Up To Speed

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Up until yesterday, I’d never heard of FairWarning.com, a non-profit, online investigative news operation devoted to “news of safety, health and corporate conduct” that’s headed by award-winning former “Los Angeles Times” investigative reporter Myron Levin. What brought it to my attention was a story headlined …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Ducati reports that North American sales in May were up 49 percent from a year ago with 1,782 bikes being sold. That marked the company’s all-time record for a month. Ducati attributes part of the reason for the rise to the introduction of two new …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It’s becoming a weekly habit to snap pictures of interesting bikes seen along the road each Sunday and then post them that night. Saw a couple of Italian beauties today, although one was stashed in a former cow barn on a hilltop in Cornwall and …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Connecticut is getting a  third Triumph dealership. Mark’s Motorsports in Enfield applied a while back to add the British brand to its lineup that currently include Aprilia, Can-Am, Kymco and Royal Enfield. Libby’s Motoworld in New Haven and Branchville Motors in Ridgefield are the two …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The poll for May is closed, but a new June poll has been posted asking for reaction to loud exhaust pipes. Before getting into that issue, the May results… By an overwhelming majority, 84 percent of voters suggested that posted speed limits are meant to …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Those after-market parts sold online and through dealers – such as frames, lights, signals, carbs, exhausts and even mirrors – may be unsafe and dangerous to riders. That’s the conclusion of an investigation by “The Washington Post,” which reports that many parts violate federal safety …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Chesterwood in Stockbridge, MA opened its grounds to car and motorcycle enthusiasts on Sunday for a vintage show that featured autos, motorcycles and fire trucks. While there were only a handful of vintage bikes on display, there was one that stood out and even overshadowed …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The Harley-Davidson that floated 4,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean and made headlines worldwide won’t be going back to its owner in Japan. Harley announced today that the 2004 Softail Night Train that belonged to Ikuo Yokoyama will instead be preserved in its recovered state …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Human remains found Nov. 1 at the site of a Harley-Davidson dealership that’s under construction in Wisconsin have now been identified as Native American. The remains are believed to be those of at least two adults. The skulls and other bones appeared to have been …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The driver of a Toyota Prius who used a cell phone to record a video of a pack of motorcyclists and then lost control and ran into two of the riders got a beating from the bikers as a result. The incident happened Sunday morning …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com In a report released today, the Governors Highway Safety Association found that no progress was made nationally in reducing motorcycle fatalities in 2011. Based on preliminary data from 50 states and the District of Columbia, the GHSA projected that riders deaths will total about 4,500, …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com A pulled hamstring sidelined RIDE-CT for a few days, but back in the saddle today for a 96-mile shoreline trek on a new 2012 Triumph Tiger Explorer, loaned by regional Triumph representative Dave Rosen. Thanks, Dave. The 1,215cc, 135 horsepower, shaft-drive adventure model has only …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com E. Bruce Heilman is a World War II veteran, chancellor of the University of Richmond, and an avid motorcycle rider and Harley-Davidson owner. When he was 82, he took a 7,000-mile trip around the U.S. For his 85th birthday last year, he rode to

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com To recall a line from the musical “My Fair Lady,” as delivered by Prof. Henry Higgins, “Damn, damn, damn, damn.” Reps from Zero Motorcycles made a quick trip to Connecticut and New England Cycle Center in Hartford this evening to show off their electric bikes …

Mike and Jennifer White of Canaan and the 1965 Harley-Davidson “Panhead” By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Like countless other Harley-Davidson owners, Mike White of Canaan is extremely passionate about the brand. He owns three running Harleys and a fourth that’s a basket case awaiting reassembly in his garage workshop. Get …