Mostly clear blue skies, temperatures in the 60s and 70s, and epic Western scenery sounds like a dream to most motorcyclists - and a business plan to some local motorcycle dealers who have gotten into renting bikes.
"People don't even know that they have the option to rent motorcycles," said Justin Moreland, general manager of the Street Eagle franchises in Tucson and Phoenix.
Moreland's Tucson Street Eagle rental franchise is at the Arizona Victory dealership, 1102 N. Anita Ave. There are only five rental bikes, mostly Harley-Davidsons, here, although he said the company has 12 more in Phoenix he can ship down to Tucson if demand picks up.
There's a larger local fleet at EagleRider, a franchise rental operation at 7201 E. 22nd St., a part of CSA Superstore, a used-motorcycle, -scooter and -ATV dealer.
Just a year into the rental business, General Manager Bruce Meekin said it's too early to draw many conclusions about the viability of rentals. But he said winter visitors seem to be one area of strength for the rental operation.
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"We found that there are a lot of people who either live here or come out here as snowbirds and have friends back in the East and the North that come out and visit them. And they want to go out and ride with them. That's worked out for us really well," Meekin said.
Other groups they've seen a lot of are Germans, South Africans and Brits.
Besides advertising through tourism publications and placing rack cards in hotel and motel lobbies, Meekin said they've catered to travelers by providing airport and hotel service.
He said the Europeans love touring the West on motorcycles, seeing Tucson and going out to Gates Pass.
Besides a variety of Harley cruiser and touring models, he said EagleRider offers a few big Hondas.
Moreland said tourists are by far the largest group of renters for Street Eagle. But he said college students and military people also are frequent renters. And quite a few renters are would-be buyers. The rental fleet includes some Victorys, the large Harley-style bikes the dealerships carries.
"The sales department loves it," Moreland said. "Nowhere can you really test-drive a motorcycle. The smart salesmen comp the rental if you buy a bike."
Harley-Davidson of Tucson, at 7355 N. Interstate 10 Frontage Road, also rents. Rates range from $100 for six hours to $725 a week.
Most rental programs have several things in common: They rent only to those 21 or older and require a valid driver's license with a motorcycle endorsement, a deposit and a credit card good for $1,000 or more. They sell short-term motorcycle insurance through a separate carrier and may also offer additional coverage that limits a renter's total liability for the bike.
Rates in Tucson range from $99 one-day specials, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at EagleRider and Street Eagle, to nearly $200 a day for top-of-the-line bikes with insurance and optional gear.
But it's not all blue skies and greenbacks.
Many would-be renters choke on the price, said Dave Sorkow, who was involved in a rental program through Tucson BMW dealer Iron Horse Motorcycles, 3444 E. Grant Road.
Iron Horse recently stopped renting bikes, although Sorkow said he's still offering a couple of the expensive German bikes through his company.
Sorkow said the rental business through Iron Horse was initially strong and profitable, when it started offering BMWs three years ago. But he said rentals fell off the second year and continued to fall. Iron Horse discontinued the sideline this year.
He said he gets between 15 and 20 calls a month during the winter, which is the peak season for riding in Southern Arizona. And most of those callers, he said, lose interest when they hear the price.
He's not sure whether things will pick up after the economy rebounds.
In the meantime, he said, the economics of renting motorcycles aren't good. While the daily rental fee is much higher than for a car, maintenance is also higher, and rentals often are for just one day, rather than a week at a time, as is the case with cars, Sorkow said.
"People out there from the gem show or the conferences thought nothing two years ago about $189 a day plus $40 insurance, rental tax," Sorkow said.
"We are still in business, but we are really not chasing the business right at the moment," he said.
Contact reporter Dan Sorenson at 573-4185 or dsorenson@azstarnet.com