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Do it on
a Hog
Average cost is $70-$150 a day (insurance runs another $26 a day), and you are allowed 150 free miles. You can arrange one way rentals within each state or pay extra to have it shipped back from another location. You can also "hog it" abroad. Or, if you're into more sedate bikes, that's an option, too. The first step is to contact the companies that strike your fancy and then start packing your leathers: Some Outfits
That Rent Harleys.
There are also
renters in Aspen, New York, Key West, Boston and Martha's Vineyard.
Alaska Motorcycle
Tours
Adventure
Center
The Center reps the Australian Motorcycle Touring (011 61) 3 233-8891, where owner Geoff Coat runs eight- and 10-day trips beginning in Melbourne. You can expect a well-serviced BMW R80 and twin share accommodations. Tours run about $120 a day, and watch out for those kangaroos. Baja Off
Road Tours
A former Team-Honda dirt-bike racer will put you on a Honda 250 or 600cc dirt bike and send you off to La Paz (seven days) or San Felipe (four days). You will experience one of the primo desert riding and scenic runs in Mexico. The all-inclusive trips will cost you about $300-$400 a day. You pay the airfare to Southern California. Beach's
Motorcycle Tours
Why not buy your bike overseas? Beach's will set you up on a rental or your very own BMW as you tour the Alps. They have trips to New Zealand, Great Britain and Australia as well. Tours to Europe run $3800 for rider (with a $300 single supplement) or $3000 for a rider. Two week trips in New Zealand will set you back $2800, ($200 single supplement) or add a passenger for $2050. You can also ship your own bike for the ride. Beach's will handle the crating, shipping and customs involved. Expect to pay about $800-$1800 each way to Europe; New Zealand is about 30 percent more. Tours are longer than most (16-22 days) but are great deals and highly recommended. Costs are about $200 a day, plus about $50 a day for the rental of the bike. Desmond
Adventures
One of the best ways to see the Alps is on a 16-day Alpentour devised by the Desmonds. You can choose from East or West. Expect to pay about $4000 per rider and about $500 less for the passenger. It includes roundtrip airfare from New York, meals, bike rental and insurance. The trip is van-supported, so bring lots of camera gear and luggage. You can also choose your weapon, from mighty CBR 1100cc sport bikes to nimble Honda Trans Alps (Beemers, Trans Alps, CBR's Katanas sport bikes or Kawasaki Concours). Edelweiss
Bike Travel
The U.S. agents for Edelweiss Bike Travel (Steinreichweg 1, A6414 Meiming, Austria) can send you just about anywhere, including the CIS. Its homegrown 12-day Alpine ride is one of the most popular (and the best deal) for mountain rippers. They like to stick you on BMW 750s, the rideable but standard for many bike rentals, but larger bikes are available for 10-20 percent more. Edelweiss provides support vans. Explo-Tours
Africa nuts who like chipped teeth and sandblasted eyeballs will love the offerings of Explo-Tours. They arrange tours across the Sahara, through Central Africa and into South Africa on spartan but reliable Yamaha XT350s. Naturally, only Germans are crazy enough to keep this company in business, but most Germans speak English. This is some serious riding, so participants must be physically fit and ready to ride thousands of miles in sweltering heat. The trips are great bargains at about $150 a day, including bike rental. There is a support van if you or your bike conk out, and when you return, you'll know more than a plasterer about mud and sand. Great Motorcycle
Adventures
If you are looking for a little danger, how about a mix of Mexican roads and fast bikes? Well, OK, how about offroading on slow bikes? GMA organizes off-road trips to Copper Canyon, the Yucatan and the Sierra Madre mountains on dual-purpose bikes. Tour costs include food, lodging, tours, gas and insurance. Trips are about $160 a day, not including bike rental (dual-purpose bikes are only $500 a week). If you really want to do it on a fast road-bike, then expect to pay another $600 a week. MHS Motorradtouren
GmbH.
MHS offers a wide array of bike tours (including Southern California). You can choose from their popular week in southern Italy tour or any one of the other tours, including northern Italy, Kenya, Sicily, Tunisia, Hungary, the U.S.A. and South Africa. European tours run about $150 a day, with bike rentals (BMWs or Suzukis) costing about $900 a week. A cool idea for Easy Rider-wannabes is the one-way Drive U.S.A. program, where riders can pick up a bike at either coast and drop it off on the other. Motorrad-Reisen
The U.S agent for Motorrad-Reisen, Postfach 44 01 48, D-8000, Munich 44, Germany, (011 49) 89 34 48 32, can send you on a motorcycle adventure (we don't use the word "holiday") to Kenya, southern France, the Alps, Italy or Russia. As with most German companies, it offers less expensive tours with fewer frills. You can also purchase a new BMW, ride it on your trip and ship it back home. Villa Moto-Tours
One of the few companies that can stick you on a Harley. As you guessed from the name, Pancho Villa specializes in tours through Mexico down to the Yucatan Peninsula. They also can take you through Costa Rica, Baja, the Sierra Madre central coast and the Southwest U.S. Harleys and the Southwest-what a combo. The prices are fair, about $110 a day, with bike rental running about $50-100 a day extra. Rocky Mountain
Moto Tours Ltd.
Touring the dramatic countryside of Alberta and British Columbia may be a good second choice to the Alps. Using Honda 600cc dual-purpose machines, RMMT takes you on the remote backcountry routes. Their rates of about $120 a day, including bike rental, are downright cheap. Choose from seven-day tours of the Bugaboos and 10-day trips through Big Sky country. Western
States Motorcycle Tours
Western states will put a fire-breathing Harley between your legs and point you in the right direction. You can arrange a buy-back deal if you plan on being gone a long time, or you can rent everything from a Gold Wing to a Harley for about $100 a day. Von Thielman
Tours
If you are a jaded biker and view the Alps and New Zealand as commonplace, then Von Thielman has the antidote. This company has been around long enough to put together tours that bring the jaded back. How about Southern California, Thailand, China, Argentina or even Jamaica? The company has really got its act together. They can send you out alone, help you buy a new bike, ship yours or give you a wide selection of dual-purpose and touring bikes.
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