Up To Speed

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It’s barely 2013 and a 2014 model is already on the way. Based solely on looks, Royal Enfield’s new 2014 Cafe Racer delivers. With a beefed up 535cc (versus the normal 500cc), air-cooled, single-cylinder motor delivering a reported 34 horsepower, the Cafe Racer features Brembo …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Being a guy, all I’ve ever gotten from sitting on a motorcycle seat for an extended period is a sore butt, but is it different for gals? What prompts the rhetorical inquiry is a story in today’s “Jakarta Globe” about backlash to a local regulation …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The Facebook post by Jay Koonz on New Year’s Day could have easily been interpreted as braggadocio by someone who doesn’t know him. Those who do know the Middlebury rider, though, no doubt took it as matter-of-fact record-keeping. He noted that his goal for 2012 …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Any number of studies reveal that alcohol is a huge contributing factor to riders having accidents, but perhaps RIDE-CT.com readers are more cautious when it comes to booze than other riders. The December poll question quizzed readers on the “safe number” of drinks they might …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The final numbers are in, and RIDE-CT.com saw its readership soar in 2012, according to Google Analytics data. The website ended the year with 60,138 page views, up from 39,737 in 2011. A total of 23,931 unique visitors came to the website, up from 16,647. …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It’s always a guessing-game when reporting or regurgitating news as to what readers will enjoy and what they won’t. What interests the writer may not interest readers and vice versa. The Top 5 most-popular posts on RIDE-CT.com during 2012, as tabulated by Google Analytics, certainly …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Fall foliage provides a good reason for riding and for picture-taking, and the camera was stowed in the top bag during a brisk ride through the Catskills in October… In November, RIDE-CT.com met up with Steve Luba of Torrington, a guy who has a knack …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com One ride from this year will never be duplicated. It happened in August when I joined Will Paley when he took his French-made, 493cc Griffon out for a spin on Route 43 near his Cornwall home. Paley’s purpose in riding it was to make sure …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com June means the annual Rhinebeck Grand National Super Meet at the Duchess County Fairgrounds in New York. Persistent raindrops intruded this year but didn’t dampen the fun of seeing hundreds of vintage machines. There were gorgeous Harleys… And some rarities, too, including an old Emblem …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Long before he starred in the movies (including “Wild Hogs”) or on television (“Welcome Back, Kotter”), John Travolta did a motorcycle commercial for Honda. It’s appropriate to pull it out this messy day because the jingle begins “Through rain or sleet or snow, you’ve got …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com An April party marking the move of Keith Bruno’s motorcycle repair business in Winsted, known as The Shop, gave RIDE-CT.com the opportunity to meet Mike White of Canaan, who showed up on his 1965 Harley-Davidson Panhead. In May, RIDE-CT.com attended the vintage automobile and motorcycle …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Fisherman Jeff Riedemann hooked a whopper on Nov. 29 when he pulled a 1938 German motorcycle from the bottom of Big Swan Lake in Dassel, MN. It had been submerged since December 1956 when 15-year-old Dean Allie went through the ice while joyriding. Allie’s now …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Chatting with some friends one recent evening, one of them remarked that someday Vincents will be forgotten; that new riders lack an interest in the history of motorcycling and have no interest in the vintage machines that once flashed across the landscape. I hope he’s …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com With 2012 winding down, it’s time to look back on some of the images and events that RIDE-CT.com captured during the year. (OK,  I admit it, the week between Christmas and New Year’s produces very little news and a “look back” is better than no …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The Senate Transportation Committee in New Jersey approved on Tuesday legislation that would prohibit motorcycle-only checkpoints. “Stopping a driver strictly because of the type of vehicle they are operating is unfair to motorists, plain and simple,” said Sen. Jeff Van Drew, who is co-sponsoring the …