Up To Speed

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Today’s RIDE-CT column in “The Republican-American” about last weekend’s Rice-O-Rama motorcycle show and swap meet includes comments from Larry Tashjian of Torrington. He owns a 1981 Honda CX500 and was quoted in the column as well in a post here September 12. The newspaper neglected to include a picture …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It’s Saturday morning, still dark outside, a half-cup of coffee has been downed and motorcycle thoughts are already rushing through my head. Know the feeling? I’m meeting later this morning with a guy who wants to see a 1985 BMW K100RS that I have for sale …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Some of the best motorcycle “advertising” these days is found online where manufacturers post teaser videos and action footage. Moto Guzzi is out with an artistic new video of its 2011 V7 Racer. After watching it in action, I wanted one, but I do suffer from …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com If you’ve ever restored an old bike, or ever found the perfect gift for a parent or one of your kids, or just enjoy a story that will to bring tears of joy to your eyes, “The Norton Project” video is a must-watch online treat. Brothers Jeff …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com A day after employees of two unions at Harley-Davidson plants in Wisconsin approved new seven-year contracts that will freeze wages, pass along more health insurance costs to workers and result in layoffs, the company’s board of directors approved the contracts and said it will keep the factories …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Harley-Davidson’s union employees in Wisconsin today voted to approve a new seven-year contract offered by The Motor Company that will likely result in hundreds of fulltime workers being let go. The new pact also allows for many more part-time, “casual” employers, who will be paid much lower …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com It takes water to make rice, but rain would have put a damper on the 4th annual Rice-O-Rama, the vintage and custom Japanese motorcycle show and swap meet held Sunday in North Brookfield Mass. Fortunately, the precipitation held off . As many as 2,000 motorcycle enthusiasts turned out under threatening skies to gawk …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com If you read Saturday’s RIDE-CT column in “The Republican-American” about the upcoming Motorcycle Cannonball endurance run from Kitty Hawk, N.C. to Santa Monica, Calif., you already know about the 1910 Flying Merkel that Ed Zalonski of East Haven has assembled for the trip. After interviewing …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com My Harwinton Volunteer Fire Department pager has gone off twice in the past week summoning firefighters and fire police to the scene of car/motorcycle accidents. In both cases, a rider was proceeding along a state highway when an inattentive driver attempted a turn directly in front …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Triumph is out with yet another video teasing its two upcoming 2011 Adventure models – one for on-road and one for off-road. Both will feature three-cylinder motors in the 800cc-ish range. The road version will have a 17-inch front wheel, while the dirt version will have …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com After handling advertising campaigns for Harley-Davidson for 31 years, Minneapolis-based Carmichael Lynch announced today that it has resigned as the agency of record. “We anticipate shock and disbelief from some in our industry over our decision, but the fact is our agency leadership came to …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Following last week’s story about Harley-Davidson possibly shuttering all production in Milwaukee and moving the work to Kansas City if a new contract canot be reached with unions, “The York Daily Record/York Sunday News” had a story yesterday about the impact of such a decision on …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Ever wonder if you’ve ticked off another rider(s) by your own actions? Riding home from Litchfield on Saturday afternoon, I came up behind two motorcyclists who were plodding along on cruisers. The speed limit was 50 mph but they were doing only 40-45 mph, causing traffic to back …

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com Bike lovers from all corners of the state – and beyond – celebrated motorcycling’s past (and present) at the 24th annual Brit Jam, which was staged Sunday at the Haddam Neck Fairgrounds in East Hampton. While the name suggests “British only,” Brit Jam is a

New England and eastern New York have loads of  museums and other businesses devoted to motorcycles and riders. Here’s a partial list of the attractions and shops: