Up To Speed

ARLINGTON, VA – There are probably hundreds of great roads to ride in the Northeast (such as Route 100 in Vermont), but there are 14 places of congestion you shouldn’t ride. These spots to avoid involve Interstate highways and are mostly in big cities, yet circumstances sometimes force riders to …

WASHINGTON – Motorcycle deaths in the United States declined in 2018, dropping 4.7 percent from 2017, according to data released this week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A total of 4,985 motorcycle fatalities were reported in 2018, compared to 5,229 in 2017. However, motorcycle deaths rose slightly in …

WORCESTER, MA – The host of a regional cable access program devoted to motorcycles has died following an Oct. 13 crash in Vermont that involved two motorcycles and a car. Hermis Yanis Jr., 67, host of “Biker New England TV,” died Monday from injuries sustained in the crash in East …

Kawasaki this morning announced two new models for 2020 – the retro W800 and the naked Z H2. The W800 is a throwback to the 1960s and joins the existing W800 CAFE. It’s powered by an air-cooled, 773cc vertical twin engine and features an upright riding position and pea-shooter exhausts. …

MILWAUKEE – Sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles continued to decline in the third quarter of 2019, dropping 3.6 percent in the United States and 1.2 percent worldwide, as reported in a company earnings statement issued Monday. Harley-Davidson sold 34,903 motorcycles in the U.S. in the months of June, July and August, …

MINNEAPOLIS – Indian Motorcycle today released details on a new 108 cubic inch/1,769cc V-twin engine that will power the new 2020 Challenger model. The liquid-cooled PowerPlus engine, named after the Indian model that the original company built between 1916 and 1924, will deliver 122 horsepower and 128 foot-pounds of torque. …

GLASTONBURY, CT – The owner of New England Cycle Center in Hartford and two other motorcycle dealerships in southern New England, who was convicted in April on multiple felony charges in a trial involving a sex trafficking ring, has now been charged with disorderly conduct following an incident last week. …

LANCASTER, NH – Additional charges have been filed against Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, the 23-year-old truck driver accused of causing the deaths of seven motorcyclists in June in Randolph, NH. Originally charged with seven counts of negligent homicide, Zhukovskyy now faces a total of 23 counts. If convicted of all charges, he …

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson has resumed production of its new LiveWire electric motorcycle model, less than week after shutting down the assembly line for a “non-standard condition” involving the charging system. The company announced Friday that a problem involving one motorcycle caused the assembly stoppage, but that the manufacturing and delivery …

MILWAUKEE – Production of Harley-Davidson new’s electric LiveWire model has been short-circuited. A “non-standard condition” discovered as the first bikes were being shipped to dealers has caused a temporary shutdown of the assembly line.  After noting a glitch in the final quality checks, the company determined that additional testing and …

A lot can happen in 4½ years. Or not very much. In the case of Triumph, the difference is 16 pages. That’s how many additional pages can be found in the newly-released, updated version of Ian Falloon’s “The Complete Book of Classic and Modern Triumph Motorcycles 1937 – Today.” The …

BOXBOROUGH, MA – Royal Enfield is dramatically upping its presence in the Northeast. To a lesser degree, the same may be said for Ural. Longtime premium used car dealer Alpha Cars, which has sold Russian-made Ural sidecar rigs since 2007, added Royal Enfield to its store here (pictured above) in …

CORNWALL BRIDGE, CT – Come Tuesday, riders in Connecticut who trade in a motorcycle on another model at dealerships will be forced to pay a $100 trade-in fee, an increase of $65 over the amount currently charged by the state. Dealers who have in the past absorbed the fee are …

GOSHEN, CT – Tony Gasper calls the favored proposal “the most palatable of the worst-case scenario”; the worst case scenario being dirt bike riders being forced to share long-treasured land behind the Thomaston Dam in Thomaston, CT with pedestrians and bicyclists. Gasper, president of the New England Trail Rider Association, …

By Bud Wilkinson WATERBURY, CT – From a sales standpoint, Harley-Davidson’s 1971 FX Super Glide model was an unmitigated flop. It was such an ugly duckling that only 4,700 of the ‘boat-tail” model were sold. “It was so untraditional for Harley that people just wouldn’t accept it,” recalled Cosimo “Doc” …