Up To Speed

PROSPECT, CT – Al Betts of Prospect rides a remarkable 30-year-old survivor. It’s a 1989 Harley-Davidson FLHTC, an Electra Glide Classic model that he bought new. Its black paint is faded and cracked, the seat is ripped, and the engine and transmission have been rebuilt. As of last Tuesday evening, …

SIMSBURY, CT – A motorcyclist from Bloomfield, CT has launched a motorcycle group for the LGBTQ community in Connecticut and western Massachusetts, and the club is already experiencing start-up pains. Kris Busini has been promoting the “Rainbow Riders Motorcycle Club” for the past month on a Facebook page and held …

It’s the Week in Review for Aug. 4 through 10 – news items and other motorcycle-related info: MA Traffic At Tipping Point Massachusetts traffic is a mess. It can only take a fender bender or a bit of bad weather to disrupt traffic flow in Massachusetts, causing commute times to …

BETHEL, CT – It was around 11 a.m. Friday while gearing up for a demo ride that Hamlin Cycles’ owner Jim Hamlin cheerfully called from across the parking lot, “Be back by 6.”  I chuckled inwardly because my plan was to merely run the new 2020 Moto Guzzi V85 TT …

It’s the Week in Review for July 28 through Aug. 3 – news items and other motorcycle-related info: Hit-And-Run Driver Strikes Riders on I-95 In MA Sharon, MA – Two motorcyclists have been released from the hospital after being hit by a car on I-95 around 10:30 p.m. Thursday. State …

TERRYVILLE, CT – If opening day of the National Meet staged by the Yankee Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America at the Terryville Fairgrounds is for shopping for that much needed part, then day two is for leisurely strolling the grounds and looking at old machines. Many sparkling …

TERRYVILLE, CT – Wet weather put a damper on the Yankee Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America’s first-ever National Meet at the Terryville Fairgrounds a year ago, but Mother Nature is cooperating this weekend, which resulted in a large opening day turnout on Friday. “I’m ecstatic,” said Ted …

CONCORD, NH – The driver of a 2016 Ram 2500 pickup that crossed the center line and crashed into a group of motorcyclists, killing seven of them, was high on drugs at the time, according to a federal report obtained by “The Boston Globe.” Volodymyr Zhukovskyy was also reaching for …

SPRINGFIELD, MA – It’s often the case at motorcycle shows that unique or interesting models can be found in the parking lot as well as on the show ground. That was true last weekend at Indian Day at the Springfield Museums where a rare, modern-day 2000 Excelsior-Henderson Super X was …

BROOKFIELD, CT – More women are riding motorcycles every year, and women now make up 19 percent of total motorcycle ownership in the U.S. However, around midday today, 100 percent of the riders inside the showroom at Brookfield Indian Motorcycle were women. They came from New York and Connecticut, a …

HARWINTON, CT – Are classic motorcycle (and car) owners in Connecticut routinely being ripped off through inflated property assessments; assessments that sidestep state law? That seems to be the case, but there is a way to prevent being taken advantage of and save money: Check your tax bill closely before …

SPRINGIELD, MA – Angela Phillips of Feeding Hills, MA was a first-timer Sunday at the 10th annual Indian Day staged by the Springfield Museums. She rides pillion on a friend’s Harley-Davidson and he’d stumbled across an item on Facebook touting the event. “This is the best ever. I love it,” …

A new feature launches today. It’s a Week in Review post designed to collect all of those short news items that arrive during the week but don’t warrant a full post. Here goes: Polaris Has A Hit With Indian’s FTR 1200 MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The heavyweight cruiser market may be …

CONCORD, NH – A preliminary report issued Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board into the June 21 crash in Randolph, NH that killed seven motorcyclists offered no new insight into the tragedy. It did confirm that a pickup truck driven by 23-year-old Volodymyr Zhukovskyy and towing an unladen trailer …

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson continues to struggle as sales sagged again in the second quarter of the year. The company this morning reported a sales dropped 8.0 percent in Q2 compared to a year ago. A total of 42,762 motorcycles were sold, compared to 46,490 in the second quarter of 2018. …