EagleRider Rentals To Be Available In 100 Harley-Davidson Dealerships

Evans Brasfield
by Evans Brasfield

Milestone will be reached in May 2018

From four motorcycles in a garage in 1992 to a long-term alliance with Harley-Davidson with branches projected in over 100 dealerships by May 2018, EagleRider has come a long way from humble beginnings. Founded by Chris McIntyre and Jeff Brown, EagleRider came about as the result of McIntyre’s and Brown’s desire to rent Harleys for a cross-country tour. When they discovered that there was no company offering the service, the seed was planted. Now, 26 years later, the company bills itself as the world’s largest motorcycle rental and travel company, and it has its sights set on making further inroads into the travel industry.

Chris McIntyre, CEO and Co-founder of EagleRider, sees EagleRider’s alliance with Harley-Davidson as more than just an opportunity for growth of his company. Instead, he sees it as a chance to help grow motorcycling as a whole through selling experiences. McIntyre, rather than seeing the doom-and-gloom we’ve frequently read about in the motorcycle industry in recent years, feels that the time is perfect for his kind of business: “I have never, ever seen the interest and the desire to ride, more than in 2018. This is probably opposite of what you hear from a lot of the manufactures, because everyone is so obsessed on numbers, dollars, and bikes. But I’m telling you the desire, the interest – whether it’s Millennials or Gen Y – the desire to ride and experience outdoors and two wheels has never been greater – never – and that’s really good for us.”

“We are in this awesome environment in the world of motorcycling where it’s never been better – it’s never been safer for me to go and introduce this world of travel, for people to get experience in the sport. For the other people who want to try something new – the guy that has a Dyna that has never tried one of the new Softails – as soon as he’s tries it, he goes, ‘oh my God.’” These rentals don’t just benefit EagleRider, though. The Harley dealerships should also gain new customers. “If you experience something, you tend to buy it,” enthuses McIntyre.

So, a weekend getaway on a rented motorcycle could be just what the rider needs to buy that next motorcycle – or even a first one. The expanded roster of rental locations makes one-way rentals feasible, too. Rent a bike in Las Vegas and return it a few days later in Salt Lake City after touring through the spectacular countryside that Nevada and Utah have to offer. This is the kind of open-ended trip that, through the use of the 100 EagleRider locations, could be replayed anywhere from the Pacific Northwest to Florida to New England. If McIntyre is right, both the riders who take these journeys and motorcycling as a whole will benefit from these possibilities.

Go visit the EagleRider website to learn more.

Begin Press Release:

EagleRider Alliance With Harley-Davidson Reaches Major Milestone

More than 100 Harley-Davidson® Dealerships to be Part of the Motorcycle Rental Program

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (March 15, 2018) – EagleRider, the world’s largest motorcycle rental and travel company, and Harley-Davidson have achieved a significant milestone in the strategic alliance between the two brands – activating more than 100 Harley-Davidson® dealerships as rental locations throughout the United States.

“Less than one year into our alliance with Harley-Davidson, we are very pleased to announce this key accomplishment,” said Chris McIntyre, CEO and Co-founder of EagleRider. “Our companies have been working diligently to deliver the largest connected network of motorcycle rental locations throughout the U.S. We are eager to continue reaching new riders across America as we head into prime travel season.”

More than 35 new locations have already opened and 70 more will begin taking bookings by May 2018. With the vast network of rental locations, riders can begin and end their two-wheeled adventures almost anywhere in the United States. The 100+ new locations give riders from around the world additional access to America’s most popular tourist destinations and motorcycle routes like the iconic Route 66 and Pacifc Coast Highway.

“Our alliance with EagleRider is an important component of our objective to build two million new riders in the U.S.,” said Anoop Prakash, Director of U.S. Retail Development at Harley-Davidson Motor Company. “The opening of each additional location brings increased access to the sport of motorcycling and to our exciting 2018 motorcycle line-up. And there is no better place for new riders to start their motorcycling journey than in the care of the expert staff found at every Harley-Davidson® dealership.”

Both companies are committed to helping travelers explore America in the most authentic way possible, on an iconic Harley-Davidson® motorcycle. Every EagleRider/Harley-Davidson location can set riders up with guided tours, daily rentals and Club EagleRider membership opportunities

Through the alliance, which was announced in May 2017, EagleRider exclusively offers current model year Harley-Davidson® motorcycles for its Touring and Large Cruiser motorcycle rental segments, equipped with Harley-Davidson® Genuine Motor Parts and Accessories. Harley-Davidson exclusively works with EagleRider to provide rental, travel and tour experiences from its U.S dealership network.

For more information on the new locations, visit www.eaglerider.com/locations.

Evans Brasfield
Evans Brasfield

Like most of the best happenings in his life, Evans stumbled into his motojournalism career. While on his way to a planned life in academia, he applied for a job at a motorcycle magazine, thinking he’d get the opportunity to write some freelance articles. Instead, he was offered a full-time job in which he discovered he could actually get paid to ride other people’s motorcycles – and he’s never looked back. Over the 25 years he’s been in the motorcycle industry, Evans has written two books, 101 Sportbike Performance Projects and How to Modify Your Metric Cruiser, and has ridden just about every production motorcycle manufactured. Evans has a deep love of motorcycles and believes they are a force for good in the world.

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  • Sayyed Bashir Sayyed Bashir on Mar 16, 2018

    Great way to try out the new Milwaukee Eights. Better than just a test ride. Of course renting a bike isn't cheap. I rented a F800 GS in Alaska last year and it was $300 for two days. Well worth it, seeing the most beautiful parts of Alaska from a motorcycle seat. Wanted to rent a scooter on the Big Island for my trip this May but nothing big enough to go around the island. Ended up getting a car instead (a lot cheaper).

  • Jason Jason on Mar 16, 2018

    I'm all more more rental locations but if this means Eaglerider is going back to only renting Harley's I will cancel my membership. Eaglerider just started offering a good selection of bikes with Harley, Indian, BMW, Honda, KTM, and Honda. My local Eaglerider location offers BMW ,Triumph, Harley, and Indian.

    I'm planning to ride the Natchez Trace from Nashville to New Orleans in June on a Honda Goldwing. If the Goldwing disappears so does the trip.

    • See 4 previous
    • Jason Jason on Mar 19, 2018

      To me it would make sense to keep the BMW and Triumph ADV bikes around as Harley has absolutely nothing that fills that very large category. That seems to be the case when I look at available models.

      It also seems that the Indians are gone or on their way out. I rented from Eaglerider San Diego last year and they had a large inventory of Indians. Today the website only shows Harley. Likewise the Portland location had Indians last year and this year, per the website, they are gone.

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