Up To Speed

KENT, CT – Black Friday shopping? No way! Not when the temperatures climbed into the 60s in southern New England. On a warm day like this, it was imperative to get in some late-season seat time because it might not happen again until April. Not surprisingly, this destination hamlet attracted …

SAN FRANCISCO – A state appeals court here has rejected an appeal filed by a man from Sausalito, CA who claimed he suffered from acute priapism (a painfully prolonged erection) after riding his 1993 BMW motorcycle for two hours. Henry Wolf had sued BMW and seat-maker Corbin in 2012, but …

It was several years ago (with input from a few friends) that I wrote a RIDE-CT column in “The Republican-American” on the tell-tale signs of a “Dunkin’ Angel.” The column was posted here four years ago and promptly forgotten. However, remembering how long-ago friend Joe Gilmartin of “The Phoenix Gazette” used …

YORK, PA – Workers at the Harley-Davidson factory here today approved a new contract with the company that will be effective Feb. 1, 2016 and will run through Oct. 15, 2022. It covers approximately 970 employees. The existing contract with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local …

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 …