Up To Speed

BETHEL, CT – Declaring in a Facebook post this morning that “motorcycling is a refuge,” Hamlin Cycles owner Jim Hamlin firmly deemed political and religious talk to be off-limits at his Moto Guzzi and Motus dealership here.

BROOKFIELD, CT – The clock will be ticking for MAX BMW at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show in New York next weekend as the dealership plans a 2½-day rebuild of a 1961 BMW R69S.

As riders, we gripe about distracted drivers who are too busy texting, phoning home or putting on makeup to notice us, but a new study reveals that some of the best drivers in the U.S. are found in New England. In fact, Vermont was second best, topped by only Minnesota, …

Sorry ’bout that for having missed the October installment of “If You Had Asked Me, I Would Have Told You…” Life got busy with an overnight ride to the Catskills, an increased work load, other pressing obligations and a little website tweaking. 

TORRANCE, CA – Honda is out with two new small Rebel cruisers for 2017. The company describes the Rebel 300 and Rebel 500 as “youth-focused customs.” “The Rebel 500 and Rebel 300 are simple and raw, offering cutting-edge style and a radical image while minimizing the barriers to riding. There’s …

EXETER, RI – Unlike most retailers, Twisted Throttle doesn’t plan to try and cash in on Black Friday. Its operation will be closed on the day after Thanksgiving.

Triumph launches a 50-city “Brutal Beauty Tour” across North American in Minneapolis/St. Paul today to show off its new Bobber model as well as the new Street Scrambler, Street Cup, T100 and T100 Black models for 2017. Two stops are planned in the northeast region – from 6 to 9 …

HARTFORD – The Connecticut International Auto Show, set for Nov. 18-20 at the Connecticut Convention Center, confirms that will add bikes to the mix this year. “Motorcycle Showcase is an all-new feature,” says Chris Russell, advertising and public relations manager for the event. According to the show’s website, in addition …

Suzuki is recalling 1,890 units of its GW250 model from the 2013, 2015 and 2017  model years to install an improved bake light assembly and a water protective cover, as necessary, free of charge.

THOMPSON, CT – The Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park plans a second Thompson Vintage Motorcycle Classic in 2017, but the date will be a little later in the riding season. This year’s inaugural event was staged on May 15, which proved to be a chilly, gusty day. Next year, it will …

HARWINTON, CT – A pasta dinner fundraiser for the victims of the horrific car-into-motorcycles crash in Litchfield, CT last month is planned for Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Harwinton Volunteer Fire Department, 158 Burlington Road. Proceeds will benefit the Kern and Depaolo families.

RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland gets a new contributing columnist with the addition of Connecticut Rider Education Program instructor and sidecar enthusiast Paul Siciliano of North Granby, CT. He’ll write a new wide-ranging column called

CARMEL, IN – A clever and fast-paced new video on sidecar-motorcycle operation, produced by sidecar-loving twin brothers who own the Wilkinson Bros. graphic design shop here and who also have the Good Spark Garage website, has just debuted on YouTube. It mixes slapstick elements and musical accompaniment in an homage …

TORRINGTON, CT – Steve Serafini of Fab-U-This got a text on Wednesday from Eric Landi inquiring if he could solve a problem. Landi wanted to know if Serafini could quickly fabricate a base for an urn to hold the cremated remains of

HARWINTON, CT – The shock of Sunday’s car-into-motorcycles accident in Litchfield that killed one and injured six others is giving way to resilience and action as friends, riders and even radio personalities are stepping up to assist victims and their families.