Visiting and renting a bike in Las Vegas - USA - West

Hey there all.

In a couple weeks I am going to be going to Vegas with a group of friends.  Only me and one other person have their Motorcycle License, so we are the only two going to be renting a bike.

Since we are from Ohio and never ridden in Nevada/Arizona I was hoping someone here could give me some pointers.  

1. We were thinking of just renting harley's because from the research i have done they are pretty affordable for an all day rent with unlimited mileage.  Does anyone know where a good place to rent one is?  Has anyone ever rented a bike before?

2. We were considering riding to Hoover Dam but we will have the bikes all day so I wanted to get my moneys worth.  Any one have a favorite road or loop that they do in the area?

This is my first time, any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tony

Can't help with renting part, but I took a car to Grand Canyon the last time I've been to Vegas.  That was the highlight of my trip.  Not much of a gambler here.
This trip took me and friends through Hoover damb and pretty much took all day.

Dress warm and enjoy!

I've been there in winter twice now and it's been pretty warm, mostly 70's, coldest wettest day was in the 50's

there are only couple things to see outside Vegas with in a reasonable distance (Grand Canyon is 5-6 hours away), one is Hoover Dam and lake Mead. Take I-515 through Henderson to Boulder City, it turns in to 93 and just becomes a traffic jam leading to the Dam, the big bridge project they were working on seems to have stalled so we waited in traffic for an hour to get there, it's down hill so we shut off the bikes and coasted, got to the far side of the Dam and took this picture as it started to rain

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On the long downhill to the Dam note on the left there will be a road to Lake Mead called Lakeshore road, IIRC $4 gets you in (state park) take it along the lake, than right (the only right) on to Nothshore Road and then Left on Lake Mead Blvd (Rt. 147) it will take you all the way in to the city, awesome ride.

If you still have any energy left after a 70 mile loop take Lake Mead Blvd all the way across town to Las Vegas beltway, it will be the end of the road, take Beltway South (only a mile or two) to 159 (Charleston Blvd and take Charleston Blvd west to Red Rocks, again, you will have to pay couple bucks to get in, its a scenic loop road and it's awesome, lot's of people, if you looks closely the dots are actually climbers on the rocks

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I did it twice and you might guess both times on a Vespa
At the end of the loop take right and follow 159 till it merges with 160 and that will take you back to town, towards the airport or you can explore couple more stops on 159: Spring Mountain Ranch and Blue Diamond state park

Another place you can visit is Pioneer Saloon, take I-15 south towards Cali, take exit for Good Springs road, (Rt 161) and take it West for few miles, watch out there is a turn! The only turn (other than taking the exit) on the entire route and many bikers crash there! We went there the other way: took 160 west  over the Mountain Springs (temp dropped at least 30 degrees at the pass) and then Palrump Rd (dirt road) to Sandy Valley, which is very sandy, two people crashed chasing me on the sandy roads.

One more thing, if you can get there have breakfast at "Egg and I" at 4533 W Sahara Ave, It's the BEST I ever had!

also Omelet house on Charleston Blvd was worth coming back to.

All the free/cheap food at the buffets was OK but nothing to remember, their only advantage was "cheap and close"

Hey,
A buddy and I will be there in a week and we are renting bmws. Eaglerider used to rent them, but now you go through the local BMW dealer. Google BMW motorcycle las Vegas. I have ridden a little around there. Best ride I found was mt. Charleston northwest of town. It is a pretty awesome loop ride up to the ski hill. Don't go back down the same way you go up, the second half of the ride is the best part. As long as there is no snow, the road is in great shape, and twisty and there are some awesome views. We are also riding across death valley to a road up into the mountains on the west side of highway 395 called 9 mile canyon road. Going to make it a two day ride with an overnight in death valley. Well worth the ride. Also an awesome road and the ride up and out of the west side of death valley is worth it, too. Hope this helps a bit.

+1 on Eaglerider in Vegas, my work takes me to Vegas occassionally and on one of the trips (2002 IIRC) some workmates and I hired Harleys for a weekend from Eaglerider. Why Harleys? .... so we could check out some of the cannons and cruize the strip looking like "hardcore" locals ... we figured, when in Rome do as many of the Romans do.

It was actually kinda fun to do the Harley thing that one time ... mind, I wouldn't want to have to do it twice, a bloke's got his limits and a reputation to uphold!   :happy:

I'd like to suggest looking at a trip to Zion National Park in S.W. Utah. It is 160 miles one-way and there are fabulous roads and scenery. It's the most beautiful national park IMHO.

Zion and Death Valley are good choices to see something special.  The Dam is worth a gander too.  However look at the mileage carefully as you will suck up the time with slow speed stuff in both of the parks.  Bring some good gear as it can get pretty cold ....starting now.

Thanks for the advise everyone!

I am definitely going to check out eaglerider and propose a couple of trips mentioned above.