There is a new solution for renting motorcycles called Riders Share which enables owners to rent out their motorcycles. There is a fee along with chosen insurance coverage.

What a great idea. I had dreamed about some subscription-type service that would just let you try different bikes. So far I have rented a couple of Harley Davidson cruisers. First was a Street Bob which I was not that crazy about. Looks cool but the bars and steering dynamic didn’t instill a lot of confidence.

My second rental was the Fat Bob which has a more sportbike style front end, twin discs, and even better, an exposed knob to up the rear mono-shock pre-load. I bottomed out the Street Bob quite a few times on some of the more challenging back roads like Stage.

The experience of renting the two bikes was great. The site manages the scheduling, payment, and you check in with comprehensive photos to document the bike’s condition. Both renters let me leave my Suzuki DR350 with them so it could not have been more convenient.

It’s funny that getting to the rental and going home just makes me appreciate my ’97 DR even more. It still amazes me how fun this bike is. It can go as fast as most bikes on the roads I ride with that long travel DP suspension that just smooths out any road. I’ll keep trying lots of different bikes but will always have the DR!