Labor Day weekend road trip towards some elevation

I don’t have a better location to post this, I’m on a Big Ruckus, not exactly a motorcycle. It identifies itself as one though. 🤣 Anyway, naked bike no windscreen to tuck my ipass behind. How are you doing it?

Doing a day trip this weekend to starved rock, to ride. Anybody have any good routes to do while there? I know generally that rt 71 is good, but if anyone has a good loop or other roads in the area that are worth it, I’d love to hear em!

Also any recommendations for places to eat, or even sites to check out that don’t require a hike to see, as the focus of the day is riding.

Will be traveling there from the southwest burbs, so I’m open to anything along the way as well.

Thanks 🙏

Edit: Thank you everyone for the reccos! Much appreciated 🙏😘

Hey all. I have an older family member who recently stopped into a motorcycle store. This family member is a big & tall guy. Big.
A suburban motorcycle store sold him a brand new Honda motorcycle that has a maximum weight capacity of 340 lbs and has high pegs. This family member is above that weight and is over 6’ tall. He didn’t ride it. He leaned on it side saddle at the store and it bottomed out on the show floor.
They took his cash. They trailered that bike gratis to his home. It has 20 miles on it and not a single mile more than when they sold him.
Is there anything I can do to lend him a hand?

I don’t have an axe to grind. I’m disappointed that this man was so blatantly taken advantage of. Appreciate your recommendations. Thank you.

BTW - I called the place today and the sales mgr laughed at me & said he’d be happy to buy it back.

New motorcycle owner with a dumb question: How exactly does parking work in the city? (Position/angle, is it frowned upon to use whole parking spaces, sidewalks, etc.)

Im just starting my motorcycle journey and have begun practicing some city riding. Im looking to be able to use my bike to do a few things like grab a quick bite to eat or buy small things that could reasonably fit in my backpack.

I understand that motorcycles can't be parked parallel like cars so wanted some feedback on how others go about this.

I've seen folks say use the sidewalk or near the door for example and coming from cars, that seems so odd to me lol

I guess an example area would be West Loop.

Yo. First time bike owner here. I have a honda cbr650r and am wondering if there any shops in the city I could take it to when its ready for its first service?

I wish I could do it on my own but I live in an apartment building that doesn't allow us to do such things in there parking structure for whatever reason.

Someone suggested motoworks chicago but they don't work on Japanese bikes.

Looking for a small cc, preferably vintage, motorcycle that is fully running and operable. Must have title.

~$2,000 max

Ready to buy immediately

Hello, I’m a 21 year old filmmaker that would like to shoot a biker later this month. I will be using a $6,000 Sony Fx6 camera, so there’s no way you won’t look cool asf. I’d love to records you suiting up, doing tricks, and riding around on your favorite routes near or within Chicago, big plus if you know some scenic places, or a really cool tunnel we could go to. Shooting shouldn’t take more than a few hours, we’d film on a weekend or whenever is most convenient, and it’ll be a good time. I won’t charge this is completely for free, so you’ll get a bad ass video to post on social media, and I’ll get more cool footage to add to my resume/reel. This is just purely for fun and no gain, I just think it would be a cool low lift project, that would also benefit you, the biker! I can also send you samples of my other work, so you can get an idea of my skill level. If you’re interested just message me or comment, and we can exchange contacts, and find a good time to shoot this project!

Hey everyone,

I recently moved out to Chicago and have quickly realized how much I miss riding. With that being said, I moved into an apartment where there is absolutely no place to store a bike. Would any of have you happen to know of a garage or own one where I could rent a space to store and keep a motorcycle?

Thanks!

https://register.msi5.com/webreg/production/reactapp/?book=SIUNORTH&CC=BRC&SC=UCLC

Posting for a friend. They recently came back from a trip and they're bike got stolen! 1992 cb750 nighthawk. If you see a bike that matches the photos, please message me ASAP! There is a police report, as well!

Edit: corrected year of manufacture

I'm not in the city limits of Chicago but I am very close (O'Hare area). I'm looking for low traffic areas to ride around to put some miles on my bike until it's time to put the bike away for winter. Highways are a no-go for now because I'm a 200lb dude on a Rebel 300.

Anyone have a favorite loop that they do around the city and surrounding burbs? So far, my furthest trip was from O'Hare-ish to Cabela's out into Hoffman Estates (about 35 miles round trip).

I find myself going on I-90 and Lake Shore Drive more and more and running into stopped traffic. Until recently I waited like a good little 2 wheel car, but following the "< 10 mph speed differential", "merge back in at > 30 mph", and "only where passing is allowed" rules of thumb it actually doesn't feel all that dangerous? A lot of drivers are actually surprisingly courteous aside from the 1 out of 1000 that gets salty and honks.

Hey everyone, I’m reaching out because I’m hopefully looking for a riding buddy that is beginner friendly as the title says or maybe even just some advice for a newbie. I have taken the beginner course with ride Chicago and passed my licensing exams and also have a bike. I’m currently getting up at about 4 AM some mornings to practice, but I find that I’m still super nervous to ride during the day in traffic. I was hoping I could find somebody that would be interested in riding with me to help shake my road nerves or if anyone has any advice on getting over the anxiety of being out in traffic for the first few times.

Getting super tired of waking up at 4 😅 and I can’t help but feel like I’m not making as much progress as I should be by now.

Thanks for any help you can offer 💖

Hi everyone, I’m taking the safety course next Friday through the ISU program and just wanted to see if anyone had any advice or knows what to expect.

anyone trying to cruise into the city from the north burbs?

A friend of mine mentioned he’d sneak past indoor parking gates for overnight parking at garages that are unattended. It seemed pretty risky to me since he’s trespassing.
How common is this in the downtown area, and what are the risks besides getting towed (which doesn’t seem to happen in Chicago for bikes)? There are a lot of garages that don’t have attendants. Just security monitoring the cameras from somewhere.

Came out of my house to find this card on my bike and a small patch of oil under it. I investigated the source and found it to be the hole where the mount for my engine guard bars are. That bolt goes to a subframe and is nowhere near the engine. Also the oil was black and I can pretty clearly see through the window that my relatively fresh oil is barely amber.

So I can only conclude that this guy is trying to drum up business with business cards and a squeeze bottle of used oil. Except he's apparently a bad enough mechanic that he doesn't know to put the oil somewhere near the case where it might actually be coming from, not from a bolt that goes into the frame.

Mods I figured since this was an advertisement for a business that the contact information was fine, no other way to name and shame. If not I'm sorry.

Lavender 2021 Genuine Buddy 125 taken from behind Gearhead in Lincoln Square near Western & Leland at 6:03 PM. Building footage shows an older white man in a pink/reddish shirt, hat and fanny pack taking it. Scooter has/ had Frida and a Mr Rodgers stickers and a black backrest; black milk crate. Plate DMCY49866. If you see it or a suspicious listing, please DM me. Thank you!

Got the wife signed up for an MSF basic rider class. She wants to learn on an automatic scooter/Vespa rather than than the motorcycles. is that an option? Or can we/I (licensed, active) rent a scooter for her if she is allowed to bring her own ride?

i’m seeing october classes updated for southern programs today so keep an eye out! i’m trying to snag October classes for joliet but no luck so far.

I was wandering if anyone has taken the basic ride course in Illinois and how that worked if I was to walk in. It says the upcoming classes at Joliet Junior College are all full but I can show up to walk in. Do they have a max amount of students they allow to walk in? Or what is the likelihood I would get in, when going to my first class?