Up To Speed

STURBRIDGE, MA – If the brand names on all the bikes on the show ground end in a vowel, it’s a safe bet that you’re at IMOC. The Italian Motorcycles Owners Club held its 32nd annual motorcycle show today at the Hamilton Rod & Gun Club, and riders turned out …

NEW HARTFORD, CT – The bride didn’t want a diamond. What she really wanted was a ride on vintage Indian Chief on her wedding day. This tale of matrimony began for RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland a little more than a week ago when I received an invitation in the form of an …

Not all TV commercials are designed to hard-sell a product. The purpose of Honda’s new two-minute, stop-motion “Paper” ad, which debuted during an NFL telecast on CBS on Sunday, is simply to reinforce brand identity by

THOMPSON, CT – A press release hasn’t been issued yet, but vintage motorcycle owners will want to save this date: May 15, 2016. That’s when Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park plans its first-ever Thompson Vintage Motorcycle Classic. Held on a Sunday, it will piggyback with

Another month has passed, so I guess it’s time for another installment of “If you had asked me, I would have told you that…” And even if it isn’t, here goes. If you had asked me, I would have told you that: – Lane-splitting on freeways while on a motorcycle …

  Just for the sake of comparison, imagine Boston without Fenway Park. It would still be Boston, but it wouldn’t be the same without the compact ballpark filled with Red Sox partisans as well as the crowds and vendors on Yawkey Way. Even a life-long New York Yankees’ fan such …

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Kawasaki is recalling nearly 12,000 of its Voyager and Vaquero heavyweight cruiser models due to an ignition wire that may chafe after coming in contact with the fuel tank. This may result in a short circuit, causing the bike to stall. The NHTSA says 11,826 units, including …

FRANKFURT, GERMANY – Ducati has unveiled what it says is “the most powerful Ducati naked of all time,” the 2016 Mobster 1200 R. “Equipped with a 1200 cc Testastretta 11° DS “R” version twin-cylinder engine, the Monster 1200 R takes

UPDATE: A website has now been launched to help get motorcycle collector and Torrington, CT businessman Mike Wallace a new kidney. It’s at mikewallacekidney.com.

TORRINGTON, CT – The downtown bike show known as Torrington Thunder got rebooted this evening after a two-year absence, and the modest crowd that turned out on Main Street got treated to splendid weather and some interesting bikes. While Harley-Davidsons were predictably the favored ride among those attending, sprinkled in …

HARWINTON, CT – It’s the first one sold in New England and Ernie Torizzo is loving his new American-made Motus. The Harwinton motorcycle collector, who has such brands as Ducati, BMW and MV Agusta in his garage, picked up the 1,650cc MSTR model from Rocket Moto Sport in Nashua, NH …

Tis the season of “keep ’em guessing.” Pictures are popping up online showing portions of new motorcycle models, such as the Ducati Monster 1200 R yesterday, and models that might be headed to production. Most confusing is a new movie trailer for something called “Outlaws,” which contains images of

STURGIS, SD – The self-proclaimed “World’s Largest Biker Bar” is no more. An overnight fire destroyed the Full Throttle Saloon,  a landmark haunt of riders during the annual rally staged in Sturgis.

SALISBURY, CT – There were only a smattering of motorcycles among the more than 200 cars entered in Lime Rock Park’s Historic Festival 33, the track’s Sunday in the Park Concours d’Elegance, but the ones that were entered were exquisite. A 1937 BMW R6 (in foreground below) owned by Philip …

FALLS VILLAGE, CT  – It was hard not to notice Terry Finkle’s cleverness when our paths first crossed two months ago. That is, after initially noticing the vintage motorcycle that he was riding. He had pulled into the parking lot at Toymaker’s Cafe on a smart-looking, silver 1942 Harley-Davidson WL.