Up To Speed

Lost in the hyperbole this week of Harley-Davidson’s announcements of new 2018 models – “boasting show-stopping style and plush comfort” with its touring bikes – was the absence of any mention of a model that debuted in 2001 and continued in various forms through the 2017 model year. Missing from …

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson tonight rolled out its 2018 model lineup that includes nine 115th anniversary models. The company also announced that the 2018 slate includes eight “all-new Softail models” and five new touring models. Among the tourers are three limited-edition CVO models and new blacked-out Street Glide Special and Road …

BROOKFIELD, CT – The Max BMW brand of motorcycle dealerships, and it has truly become a recognizable brand in the northeast, began in June 2002 with the original store in North Hampton, NH. It then added a store in Brunswick, NY followed by the acquisition of Cliff’s Cycle Revolution in …

EAST HAMPTON, CT – It was a record turnout today for Brit Jam 2017, the annual vintage motorcycle show staged by the British Iron Association of Connecticut at the Haddam Neck Fairgrounds. “We enjoy an incremental growth every year, and I think it’s because of a combination of things,” said …

BROOKFIELD, CT – They came from as far away as Brooklyn and New Hampshire. Most had never done a burnout before and that included a non-riding, 61-year-old grandmother, who smoked some rubber today on a BMW S 1000 XR at Max BMW‘s Burnout Day. “It was breathtaking; a little scary …

THOMASTON, CT – Tom Ordway of Thomaston wasn’t expecting to buy a Norton when he went shopping for a motorcycle in 1975. “I went to a Harley dealer to buy a Sportster – all my buddies had Sportsters – and this was parked over on the side,” he recalled, referring …

After a layoff of a couple of months, it’s time for another riveting (or not) installment of “If You Had Asked Me, I Would Have told You…” It’s a catch-all column for small newsworthy items not hefty enough for a full post, updates on previous stories, stale press releases, opinion …

MILWAUKEE – It’s getting to the point that there’s barely a space where an ad cannot be placed. Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson has announced a new multi-year deal whereby its iconic bar and shield logo will appear in the form of a patch on the uniforms of Milwaukee Bucks’ players, beginning with …

MIDDLETOWN, CT – Thousands of riders descended on Wednesday night for the annual “Middletown Motorcycle Mania” in downtown. Dealers, accessory vendors, food purveyors, bands and the riders themselves contributed to the atmopshere:

TORRINGTON, CT – The fate of the motorcycle is inconsequential when a rider goes down. A bike can be replaced, but a person cannot. Fortunately, Glenn Royals survived after recently finding himself confronted by a driver in a pickup who pulled across his path. He suffered some extensive injuries when …

BROOKLYN – After three years of staging the Split’n Lanes & Dodgin’ Gutters show at the Brooklyn Bowl bowling alley, Basket Case Productions plans to “step it up a notch,” according to promoter Girard Fox, and move outdoors this year with a new vintage motorcycle show called “The Lot.” Set …

WATERBURY, CT – Waterbury firefighter Bill D’Occhio has been training for weeks. “The gym five days a week; a lot of spinning,” he said. He’s also been schlepping to Bethlehem where farmer and Bethlehem V.F.D. chief Jon O’Neill has allowed him to ride his off-road bikes “twice a week” on …

GARDNER, MA – Rob’s Dyno Service here has become the first dealer of Motus motorcycles in Massachusetts, and one of only two in New England. Owner Rob Swartz and technician Dan Cantor went to the Motus factory in Birmingham, AL in late July for training on the American-made sport bikes. …

HEBRON, CT – It’s a show that keeps growing; attracting more and more vendors as well as vintage motorcycles of modest and exquisite caliber. The annual National Meet of the Yankee Chapter of Antique Motorcycle Club of America kicked off here Friday under a sunny sky that brought out riders …

HEBRON, CT – The 1935 Nimbus Model C parked at the entrance to the National Meet being staged here this weekend by the Yankee Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America was the first vintage bike that many of those arriving on Friday morning got to see. It wouldn’t …