Looking Back at 2010…

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

The 2010 riding season seemed to last forever. Unlike 2009, which was marked by seemingly constant rain, this year was much sunnier and many great memories were stored. The best part of writing the RIDE-CT column in “The Republican-American” is meeting riders and seeing interesting bikes. Looking back…

It’s a mid-winter tradition to attend the International Motorcycle Show in New York each January and the show didn’t disappoint in 2010 with Honda introducing its VFR1200F sport tourer, BMW showcasing its S 1000 RR superbike and Ducati unwrapping the redesigned Multistrata (pictured). The mood may have been more somber than usual because of the impact of the bad economy on the motorcycle industry, but checking out new models is always fun even if you can’t afford them.

Got to ride a new Royal Enfield when the company’s demo truck paid a visit to Canton Cycles in Winsted in May. Lots of other curious riders turned out take escorted rides on the 28-horsepower, 500cc thumpers that are made in India. My take was the Royal Enfield offers a nostalgic, comfortable ride in a peppy package. Royal Enfield models carry the Bullet name. While they’re hardly faster than a speeding bullet, they are great for riding backroads, just not on the superslab. 

Stunt rider Chris “Teach” McNeil’s visit to Cliff’s Cycle Revolution in Brookfield in July that coincided with a visit by the BMW demo truck provided a lesson is just how exhilarating riding can be if you have the skills and no fear whatsoever. McNeil did burnouts, wheelies and stood his BMW S 1000 RR on its nose, and thoroughly entertained spectators. BMW brought out the S 1000 RR to attract younger buyers and McNeil’s demo performances got that point across.

Attending motorcycle meets is a staple of every riding season and the preferred event in August is always Brit Jam, the gathering of lovers of leaky old British iron in East Hamption. Many of the faces were familiar at the 24th annual meet. On display were bikes made by Triumph, BSA, Norton, AJS, Ariel, James, Matchless and Sunbeam. What makes Brit Jam especially enjoyable is while the flavor is British, riders of all makes are welcome and the parking lots fill with bikes from all continents that are as much fun to peruse as those formally on display. My lone regret was not purchasing a Brit Jam T-shirt before they ran out.

RIDE-CT skipped IMOC this year – the Italian Motorcycle Owners Club event in Sturbridge, Mass. – but made a first-time visit in September to Rice-O-Rama, the all Japanese show in Brookfield, Mass. It was well worth the 80+ mile trip to meet Larry Tashjian of Torrington, who rode in on a 1981 Honda CX500. He’s an expert on the model and the bike that he revived and brought to Rice-O-Rama was impressive.

Even more impressive in 2010 was the 1910 Flying Merkel that Ed Zalonski of East Haven put back on the road to ride in the coast-to-coast Motorcycle Cannonball in September. RIDE-CT kept close tabs on Zalonski in the weeks leading up to the Cannonball and then never followed up to find out how the journey went. Mea culpa, but it was fun seeing a 100-year-old bike in action, if only briefly. During a test run in Torrington before Zalonski left for Kitty Hawk, N.C. for the Cannonball, it quit running.

The year now ending wasn’t without some mishaps. Two riding friends crashed and one was seriously injured. Both were back on bikes by the end of the season. Less fortunate was Canton Cycles, the Victory-Kawasaki-Royal Enfield dealer in Winsted. It went out of business in October. The end of the year saw Max BMW buying Cliff’s Cycle Revolution in Brookfield.

I’ll have more on 2010 in RIDE-CT tomorrow in “The Republican-American.” It’s only a few hours until 2011 and the start of a new riding season. In fact, I just came in from shoveling snow and ice from the driveway in hopes of marking New Year’s Day by actually going for a ride. Happy New Year!