Rider Wire
Welcome to Rider Wire, Chicago's monthly rider brief from Derek Martin and the DDT Injury Team. New iron, gear worth your money, recalls that matter, and a Chicago ride worth the tank of gas. You're on the list because you entered the BikersWin $20,000 giveaway. Glad to have you in the crew. Let's ride.
Your Chicago rider attorney · DDT Injury Team
Indian brings back the Chief Vintage.
Leather saddlebags, valanced fenders, the whole heritage look, wrapped around the modern 111ci Thunderstroke V-twin. Old-school style without the old-school maintenance headaches. Worth a look if you want a cruiser that turns heads at the Friday meetup.
Aprilia X 250TH, for the rider who wants something nobody else has.
A limited-run 240hp V4 hypersport, and the first production bike to ship with MotoGP-spec carbon brakes. Not for everyone, but if you're shopping the showroom for something that actually feels different, this is it.
REV'IT! Eclipse 2 Mesh Jacket — around $200.
For a Chicago June, this thing flows air like a screen door at highway speed, with CE Level 1 armor at the elbows and shoulders. No waterproof liner, so pack a rain shell. The summer commuter's best friend.
Cardo Packtalk Edge intercom — around $290.
Testers picked it as the best overall intercom of the year. Mesh comms that handle riders dropping in and out of range, JBL-tuned speakers, snaps on and off your helmet without tools. If you ride with a group, this is the upgrade.
Two Minutes That Could Save Your Brakes
Recall season is always on, and manufacturer mailers always lag. Punch your VIN into the NHTSA recall lookup at NHTSA.gov today. If your bike has an open recall, the dealer fixes it free. Takes two minutes and it's the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.
Illinois reminder:
Lane-splitting is not legal in Illinois, and a lot of Chicago drivers still don't look twice for bikes. Ride like you're invisible, keep a buffer, and own your lane position through intersections, where most car-on-motorcycle crashes happen.
Galena & the Stagecoach Trail
Flatlanders, this one's for you. Run northwest to Galena and you'll find the closest thing Illinois has to real twisties: rolling hills, tight bends, and the old Stagecoach Trail between Galena and Lena. River bluffs, red barns, and curves that actually make you work. Make a day of it, grab lunch in old-town Galena, and loop back along the Great River Road (IL Route 84) hugging the Mississippi.
One tip: top off before the Stagecoach Trail, gas gets sparse out there, and watch the gravel that washes onto the bends after a rain.
Two Things to Check Before Saturday
Check your tire date code, not just the tread. Find the four-digit DOT code on the sidewall. "2123" means the 21st week of 2023. Tires should be replaced every 5 to 6 years no matter how the tread looks, because the rubber hardens with age and loses grip in the wet. Write it down, set a reminder.
Download your route offline before you ride. Cell signal dies exactly where the good roads are. Google Maps and Apple Maps both let you save an area offline. Do it before any backcountry or river-road run so "recalculating" never costs you 20 minutes.
From the Community
Ride Nation Chicago is where local riders post weekend miles, trade route tips, and share photos worth putting your helmet on for. Post where you rode this month and tag us. facebook.com/RideNationChicago
Save This Number Before You Need It.
Distracted drivers. Gravel on a blind corner. The guy who didn't look twice before merging. It doesn't take much, and it's never your fault when it isn't. If you ever go down, you've already got a lawyer who rides.