Up To Speed

Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Unions at many large manufacturers, including Harkey-Davidson, have been yielding on two-tier wage scales demanded by companies. One union leader calls it “a surrender for labor.” “The New York Times” has the story here.

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-Ct.com Connecticut is in the crosshairs, along with 30 other states, as the National Transportation Safety Board mounts another effort to make wearing a helmet when riding mandatory across the United States. Currently, only 20 states and the District of Columbia have universal helmet laws. At a press conference …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com BMW riders from southern New England gathered at the Vanilla Bean in Pomfret on Sunday to symbolically mark the end of the riding season. As many as 80 motorcycles, including some Harleys and Ducatis as well as British and Japanese brands, filled the parking lot at one point, …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Honda this week announced plans to bring out an entry-level sport bike – the CBR250R. Pricing won’t be announced for another couple of weeks, but the bike will be available in metallic black and red/silver in spring 2011. “The CBR250R is specifically aimed at new …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com A designer for Harley-Davidson reveals to his alma mater how the Sportster Forty-Eight model came to be. Rich Christoph’s interview on the throw-back bike that is posted on the University of Wisconsin-Stout’s web site can be found here. “We convey ideas ffrom thin air through artwork,” …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Longtime Chicago firefighter Jim McMahon was left paralyzed from the chest down and in need of 24-hour care following a 2004 motorcycle crash in Arizona, and he’s now suing Harley-Davidson for allegedly building a faulty, problematic bike that, in the words of attorney Scott Hooper, “weaved …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It looks much older than it actually is. From the vantage point of “a man of a certain age,” a vintage motorcycle is one from the 1930s, 1940s or maybe 1950s – not 1983. Somehow, though, the purple Harley-Davidson FXDG recently restored by Doc’s Motorcycle …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com If you’re a regular reader of the RIDE-CT motorcycle column in “The Republican-American,”  you’ll likely recall the continuing soap opera back in 2008 when a wreck of a 1969 Triumph T100R Daytona was dragged from Greg Bidou’s barn in Falls Village and put back on …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Happened to drive by Canton Cycles in Winsted yesterday, or should I say the former of home of Canton Cycles. Real estate signs were displayed in the showroom window and out front, and the bikes were gone. It’s sad when a dealership closes. It’s even sadder …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com The motorcycle industry is in tough shape. Sales have flat-lined, dealerships are closing, baby bo0mers are either not buying or giving up riding altogether.  A few sparkling new models not withstanding, there’s not a lot in the way of new product, either. It’s a new reality that …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com I’m an admitted Triumph lover. Maybe it’s because my first bike was a Triumph – a 1999 Legend. Maybe it’s because I currently have a 1969 T100R Daytona (with kick start, right foot shift and left foot rear brake) in the garage. Maybe it’s because my …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com For months, Triumph has been staging an online video teaser campaign for its upcoming 2011 Tiger 800 models – for one street use, the other more dirt friendly. It eventually reached the point where Trumpet enthusiasts were screaming, “Enough! Just show us the damn bike.” Triumph apparently acquiesced …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com That Erik Buell would be back with a new street motorcycle has been pretty evident in recent months, but now he’s given Hell for Leather magazine an in-depth interview on the future of Erik Buell Racing. He also gave his take on the future status …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com  Motorcycle deaths always make headlines, and the reasons for them are well known. Distracted and unobservant drivers, alcohol and inadequate rider skills all contribute. Less is written about off-road fatalities and the results of new study by Johns Hopkins researchers released Wednesday revealed that four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles are much …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com A total of 19 married couples used a glorious autumn day over the weekend to ride their Harley-Davidsons and renew their marriage vows at Ocean State Harley-Davidson in Exeter, R.I. A justice of the peace performed the ceremony. “The Providence Journal” has the story.