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Hi i am looking to ride america coast to coast. Not yet decided whether to go east to west or west to east. am looking at about December time. Would need to hire a couple of bikes. Does any one have any suggestions, advice, tips. Obviously trip in early stages. I was thinking of spending 3 - 4 weeks on trip.

I looked at the Eaglerider website before we went to Massachusetts in July and it seems they do some deals if you return a bike from one point where it was dropped off to it's original depot otherwise I thought otherwise they were a bit pricey IMHO.

Anyhow stranger hope you and Keith are doing fine, Sandy says hi and we'll see you up at Gaydon.

Quote:

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am looking at about December time

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why would you try this at that time of year???

I think the only way you mite be able to try it... is hug the golf coast and even then it would be risky ..

Ed

I agree, hitting the East coast and the mid west during the winter months is not the best idea. May be able to pull it off if you stayed south and the weather held up.

I notice that Jane is from the UK. She may have no idea of the weather patterns in the states. Staying south of the Mason Dixon line would be recommended from December till mid/late spring. However, if one started in late summer/early fall and ended in December, that might be an interesting ride. Start in the northern half and conclude in the southern half. Being from the UK, I'm sure they get some pretty diverse weather year round. But, to respond to the original question of which direction to travel in December, definetly east to west while staying in the south along the I-10 corridor.

OK OK am hearing you. Was thinking of december to co-inside with my 40th birth day. So probably then will have to think about bringing it forward and doing something else. Or then starting in spring summer. Thanks for your advice so far though will definately take it on board. Has anyone heard of reputable bike hire companies. Or recommending places to defineately fit in to itinary? Will look at the I-10 corridor then. The well know tourist spots i know of but is there any recomendations of the beaten track?

This is such a big country Jane, where to begin...
1st off, I don't know if there are any dealers that rent Triumph's but I do know that a lot of Harley dealers rent bikes. 3-4 weeks would cost you a fortune. Might be better off to buy a bike and sell it at the end of the trip. I've heard of people doing that. But as far as places to see....too numerous to mention.

A quick check of Eaglerider shows for ten days a Harley will set you back about $1300 U.S., a Goldwing or BMW about $1500 one way coast to coast. I just put Los Angeles CA to Newark NJ for the estimate.

That probably doesn't include insurance. Figure another $30 per day.

For four weeks, the HD is about $3200, the GW or BMW $3700.

Jane, all the locations that I searched for regarding Triumph rentals all are round trip. If a round trip is do-able (maybe do a eastern round trip, with a possible western one another time) here's a link to a outfit that rents Triumphs in Orlando Florida:

http://www.modernclassicmotorcyclerental.com/

Site says "fully equipped bikes starting at $49.00".

Good luck with your planning.

Jane -
Understand the reasons for doing your trip around your birthday, but weather will be very unpredictable, and near impossible in some of the areas of best scenery.

I met a bloke last summer that was doing4 or 5 weeks in the western US - it was on a harley and he's a harley rider at home, but I probably could put him in touch with you - he's in the New Forest area I believe.
Also, NOBBY, here on this board (he's from over there) did a round the US tour - bought a Triumph here and rode for months, I don't recall what he did with the BA when he left, I know another member here stored it briefly for him.

Anyway, keep us in the loop as you plan - I am sure there are some that would be more than willing to meet up with you on your travels depending on schedules and such!
Take care!
Becky

Jane - if plan is hiring for a month, you are better of BUYING a used bike and selling it when you are done, seriously. Most bike rentals (hirings) are $1000+ per week, MINIMUM and usually more, ($1200) PLUS insurance, (unless you want to charge a damaged bike to your credit card, maybe even a "bond" required). Most rentals are BMW, Harley and Honda, although there may be a Triumph here are there, I haven't seen them.

You may want to buy a bike on eBay on East coast, ride to West and sell on eBay or other means, with auction end to coincide with your arrival for delivery.

You can easily find a used late model, relatively low mileage bike for $4-5000 or even less, and sell for $3-4k minimum, thus you only spent $1-2k for the ride vs. $4-5k hiring. You might even come out close to even given the bike's "story". Get a magazine or TV station to interview you, you might even become famous and bike is profitable! (OK, I'm in marketing, forgive me... but it's happened - internet blogs, etc... have taken hold before).

Echo on schedule, December is possible but RISKY and you'd want to go from Florida straight across to California on I-10 corridor as mentioned (of course, more scenic byways, right? some Route 66 in the western half), but even there can be nasty depending storm and cold front tracks, it's a risky proposition that time of year. You might get lucky, might not.

You would enjoy much more a early Fall track farther North or best, Spring after greening-up has taken hold (April+) across Northeast, Midwest, Rockies (Wyo/Montana) and into N. Cal/Oregon/Wash. You could even follow Minneapolis and famous Minn/Montana "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" book's route for western half, but continue on to Pacific Coast. Or follow the even more famous Lewis and Clark expedition route from St. Louis west, etc... many options. Even better, East/West and return - across North, return South, 2 weeks each way... so many choices!

Keep us up to date on your plans and journey - I'm sure many people would be happy to join you on segments - if you want. Otherwise, enjoy the lone time.

(NorCal) Chuckles

PS - Save some time for PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) on West Coast. Great sections anywhere from Wash/Ore/Calif (switches from scenic to more 4-lane highway some stretches, but overall is incredible - at least 4/6-lane busy sections have Pacific Ocean as view. We're spoiled here and complain about "boring" sections.)

## http://www.modernclassicmotorcyclerental.com/

Site says "fully equipped bikes starting at $49.00". ##


$49 PER HOUR!!! Better call for Long Term Lease. Almost all $100-$130 or up per day depending model.

OK, to follow-up here, and because another friend is looking for rental, I checked out rentals around my area (SF Bay) and requested pricing from Modern Classics. Around my area, most Triumphs start $120-140 per day, then discount for longer periods, and absolute minimum I found was $90 per day if you waive all insurance (then you need big bond payment about $2500/3000 I don't recall).

For Modern Classics in Orlando, here is pricing they told me (note, for 31 days or longer, they expect "weekly inspection" which is tough on cross-country trip!).

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The Bonneville (and Scrambler*) rents for $81 plus sales tax (6.5%) + mandatory Insurance $15 per day with a $3.00 processing fee to the insurance company. That insurance is for $10,000 liability. Optionally (and highly recommended), there is a $4.95 per day SLI available that raises the liability to $300,000. There is a $1000 deductible on the insurance that we place a hold on your credit card for. We DO NOT charge your credit card for that unless the bike is returned damaged. Most credit card companies hold pre-authorization amounts for 30 days.
If you choose the SLI, a 24 hour rental would come out to:
$81 day rate 24 hours
$15 Insurance (up to $10,000) per day
$4.95 SLI (up to $300,000) per day
$3.00 one time processing fee to the underwriter for entire term of rental
$5.27 sales tax
$109.22 per day insured up to $300,000 in liability

*The Thruxton is $111 per 24 hours plus the insurance and tax. A 24 hour rental on the Thruxton will total $141.17 per day insured up to $300,000 in liability.

We ask that with the 24 hour or multiple day rentals that you have a garage or covered and secure area to keep the bikes overnight. We don't want them to sit out in the elements or risk theft or vandalism. You are 100% responsible for the bike during the rental period. A suitable locked cover is acceptable, but not included in the rental.

Day Rentals are available. Rent a Bonneville or Scrambler for 8 hours for $49 plus tax and insurance, $69 for the Thruxton (plus trax & insurance).

Extended Rental Plans
Weekly rentals (7 consecutive days) receive just about a 20% discount off the rental rates, excluding insurance. The Bonneville & Scrambler are $65 per day, plus tax and insurance. The Thruxton is $81 plus tax and insurance.

Extended monthly rental plans for 31 days and up are $60 per day for the Bonneville & Scrambler and $75 for the Thruxton plus tax and insurance. Extended rentals will require a weekly inspection. MCMR reserves the right to charge a cleaning fee at the end of extended rental plans if the bikes are not kept up. We ask that all of our bikes are treated and maintained as if they were your own bike.

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Again, I recommend buy/sell - but then tricky bit is doing work ahead so you have proper title, registration and insurance in your name, but I'm sure some way to get help with that.

Regards
CHUCKLES

Chuckles, I knew the $49. couldn't be per hour, but didn't get a chance to research anything else (I already had the site book marked).

Still, if the logistics could be worked out, using the figures you were given, a 14 day rental would be aprox. $1260. per person (her original question mentioned "a couple of bikes"). That's a lot cheaper than anything they could buy that would be ridable coast to coast. Add to the cost of the bikes what needs to be done to get them on the road. In NC, you have to have a NC address to register a vehicle. Different states have different requirements, but the bikes would still have to be legal to ride.

Myself, I wouldn't want the hassles entailed with buying and then selling a couple of bikes.

Perhaps it might be cheaper and less difficult overall to ship their own bikes over here for the trip. I'll try and look up some info later today.

ps: want to congratulate you on having an America in the perfect color scheme, 2 tone blue.

OMG it seemed such a simple idea. i was over with a friend a few years ago when we hired a car for a couple of weeks. sounds like cars are a lot cheaper. We did theh pacific highway and i think the memory of that is what has kept the idea of riding in my head. Chucles thanks for your research my mind is boggling at the conditions. Love the idea of buying and selling but not sure i fancy the thought of looking mantaining and selling the bikes, and i'm not cut out for notoriety of being on TV! I'd put people off their tea! how long do you think it would take to ride coast to coast comfortably? Maybe i may have to do a shorter trip earlier or later than birthday, but i would like to be in New Hampshire for the fall if possible, and then have another holiday on my birthday. Thanks to everyone who has posted ideas and information, now i'm on holiday i will need to do some proper research and go hunting all these links you have provided!

Jane

I recall a mid November ride in the mountains of NC at Maggie Valley - the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed due to snow. (Riding in snow was not as bad as I had imagined it would be.) A few days later, it snowed while I visited Charleston, SC. Both occurrences of snow there are fairly rare though (as compared to, lets say, the VT / Canada border)

It was probably my fault - a northern states yankee drafting the snow along behind him.

"Where ya from boy?"

"Um, Key West?"