went through the ice while joyriding. …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com A hearing will be held today by the General Assembly’s Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to get input on proposed Senate Bill 303, which would amend state statutes to allow the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to issue a motorcycle endorsement to any active member of the …