Oil Drippings: Dealer News and More

By Bud Wilkinson

Oil drippings…

– Burt Ives Honda in Columbia, CT isn’t expected to re-open until late April. That’s well after the original target of February. The dealership, which dates back to the 1930s, was acquired last fall by Ken Ives Jr. who bought it from his father. Remodeling, however, has taken longer than expected. Ives said the permitting process to get the work done took five weeks.

– If all goes as planned, Max Stratton finally adds a fourth store to his chain of BMW dealerships today with the opening of Max BMW in South Windsor, CT to serve the Hartford market. It’s located at 1535 John Fitch Blvd. (Route 5). Rob Nye will run the operation. Stratton already has stores in Brookfield, CT; Troy, NY; and North Hampton, NH. A new BMW R nineT is shown in the picture at right at the Brookfield store over the weekend.

– Jay Constanza emails with a reminder that the American Legion Riders Post 2 in Bristol, CT is having its third annual Spring Breakout Bike Blessing and Poker Run to benefit the Legacy Fund on Sunday, April 13. That’s just a month away. Registration is from 8 to 11 a.m. with the bike blessing at 10 a.m. Cost is $20 for rider and $10 for passenger. 

– Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me,” will be in Milwaukee on Saturday to speak at the Harley-Davidson Museum about his experiences aboard a Harley while filming the four-part PBS documentary “Constitution USA.” The “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel” has an interview with Sagal here.

– Yamaha announced today that it’s doing a four-episode, original anime series for a global audience called “Master of Torque” to promote the fun of riding a motorcycle. It will follow “the exploits of three young motorcycle riders in a semi-fictional Tokyo set in the near future.”

The episodes will be posted on on a special website as well as on Yamaha’s YouTube channel starting later this spring and running into summer. No word on whether there will be an English-language version.