Up To Speed

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Riding a snowmobile for the first time over the weekend got me to thinking about the Can-Am Spyder. Part of the reason was that the sled was a Ski-Doo with a Rotax engine, manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products, the same company that makes the Spyder. Another reason …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Today’s RIDE-CT column in “The Republican-American” focuses primarily on changes that are being implemented at Gengras Motorcycles in East Hartford, which sells Harley-Davidson, BMW, Ducati and Triumph motocycles. RIDE-CT visited there earlier this week. In our conversation, Jim Taylor, who is general manager of the Euro …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Given the continued dreary state of the economy and ominous stories in the motorcycle press about aging Baby Boomers on the verge of giving up riding, you’d think that “the numbers” would show a major decline in the popularity of motorycling. That’s certainly not the case here in …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It’s a story that keeps changing, depending on who’s talking and what day it is. However, for the moment, the Ducati brand continues to be sold by Gengras in East Hartford. RIDE-CT visited the Harley-Davidson, BMW, Ducati and Triumph dealership today and learned of some substantive …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Ducati has confirmed that it is currently without a dealer in Connecticut as Max BMW in Brookfield and Gengras in East Hartford have quit selling Italian brand. “Max BMW didn’t want to carry Ducati as it didn’t fit their business model, which leaves a big …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com A date for the 2011 edition of Rice-O-Rama, the vintage and custom Japanese motorcycle show and swap meet in North Brookfield, Mass. (not too far from Sturbridge and I-84), has been set. This year’s show will be Sunday, Sept. 11 at the same site as last …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The roads were wet and there were spots of thin fog. There was rain, too, and only a few moments of sunshine. Inside my helmet, there was a wide smile. The first ride of 2011 put it there. Friend Gary Randall and I had talked about riding …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The new year begins with Max BMW in Brookfield and Gengras in East Hartford having apparently dropped the Italian brand Ducati. RIDE-CT’s seeking to confirm reports elsewhere of the departure of Ducati from the two dealerships, which would leave the state without a Ducati dealer. The new edition …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The 2010 riding season seemed to last forever. Unlike 2009, which was marked by seemingly constant rain, this year was much sunnier and many great memories were stored. The best part of writing the RIDE-CT column in “The Republican-American” is meeting riders and seeing interesting bikes. Looking …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com An inadequate dipstick on some 2010 Sprint ST and GT models has prompted Triumph to issue a recall order, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration. The NHTSA reports that due to “an incorrect length” of some dipsticks, “the accuracy of the dipstick for …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Between Christmas activities and the great blizzard of ’10, RIDE-CT.com has been shoved into the background recently. The goal for 2011 is more frequent postings of the latest motorcycle news, but that’s not a concern until next week. Today, let me provide a link to a video …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Once upon a time, way back on ’06, J.D. Power and Associates released the results of its annual Motorcycle Competitive Information study, declaring Victory to be the best brand on the road in terms of product, build quality, cost of ownership, quality, sales and service. Also doing …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Not snowing. The forecast has changed from earlier in the week and the storm that could have brought snow tonight has moved out to sea. (Why do we say “moved out to sea” to describe such a near miss? The Atlantic is an ocean; not …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Gathering information and writing the RIDE-CT column for “The Republican-American” every Saturday is often the best part of the week. It usually involves meeting new people and checking out cool bikes before sitting down at the laptop and leisurely tapping out something that will appeal to …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The registration is in remarkably good condition. There is some fraying along the top edge, but the information about the bike – 61 cubic inches and two cylinders – is clear. The fact that motorcycle is repeatedly spelled as “Motor Cycle” provides the first clue …