Travel the US by bike, rental and buy options
 

Sorry for asking this question, as I am sure it has been asked many times before. Tried searching the forum but nothing specific came up.

OK! Traveling to the US with a friend to travel by motorbike for around 6 weeks or so. No real route planned as such, but a few must do's on the way. We really just want to wing it.

The question is really about bike rental and if there are any firms out there any one would recommend when doing big miles over the country.

I have looked at the option of buying while there, but a limited budget seems to make this difficult. If anyone can recommend a good place to look in the states for cheap bikes to buy, please do let me know. The trip is flexible to the point where we havent yet commited to a start and finish point, so could land in any state in the US.

Thanks for looking and any advice given would be appreciated. If you have done this before please let me know some tips or routes etc and any good places you recommend.

Cheers everyone
Peter

The cheapest rental bikes I found in the US cost € 60 per day (+/- 90 US $)
For six weeks that is 3780 US $
I don't think renting is a good solution for six weeks. For that money you should be able to buy a second hand bike and try to sell it at the end.

I have a trip report of my USA trip on: http://www.xs4all.nl/~jkrijt/trips/usa2002/index.shtml

Thanks!
What do you think you can realistically buy for that kind of money. Not sure what the score is on road insurance either.

Will take a look at your site
Cheers
Peter

On my planner I have a company for insurance in the States to try.
progressive.com I haven't got a quote yet but give them a try. It was recommended on a thread on here last year.

Road trip in the states
 

I'm planning a similar trip myself in a year or 2 with a couple of mates and are probably going to hire from a company called eaglerider.com. They seam pretty reasonable and check out there specials page where they advertise bikes they want returned to other outlets. You could incorporate some of these specials to reduce costs.

Let us know how the trip goes, enjoy.

EagleRider will run about $150 per day...I don't think that is cheap...but it includes motorcycle and insurance.

Riding in the US
 

Buying a bike in the US can be tough from overseas but there are ways to do it. For general classified ads with bikes for sale by individuals, I would look on Craigslist, cycletrader.com, cycleclassifieds.us and ebay. Also, a lot of local motorcycle retailers in the U.S. keep an inventory of good used bikes so that may be worth checking out as well.

Regarding rentals, Eaglerider is probably the largest and most well known rental agency in the U.S. They have a decent reputation but renting a bike for 6 weeks or so is going to be expensive. If you get hold of a copy of a good US biking magazine [Motorcycle Cruiser, Road Runner, etc.] there will be various classified ads in the back of others who rent bikes in the US.

I'm having the same issue with a bike for a european trip. I want to do a month or so in Europe but not sure i want to ship my bike over [but that likely will not happen.]

Too bad there isn't a system where fellow riders use loaner bikes from other riders resident in the area where they want to ride. I go to Europe I use a loaner bike. You come to the states, you do the same. For owners with multiple bikes it would be a great way to have access to a ride in some other places.

If you take a look under the misc questions you'll find a thread for renting or loaning bikes to other riders.

I did something similar...
 

I've recently got back from 3 months in the US, and bought a bike over there, toured around, and then shipped it back here to continue into Europe...

It may differ in certain states, but in Nevada I was able to purchase a bike, insure it and register it (in my name at a friend's address there) all within 24 hours of landing!

I bought a brand new bike from a dealer, but I'm sure the proceedure would be the same if you were looking at a secondhand machine - a US friend of ours out there bought an almost new KLR650 (2008 model with just 480 miles on the clock!) for $3700 plus tax from another dealer while I was there... At that sort of money, you could use it for 3 months and sell it again for what you paid I'm sure!

Mind you, if you don't intend to bring it back home, then there is the hassle of selling the bike before you leave, unless you have someone out there who can do that for you. Alternatively, a dealer might buy it in from you if you were prepared to take a lower price?

I also used Progressive.com for insurance (I preferred the Geiko TV adverts "an english muffin - loverly...", but they only insure residents, not visitors) and while it wasn't cheap, as a visitor you can get comprehensive cover cover for 49 states and you can pay monthly, and cancel when you leave.

Hope that helps, best of luck!

JennyMo xxx

to Baja and have a Margarita in San Felipe and ride some desert. Search my posts showing pics from Nevada, Mojave deserts, Sierra, Death Valley and Mexico.

Renting a motorcycle in the US for 6 weeks is going to be outrageously expensive. $3500 - $6000:eek3: is what you'll pay. At the end of six weeks, you have nothing.

There are thousands upon thousands of used bikes availible in all price ranges across the US. Registration & insurance are far less troublesome than you think.
You can purchase from a private entity or go to a dealership. Dealerships will charge a bit higher prices, but you won't have to chase around looking for the bike you want.
(I still remember about 20 years ago, there was an advertisement by a private party for a 1980 Kawasaki 1000 in our local newspaper. I called and asked about the bike. The wife was home and she told me the bike was like new. I asked about mileage and she said "less than 10000 miles". I made an appointment to look at the bike. WOW. What a godfersakin wreck. The bike looked like Nemo rode it through Hell......repeatedly. Mufflers were blew out. Rear tire worn down to past bald. :helpsmilie: Gas tank dinged badly on both sides. Side covers both missing. The cam cover had been repaired with JB Weld.....it was a hasty repair that looked like a 9 year old kid did it. The bike wouldn't start. She wanted $1500 for the bike.....but would take $1200 if I bought it within 48 hours. Oh yes....the mileage was 44,000! The bike didn't look like it would make it a mile into town. The bike wasn't worth $100. I asked the woman why she told me the bike had less than 10000 miles on it......when it clearly had 44,000 miles. She said nobody would wanted to see the bike when she gave the actual mileage, so she "lowered" the mileage just to get people to show up!!!! )

Fortunately, few private citizens are this brain dead when it comes to selling motorcycles. But.....it can happen.

If you have a friend or relative in the US that you can trust, they should be able to purchase the bike you desire in your price range. Then you can simply go from the airport to their residence......where the bike will be waiting for you. They will also be able to handle the sale after you depart.

usa bike
 

hi not sure you can buy usa bike here and use it as it will be registered usa and you don't have usa driving license? they wont give aliens one. also you wont get insurance.i think if you want to do it kosher just rent or compare cost of renting and bringing a bike in temp from your country. hope this helps.

I think it all depends on which state you buy and plan to ride in? - my EU (British) driving licence was accepted in Nevada and California etc. and I was able to buy a bike in Nevada, register it in my name to a friends address, and get insurance as an 'alien' with Progressive all within 24 hours of landing! - although as Brittman says in another thread, Geiko won't insure you unless you are a US resident or citizen...

Of course if you plan to stay in the States a long time it is probably best to get a US driving licence (I understand the test in Nevada isn't all that hard x), but travelling as a tourist, an EU photo driving licence and and IDP (Internation Driving Permit, for what they are worth) seems perfectly acceptable with the CHP, and don't I know it... ahem.

JennyMo xxx

Bike swap
 

anyone want to swap my f650 99 model for similar in europe?nextmonth? I also have a harley which is to impress the women (works sometimes).

Bikes in Montana USA
 

All you need in montana is a international driving license. Try the AAA offices, I insure there and my agent said no problem being from another country. Check craigslist classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums. I can buy and then sell the bike afterwards for folks. We did this in the late 70's bought in london and had a blast on a couple of 175 hondas around GB, france and spain.Here in Helena Montana you can buy a KLR for $3000.00, older gold wing for $2000.00 and I just sold a 650 yamaha twin ready to go for $695.00. The dollar is getting cheaper....time to visit the land of cold beer.

Definitely Craigslist
 

CL, CL, CL all the way for buying bikes - it has completely supplanted the formerly $5B USD classifieds market, and it is the absolute #1 option for placing ads - everyone uses it.

As far as insurance - shop around! Progressive is a company that advertises heavily, but I've often found that they are pricey.

Try esurance.com, State Farm, and Allstate as relatively cheap providers. There are sites such as netquote.com and insureme.com that can get you quotes from multiple providers.

Always remember - The upside of the USA being so litigious is a proliferation of insurance options.

Note that different states have very different sales taxes (i.e. Oregon) which can save you a lot of $$$ when registering the bike at the DMV.

Also note that different states have different policies on same-day issuance of new titles - in California, they mail it to you (takes about a week); others issue the same day.

Every state has its own DMV website and can answer questions by phone.

Do a little research on the sites mentioned,I think you'll be pleasantly surprized at the cheapness in the U.S. When I look at classifieds in U.K. magazines the numbers seem comparable but the value of the pound doubles the price for me.
At a recent auction in Fla. I saw a low milage Buell Blast [2000 miles] sell for $1300. KLRs and DR 650s can be had for less than $3000. Older Jap street bikes are around for less than $1000 if you can clean carbs and free up brakes this can be a workable option.
That said I've always wanted to see the British Isles , but I am balked by the George Bush 50 cent dollar. Come to america we're on sale.