MINNEAPOLIS – Citing decreasing demand for products as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Polaris Inc. said today it is closing its plants for one week, effective Tuesday. Included in the shutdown is the Spirit Lake, IA plant where Indian motorcycles are built. Other plants being closed are in Alabama, …

Motorcycle dealers in the Northeast are temporarily closing or curtailing operations in reaction to the ever-changing COVID-19 situation as some states have ordered non-essential businesses to close. Some dealerships in New York and Connecticut are closed, while others are shutting showrooms while keeping service and parts departments open. Empire Harley-Davidson …

There’s a somewhat flippant saying that a motorcyclist is “a person willing to take a container of flammable liquid, place it on top of a hot engine, and then put it between their legs.”  The unstated message is that riding is dangerous and takes a modicum of courage. It is …

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson has joined the Big 3 automakers in Detroit in shutting down production, a move that affects about 2,000 union workers at its three plants in the U.S. The company has 5,000 total employees. The shutdown will run from Wednesday night through March 29. Employees have been placed …

WORCESTER, MA – It’s a ritual that needs to be halted. Now. Immediately. No exceptions. The ritual is this: Person buys a motorcycle at a dealership, a picture gets snapped of the smiling buyer with the salesperson, and the pic gets posted to social media. It makes the buyer feel …

BOLOGNA, ITALY – Production of Ducati motorcycles has now been suspended until March 25 as the Italian motorcycle maker works to implement safety measures “to limit the probability of the (COVID-19) virus spreading at its plant,” according to a company statement. The announcement Monday said the decision was made “in …

The COVID-19 pandemic is prompting government edicts and voluntary cancelations, closures and postponements of events. RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England wants to help keep riders aware and is launching this page to do so: Cancelations Cabin Fever Custom Car & Motorcycle Show – The two-day event at Naugatuck Entertainment Facility in …

Indian’s timing in debuting a new advertising campaign might not be propitious – what with the COVID-19 pandemic getting most everyone’s attention – but the company is out today with a new TV ad urging shoppers to “Choose Wisely” when buying a new motorcycle. Not surprisingly, the 30-second spot takes …

The growing global coronavirus crisis is impacting events in the Northeast. The plug has been pulled on the Mark’s Northeast Motorsports Expo scheduled for this weekend at the Big E in West Springfield, MA. The show mixes classic cars with a few motorcycles. It was set to run from 4 …

HARWINTON, CT – It was while going through a plastic storage container stuffed with miscellaneous old papers recently that I discovered a diploma issued nearly 50 years ago when I was 16.  The “Driver Education Certificate” from The Faita A-C School of Driving in Torrington was dated July 1, 1970 …