The Arizona Motorcycle Experience ®

Never Give Up !!!!

2009-06-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

Dave from WI

2009-05-28T16:10:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-21T15:18:00.004-07:00

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

2009-05-04T09:24:00.002-07:00

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!

Motorcycle Amusement Park

2009-04-20T11:45:00.002-07:00

Arizona Is like a motorcycle amusement park! Most fun motorcycle trip I have ever taken. We found a wonderful B&B in Alpine (Alpine Inn) With beautiful rooms & a fantastic breakfast. The owner drives a vintage Porsche & is a lover of BMW motorcycles. Alpine is located on route 191 (Devils hi-way). You dont want to miss this road , trust me!The K1200 LT we rented was polished to perfection & ran perfect, my wife was able to ride passenger 7 to10 hours a day in total comfort. Looks like a new K1200LT is in my future. Thanks Monica & Gabor for making everything go so smoothly.Darryl & Kathy, New Hudson Mi

Japanese Police Motorcycle Riding Competition

2009-04-17T18:29:00.001-07:00

Don't try to do the same. Just admire them from a distance.

2009-04-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

Another flawless rental from you guys. The BMW 800ST was a lot of fun and in perfect condition; it was the ideal ride for the twisty stretch of road on HWY 89 between Yarnell and Prescott.
Thanks again and I look forward to seeing you next year.
---David, From Toronto

2009-04-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

I had a BLAST on the F800st - and I enjoyed meeting you and Gabor - thanks for an exceptional experience - one thing that was important to me as a solo woman rider was that I have a safe machine to ride - I left your shop w confidence and was not disappointed. Thanks, you guys. MM

2009-04-01T19:23:00.001-07:00

It was a great day and a badly needed break for me...long overdue!
Definitely will see you again in the future!!!

Richard from Tennessee

2009-03-27T16:42:00.001-07:00

Monica, we had an excellent time and highly recommend your service. Bikes were well maintained and the whole process was smooth and trouble-free. A picture of one of our stops on the mountain passes in Eastern AZ:Thanks, Tom

Pete from New York

2009-03-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the great ride and service. Gary and I took a nice loop through Payson, Cottonwood, Presscott and Wicksburg. It was a real work-out for me, just getting back from a bout with pneumonia. The bike performed very well, more vibration than I'm used to on my "K", but still very enjoyable.
When I'm back in town, I will look you up again.

Thanks, Pete

Incredible 4 Day Ride

2009-03-18T18:59:00.002-07:00

I just returned from a 4 day riding trip with 2 friends. Not much went as planned but I wouldn't have changed anything.

Day 1 - Phx to Patagonia........stayed at Stage Coach Motel.....Hit the saloon for some karyoke.
Day 2 - Patagonia to Somwhere near Safford.......Camped at riverview campsites.....if you can find it you should camp there.
Day 3 - Somewhere off Sanchez Rd to Show Low....Camped at Fool Hollow Lake....it's a popular "not rugged" campsite and very nice.

Highlights.....191...191...191.....RIDE IT!! Tombstone is fun also.

This is my second time renting from Monica and Gabor.... Their advice is unrivaled and I don't think anyone maintains their bikes like Gabor (almost bought one that was on sale from them).

spring break for Dave 2009

2009-03-18T16:27:00.003-07:00

Thanks for such an easy time from first contact, to end of ride. Thanks for a wonderfully maintained LT, help with routes, invaluable help with hints for maintenance, cleaning, and for talking with someone who loves to ride. I am a happy customer. I came needing a break, and the experience was more than I had hoped for. Thanks. Dave

AZRide, Scottsdale, AZ

2009-03-08T18:55:00.002-07:00

Just rented a BMW 1200 LT over the weekend for a ride to Karchner Caverns. The bike was great, obviously well maintained, and performed in excess of my expectations.

AZRide "folks" are just the best; so nice, so competent, really know what they are doing and make the whole rental process easy so you can focus on the ride and not the rental. Again, they're the best!!!!

Is this a blog or an endorsement?

Thanks!!!!

Pepe Corazon

Great winter break.

2009-03-08T18:04:00.003-07:00

Jen and I spent a week in Arizona visiting her family and riding a GS around the state. The service and the bike from AZride were great.

We got up to the radar dome:

Greasewood Flats for lunch

Four Peaks

Sedona

And the Apache Trail:

We both had a great time riding in such beautiful country. We'll be back to AZride again when we're back in town! :~)

All photos of our trip are HERE.

Steve and AnaMaria from Ottawa Canada

2009-03-03T12:33:00.003-07:00

We had a wonderful four days of riding around central and northern Arizona. Monica and Gabor were very helpful and knowledgeable about not only the bikes but also which roads were the most scenic to ride.

While you might find a place to rent a motorcycle for less money, you probably won't be able to beat the expertise and personal attention provided by AZRide. Monica and Gabor delivered on their promise and provided motorcycles that were in immaculate condition. The gas tanks were full to start our ride and they even handed us free detailed maps and water bottles(you'll need these "it's a dry heat" as they say).

The following is a list of must ride routes if you are thinking of heading north from Phoenix:
Highway 89A from Prescott to Jerome then Sedona, you'll find high mountain passes and technical twisties with no room for error.
The ride up to the Grand Canyon was arrow straight however the approach to the south rim westbound on 64 was nice enough and once in the Park the road is beautiful you'll spend as much time on foot appreciating the view as you will on the bike. It's a long full day there and back from Camp Verde your better off to stay in Flagstaff.
Southbound 89A from Flagstaff to Sedona was a wild ride, you drop in elevation very quickly along the side of a mountain and all of a sudden your in the heart of Sedona.
Be sure to travel the 260 from Camp Verde to 87 and 188 for long fast sweeping curves that never seem to end who knew highway riding could be so much fun.
Highway 88 from Apache Junction to Tortilla Flat (beginning around Goldfield Ghost Town) was amazing it was rare to get out of second or third gear. If you are on a dual purpose bike you can continue from Tortilla Flat to Roosevelt.

All in all the only disappointment was that we only had four days to enjoy it all. Next time, and there will be a next time, hopefully we can spend at least a week.

All the best and enjoy it while you can!
Steve and AnaMaria Maxwell

Bob & Beth from Massachusetts

2009-02-23T15:01:00.002-07:00

I just want to say thank you, you made renting two bikes for three days so easy to do. The bikes were beautiful, low mileage, well equipped, and so clean we got comments from many people that we talked to along the way. Arizona was such a great place to ride with little traffic and great roads.My only problem is that after riding the R1200GS and seeing the one you have for sale, it looks like Beth wants to move up from her V-Strom.

Austin and Dominick from Michigan

2009-02-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

Thank you, the bikes were great and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Feeniks ride

2009-01-17T15:27:00.002-07:00

We went to a place called Feeniks because it was warm there. Dad brought this large shiny object home one day. It had lots of buttons and lights on it. There was a "B", an "M", and a "W" too. Is that a word?

The next day, he had to take it back. Waaaaah!

Alex's Arizona Motorcycle Adventure

2008-12-14T21:53:00.004-07:00

Some highlights from my Arizona Adventure - 1478 miles in 4 days:

BMW F800ST: Gorgeous machine, got compliments at almost every gas station.

Scottsdale to Grand Canyon through Flagstaff - the scenic route.

...and back. What a day that was...

The Grand Canyon: Pictures don't do it justice.

Racing the sun back to Scottsdale... the sun is winning.

Taken at a scenic overlook, about 25 miles south of Flagstaff.

...Sedona to Payson... one of the National Parks along the way.

Beautiful roads, beautiful weather, beautiful bike.

Fountain Hills, AZ.

Scottsdale to Prescott.

Payson to Scottsdale. AZ has amazing sunsets.

2008-11-24T13:33:00.007-07:00

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My bike had been in the shop for almost the entire last month of good Midwestern motorcycling weather, so by the time I got it back I had a seriously unsatisfied motorcycling jones. Poking around on the internet brought up a lot of Harley Rentals in a lot of places, all of which were pretty boring Sportsters for too much money. It was looking like it was going to be cheaper to ship my bike than to rent one for 6 days. When I found AZRide/MCtours I was very happy, because they had a whole stack of bikes I wanted to try out and a winter "Mileage Saver" option that hit the right price point. I got some info and a couple days later booked the BMW R1200 GS I had been dieing to try since the first time I watched Ewan and Charlie in "Long Way Round".

>When I first spoke to Monica on the phone, I could tell this was a really well run and experienced organization, because my long list of questions were being answered before I even got a chance to ask them. Upon arrival, everything was set and waiting for me. Monica led me through all the paperwork and explained all the options I had, and then Gabor gave me a great run down of the bike and all of it's features and precautions.

Gabor sat down with me to go over the maps of where I was hoping to go and clearly knew the roads and conditions he was recommending, because everything he told me was spot on and indeed some of the most spectacular scenery I had ever had the pleasure to ride through with lots of great hills and twisties along the way. I didn't make it to even half of what I had optimistically planned to see because I was enjoying every bit of road and every turn I went around.

I'll make it up to Zion National Park and down to some of the other observatories in Tucson on my next trip, and yes, there will be next trip. Thanks again Monica and Gabor. It was a great trip on a great bike.

Check out the photos I took on my Flickr account.
Phoenix to Sedona to Grand Canyon
Tucson the observatories at Mt. Lemmon and Kitt Peak
Panoramic photos

Jeff from Boston

2008-11-17T20:35:00.003-07:00

Here's what the RT looked like coming down from Prescott last month...Thanks for that!

And the taxi arrived so quickly that I didn't get to say what a good experience this bike was (again this trip).
What a luxury to fly in to Phoenix, take a short cab ride and get on a motorcycle that is in perfect condition. Easier, actually than owning one and storing it between trips.

So thanks, again for your good work.

A pleasant surprise

2008-11-15T19:59:00.003-07:00

I was very pleasantly surprised with the entire experience. The little things make a big difference.

Your bikes are immaculate. I'm in no hurry to trade my K12S for the GS I rented but it was great to experience the broad capability of the GS.
Since I had no idea even where to begin to ride, I really appreciated your mapping out a beautiful day trip route for me that was just right!

I look forward to enjoying the AZRide experience again in January! Thank you. / Mike from NY

Tom and Carol from Chicago

2008-11-05T19:23:00.002-07:00

Monica and Gabor were excellent hosts to work with. First they have the foresight to rent out exceptional BMW products and then their personal attention to our needs made the trip a standout in all ways! A great trip that will not soon be forgotten

220 miles of the most beautiful country anywhere...

2008-11-02T20:52:00.003-07:00

When I discovered that I needed to be in Arizona for business, I knew that I needed to see more of this state. After searching online, I found the following at AZRIDE:

My friend Glenn was riding his Sportster you see in the picture above. After the wonderful staff at AZRIDE had all my paperwork filled out, we headed East on 60, leaving Phoenix behind us. We passed through Apache Junction heading to Superior. Our planned route would take us South from Superior on RT 177, passing through Kearny to Winkelman. From there we headed North on RT 77 to Globe. From there RT 77 merges with RT 70 and wraps back into RT 60, heading back to Superior, and eventually back to Phoenix.

There is no way to accurately describe the scenery. So, I will just have to show the highlights:

This picture says it all. One happy rider.

Next time, we will head North, and for more than one day.