Up To Speed

No one knows what the future holds, but it’s always fun to prognosticate. On this last day of 2019, the staff of RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England guesses what will happen in the motorcycle world over the coming 12 months. Many of the predictions safe, others are thoroughly speculative, and a …

In 2019, RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England staffers attended and reported on numerous motorcycle meets and shows. We met countless riders, did some test rides, had some adventures, and even came across some models we’d never seen before. In the process, thousands of photographs were taken. Here are 19 favorite photos …

If you’ve ever ridden a motorcycle, you’ve likely been struck by a flying object. The object could have literally been flying, like a bird or a bee, or have simply been propelled through the air by the wind or a spinning tire on a vehicle ahead. In a Facebook post …

SPENCER, MA – The call came back in the summer requesting that Barnstorm Cycles here create a one-off motorcycle to be sold by Tiffany & Co. as one its 12 exclusive “very, very Tiffany holiday” gifts. Tiffany began the process by approaching Indian, which directed the world-renowned jeweler to Barnstorm …

Release of a highly-anticipated routing report for the Naugatuck Valley Greenway that includes the popular trail riding area behind the Thomaston Dam in Thomaston, CT that is used by thousands of dirt bikers – a report that planners had hoped to be issued in early November – is now expected …

MINNEAPOLIS – Indian Motorcycles has a new president as a result of an executive shuffle by parent company Polaris Inc. Steve Menneto, who has guided Indian for nearly 11 years, has shifted to the position of president of Polaris’s Off Road division. Michael Dougherty has succeeded him. Dougherty has been …

NEW YORK – Remember the old joke about the person who went to a fight and a hockey game broke out? It flipped the tables on the once common hockey experience of seeing nearly as many on-ice fights as actual skating, shooting and scoring. The days of relentless pugilism in …

NEW YORK – A multi-line dealer in New Jersey may be the ultimate savior of this year’s Progressive International Motorcycle Show, which kicks off a three-day run at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Friday. With nearly as many motorcycle manufacturers deciding to skip the IMS as attend, Motocycle …

HINCKLEY, ENGLAND – Triumph‘s middleweight adventure model gets a makeover for 2020, with a larger motor and less weight. The rebranded Tiger 900 line announced today will come in five versions. The models will boast “10% more torque than the Tiger 800” which has been around since 2010. The Tiger …

MATTIGHOFEN, AUSTRIA – Husqvarna today confirmed that it will upsize its street line of motorcycles and enter the adventure touring market with the Norden 901 model. A concept version of the Norden 901 was displayed at the EICMA show in Milan, Italy in early November, making today’s announcement no surprise. …

BRISTOL, CT – After more than 10 months of anxiously waiting for his new 2020 model-year motorcycle to be delivered, John Birden of Harwinton finally picked it up on Nov. 23 at Yankee Harley-Davidson in Bristol, CT. Birden traded in a barely used 2019 Harley-Davidson Softail Slim with only about …

BRISTOL, CT – A lifelong Harley-Davidson rider from Harwinton, CT today became the first owner in New England of the company’s debut electric model. John Birden rode his new LiveWire home from Yankee Harley-Davidson as the sun was beginning to set. “It feels awesome. It really does. It’s been a …

NEW YORK – The exhibit floor at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show will be a bit barren next month as big-name manufacturers have abruptly abandoned the annual show after years of participation, leaving riders with far less reason to attend. Ducati, Indian and Triumph will be the biggest OEM absentees …

MV Agusta builds pieces of art as much as its builds high-power, high-priced motorcycles. Consequently, it’s no surprise that a video released last week for its Brutale 1000 Serie Oro model would lean more toward catching the eye than selling the product. Racer Davide Stirpe is shown piloting the model …

Over the decades, there have been numerous songs about either motorcycles or riding motorcycles. There have been upbeat songs like “Little Honda,” the 1964 hit by The Hondells that was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys. There have been raucous songs like “Born to Be …