Ever rented in Hawaii? (the big island)

[swilson]

Going to Hawaii at the end of the month and want to rent a bike for some 2-up riding. I would love to rent an RT or LT... but there's no BMW dealer on that island, so I suspect that won't happen.

 

After a quick search I found Harley rentals and one place renting GoldWings. I'm leaning towards the Honda. Anyone rented on the big island before? Got a recommendation?

[DaveC]

I was there in January, and rented a Honda Shadow from "BigKahuna" rentals in downtown Waikiki. The BWM's did not have a backrest, and my wife insists on that to be comfortable.

http://www.bigkahunarentals.com/

 

The guy has a BWM R1150R and a F650GS for rent.

 

On thing to keep in mind when renting on Oahu, is that most of the roads on the Island are 2 lane with a speed limit of 35 MPH. Any motorcycle over 250 CC's in engine size is an overkill given the speed limits in my opinion.

I think the Goldwing is far to big of a bike to be riding around on small windy roads at 35 MPH all day.

[russell_bynum]

I've only been there once and didn't rent any bikes. If I did rent a bike there, I'd go for a cruiser.

 

It seems to me that a Harley would be the perfect bike for that sort of riding.

 

My advice: Do the helicopter ride that goes over the active volcano, down the lava field, and to the point where the lava comes out of the tubes and into the sea.

 

We did ours though Blue Hawaiian and I have nothing but good things to say about them.

 

If it is a budget issue, skip riding and do the helicopter thing instead. You can ride motorcycles any time you'd like, but seeing an active volcano up close and personal and seeing new earth being formed right in front of your eyes is something really special. Kilauea is the most active volcano in the world, by the way.

[bendbill]

swilson,

I don't have the name of the Big Island dealer I rented from years ago, but he had a small fleet of Harleys in downtown Kona right on the corner across from the [islander hotel?] No Hondas when I was there.

 

The bikes were in good shape . . . considering . . ..

 

Oh yeah, seconding russell bynum, do the volcano tour on Blue Hawaiian. And of course, snorkel at "two step" near the Place of Refuge.

[Sharif]

I rented a Road King on Maui and just plain loved it. It was the perfect relaxed bike to cruise the road to Hana on.

 

Thumbs up to HD in Hawaii - it's a great place to *cruise*.

 

Sharif

[keithb]

I have rented a bike at least 2 times on the Big Island. The shop was in downtown Kona where I rented but they do have a full shop just outside of town. The other shop was up north. Both times I rented a Harley. Full Dresser the first time and a Fatboy the second time. The Wing would be nice and most likely a lot quieter. You definitely want a cruiser. Forget the Sportster. It will rattle your teeth apart. BTW, it is 300 miles around the island so give yourself time to see it all. It is one of my favorite rides. You get it all- desert, rain forest, and a volcano. You will love it. Ride to the southern most point on the island. Have fun.

[Rob L]

swilson,

I don't have the name of the Big Island dealer I rented from years ago, but he had a small fleet of Harleys in downtown Kona right on the corner across from the [islander hotel?] No Hondas when I was there.

 

The bikes were in good shape . . . considering . . ..

 

Oh yeah, seconding russell bynum, do the volcano tour on Blue Hawaiian. And of course, snorkel at "two step" near the Place of Refuge.

 

+1 on this rental place. They had scooters and Harleys. The Harleys were about $100 for the day, scooters were half that cost. We both rented a scooter and had a ball cruising the local areas and coffee plantations.

[DaveC]

Anyone rented on the big island before? Got a recommendation?

 

I should have read your email more carefully. I thought you were going to Oahu.

I have not rented a motorcycle on the big island before. My experience I was talking about in January was on Oahu.

I did go to the big Island for 5 days in January, but was in a car. There is no lava to view at this time from roads or hiking trails. The rangers really try to keep people away from that due to risks involved. Perhaps from a helicopter you can see some.

[motoguy128]

I rented from Big Kahuna also in Feb.

 

1) Bring your helmet! The ones they had were junk. Riding on even the short stretches of freeway on a F650GS with a crappy half helmet was about the worst motorcycling expereince I've ever had. I had more fun crashing my F4i.

 

2) The tires on the F650 were shot. The front was cupped so bad that at low speeds the bike wobbled badly and was hard to turn.

3) The owner is a little clueless about BMW's. He was upset that I wanted to adjust the rear preload using the preload adjustment knob. I only asked him where it was because I had never ridden a F650. After telling him I wanted the bike safe to ride with a passenger, I promised ot return it the the normal position. Good grief! He was otherwise a nice guy, but rubbed me the wrong way.

 

Other than the freeway experience, the rest of the ride was gorgous. The F800 was about perfect for this ride.

 

Overall, I'd use Big Kahuna again, if I wanted ot rent in Oahu. I'd recommend getting a big, fat, slow, comfy crusier and just enjoy the scenery. There are few twisty roads, lots of slow cars, no places to pass and speed limits is 35 in most places. Bring rain gear or plan to get wet, it's almost guaranteed to rain for 30 minutes or so somewhere on the island during the day.

[motoguy128]

oops... I did the same thing...didn;t read "big island" at the end.

 

The same applies. Get a cruiser or a Goldwing, unless you can find a RT or LT. It's all about the scenery. Heck even one of hte larger scooters might work well.

[russell_bynum]

There is no lava to view at this time from roads or hiking trails. The rangers really try to keep people away from that due to risks involved. Perhaps from a helicopter you can see some.

 

When we were there last May, it was a 6-mile hike across the old lava flow to get where you could watch the new stuff. It's constantly changing, though...according to the website the current eruption is big enough that they've closed access. The only way to see it is from the air.

 

With the helicopter, we got right over Pu`u `O`o and hovered there as the lava below us boiled and spewed. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen...and at that point, the eruption was "tame" enough that they were letting people get very close to the flows. It looks to be much bigger now.

 

Then you go down over the flow looking at some remains of a village that was overrun by the lava and down to the coast where you hover a few hundred feet above the shelf as the red stuff pours out of the tubes forming new Earth.

 

 

 

[swilson]

I'm sold on the Helicopter tour Russell. Photos look great.

 

Looks like the Goldwing place has gone out of biz... looks like I'll be on a Road King or ElectraGlide instead.

 

Tough decision on the helmet... do I risk letting the airlines screw up my custom painted Arai... or risk having a crappy rental helmet? Maybe I'll buy in inexpensive HJC or something and then ship it home.

[russell_bynum]

I'm sold on the Helicopter tour Russell. Photos look great.

 

You will not regret it. I am one of the cheapest people you will ever meet and the price of the helicopter ride was TOTALLY worth it.

[swilson]

Got an ElectraGlide reserved with Hilo Harley. They told me they share their rental fleet with Kona Harley. They also supply helmets and rain gear at no charge.

 

I was surprised that they offer no insurance other than liability. My agent tells me my currently policy will cover everything except 'loss of use' on their equipment.

[russell_bynum]

Got an ElectraGlide reserved with Hilo Harley. They told me they share their rental fleet with Kona Harley. They also supply helmets and rain gear at no charge.

 

I was surprised that they offer no insurance other than liability. My agent tells me my currently policy will cover everything except 'loss of use' on their equipment.

 

Cool!

 

Be prepared for big climate variations. Kona is generally warm and (relatively) dry. Hilo is very wet. You'll see big elevation swings, too.

 

Saddle Road that goes between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa is interesting/pretty/fun.

[keithb]

Russell you know you're not supposed to take rental vehicles on Saddle Road!!!

[WyreNut]

I was hoping to rent a VRSC from Kona Harley, but called 20 minutes too late. Ended up with this:

 

 

Heaviest bike I've ever ridden, I wouldn't let the wife on until I got used to slow-speed maneuvering in a parking lot! (yeah, I know, no ATGATT...)

 

Island was gorgeous though!

 

 

WyreNut

[DaveC]

I rented from Big Kahuna also in Feb.

 

1) Bring your helmet! The ones they had were junk.

 

Thats a good point. The helmets were junk, and they were dirty. They also had no riding jackets or gloves to loan out. If I had it to do over again, I would have brought some of my own gear. I never like to ride without a decent helmet, jacket, and gloves.

 

I had gotten into a little sand on my ride, and when I returned the bike I thought the owner of the rental shop was going to sh*t his pants. No harm was done to the bike, but her sure was unhappy I had ventured 10 feet off of the pavement for a photo-op overlooking the beach.

[russell_bynum]

Russell you know you're not supposed to take rental vehicles on Saddle Road!!!

 

That's really sad.

 

Our rental agreement didn't say anything about that (I checked since everyone kept saying that.) so we went. I don't get what the big deal was. I've got more challenging curves on my daily commute.

 

Anyway...that's a good point. Be sure to check your rental agreement to see where you can and can't go.

[motoguy128]

I was hoping to rent a VRSC from Kona Harley, but called 20 minutes too late. Ended up with this:

 

 

That's how I looked. The only FF helmet they had were XL, pretty scuzzy and looked like they've been dropped so many times I'm not sure there's any protection left. I wold definitely bring you own gear. Those little half shells generate lift over 45mph and start trying to pull your head off or choke you. I also doubt how much protection it would provide. It fit snug, but shifted easily. My bicycle helmet would be better... athough it cost $120, probably 3 times when those little shells cost.

[WyreNut]

Oh yeah, another thing - this bike was a 2007 Electra Glide and had a little over 250 miles on the odo. I asked about "break-in" restrictions, and the salesman told me "no problems, it's broken in and ready to go!"

 

When returned the bike, the person who processed me asked if I had any probs with it. "Well, the rear brake kept sticking, and it had some weird transmission noise when shifting from 5th gear..."

 

He became quite upset. "You're not supposed to go over 50 MPH!"

 

I replied, "Um, you'd better take that up with the guy who gave me the bike, as I asked him about break-in!"

 

Oh, and I nearly ran it out of gas on the southwest corner of the Island! Dang things really drink gas! :O

 

(I did buy my own gloves, and was a little creeped out by the "helmet")

 

WyreNut