Up To Speed

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” …

By Bud Wilkinson KENT, CT – Finally, relief from the roar. A solution to a nagging problem that should make riding more satisfying and cause fewer headaches. It was 18 months ago that I acquired a peppy used 2014 Triumph Bonneville from Mark’s Motorsports in Enfield, CT. The original owner …