If you could rent one of the motorcycle in the attached pictures for three weeks which ones would be the top two choices and why?
Background:
I work abroad and will be home for three weeks, I have travel allowance that is meant to cover plane tickets and for other reasons my flights are comp'd so I get to spend it on a limited list of things, one of which is a vehicle and gas. I had wanted to rent a nice car as I am in Utah and the weather in October will likely be so so but I couldnt find anything I would really care to rent to blow the money on, all the nice cars are booked out for the entirety of October.
I have some riding experience, 92' Suzuki Bandit 400 for 4 years, 76' Suzuki 750 (wiseco 850 bore job) for the past 5 years but I only really rode it consistently for maybe three years (one of which was through the entire winter in Salt Lake) and a 01' Suzuki Bandit 1200 (Stage 2 jet kit, 1300 bore job, gsxr cams, etc.. it was built up by an uncle and has moved around in the family) which I rode a good amount for about 2 years. I have not really been on anything in two years.
Also if anyone has experience renting from eaglerider I would like to know how things went.
If it were me, I would choose one of the BMW's; but if I was planning on putting on a whole lot of miles, then I would go for the Gold Wing. (and this from a Harley owner)
For the kind of riding I like to do, of those choices, it would be the F6B or the K1600 but, that's me. I'm also biased though, I ride a Valkyrie with a flat 6.
That hadn't even occured to me as a possibility. A different one each week is a great idea. Riding will more than likely be mostly around town with the possibility of some longer rides down south, mostly freeway, or west on rural highways with some decent curves. I would like to get into the mountains to the east and north east but it will likely be too late weather wise by then.
I am thinking I want to do a harley, triumph and BMW and leaning towards the Harley Sporster 1200, BMW F800 GT, and am totally unsure on the Triumph. I am a smaller guy (5'10'' - 175#) and tend to have an inclination towards lighter and smaller bikes. I liked the big ol'bandit but that was about as big feeling I would really want to go taking the goldwings off the table (maybe another time) and the harley trike. The can am is tempting purely for the novelty of it.
That hadn't even occured to me as a possibility. A different one each week is a great idea. Riding will more than likely be mostly around town with the possibility of some longer rides down south, mostly freeway, or west on rural highways with some decent curves. I would like to get into the mountains to the east and north east but it will likely be too late weather wise by then.
I am thinking I want to do a harley, triumph and BMW and leaning towards the Harley Sporster 1200, BMW F800 GT, and am totally unsure on the Triumph. I am a smaller guy (5'10'' - 175#) and tend to have an inclination towards lighter and smaller bikes. I liked the big ol'bandit but that was about as big feeling I would really want to go taking the goldwings off the table (maybe another time) and the harley trike. The can am is tempting purely for the novelty of it.
Oh, if you aren't going to do any long time on it, yeah, throw a Harley in there. I missed the BMW. That would be up there with the Honda.
So I am still planning to do this and I am going to do three bikes. After reading reviews online (and because my drivers license expired while abroad ) I am going to put off making a reservation until I am in town and can check out the local franchise and the bike before giving them my credit card details as they have a strict no refund policy, my company will pay either way but I do not want to deal with the headache. I will let you guys know how things go.
from the test rides i have done and the last few rides i did. If you are looking at a harley i would recommend at least a dyna series. Just was a more refined bike all around over the sportsters.
I'm a Harley guy so I'm biased. The Sportster is nice, quick and agile. But I outgrew that quickly, very quickly. The (older) Dyna's were my choice, liked the style. But the Softail's are a more comfortable ride. For me, I'd go with the Electra Glide, Road King & Trike, only because I hadn't ridden one. Lazy Boy on two wheels I'm thinking!!
If you are going to ride out of town, I recommend the Road King. Rented one in Hawaii, rode all day and most of the next day and it was the most comfortable bike I have ever rode. However, if you are going to be riding in traffic, I would stay away from it, the big motor will cook you!
Just wanted to let anyone who sees this thread in the future know about my experience with Eagle Rider. I ended up renting the BMW F800GT for 10 days, the Triumph Tiger 800 for 2 days, and a HD Sportster 1200 for 9 days.
Eagle Rider was very accommodating, they gave me a free pair of gloves as I could not find mine and were able to help my girlfriend with a jacket and helmet at no additional cost. The first BMW had ABS and ACS warning lights after a few days which I did not like, I took it back and they swapped me out without any problems. Because I dont like the absolutely no refunds policy I didnt make any reservations. This created a problem when I went to pick up the sportster as it needed license plates. So I borrowed the Tiger for two days (just my 0.02 but the Tiger is a better bike in almost every way compared to the F800).
I had no real problems with the bikes or Eagle Rider and would recommend the Salt Lake location very highly.
If there's any chance the weather won't cooperate, rent the Can-Am. I test rode one last spring at the local dealer. The weather was a mixture of rain and pea sized hail and I never thought twice about traction, in the straights or the curves. The Can-Am is a different riding experience but fun in it's own way. You can't quite dive into corners like you can on 2 wheels but I'd still own one (if I was in the market for a $30k ride). The BMW R1200 RT is a good bike as is the Indian Chieftain (the Indian 111 motor has stupid amounts of torque and you can't beat the sound). The only one of the Harleys I'd want to ride would be the Ultra. I'd ride the 1800 Wing over the F6B as the big Wing (I know they have the same motor) has more comfort/convenience features than the cut down model (I don't think the F6B even has cruise control). The big Wing handles better than 90% of the other big bikes out there. Too bad they don't rent Victorys. I just sold a Victory Vision. It handled well, rode well and had plenty of power. Not exactly the bike you want if you're trying to impress people since the front end looked like Bozo the Clown. (I liked it but that's another story.)
All depends on what you want to do with the bike. A lot of those don't handle well, some aren't much for a long ride. I see someo of them have pretty limited "free" mileage. If I was on vacation, 200 miles would barely get me to breakfast. Once you get on a Wing, Harley Ultra, Indian, Can-Am or the K or R BMW and I think you'll find you WANT to do a 500 mile day (or 4).
Wait! I just looked at the Eagle Rider site. You said you're planning on being in Utah? The only Eagle Ride location in Utah is in SLC and it looks like they don't rent bikes from mid October through mid March.
I WAS in salt lake. My vacation is sadly over already I rented from the 10th to the 30th of October and it was their off season but depending on your relationship with them and the weather I get the impression they will rent to you year round.
I have never been a fan of big bikes, small and nimble is how I like em, if you can stuff a big engine in a smaller package all the better I say so the Wing, Ultra, and Indian dont really appeal to me. I would like to try a Can-Am eventually purely for the novelty of it.
) a real trike.
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) I am going to put off making a reservation until I am in town and can check out the local franchise and the bike before giving them my credit card details as they have a strict no refund policy, my company will pay either way but I do not want to deal with the headache. I will let you guys know how things go.
I rented from the 10th to the 30th of October and it was their off season but depending on your relationship with them and the weather I get the impression they will rent to you year round.
so the Wing, Ultra, and Indian dont really appeal to me. I would like to try a Can-Am eventually purely for the novelty of it.
