Phoenix Bike Rentals

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near Harrow, Ontario, Canada
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'83 BMW R100RS
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Pete’s Excellent Desert Adventure - Part II
On Thursday, my cousin & I rode from Phoenix to Roosevelt Lake stopping for lunch a cool place that is a combination diner, hardware store, butcher shop, gas station and saloon. Wow - only in Arizona!

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We then stopped at the Roosevelt Dam and inspected the very picturesque steel arch bridge over the mouth of the Salt River which provides a good portion of the water supply for metro Phoenix. What a magnificent setting and on such a beautiful day!

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So, that was another 200 miles or so on the rented H-D Street Glide - and I like it.....not as much as my XS650 or ST1300, but it’s more than OK.
 
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Joined
May 27, 2014
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Tempe, AZ
That it is!
And that it isn't covered with white stuff helps a lot too!
:D
Agree, presently sitting in the Northern latitudes where the day time temp struggles to breakout of the single digits and everything is covered in this white substance. I feel for all these Northern latitude riders who must STore/winterize their rides. Soon to be back and riding in those prime desert conditions.
 
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Brookfield,WI
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Used Az Ride a two years ago. Good selection. As far as your gear, have it shipped to the rental place or your hotel with a return label.
 

DavidR8

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Used Az Ride a two years ago. Good selection. As far as your gear, have it shipped to the rental place or your hotel with a return label.
We traveled with ours at the beginning of December when we went to SFO.
Was a complete success.
We didn't ship because of the cost of shipping a large suitcase.

We flew in on Sunday, too late to pick up the bike. Went to the Eaglerider via Uber the day with the suitcase. Left it there.

When we were leaving we packed up into large MEC (like REI) canvas bags and stuck those in the panniers.

Got to Eaglerider and stripped out of gear and away to the airport.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Joined
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near Harrow, Ontario, Canada
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'83 BMW R100RS
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8870
I simply mailed my helmet, gloves and a light jacket via USPS to my cousin in AZ. I took it across the border to Detroit and posted it there - $26 - and it arrived in three days.

Lots of ways to skin a cat I guess.

Pete
 
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near Harrow, Ontario, Canada
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'83 BMW R100RS
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Pete’s Excellent Desert Adventure - Part III

As some may be aware, I also own a couple of vintage Yamaha XS650s (a 1976 Standard and a 1981 Special which is becoming a Cafe bike) and this note was originally written for the XS650.com forum.

———————————————————————-

Well folks, Saturday, Dec. 30 really was a special day for me. My cousin and I rendezvoused on our Harleys at 8:00 AM and then hit road into Phoenix to Daniel Black’s home where we met he and Mailman at about 9:15 AM (Phoenix is a BIG spread-out city indeed).

Let me tell you all - both Daniel's and Mailman's XS650s are just as pretty in-person as they looked in the calendar nominations. They both really sparkle and sound strong and tight - with that sexy bark that only an XS650 can emit. The four of us then lit out back across town for the breakfast spot where we were joined by AZMan for breakfast. AZMan had some "lubricant containment" issues on his way from Tucson (about 2 hours south of us) but he is a very capable guy and made it OK.

Following breakfast, we rode up to Lake Sujauro (sp?) - about 30-40 min of riding on spectacular twisties through the desert mountains north-east of Phoenix. At the lake we chatted for a while, took some photos and a Boeing B-17 flew overhead (WOW!) Then Daniel, AZMan and I rode back to Phoenix in search of good BBQ and Mailman and my cousin split-off for home. The three BBQ Amigos went to the famous Little Miss BBQ in Phoenix and holy cow (get it?? ;) ) the food was awesome and we even got to meet Daniel’s wife, who joined us for lunch! After that, we parted and I went to return the Harley to Eagle Rider Rentals near Phoenix Airport.

The entire day was a total blast: buddies, bikes and BBQ!

Thank-you so much Daniel, Mailman and AZMan for making time for our visit and to all of you out there in XS650-Forum-Land - I can say that many were mentioned by name and you were missed. This is my second meet-up of XS650.com friends and while they do take a little effort, both events have been absolutely terrific.

We really are a fortunate group.


....and the final chapter on the Harley Street Glide
...

The Eagle Rider rental experience was largely OK - BUT - I was pretty annoyed to run into another E-R renter on my second last day who was also on a Street Glide - but had paid much less than half of what I was paying for exactly the same rental during the same four day period.

We're talking a difference of more than $560 USD - which is big money to me.

Apparently, a few days after I booked in early November, they announced an offer called Harley for the Holidays at $100/day - and I missed it.

I called and mentioned this to them and they eventually offered me a 10% discount on my rental - but I am still annoyed and will likely search for an alternative if I rent again. Sorry about the downer - but that is a pretty sharp (and not in a good way) business practice in my book.

Overall, I did like the bike, but found it to be ponderous. I am used to big heavy bikes (have you ever ridden a Honda ST1300?) but the Harley seemed to try hard to feel heavier than it was while other large bikes I have ridden appeared to work to disguise their weight.

Anyhow - the H-D is a cool ride and I liked it....but, not for a long-term purchase.

Cheers,

Pete
 
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OP
ddemair
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
812
Location
central NJ
Bike
2010 Honda ST13
Pete’s Excellent Desert Adventure - Part III
Thanks for the ride report. I'll be in Phoenix in April. I'm renting a Goldwing from Arizona Fun Time Rentals for 7 days.

I won't be hitting the same areas as you. I'll be heading mostly north. Here's a summary of my plans:

Day 1 130 miles
Arizona fun time rentals, Phoenix, AZ
480-968-2522
visit: Montezuma Castle
Sedona, AZ

Day 2 190 miles
through Flagstaff, AZ
through Winslow, AZ
visit: Petrified National Park
Holbrook, AZ

Day 3 210
grand canyon Village, AZ

Day 4 150 miles
visit: Grand Canyon on Desert View Drive
Lake Powell ,AZ

Day 5 150 miles
Bryce Canyon National Park visitor center
Visit: Bryce Canyon
Bryce, UT

Day 6 280 miles
visit: Parowan petroglyphs
Hendersen, NV

Day 7 300 miles
visit: Hoover Dam
Arizona fun time rentals, phoenix, AZ
 
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OP
ddemair
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
812
Location
central NJ
Bike
2010 Honda ST13
I just got back from my tour. I rented a Gold Wing from Arizona Fun Time Rentals. It's pretty much a one-man show and the owner (Jerry) was a pleasure to deal with at every step. I highly recommend him if you're ever out that way. He only has the 1 Gold Wing. It's a 2014 anniversary edition and really nice. He also has several Harleys.

Considering that my usual ride is an ST1300, here are some thoughts on the Wing:

I really missed the electric windshield and it's interesting that the ST windshield is actually more effective than the Wing's when raised. Most of the time I kept the windshield at the lowest setting because I didn't find that it helped enough when raised to justify looking through it rather than over.

The cruise control was simply marvelous. Not only did it work flawlessly, but it maintained speed so accurately that there was no noticeable surging when going up or down hills. This is something I've heard about on other bikes and even my car will vary up/down about 1 mph.

At first, I found the upright riding position less than ideal for a feeling of being in control, but after a while, I got quite used to it and rode it like the touring bike that it is rather than asking it to emulate a sports bike. The handling at speed was impeccable and the bike has more capabilities than I need or can use.

Power was interesting. It's not as fast as the ST and doesn't feel or sound right when you start getting up over 5K, but there's really no need to wring it out either since it has plenty of torque everywhere. I wouldn't crack the throttle at 1K, but it will accelerate from there, very much unlike the ST. Power is smooth, steady and more than enough, especially for a touring bike.

The gas tank could be larger. It does have a range of about 200 miles, but since I was riding places where sometimes the the next gas stop was 100 miles away, I did have to plan my stops. It's not really a big problem, but it's something I'm not used to with an ST1300 range of close to 300 miles and the Gold Wing is so comfortable, it's easy to do much more than 200 miles without even stopping to stretch.

Passenger comfort was 1st class. My girlfriend was perfectly comfortable riding through a full tank of gas. And now she wants me to buy one!!! I told her I can't afford a new one (which is what I would want) and she said she'd be happy with a used one. I may have opened a can of worms here, but it will still be a while before I buy a Wing.

And finally, what I liked best... this thing may be close to 1,000 lbs, but it carries it's weight low and feels very stable even at walking speeds. I was never concerned about a tip-over and that's still something I'm careful about with my ST. And once rolling, this heavyweight is rock-steady and confidence-inspiring. I did hit some 30 to 40 mph cross-winds that were seriously annoying and the gusts did move me a few inches left and right, but it was mostly annoying and mentally-draining. The bike itself took it in stride.
 

SupraSabre

48 Years of SoCal Lane Splitting/Commuting-Retired
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If I could ever get all four of my bikes running at the same time, I should open up a ST1300 Rental service! :bl13: :bk13::bk13: and coming soon :dr13: (the '04#1 will probably wind up red ;)

Better yet, ST1300 Touring company! Could I ever take you places! :rofl1:
 
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