Up To Speed

MILWAUKEE – It was 65 years ago that Harley-Davidson launched its Sportster model, which became its entry-level line of motorcycles. Numerous Sportster variants have been produced over the decades, including the Nightster with a bobbed rear fender and side mount license plate between 2007 and 2012. Today, Harley-Davidson revived the …

NAUGATUCK, CT – Another riding season is here and, for me, another year of serving as a Connecticut Rider Education Program (CONREP) instructor. Classes started today at the site where I teach; Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, CT and 23 of the 77 of Basic Rider Course classes are …

EAST HARTFORD, CT – It’s National Beer Day, and it’s providing yet another example of motorcycle dealers being irresponsible by serving alcohol in their stores. The notable culprits are Hartford Harley-Davidson in East Hartford, CT and Old School Harley-Davidson in Ellington, CT. It’s a practice that’s not only irresponsible but …

THREE RIVERS, MA – Mustang Seats has a new owner. LDR Growth Partners, a private investment firm, closed on a deal for the company which designs and manufactures aftermarket motorcycle seats and related products on Friday, but an announcement wasn’t made until today. Founded in 1980 by Al Simmons, Mustang …

It’s a new edition of Oil Drippings, a collection of news items from near and far that riders may find interesting or useful: Indian Demo Truck To Visit Northeast The Indian demo truck will be visiting six dealerships in the Northeast in the next six weeks or so, including three …

NAUGATUCK, CT – It’s opening day at the Cabin Fever 2022 custom car, truck and motorcycle show. RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England snuck in before the public to eyeball the entries as well as to snap some pictures. The show favors classic cars, and 1957 Chevrolets are heavily represented this year, …

REDMOND, WA – With its Irbit factory in Siberia shut down and the company adjusting to the “new reality” imposed by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, sidecar rig manufacturer Ural this evening hinted that a move of production to another country may be in its future. In …

NEW YORK – Italian electric motorcycle maker Energica has a new majority owner. Ideanomics, which has it headquarters in New York, finalized a deal on Monday and acquired a 70 percent stake in the company. Ideanomics is described in a press release as “a global company focused on accelerating the commercial …

VALCOURT, QUEBEC – Once upon a time, back in the 1970s and long before it began building on-road Spyder and Ryker three-wheelers, Can-Am made motorcycles that competed in the motocross and endurance arenas. Come 2024, it will again build bikes with a lineup of two-wheel electric models for both off-road …

It’s been a while but there is no reason there cannot be a new edition of “Oil Drippings,” a post containing items from near and far that riders may find interesting: Albany Getting Ducati-Triumph Dealer If all goes as planned, the Albany, NY market will get a new Ducati-Triumph dealer …

NEW YORK – It’s been almost three months since BMW closed its company-run BMW of Manhattan Motorrad store at 555 West 57th with a promise that a new location will “open soon.” It has since left customers and other BMW riders in the tri-state area in the dark about the …

BROOKFIELD, CT – The German company Touratech, which caters to adventure riders with gear, accessories and parts, is expanding its U.S. footprint by opening a retail store and East Coast distribution center here. “We’re targeting early May for an opening,” Touratech marketing director Matt Lewis said this afternoon, explaining that …

BETHEL, CT – It’s parked in a barn a short ways down a side road, footsteps from a major state highway, and has been sitting for decades. And the vintage Ford provides proof that stumbling upon a “barn find” is still possible as RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England did on Saturday …

(Updated at 9 p.m. on March 15) MILWAUKEE – If you visited Royal Enfield’s United States website during business hours today there was no mention of it, despite a new model announcement being made in the motorcycle maker’s home base of India. Even now, the website hasn’t been updated, but …

REDMOND, WA – In an evening update Monday, Ural Motorcycles reported that the production of sidecar motorcycles at its Irbit factory in Siberia has now been paused in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the manufacture of spare parts “remains fully operational.” Calling itself “a small and fiercely …