Dave from WI

I've returned home safe and sound. I want to thank you again for providing me with a great experience in Arizona! I've rented motorcycles from various agencies before and can say without hesitation that your's is the most professional, organized and friendly that I've dealt with. Nobody else offered the maps and suggestions for roads and sights the way you did. I would, and will, recommend your agency to friends and acquaintances who ride and will certainly do business with you again if I get back that way.

Unfortunately, I took no pictures as I didn't have a camera with me but will have to rely on memory to relive the experience.

Sport Touring (ST) experience

Living in the middle class has its rewards, but also has its limitations. It’s nice to be able to afford a good bike, but there are so many good bikes to want! As the captain of an 850-pound Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glide, my wife Lisa and I enjoy miles and hours together sightseeing beautiful Arizona when time allows, and with cavernous storage capacity, shopping can always be part of the journey. That is our one bike, and it’s what we can afford for now.

As a young man, I would go canyon carving in Southern California riding Bonnevilles and Sportsters and various Hondas long before the term “sportbike” was coined. I think and talk of those days often and how I would like to ride a high performance bike again. Then one day Lisa told me to go rent one.

O.K. You don’t have to tell me twice!

After a brief search of the local rental bike scene on the internet, I discovered AZRide.com by MCTOURS LLC, and that is how this started.

I spoke with Monica by telephone to verify some details. Those details were very clear on their excellent website, but I was in disbelief. But sure enough, they had the best rates and the coolest bikes! I was giddy!

Reserving a BMW F800ST on the website was a “piece of cake”. Monica called me the next day with the good news, and I was off on the Harley to pick up my “adventure partner”.

Their shop was clean and bright and I remember commenting: “This is part garage and part living room”. Evidence to me that enthusiasts work here. Gabor was busy preparing an RT in the “garage”, and Monica called me to a nicely arranged pair of tables so as to finalize the paperwork. She is very professional and courteous, and cares deeply about her customer’s well being, offering several options for insurance. She had me signed up and ready in mere moments.

Gabor had staged up the F800ST and was waiting for me to perform a “pre-flight” inspection. His demeanor is polite and unassuming, and is a wealth of information, both on motorcycling and life in general. I believe I could talk with both of them for hours; they presented themselves as friends.

There was a special place in a warehouse building next door for me to store my Harley, and Gabor didn’t seem to mind that I had forgotten my gloves there, as we had to walk back and get them.

3, 2, 1, Blast-off

I wasn’t sure that I would be able to tolerate the Scorpion EXO helmet that was provided, so I packed my open-face helmet into the expandable pannier that the F800ST came equipped with. It fit with room to spare.

I saddled up and said a prayer that I would not damage this very very nice motorcycle.

I tested the brake action twice before leaving the parking lot. I listened to the sounds and took in the “feel” of the engine and chassis as I cruised slowly down the street. I became familiar with the power curve as the RPMs changed under load. This was not an Electra Glide.

The freeway on-ramp offered me a glimpse of the straight-line acceleration. Wow! …And I wasn’t even really getting on it!

A motorcyclist on a crowded freeway at rush hour must seem a strange thing to most people. Yet I felt confident in that environment knowing that my BMW had the torque and flickability to “dodge the bullets”. I was home in no time and I sat and stared at the ST, parked in my garage.

I took Lisa around town on it later, and while it is much smaller than what she is accustomed to, she appreciated the smoothness and excitement of higher performance as we zipped around the curves by the shopping mall.

Tortilla Flat And Back

Tuesday morning was a perfect “Arizona day”; cool and windless. I knew that somewhere someone was shoveling snow. But we don’t shovel sunlight; we ride!

I decided that the Scorpion EXO helmet was the better way to go, and was very glad I chose it. Not only is it smart for crash protection, but the bugs hit hard and could have disfigured my otherwise grandfatherly good looks. I thought about Gabor’s foresight and wisdom as I stopped to clean the face-shield several times with spray cleaner and a cloth that he put in the pannier. Thanks, Gabor!

The ST felt solid and stable as I rode up to the Lost Dutchman State Park area, but I’ll admit to feeling just a little intimidated, as I knew that the first several hair-pin turns ahead were sharp and high-banked and I would really rather sit in a dentist’s chair than return the bike with scratches and broken parts. I had test-ridden plenty of performance motorcycles in town, but hadn’t ridden one on twisty mountain roads in twenty-five years.

This is where I thought I would “take up where I left off twenty five years ago”, but I already knew that this bike had more quality, power and cornering ability than anything I had ridden in my life. (Straight-line launches on V-rod’s and ZX14’s notwithstanding)

The Sonoran springtime topography is hard to ignore, even while relearning how to negotiate sharp turns on a rented motorcycle. Arizona has, without a doubt, the most beautiful desert. There are flowers and plants and birds as well as rock formations and a beautiful blue sky that demands to be admired!

The first several turns now behind me, a confidence factor took hold right away, that allowed me to relax and get to the real pleasure of riding. Tipping into turns this way and that, feeling the geometry, studying the change of trail as the brakes are applied, learning the response of inputs like acceleration from the apex, or standing the bike up quickly to avoid a pot-hole. Even abrupt maneuvers (responding to gravel in the road) never unsettled the ST’s chassis. It is a “bike-on-a-rail”.

Whether for numbness of my wrist (a personal problem), or catching up to sightseers, I stopped several times at turnouts and was never dissatisfied with the view. The smell of sage and other desert flora was heavenly! At one stop, a brilliantly red cardinal fluttered up and landed on a branch, not twenty feet away. I marveled at the beauty and thought about how it fits perfectly with motorcycling.

Redundancy is boring, and I could just about describe every turn, every straightaway, every hill, and every stop-and-stare at every turnout. Enough to say that this was without a doubt my most enjoyable motorcycling experience. That’s pretty tough to say with a failing memory like mine, but for one, the BMW F800ST is the finest performing motorcycle I have ever ridden. Secondly, Arizona is the perfect place to ride in the springtime. Suffice it to say that my confidence level with the bike was established, and before I left the” twisties”, I became the bike… or it became me. BMW engineers must have ray-gun-sensor-mind-reader thingies that spy on me in my sleep.

At the bottom of the hill I felt more than just a little sad that the experience was over, and I began to calculate in my mind the cost per mile overage… What the heck, when will I be able to do this again? I turned around and went back up; at least to the lookout over the lake. I’m really glad I did, too. Just the extra icing on the cake to make it satisfying. Yup, that’s more like it, a “do over” of my favorite thing!

I did feel a sadness though, as I traveled back home. This was truly an excellent and memorable adventure.

Not mentioning Tortilla Flat was an oversight. While I did not stop this trip, my focus was the BMW and the ride, I highly recommend going to the restaurant and milling around the area. Quite a bit of history there and it’s entertaining looking at the old time artifacts and buildings. The menu is burgers, dogs, chili, Mexican food… cowboy fare.

Back at AZRide headquarters, I reluctantly returned the Beemer to Gabor and Monica. I remember admonishing them to be sure to take care of my new bike. We conversed about my experience, and they were eager and interested. They even asked about Lisa’s opinion, and before long Gabor had me sitting on the BMW R1200RT. I stroked my beardless chin and cogitated. There’s no way I can afford a Harley, an F800ST and an R1200RT…

I guess I don’t have to. AZRide has my motorcycles. They keep them maintained, clean and shiny, insured, and ready for me to take them on more adventures. Next trip, the RT will accommodate Lisa comfortably. Oh, boy! Now I am excited!

As I pulled out of the AZRide driveway, all of those wonderful thoughts still spinning around in my head, I figured it best if I didn’t mention any of it to the Harley. Jealousy, you know.

(Posing with open-face helmet, showing my grandfatherly good looks)

Dennis Simpson, Gilbert, AZ

Great Ride, Great Bike, Great Service

Monica and Gabor, the bike was great, performed flawlessly and I had a blast.... What I thought was going to be a two day ride, Phoenix - Payson - Flagstaff - Sedona - Prescott - Phoenix turned into a one day ride.. Didn't want to get off the bike....

You all made renting an enjoyable experience. Will recommend you to all my friends!