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Thinking about a holiday motorcycle excursion


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#1 aurelius

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Posted 27 August 2016 - 02:48 PM

But I don't own a motorcycle. Don't want one. Has anyone ever rented a motorcycle? Or even heard of renting one? Good or bad experience?



#2 RShack

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Posted 28 August 2016 - 05:01 PM

I have no direct experience in renting a bike.

 

Eaglerider looks like they have an interesting membership deal to help make it affordable.  They also have a good range of kinds of bikes for touring.  (Riding a Harley feels way different than riding a BMW.)

 

If I was doing it while on vacation in some far flung place, I'd probably favor renting from a manufacturer, as they presumably really, really want you to have a very convenient time, to encourage you to want to buy one.  I know a guy who owns a Harley mainly because he likes to rent a bike when he travels to exotic places and (according to him as of a 15 years ago), Harley had a special rental program that was available only to Harley owners which made renting a brand-new or nearly-new Harley way, way cheaper than it otherwise would have been, it was a special perq of owning one.   When I just now looked to see, their rental program makes no mention of anything special for Harley owners, but I don't know if that means anything or not.  Leaving that out of it, renting a new one ain't cheap.  http://www.harley-da...ent-a-bike.html

 

Regardless, you're gonna need a motorcycle license in order to rent one.  (I don't really know, but bet Harley also makes you actually ride one around in front of them before they turn you loose on a new 'Glide.)

 

If you don't already have a motorcycle license, it's easy to learn to ride well enough to get one.  Harley dealers used to teach you how for next to nothing.  Or you can do it on your own, if you can borrow a bike from somebody.  

 

You're also gonna need a helmet.  I would not settle for a cheap helmet, I'd spend too much money to actually buy a really, really good one.  (You only have one skull.)   Don't even think about the silly looking minimalist ones that some of the more foolish Harley guys wear.

 

If you're new to riding, remember that the 1st six months of doing it regularly is the most dangerous.  Once the new wears off, people get too confident too soon.  Riding a bike means you should never not be paranoid, simply because the clown in the pickup truck has lots of sheet metal surrounding him in places where you-on-a-bike only has skin and bones.  

 

(Oh, and don't mention to anybody who's an MD or RN at Shock/Trauma or in an ER that you're thinking about doing this.  You don't wanna hear their stories.   Which is not to say you shouldn't do it.  It can be great fun... and perfectly safe, assuming you're careful.. it's just that ER staff are never exposed to that side of it...)


 "The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige


#3 aurelius

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 02:32 PM

Thanks. My brother has a Harley. Maybe he can rent me one at a discount. I think I'd rather ride a Honda tho. My biker cousins swear by them.



#4 RShack

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 07:14 PM

Thanks. My brother has a Harley. Maybe he can rent me one at a discount. I think I'd rather ride a Honda tho. My biker cousins swear by them.

 

Harley's are a world unto themselves... the company has done a great job of selling updated 1930's technology... 

 

Honda's are great...

 

BMW's are *smooth*...  they invented having a driveshaft instead of a drive chain during WW2... because Rommel's Afrika Corp's bikes kept getting screwed up from all the desert sand... (they used to be the only ones with driveshafts, but then Honda started doing it for some of their bikes too...)


 "The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige





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