So cal bike rentals and where to ride.

[Wishbone]

Long time lurker first time poster...I think.

I'm going to be in southern California (orange county) at the end of the month and I'm looking for bike rental recommendations. I found a website ride-share that looks promising. Has anyone heard of/used this before? Or should I find a conventional bike rental place? I'm also torn on what to rent. Dunno if I should take the old guy approach and get a touring bike. Or say fuck it to my inevitable shoulder pain that will follow a day on a panigale.

Also looking for route recommendations. I'll only have about a day to explore so hoping to find something worthwhile. Also scenic car road recommendations would be cool too since I'm renting a m4 vert while there.

[breakdirt916]

I’ve used rider-share; the issue I had was mileage limits and the cost of insurance higher than the rental.

What do you wanna ride?

Aside from Ortega/commuter highway, Budget 1-2 hours from OC for better stuff.

What do ya wanna ride? Mad twisties? Scenic Mountains/elevtation? Coastal? Desert touring? Off road? Sight seeing? Some ish might be snowed in

[Wishbone]

If I think about it with my teenage mentality I say mad twisties with clip ons and rear sets. But old man me says FJR and coastal sight seeing.

It wasn't a trip I was planning. But my gram is on hospice and id like to see her one last time. But I'm also going to be a little selfish and drown my sorrows on a borrowed bike. So IDK really.

[MattR302]

Riders Share and Twisted Roadsre the two main P2P ones
Ari from Revzilla/youtube is in LA and rents his Versys 650 on one of them.
Breakdirt and OneCheek currently live out there and can probably suggest routes.
Sorry to hear about Gram

[FriskyDingo]

.......Also scenic car road recommendations would be cool too since I'm renting a m4 vert while there.

very nice

[TheIglu]

I rented an MT-07 from Eaglerider in Hawthorne a couple years ago when I was there for work. Did a couple epic riding days with breakdirt916 (thanks again!) and it was a good experience. Bike was well maintained with good tires.

[OneCheekRider]

What are your time and/or mileage constraints? Are you comfortable lane splitting? Consider these factors when choosing a bike. Depending on pace and how much stopping you do for breaks/pics you can potentially knock out a lot of the local roads around OC - even in one day if you're ambitious enough - it's surprisingly not that much mileage although my definition of mileage could very well differ from yours.

The most simple thing to suggest would be to simply ride/drive Malibu -- it's close, very scenic, fun, and has some sight seeing opportunities with plenty of food options. I can also suggest some 'local' 400 mile routes. There's really a lot of opportunity out here so once you get a better idea of what you're looking to do, we can probably better tailor a ride. If it's on a weekend, I'd happily lead a ride as well but you must lane split comfortably, I just can't do traffic.

Same routes I do on the bike are what I'd suggest for a car. I personally don't enjoy taking a car in the canyons though and especially despise sitting in traffic.

[Stoneman]

I wish I could remember the place we rented a motorcycle from about 17 years ago. Then again, it's probably not even around anymore. It was around Laguna Beach and they were fuckin' slimy ass mother fuckers. I really wish I could remember (if they're even still around) to advise you NOT to use them.

[nhbubba]

I rented a bike from Eagle Rider in San Diego a few years back for a week long tour up and down the Sierras. It was epic. Bike was solid and they didn't give me a hard time about anything even when I passed the bike back with a ton more miles than my contract allowed for.

[Wishbone]

Thanks everyone for the tips. I guess I'll ask for better information on routes when I figure out what I'm doing. Planning on renting the bike Sunday 28th until Monday sometime. Onecheekrider maybe I'll try to catch up with you to show me around. But for now I need to hit up breakdirt since we haven't ridden together since dirt bikes at the summer nationals ��

[PurplePackage]

I can send you a sign-up discount for both twisted road and rider's share. Not sure how much the discount will be this season, but its worth the click.

[nick5446]

I've used Riders Share and like it. You'll get more options than going the traditional route, especially in SoCal. If you can, bring your own helmet and gear; I think most charge extra to use theirs, and it'll inevitably be terrible.

[Wishbone]

I can send you a sign-up discount for both twisted road and rider's share. Not sure how much the discount will be this season, but its worth the click.

Can't hurt to try it. Send it over, please.

I've used Riders Share and like it. You'll get more options than going the traditional route, especially in SoCal. If you can, bring your own helmet and gear; I think most charge extra to use theirs, and it'll inevitably be terrible.

Yeah I'll definitely bring my own gear. Even the thought of wearing someone else helmet gives me a case of the icks lol. Plus after wearing phantoms for years I couldn't imagine using anything else.