Riding in Vegas

[carraway]

Help save me from the shame of renting a Harley!  I will be in Las Vegas from Dec 18 to 21.  I plan on renting a bike and riding for a couple of days.  I am having difficulty finding a bike (other than an HD) to rent.  There is a company called SportBikeRental that, allegedly, has Ducs but there are closed til Jan.  Any help much appreciated. If I do end up with an HD I think it will be the Sportster.  Can anyone tell me about this bike?  Any suggestions for day trips.  I kinda wanted to go the Grand Canyon but I think it is too far for a day trip, am I wrong?  I was also thinking about Red Rock Canyon.  Any other advice/info would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Slide Panda]

Eagle Riders

http://www.eaglerider.com/Rentals.aspx

All sorts of bikes, HD, BMW, Honda, even a Duc and Guzzi here an there.  All different sorts, cruisers, ADV, sport, ST 


If you went HD...
HD sportster... IMO you would be drastically underwhelmed.  The 883 Sportsters only put out about as much power as a 620 and weigh twice as much, so it feels very pokey.  Any of the single front disc HDs would probably give an "Oh crap!" moment or two until you got your head around the *need* to grab a handful of brake to alter the speed.  Oh yeah... ground clearance... is um - lacking.

I did have the chance to take a V-rod for a short spin.  Aside from the lack of clearance (scraped boards a few times) it's engine had sufficient power to get it moving.  It has dual rotors up front, so the braking is more capable.  I could se it being good at what it's inteded to be, a power cruiser.  But it's a bear to wrestle around a parking lot a low spped due to a long rake - it gives the sensation of pushing back at you.  And don't plan to care any canyons (at a clip) the weight, wide rear, and low set doesn't make for quick transitions or lots of lean.

[BastrdHK]

If you are stuck at an HD dealership maybe you can rent a buell.  Guy at work has an 1125R....ugly as hell, but would be a blast if you made it to the big crack in the earth.