photobiker
Well-known member
Just thought I'd give a little review of Eagle Rider New Orleans...
I went down to New Orleans for the weekend and thought it would be cool to see if I could rent a bike. The hotel advised me of a couple of places to contact so my choices were between Eagle Rider and Big Easy Scooters.
http://www.eagleriderneworleans.com/
http://www.bigeasyscooters.com/
My hotel wasn't quite walking distance to either place, but Easy Rider has a little set up in the Marriott which is right close to the French Quarter. Basically it's a booth by the Concierge desk. They only have scooters at this location, but I really wasn't going to shell out a lot of money to get a Harley (which was the only kind of bikes they rent there) to just put around the quarter.
Regardless of the location, I believe that they will do free drop off and pick up of your bike to wherever anyway, so the location in the end didn't matter.
So I gave them a call, he told me about the Marriott set up, went in and talked to the dude and went through the process. It was pretty simple, the only drawback there was their computer system was slow (weren't computers supposed to make life easy and make paper obsolete???). One thing to note is that you do need your full M license to get a full sized bike. I bet I could have just not mentioned that I have an M2. But if something was to go sideways, it could have been a problem.
The scooter rental wasn't a problem though, they have the same law we used to have with under 50cc scooters...you only need your drivers license.
The scoot was a little piaggio 50. All of them looked fine, little bits of renter damage on them but nothing major. After the inspection, I was shown the controls, where to use the cable lock and disc lock (you get both) and got a couple of half lids for me and my girl. Big choice of sizes but the helmets weren't the safest in my opinion. If your a real stickler for helmets, bring your own. I wouldn't have expected to be getting a full-face-perfect-fit helmet anyway. Oh...bring some sunglasses, the wind and dust sucked a little before I got them on my face.
The scoot was well maintained, the brakes were good, the tires tracked straight, everything was good. Refilling the tank before returning was a joke, it was less than two bucks!
Parking was awesome...European style...park where you can just don't block the walkways.
The best part of the experience was the next day I wanted to see if I could keep it for a couple more hours, and they did their best to accommodate me. I don't know if it's just the southern hospitality or something, but it was like making a deal with an old friend.
If you're going to rent a scooter when your down there, I highly recommend it. You can boot down Bourbon during the day as many times as you want and watch all the drunks without getting your feet tired. I've never rented while visiting a city and it was an easy way to do it and I think they made the experience simple and hassle free. I'm guessing it is the same if you get a full sized bike too.
All in all the break down turned out to be about 100$ for a full 24 hour rental. 75 for the bike, 25 for the insurance (they also have a 24 hour line in case of emergency)
Oh, and having never been to New Orleans... man, you guys gotta go. It's a blast. One of the best places I've ever been to. Totally worth every penny.
Now just gotta wait for the weather to warm up here...
I went down to New Orleans for the weekend and thought it would be cool to see if I could rent a bike. The hotel advised me of a couple of places to contact so my choices were between Eagle Rider and Big Easy Scooters.
http://www.eagleriderneworleans.com/
http://www.bigeasyscooters.com/
My hotel wasn't quite walking distance to either place, but Easy Rider has a little set up in the Marriott which is right close to the French Quarter. Basically it's a booth by the Concierge desk. They only have scooters at this location, but I really wasn't going to shell out a lot of money to get a Harley (which was the only kind of bikes they rent there) to just put around the quarter.
Regardless of the location, I believe that they will do free drop off and pick up of your bike to wherever anyway, so the location in the end didn't matter.
So I gave them a call, he told me about the Marriott set up, went in and talked to the dude and went through the process. It was pretty simple, the only drawback there was their computer system was slow (weren't computers supposed to make life easy and make paper obsolete???). One thing to note is that you do need your full M license to get a full sized bike. I bet I could have just not mentioned that I have an M2. But if something was to go sideways, it could have been a problem.
The scooter rental wasn't a problem though, they have the same law we used to have with under 50cc scooters...you only need your drivers license.
The scoot was a little piaggio 50. All of them looked fine, little bits of renter damage on them but nothing major. After the inspection, I was shown the controls, where to use the cable lock and disc lock (you get both) and got a couple of half lids for me and my girl. Big choice of sizes but the helmets weren't the safest in my opinion. If your a real stickler for helmets, bring your own. I wouldn't have expected to be getting a full-face-perfect-fit helmet anyway. Oh...bring some sunglasses, the wind and dust sucked a little before I got them on my face.
The scoot was well maintained, the brakes were good, the tires tracked straight, everything was good. Refilling the tank before returning was a joke, it was less than two bucks!
Parking was awesome...European style...park where you can just don't block the walkways.
The best part of the experience was the next day I wanted to see if I could keep it for a couple more hours, and they did their best to accommodate me. I don't know if it's just the southern hospitality or something, but it was like making a deal with an old friend.
If you're going to rent a scooter when your down there, I highly recommend it. You can boot down Bourbon during the day as many times as you want and watch all the drunks without getting your feet tired. I've never rented while visiting a city and it was an easy way to do it and I think they made the experience simple and hassle free. I'm guessing it is the same if you get a full sized bike too.
All in all the break down turned out to be about 100$ for a full 24 hour rental. 75 for the bike, 25 for the insurance (they also have a 24 hour line in case of emergency)
Oh, and having never been to New Orleans... man, you guys gotta go. It's a blast. One of the best places I've ever been to. Totally worth every penny.
Now just gotta wait for the weather to warm up here...