Up To Speed

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com RIDE-CT spent the Memorial Day weekend in Washington, attending Rolling Thunder and visiting some of the memorials dedicated to those who gave their lives for our country. The procession of hundreds of thousands of motorcycles lasted for nearly three hours and created a background roar …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Received an email yesterday from Ken Anderson, who shared the news that his grandfather, Norbert Schickel, will be inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio in November. Schickel’s company was based in Stamford and unveiled its first motorcycle in 1911. It sold …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com For the 13th consecutive year, Arai helmets rank highest in customer satisfaction, according to a J.D. Power and Associates survey of 4,820 purchasers of new motorcycles who provided info about their most recent helmet buy. Sharing the top spot with Arai was Icon with a …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com In an editorial in today’s newspaper, “The Hartford Courant” came out in favor of a mandatory helmet law for all riders in Connecticut, saying the current “weak helmet law” costs taxpayers money. Read the editorial here.

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It was back in 1990 that John Bloor revived the iconic British brand Triumph, and the company now produced its 500,000th bike – a red, white and blue Speed Triple. Here’s what it looks like:           There’s also a teaser video:

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Need another sign that Husqvarna plans to up its street image with some on-road product? The BMW-owned brand is out with a new teaser video of a 900cc engine, based upon the motor used in BMW F800s, that will power a new model. Husqvarna is …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com An editorial in today’s “New Haven Register” notes that a new study shows that a disproportionate number of deaths involving Connecticut motorcyclists between 2001 and 2007 – more than 65 percent – involved riders who weren’t wearing a helmet. The study also revealed that only …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Countless riders own Harleys. Bill Kerber’s motorized conveyance might best be called a “Hardley.” It’s not very powerful and doesn’t go very fast. Unlike a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, it doesn’t have a massive V-twin motor, rather a petite 80cc single cylinder engine that sounds like an …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The overturning of a controversial city helmet law in Myrtle Beach, S.C. by the state Supreme Court is expected to bring bikers back to the Grand Strand for the Cruisin’ the Coast Spring Bike Rally, which runs Friday through May 22. “The Charlotte Observer” reports more riders …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com A motorcyle mag that I subscribe to arrived the other day and contained a column by the editor in which he lamented having sold numerous bikes over the years. It seemed to be the right decision at various times, but now he now regretted selling them …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It’s possible to outsmart oneself. Like this afternoon. Planned to meet a friend for lunch at 2 p.m. at Toymaker’s Cafe in Falls Village. Because I had time to kill while riding out Route 44 to Canaan, I decided to bolt up Route 7 and get some …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com If you haven’t seen the video yet, you haven’t been paying attention. Texas rider Zacharie Perez survived being rear-ended on a freeway. He suffered a ruptured spleen, four broken vertebrae, a broken rib, a lumbar hernia and road rash. He was wearing a helmet. If …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Suffice to say that it has been a slow news day, the kind of day where a little entertainment is in order. Check out what artist Sean Pace came up with as a senior project when he attended the University of North Carolina – Ashville. …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com For eight years, it has sat atop the roof of the building in Winsted that formerly housed Canton Cycles. From street level, it looked to be a vintage BMW. On Tuesday afternoon, however, a couple of motorcycle enthusiasts went up on the roof and disassembled …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Info on the future of the Indian brand has been dribbling out since Polaris bought the company last week. “The Des Moines Register” has a few more details on plans by Polaris to build Indian along Victory models in Iowa. The story can be found here.