rbjeepthing
Well-known member
Intro:
So I figured i would do a full ride report describing myself and my wife's experience with renting a motorcycle and exploring the area around Las Vegas during our Honeymoon.
Choosing the motorcycle:
I chose to rent from Eagle Rider based on reviews I found online and the availability of a specific model that I was looking for. I have ridden sport bikes for the past 15 years and have recently been considering either switching to a cruiser or purchasing a cruiser to do more long distance rides and be able to carry gear. After speaking to a few HD riders I was advised to try a Street Glide, Electra Glide or Heritage Softail. I personally have always liked the bagger look as seen on the Street Glides so that's what I chose. I knew the Electra Glide would be better for the wife but she told me anything's better the back of a sport bike. So that made things simple Street Glide it was.
Costs, Gear and License Requirements:
So here is the big thing everyone wonders how much does it cost? Well lets say I feel its actually pretty reasonable in total for the rental and insurance it was $490.14 for 48 hours which included full insurance with a $1000 deductible, GPS rental and two brain buckets for myself and the wife. We picked up the bike on Wednesday at 12pm and had it till Friday at 12pm. This gave us an afternoon to get acquainted with the bike before taking her out for a full day and then another morning to see some attractions around town. I think next time I would throw in another full day as we were not able to get to all the locations we wanted.
As for the rest of our gear we chose to bring our own jackets, gloves and boots. We kept our eye on the weather forecast and brought our regular riding gear. Temps averaged around 20*C which in my opinion is perfect riding weather and if it got warmer I now had the luxury to store parts of our gear in the bags.
When it comes to what ER requires for licensing that is very simple. All you need is a Motorcycle license that is valid from your residence location that allows you to ride the same motorcycle style or size. I called to initially confirm this due to the fact like an idiot even with 15 years of riding I still have my M2 and just wanted to be 100% before making the reservation.
Here is the bike as we received it:
Specs on the motorcycle:
Picking up the rental:
We got a cab from our hotel which was about $15 and a 8min ride and arrived at ER at 11:45am. There was a gentleman who was on the phone who immediately acknowledged us and said he would be right with us. 10min later he was still by himself and the phone was ringing off the hook. He stated that everyone else from the office were out at lunch and he was try to get us on the way asap.
Unfortunately I understand this situation all to well working in a similar position you try to help everyone, the customers calling and the customers in front of you and you stretch yourself thin. He managed in between calls to explain the insurance options and take our payment for the insurance and the $1000 deposit. However this did take about an hour which I was told was not normal and he was very apologetic. He gave us our paperwork and we were told to wait outside for another guy to go over the bike with us and then we would be on our way.
20min later and we finally had our guy. He asked how long we had been waiting and was appalled. He asked what he could do to better the situation and I'm sure he could have given us a discount or more time but all I asked for was some drinks and to make sure no one else had to wait like that again he agreed and we began inspecting the bike and going over the controls. He was very thorough with going over the idiosyncrasies of a Harley since I had never ridden one. I noted that even though the motorcycle had 20,000miles of rental abuse it was in very good condition. I even noticed that the tires were brand spanking new which he told me to be careful for the first few miles while scrubbing them fully in. With all that completed we were finally on our way!
Well not quite I chose to go around the block first before throwing the new wife on the back of a new to me motorcycle:
Where we decided to go:
Close to Las Vegas there are tons of protected parks. Well not tons but there are 5 within 2 hours of riding. So if you are all about scenery then your set. However what I was pleasantly surprised about was the abundance of twisty roads all you have to do is venture slightly off the highway and off into the desert mountains and your set. After discussing with my wife we chose for day one to do the Hoover Dam and for day two to do the loop from Vegas to the Valley Of Fire and then back to Vegas via Lake Mead.
Map provided by ER
So I figured i would do a full ride report describing myself and my wife's experience with renting a motorcycle and exploring the area around Las Vegas during our Honeymoon.
Choosing the motorcycle:
I chose to rent from Eagle Rider based on reviews I found online and the availability of a specific model that I was looking for. I have ridden sport bikes for the past 15 years and have recently been considering either switching to a cruiser or purchasing a cruiser to do more long distance rides and be able to carry gear. After speaking to a few HD riders I was advised to try a Street Glide, Electra Glide or Heritage Softail. I personally have always liked the bagger look as seen on the Street Glides so that's what I chose. I knew the Electra Glide would be better for the wife but she told me anything's better the back of a sport bike. So that made things simple Street Glide it was.
Costs, Gear and License Requirements:
So here is the big thing everyone wonders how much does it cost? Well lets say I feel its actually pretty reasonable in total for the rental and insurance it was $490.14 for 48 hours which included full insurance with a $1000 deductible, GPS rental and two brain buckets for myself and the wife. We picked up the bike on Wednesday at 12pm and had it till Friday at 12pm. This gave us an afternoon to get acquainted with the bike before taking her out for a full day and then another morning to see some attractions around town. I think next time I would throw in another full day as we were not able to get to all the locations we wanted.
As for the rest of our gear we chose to bring our own jackets, gloves and boots. We kept our eye on the weather forecast and brought our regular riding gear. Temps averaged around 20*C which in my opinion is perfect riding weather and if it got warmer I now had the luxury to store parts of our gear in the bags.
When it comes to what ER requires for licensing that is very simple. All you need is a Motorcycle license that is valid from your residence location that allows you to ride the same motorcycle style or size. I called to initially confirm this due to the fact like an idiot even with 15 years of riding I still have my M2 and just wanted to be 100% before making the reservation.
Here is the bike as we received it:
Specs on the motorcycle:
Picking up the rental:
We got a cab from our hotel which was about $15 and a 8min ride and arrived at ER at 11:45am. There was a gentleman who was on the phone who immediately acknowledged us and said he would be right with us. 10min later he was still by himself and the phone was ringing off the hook. He stated that everyone else from the office were out at lunch and he was try to get us on the way asap.
Unfortunately I understand this situation all to well working in a similar position you try to help everyone, the customers calling and the customers in front of you and you stretch yourself thin. He managed in between calls to explain the insurance options and take our payment for the insurance and the $1000 deposit. However this did take about an hour which I was told was not normal and he was very apologetic. He gave us our paperwork and we were told to wait outside for another guy to go over the bike with us and then we would be on our way.
20min later and we finally had our guy. He asked how long we had been waiting and was appalled. He asked what he could do to better the situation and I'm sure he could have given us a discount or more time but all I asked for was some drinks and to make sure no one else had to wait like that again he agreed and we began inspecting the bike and going over the controls. He was very thorough with going over the idiosyncrasies of a Harley since I had never ridden one. I noted that even though the motorcycle had 20,000miles of rental abuse it was in very good condition. I even noticed that the tires were brand spanking new which he told me to be careful for the first few miles while scrubbing them fully in. With all that completed we were finally on our way!
Well not quite I chose to go around the block first before throwing the new wife on the back of a new to me motorcycle:
Where we decided to go:
Close to Las Vegas there are tons of protected parks. Well not tons but there are 5 within 2 hours of riding. So if you are all about scenery then your set. However what I was pleasantly surprised about was the abundance of twisty roads all you have to do is venture slightly off the highway and off into the desert mountains and your set. After discussing with my wife we chose for day one to do the Hoover Dam and for day two to do the loop from Vegas to the Valley Of Fire and then back to Vegas via Lake Mead.
Map provided by ER
