By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

There’s a well-known phrase that you’ve probably heard: “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”

It was coined in 1967 by graphic designer and copywriter Charles Rosner for an advertising campaign that promoted VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), the national anti-poverty service program started by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. The famous slogan, which has become part of our vernacular, popped to mind as I mulled with increasing discomfort a press release that arrived Wednesday evening from Harley-Davidson.

The release touted a promotional partnership between Harley-Davidson and the MillerCoors brewery. It began, “Born across the street from each other in Milwaukee, Miller High Life and Harley-Davidson have been making timeless American products for 110 years. Now they’re making something together.”

Bill Davidson, vice president of the Harley-Davidson Museum and great-grandson of company co-founder William A. Davidson, kicked off a multi-year co-branding effort between the two companies on Wednesday by visiting the brewery and helping make an actual batch of Miller High Life beer.

In addition to making the special batch of brew, Miller will sell its suds with cans and packaging that display the Harley logo, while Harley will build some customized bikes with Miller High Life graphics that will then be shown at participating retail stores.

When the release arrived nearly two days ago, my first thought was “OK, maybe worth a mention” here, but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered about the wisdom of the partnership; aside from the obvious potential monetary gains.

Bikes and beer don’t make for a safe mix. Don’t get me wrong, I drink and I like beer, although my taste runs more to Smithwick’s, Blue Moon and Harpoon than Miller. I just make damn sure that if I’m riding, I don’t drink. And if I’m drinking, I don’t ride. Ever.

The problem is that many motorcycle operators do drink and ride. Another press release, issued on May 6 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as a reminder for drivers to “Share the Road,” noted that in 2011 a whopping “42 percent of motorcycle riders who died in single-vehicle crashes had blood alcohol levels or .08 or higher, higher than any other type of driver.”

A total of 4,612 motorcyclists died on America’s roads in 2011, so you do the math.

Another NHTSA survey in 2009 similarly revealed that “motorcycle riders were more than twice as likely as passenger vehicle drivers to be drunk” – 5.6 percent to 2.3 percent.

These stats don’t merely suggest, but flat-out scream that “riding while intoxicated” is a problem in the motorcycling community. By teaming up with a brewery in a cross-promotion, Harley-Davidson not only isn’t part of the solution, it becomes a big part of the problem itself.

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

It was a soggy morning for a ride that got wetter as the day progressed. After having our requisite breakfast at Toymaker’s Cafe in Falls Village, I suggested to riding compatriot Gary Randall that we take the scenic route to Norfolk on some roads that I had never been on – Under Mountain Road off of Route 63 to Canaan Mountain Road, then right on Wangum Road (alongside Wangum Lake) to Mountain Road.

Much of the route over the mountain is unpaved, which made the ride even more rustic and enjoyable. Being lean on dirt riding experience, I kept reminding myself to loosen my grip and let the bike find its own way a bit, and to let engine braking handle the speed on downhill sections. Can’t wait to ride those roads again.

Once in Norfolk, we headed north on Route 272 into Massachusetts. Our normal Sunday morning ride takes us to Kent where we always grab a coconut macaroon as a breakfast dessert. With thoughts of “no macaroon today” throbbing in my head, I pulled over in Southfield and suggested sampling a sweet at the Southfield Store. The blueberry tart didn’t disappoint and Gary was equally pleased with the chocolate cake.

As we were getting ready to leave, Brien Hadley walked up and asked about our bikes. Brien’s a stonemason who lives across from the Southfield Store. He reported owning a Harley-Davidson Sprint and said he’d be glad to show it off.

After retrieving a board on which to rest the ride-side kickstand (top picture), he pulled the Sprint from the garage, explaining that the bike was momentarily sidelined because a spring connecting the throttle cable with the throttle had come off the day before and that he didn’t have the dexterity to fix it. Handling huge piece of stone, no problem, but not tiny motorcycle parts.

He was able to fire it up, though. The Sprint started on the second kick and idled nicely – even if he couldn’t rev it. Brien’s Sprint is a 1966 model that he picked up last year for what he said was a very low price.

Harley imported and sold the Sprint between 1961 and 1974, having bought 50 percent of of Italy’s Aermacchi motorcycle company in 1960. Between 1961 and 1969, the Sprint featured a 250cc, horizontal single engine.

In 1969, the power plant was upped to 350cc and remained that size until 1974 when the Sprint was discontinued.

Before departing Brien’s, I went inside in his house and checked the radar on his computer. Heavier rain was heading our way, so after seeing the Sprint we decided to sprint back down Route 272 to Torrington and on home. The riding gear is now hanging to dry and a hot shower to warm up is needed.