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Jermey,

Twice I have rented Harleys from EagleRiders in Las Vegas. The first time I rode through Death Valley on a 2000 ElectroGlide Standard and more recently I started towards Lake Mead and Hoover Dam on a 2007 Road King, but the heavy traffic had me turning back to riding in the desert in Nevada and California west of Las Vegas. I rode over 300 miles each time and had a blast both times.

There are about 6 or 7 motorcycle rental companies in Las Vegas including the BMW dealership. I think you can rent most any kind of bike you want in Sin City and are not stuck with just one brand like most cities.

I would definitely rent a bike if you go. Personnally I would prefer to ride to and through Death Valley than across Hoover Dam and to the Grand Canyon. The traffic is a lot less and there are plenty of cool and beautiful places to visit in Death Valley plus I have already been to Hoover Dam and Death Valley a couple of times.

I would rent a bike for 24 hours to give you a little more time for not much more money than the 8 hour rental. The rental places will let you leave your car in their lot overnight.

Take your own gear. The rental helmets may not be to your liking.

When I rode through Death Valley on Good Friday in 2000, the temperature at sunrise when I left Las Vegas was 37°F. By 10:30 when I was eating a sandwich at Bad Water which is the lowest point in Death Valley at 282 feet below sea level, the temperature was 91°F. Pack accordingly.

What other questions can I answer for you?

Jense,

The thing I liked about the 2000 ElectroGlide was it has a stock seat with all-day comfort. Not many bikes have that, but an out-of-the-box comfortable seat is really important if you want to rent a bike and ride it several hundred miles a day.

The thing I liked about the 2007 Road King is it is heavy and withstands wind gusts very nicely. I remember getting hammered with some very strong gusts when coming out from behind a mountain 25 miles west of Las Vegas and the only reason the bike moved at all (tipping about 2 inches sideways at seat level) is because my body moved about 6 inches sideways when that blast hit me. I could see that under those circumstances it is better to have a heavy bike. It was certainly a lot stronger wave than any buffeting I had ever encountered while passing a truck on the highway. The Road King seat is not bad either, not as good as the EG, but almost all-day comfort.

If I were going to rent another bike in Las Vegas, which I may do next Christmas, I will probably try something different, like a Stratoliner or an ST1300 or whatever strikes my fancy and I can find to rent.

Jeremy,

You are welcome. I think you even have a choice of more than one place you can rent an ElectroGlide in Las Vegas. EagleRiders is the outfit I rented one from, but I think you can also get them from the Harley dealer too.

The one thing I would caution you about EagleRiders is some of the locations will give you a credit, but you cannot get your money back if you make a reservation and it turns out the weather is bad or you have to cancel your trip altogether. On the other hand, the EagleRiders franchise in Las Vegas seems to have a lot of bikes and many riders go up to their counter without making reservations. You might want to check the details with them.

Have fun and take lots of pictures.