Up To Speed

TORRINGTON, CT – Mike Wallace’s urgent need for a new kidney may have saved Tim Sparks’ life. This tale of need and generosity started with an article that ran in The Sunday Republican on Sept. 13 and was later shared on RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland. It evolved into a bittersweet lesson about …

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The cost of owning an Indian just went down. The company today unveiled a new addition to its motorcycle lineup in the form of the Scout Sixty, a less expensive version of the existing Scout and with a smaller engine. The Scout Sixty looks much like the …

MANDELLO DEL LARIO, Italy – Moto Guzzi is out with two new models with an 850cc engine as well as two variants of existing models.

BMW’s R NineT roadster model now has a Scrambler stable mate.  Powered by an air-cooled 1,170cc boxer engine that delivers 110 horsepower and has a maximum torque of 116 Nm, the R nineT Scrambler features an upright riding position with higher handlebars and lower footrests than the R nineT. The …

“Hitting The Apex” finally has some U.S. dates. The movie, narrated by Brad Pitt and directed by Mark Neale, begins a limited release rollout in the states today with five theaters in New England hoping to screen it over the next month. “Hitting The Apex” goes behind the scenes at …

MILAN, Italy – Need proof that its four 2015 Scrambler models were a hit for Ducati? The company announced today that more versions and variants are on the way. New for 2016 will be a Flat Track Pro version, based on the existing 803cc platform, as well as an all-new …

Should it be called a “baby Beemer?” BMW announced today a new sub-500cc model called the G 310 R. The single-cylinder, 350-pound roadster was “newly conceived from scratch,” the company said, and has an “agile, dynamic character.” The G 310 R is powered by a 313cc, liquid-cooled engine with a …

Sometimes a single week can offer a microcosm of an entire riding season – the highs and the lows, the dangerous and the ridiculous. That such a week would occur during a warm stretch in November may be uncommon but I’ll take it, rejoice and give a two-fingered acknowledgement to …

Indian is recalling 7,611 of its 2015 and 2016 Chief Classic, Chief Vintage, Chieftain, Roadmaster and 2016 Dark Horse models due to a problem with the rear brake master cylinder, which may cause a reduction or complete loss of rear brake power. The motorcycles were manufactured Jan. 2, 2015 to …

MILWAUKEE – Less than a month after announcing that it plans to beef up marketing in 2016 in the wake of declining sales, Harley-Davidson’s top marketing executive has left the company. Mark-Hans Richer (pictured) has been senior vice president of marketing and product development since 2007, having previously worked

Wow, more than a month has gone by without an installment of “If you had asked me, I would have told you that…” My bad. Too busy building up the wood supply for winter and getting in some late-season rides to sit down at the laptop. Consequently, some items have …

GROTON, CT – Jimmey Gonzalez is a 37-year-old U.S. Navy veteran who retired in August having been deployed most recently in the Middle East, including Jordan and Bahrain. He’s now enrolled at Middlesex Community College and one of his classes involves new media. “Every week we have a new assignment …

DES PLAINES, IL – Motorcycle thefts in the United States decreased six percent in 2014 with Honda the brand with the most bikes thefts, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. California ranked No. 1 as the state with the most thefts. Las Vegas the No. …

Is bigger better? Triumph is betting on it for 2016. The British company today announced five new models that have familiar names (or derivations) and larger engines – the new Street Twin, the Bonneville T120 and T120 Black, and the Thruxton and Thruxton R. Triumph touted the new models as …

As hoped for by Polaris Industries, its Indian brand is now doing what Victory has been unable to accomplish over the past 17 years – chip away at Harley-Davidson’s seemingly invincible hold on the heavyweight cruiser market in the United States. Victory was patriotically launched by Polaris on July 4, …