Modern Vespa

A couple of friends of mine is thinking of doing the south and west area of USA on a rented Harley. Probably start in Las Vegas [but can be anywhere else] and head over to LA , up Big Sur to San Francisco, back down to Grand Canyon, Phoenix and finish back at Las Vegas. [this can and probably will change]

Anyone know of a Harley renting shop, whats the cost per day do you need to have insurance, if so which cover is best.
How long would this trip take, allowing for a day here and there for R&R and beer

Thanks

We did part of your planned trip last September. Just guessing bit I think you'd ha 6 long days of riding. Suggest doing highway 1 north to south rather than S to N because the prevailing winds are N to S and the can be cold. Going w the wind is much warmer and quieter. Also, you be riding on the ocean side of the road - much more dramatic

Best
Miguel

A good friend of mine works for the local Harley dealer. I know they rent bikes and from what I've been told, most of the larger dealers do. I would be happy to ring him to get a list if you would like? Any idea where you're looking to start?

I rented a BMW motorcycle in Denver in July this year.

It was quite expensive and I had to buy insurance through the shop for the ride even though I carry insurance for my bikes. The total cost for bike and insurance was around $1,100 for eight days. It was worth every penny. My assumption is that renting a Harley will be similar or higher.

As for how long it will take them, it totally depends on the type of ride. Is it sightseeing or riding? Our ride was riding, though through some wonderful areas, as we covered 2,750 miles in that time.

They might want to spend an entire day on some of the stops which will lengthen the ride.

The loop you describe looks like 1,800 miles, probably 35 hours riding time. They can break this up any way they choose.

Why do it on a Hardly Davidson... when you could do it on a Vespa... ???

Too much of a challenge for you ???

You can cost estimates from one firm here CLICKY

Or try this approach ANOTHER CLICKY

Thanks folks, please keep them coming, I will forward them on to my friend

T

Check out eaglerider.com. They have affiliations throughout the country.

I've rented an MP3 from them in LA (and a buddy rented a Harley at the same time) and it went well - cost was right at $110 a day (for MP3, more for the Harley) including insurance, so I think you can expect it to be north of $100 a day.

If he was on a Vespa the Harleys could not keep up.

I've chatted with quite a few people who are doing the "Route 66" thing while they were stopped at some of the must-see attractions. Most of these people are from the U.K. or Germany, with a surprising number coming from Belgium (at least it surprised me). The Germans and the Belgians, if they speak any English are rather easy to understand. Many of the Brits on the other hand, who ARE speaking English, just get dumb stares from us as we try to decipher just what they are saying. After a couple of minutes all parties are usually laughing a bit at the situation. I have no idea what language it is the Scots are speaking......

Almost all of these folks-on-holiday are riding a Harley and they rented them from EagleRider. Everyone always has very positive things to say about their whole renting and support experience with them.

Be careful with EagleRider. I've known a couple people who have rented from them and the bikes broke. Just make sure you take it for a test ride and see the maintenance records. Sounds like a fun trip. 8)

We see Eagle Rider groups all over the Rockies in the summer. If you do one of their guided tours they have a leader and support van with many of them often full of international riders.

As previously mentioned most large Harley dealerships have rentals. When you rent from a dealership you will usually have to get their daily insurance coverage as well. Eagle riders included insurance coverage. You are looking at closer to $200 per day with insurance factored in for anything larger than a Vespa. Make sure that you can take the bike you rent out of the state you rent it in, some charge extra for that and your proposed trip covers 3 states. There are also one way rentals available rom Eagle Riders but rarely from dealerships. My brother looked into renting a BMW for a friend's cross country 50th birthday bucket list ride. He discovered it was cheaper for him to buy a used BMW ride it for 6 moths to get his ass in condition for a cross country journey, ship it to Virginia then ride it back to San Diego and resell it. Well that was the plan, the ride was almost 2 years ago and he still owns/rides the bike.

A one way rental with insurance and the number of days/miles was going to cost over $4,000.

That surprises me Judy. All of the bikes I've seen used for these rentals appear to be in great shape, and the riders have stated as much.
Do you know how EagleRider handled the issue for those involved?

I'm considering doing this someday, it will be on a Harley too.
If i'm going to do something so American i'm going to do it on an American bike.
I ride Japanese and European bikes over here so as far as i'm concerned doing it on an Indian, Victory or Harley is the only way to go.

I believe it was the Seattle one and they gave her a new bike but that one had problems too. Third one worked but by then she had lost confidence in them. She does the trip to the mainland every year so she bought one (Harley) last summer and keeps it in Seattle. Goes a few days early and gets the bike ready for the cross country trip. Don't know how the other ones are but she wasn't happy with them. Good idea to check any rental bike tho.

If I experienced two bad bikes in a row I'd be a little leery myself. That's good advice, to check the rental (or any) bikes out, prior to the ride.

Me too but she only had a few weeks and finding one was hard. If she had had more trouble she could of rolled it into another ER if there was one on her itinerary. They'd swap it out.Never had to but she ended up having a good time, despite the problems with the bikes.

Actually, my experience with Eagle Riders rental system is positive as far as condition and availability of bikes. The problem is that they are doggoned expensive. If you were going to rent for a longer trip, it would be more cost effective to buy a used bike and sell it afterwards.

I would allow at least ten days to really enjoy the ride. A loop from Vegas to LA to SF to Reno and back to Vegas is around 1800 miles. The route to Phoenix from Vegas then up to Flagstaff and then GC is around 800 miles.

Mind you that these routes are taking freeway. If you want to take roads like Pacific Coast Highway and Route 66 (which are way more fun and much more beautiful), you will need to add a lot more time.

Doing the math, at 300 miles per day with an average speed of 60 mph, you are on the bike four to five hours. That means giving yourself time for visits, stops and beer. You could push 400 a day which means about five to six hours of driving. That is a little harder on a Harley but doable.

Roads in the US are generally very good but the route you are talking about does have large expanses with a lot of nothing. Also, you need to be very careful as there is a lot of extreme weather. Temperatures in the summer in Arizona hover well above 100 every day. Death Valley and the Mojave are the hottest places on earth. In contrast the route between Reno and SF is known as Donner Pass and is famous for its sudden brutal winter storms.

I have rented two times from Eagle riders. Both were Harley Ultra Classics. No problems on either rental. Cost was not an issue for me because I was on a business trip and only did a one day rental and was ok with a $200.00 fee each time. The insurance was expensive and as I recall only offered with a $1000.00 deductible. I rode from Vegas to the Grand Canyon on one trip and Vegas to Death Valley on the other. Like the others have said, it will be great ride!

If you start and end in Anaheim you can rent from Los Angeles Harley Davidson in the city of Fullerton. 5 miles from Disneyland. You can do a nice loop from here.

Very difficult to do if you are not a legal resident of one of the 50 States.

I rented GTS 125 in Belgium, 600 dollars for 4 days. And $850 deposit in cash

That sounds like a fun ride. What time of year are they thinking of, because the best riding time in Vegas/Phoenix/desert southwest (October - April) can be the worst riding time in Tahoe/Sierras/Flagstaff. And summers in Phoenix/Vegas can be hot, triple-digits hot. Yeah it's a dry heat, but unless you are accustomed to the weather it can be dangerous.