Friends Take RIDE-CT On Circuitous Trip

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

When longtime friends gather it’s not uncommon that a sentence started by one person ends up being finished by another. That’s what happened when the owners of a 2008 Kawasaki Versys, 2004 BMW R1150RT, 2006 Triumph Sprint ST and 2004 Kawasaki ZX-10 gathered on a recent Sunday morning for a pre-ride coffee in Watertown. The conversation predictably involved some reminiscing about bikes from the past. Some verbal darts were tossed and there was some random bragging.

“Babe knows every road in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York,” boasted John Sliney Sr. of Southington

“Blind-folded,” added Dick Brady of Waterbury.

They weren’t kidding. A couple of hours later, having joined the four riders for some spirited skimming of back roads, I was amazed at just how many serpentine roads there are in Litchfield County that I never knew existed. Sliney later said the group rides as the snake crawls, not as the crow flies. From the back of the pack, it was evident that the guys are skilled riders. It was like watching a small school of fish swimming as one.

From left, Babe Ames, John Sliney Jr., John Sliney Sr. and Dick Brady

How RIDE-CT came to meet them can be traced back a few weeks when Brady emailed to inquire if I knew someone who could fix a broken odometer on his 1982 BMW R65LS, which he’s thinking of selling having bought the R1150RT in January. We began trading emails and I was all set to ride to his home in Waterbury to check out the older Beemer when he suggested I first meet some of the guys that he’s been riding with since the mid-1990s. The plan was to have coffee and then head to his house.

The group had already assembled by the time I arrived. In addition to Brady, there was Sliney on his Versys. Sliney’s son from Berlin, John Sliney Jr., was on the Triumph, while Babe Ames, also from Southington, rode the ZX-10. I soon learned that Ames was one of the original owners of Willow’s Motorsports in Cheshire. A former racer, he’s 76 and can outride pretty much anyone.

“I started riding in 1951. My dad was a British motorcycles dealer,” he recalled. That was on Long Island. Over the years, he’s owned probably 50 bikes. “The one that I have at the moment is the cream of the crop … of the day,” he said. “I’ll never be old enough to ride a Harley.” Ames’ dismissive attitude toward Harley-Davidson can be traced back to his racing days in the 1950s and ‘60s when he rode BSAs against Harleys. “Harleys were our adversary. It was a competition like the Yankees and the Red Sox,” he recalled.

The 60-year-old Sliney, the father, has been riding steadily since 1969 and still has a lot of bikes. “Probably a good dozen,” he said. Included in the mix are two BSA Thunderbolts. The 29-year-old son has three bikes, but just one that runs. “He caught the old man’s disease,” said Sliney the elder. Brady, meanwhile, has been riding since 1963 and he’s 66 now.

Motorcycles and motorcycling have changed in the years these guys have been riding. Today, said Brady, “They’re much better machines. The reliability.” Sliney Sr. added, “Some things never change. People still don’t care to see you.” Yes, it’s true. Some folks still look askance at riders.

While it was evident that the guys will ride anything on two wheels – and have – although they have an aversion to “Buicks.” No, carmaker Buick doesn’t make bikes. Ames explained that the word “Buick” when applied to a motorcycle means any ride that’s “safe and cushy and terminally mundane.” Among bikes that they put on the Buick list are the Honda Nighthawk 750, the BMW K75 and the Honda 919. However, Sliney Sr. added, “Overall, all motorcycles are good.”

By this point, it was time to ride. At my suggestion, instead of going over to Brady’s house, we joined the others. The group normally rides 125 to 200 miles every Sunday. “I’m so predictable. They know when I’m getting ready look for a lunch place,” said Ames.

It only took two hours to make it to lunch. If we’d taken a direct state highway, the ride might have been 45 minutes. Instead, it was a twisty route. Along the way we passed llamas and wild turkeys, skirted sand and road kill, and just had a good time. Maybe someday soon it’ll be possible to see Brady’s old BMW.

(Originally published in “The Republican-American” on May 28, 2011.)