Up To Speed

MONTPELIER, VT – Vermont Rider Education Program classes run by the state Department of Motor Vehicles have resumed after being canceled in April and May due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All students are being required to wear face masks while in the classroom and inside buildings. Students are also being …

NEWBURGH, NY – The Teutul clan of Orange County Choppers/”American Chopper” fame is known for many skills and habits; from building imaginative, themed motorcycles to caustic family feuding over the years, but singing? “The one thing that I never could do is sing and I always knew I couldn’t sing,” …

It’s time for TWIR – The Week in Review for the week of May 31 – June 6, news items and other tidbits that don’t get a full post as well follow-ups on stories. The big news of the week was confirmation Wednesday of the sale of Gengras Harley-Davidson in …

GRANBY, CT – Have you ever been riding and just happened upon a location that made your day? This happened to me when I spied Grassroots Creamery, today’s stop in “The Great Northeast Ice Cream Run.”  What a find!  This little gem makes its own ice cream on site. The …

NEWPORT, RI – Closed for more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Audrain Automobile Museum here will re-open its gallery to visitors on Monday (June 8) with an exhibit titled “Shining Bright: Advances in Automotive Lighting.” The exhibit, which was scheduled to run from May 1 through …

EAST HARTFORD, CT – The longtime owners of Gengras Harley-Davidson today confirmed the sale of the dealership to Chad Clark and Bryan Castor, owners of three other Harley-Davidson stores in the Northeast. Under new ownership, which takes effect on Thursday, the store will be called Hartford Harley-Davidson, resurrecting a name …

Readers of RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England are wary of attending huge motorcycle rallies, such as Americade and Laconia Motorcycle Week, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of the website’s latest poll show that nearly 60 percent have concerns. An equal 29 percent are “Still definitely against going” and …

WORCESTER, MA – Wagner Motorsports was vandalized last night and an unidentified numbers of bikes were stolen, according to a lengthy post this morning on the dealership’s Facebook page. “They smashed windows. They stole bikes and other things. And we are left to pick up the pieces,” the dealership wrote, …

SCOTTS VALLEY, CA – A day after Harley-Davidson released a statement that condemned racism in the United States, electric maker Zero Motorcycles this morning issued a similar statement of its own on social media. “At Zero Motorcycles, we stand for inclusion and support the right to protest against systemic racism …

HINCKLEY – A significant drop in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing British motorcycle maker Triumph to lay off 240 at its U.K. plant and a total of 400 worldwide. The company employs 2,500 people around the world, with 1,044 in the U.K. Employees were told of the …

MILWAUKEE – With violent protests over the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis taking place in U.S. cities coast to coast in recent days, motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson this evening issued a statement on social media condemning racism and bigotry in American society. “Racism, hatred or intolerance …

TERRYVILLE, CT – The Yankee Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America has given up hope of staging a National Meet in New England in 2020. Having pushed back the dates of its annual event at the Terryville Fairgrounds to Sept. 11-12 from its originally scheduled July 31 and …

HADDAM NECK – The 35th annual Brit Jam meet scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 16 at the Haddam Neck Fairgrounds has been called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to scrap the popular gathering which attracted more than 2,500 motorcyclists in 2019 wasn’t made by the organizer, the British …

HARWINTON, CT – The picture was posted Sunday on RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England’s Facebook page. It shows a group of motorcyclists socializing in Litchfield without wearing masks or following the state’s or the Center’s for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for social distancing. Accompanying the photo was the flippant observation …

It’s time for TWIR – The Week in Review, news items and other tidbits that somehow don’t rate or receive a full post (or fall through the cracks) but are nonetheless worth passing on. Here’s some of what happened between March 17 and 23: Road Fatalities Rise During Pandemic The …