Up To Speed

WORCESTER, MA – It’s a ritual that needs to be halted. Now. Immediately. No exceptions. The ritual is this: Person buys a motorcycle at a dealership, a picture gets snapped of the smiling buyer with the salesperson, and the pic gets posted to social media. It makes the buyer feel …

BOLOGNA, ITALY – Production of Ducati motorcycles has now been suspended until March 25 as the Italian motorcycle maker works to implement safety measures “to limit the probability of the (COVID-19) virus spreading at its plant,” according to a company statement. The announcement Monday said the decision was made “in …

The COVID-19 pandemic is prompting government edicts and voluntary cancelations, closures and postponements of events. RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England wants to help keep riders aware and is launching this page to do so: Cancelations Cabin Fever Custom Car & Motorcycle Show – The two-day event at Naugatuck Entertainment Facility in …

Indian’s timing in debuting a new advertising campaign might not be propitious – what with the COVID-19 pandemic getting most everyone’s attention – but the company is out today with a new TV ad urging shoppers to “Choose Wisely” when buying a new motorcycle. Not surprisingly, the 30-second spot takes …

The growing global coronavirus crisis is impacting events in the Northeast. The plug has been pulled on the Mark’s Northeast Motorsports Expo scheduled for this weekend at the Big E in West Springfield, MA. The show mixes classic cars with a few motorcycles. It was set to run from 4 …

HARWINTON, CT – It was while going through a plastic storage container stuffed with miscellaneous old papers recently that I discovered a diploma issued nearly 50 years ago when I was 16.  The “Driver Education Certificate” from The Faita A-C School of Driving in Torrington was dated July 1, 1970 …

It’s time for “TWIR” – The Week in Review for the week ending March 7. Indian announces a new model, BMW unveils a new logo, and Royal Enfield gets into flat track racing. Here goes with TWIR: New Indian Scout Bobber Sixty Indian has released a lower priced, entry-level bobber …

The Triumph X-75 Hurricane is a rare and unforgettable model, remembered for its wrap-around bodywork, triple exhaust and bright orange and yellow paint scheme. Designed in the United States by Craig Vetter for BSA, but ultimately sold as a Triumph after BSA went out of business, only 1,200 examples of …

MILWAUKEE – Executive shakeups don’t come cheap, and a compensation breakout by the “Milwaukee Business Journal” reveals that the new acting CEO of Harley-Davidson as well as the exiting CEO will get their pockets lined. The publication reports that Jochen Zeitz, who became acting CEO on Friday after Matt Levatich …

For satire to be effective, it must be imaginative yet plausible. A shocking story last week on the new website “2 Stroke Chronicle,” which boldly promises “The Latest Motorcycle News” but doesn’t actually offer any real news, has generated laughs. It has also possibly fooled some less-than-attentive riders who’ve stumbled …

A decision to end “motorcycle only” days at Mount Washington in New Hampshire led the Top 5 list of most-read stories here in February, which had 21,759 page views in 29 days. That figure was a record total for the month. Occupying the next two spots were stories on a …

A new Royal Enfield dealer in New England, a new mid-year model from Harley-Davidson, an ad goof, and more in The Week In Review for the week ending Feb. 29: Vermont Gets Royal Enfield Dealer Vermont has gotten a Royal Enfield dealer. Island Auto Haven, an auto repair shop in …

MILWAUKEE – After years of declining sales, slow development of new product and facing an urgent need for “new leadership to recharge our business,” Harley-Davidson on Friday announced the departure of Matt Levatich as president and CEO. A news release issued after the stock market closed said the board of …

Reaction by RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England readers to the recommendation that off-road riders and the Naugatuck Valley Greenway share the land above the Thomaston Dam in Thomaston, CT wasn’t surprising. Fewer than 10 percent of voters favored shared usage, according to a two-week, unscientific poll staged by this website. An …

HUNTINGTON, NY – It’s a clever, playfully misleading tale that Peter Nettesheim invariably tells when taking visitors on a tour of his private BMW motorcycle museum on Long Island. Standing next to a 1923 BMW R32 model, the oldest known BMW in existence, he’ll recount that the German company wasn’t …