BDR input wanted

[usedtobefast]

Better check for sure about one-way rentals. Right now, so many people are leaving California that one-way rentals out can cost two or three times what they did a few years ago, if you can even get one at all.

I just checked one way from Mountain View, CA to Boise, ID and Enterprise has one for $200 (I picked some random day in March, who knows what July/Aug will be like).

There are also several that are $600-$800 (non Enterprise).

I used Orbitz to do the search.

The good news is you can easily book and cancel rental cars. So if the price looks good now for August, book it, and just cancel later if plans change.

 

[HadesOmega]

But how much are you paying in miles? Its more expensive than you think, it's 700+ miles from Mountain View to Boise so how much are they charging per mile? Also factor gasoline costs as well. There's probably a fee to leave it at the destination maybe. That's the reason I didn't do the rental route, it more cost efficient to just ride there, but much more painful on the booty haha.

Now if you are going with a bunch of friends you can split the cost so I can see that working out for the wallet.

Let us know how much the whole transport would take total.

 

[wheel_muse]

Hmmmm

Wow, this is an awesome thread! :ride Complete with bucket list rides!! Subscribed opcorn

 

[usedtobefast]

But how much are you paying in miles? Its more expensive than you think, it's 700+ miles from Mountain View to Boise so how much are they charging per mile? Also factor gasoline costs as well. There's probably a fee to leave it at the destination maybe. That's the reason I didn't do the rental route, it more cost efficient to just ride there, but much more painful on the booty haha.

Now if you are going with a bunch of friends you can split the cost so I can see that working out for the wallet.

Let us know how much the whole transport would take total.

That $200 pickup truck is unlimited miles and 3 days, that would be the total, no extra fees (well, gas you gotta pay for). There is a daily fee and then a one way drop off fee (plus other taxes and stuff), but that $200 covers all that. So if 2 guys went, $100 each!

Maybe since the rental car companies are hurting they are making deals like this?

When we did this a few years back there were no pickup rental truck deals like this, so we did the one way moving truck. I believe it was around $700 at that time, 2 of us split that, so $350 to get my bike and all my bags/gear/etc to Trinidad, CO. And that way we had fresh Dunlop 606's when we rolled the bikes out of the back of the moving truck. And we had some time constraints so this helped that too.

 

[usedtobefast]

And drifting off topic ...

I found out about these great one way rental car deals when I was looking at motorcycles to buy that were far away. I don't really want to fly in a plane now.

So rather that "fly/buy/drive" I could do a "drive/buy/drive". As long as the town the seller is in has a rental car place that supports the deals.

Like Mountain View, CA to Dallas, TX for $134 total (that includes one way drop off fee, rental fee, all taxes).

 

[HadesOmega]

Crikeys unlimited miles I might go with that when I do the ID or AZ BDR

I have to say though I've had some awesome adventures just riding out to the start of these BDRs though, when I did the socal BDR I rode through big sur, carrizo plains, Joshua Tree, Salton Sea, Slab City and Glamis. But as they get farther away from home sure would save time to drive straight in a pickup.

 

[matty]

5 gal. aftermarket WR tank, or gtfo. :x





:laughing:thumbup

fun to think about ... :angel

Got it, 5 gal tank + Rotopax + my current aux set up, which is...yup bicycle H20 bottle holders with MSR bottles:laughing

If we do drive, I discovered that Elko airport parking is $7/day. And good info on the rentals above.

 

[WoodsChick]

Got it, 5 gal tank + Rotopax + my current aux set up, which is...yup bicycle H20 bottle holders with MSR bottles:laughing

If we do drive, I discovered that Elko airport parking is $7/day. And good info on the rentals above.

:laughing I'd do some serious zip-tying (or some other means) of those bottles to the holders so you don't lose them or get holes rubbed in them from friction.

Wolfman offers some good options for carrying metal MSR bottles. They take a beating and have never leaked on us, and we've been using them for years.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Got it, 5 gal tank + Rotopax + my current aux set up, which is...yup bicycle H20 bottle holders with MSR bottles:laughing

:laughing:thumbup

IMS tank for my someday-WR, bad-a@#:

think it's 18 liters or 4.7 US gallons ... arty

 

[N4teTheGreat]

I'm gonna go contrarian and say that the 3.7 gallon Acerbis tank on my DRZ + a few bottles of liquid insurance is plenty. Then again I like travelling light.

 

[elemetal]

My wife had the 5.1 on her WR, it looked a little big on the bike but didn't effect the handling/ergos too much. It gave about a 250 mi range, pretty impressive and great if your not trying to rail but just explore. Only thing that was a little odd is it has a transfer pump to get fuel from one side to the pick-up on the other, kept getting the low fuel light even though you could see a solid 1 1/2 gallons still in there...just tip the bike over some and slosh it over.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

I haven't tested the full range to empty on the tank yet, partially because my butt lacks the fortitude to go that long without a break on the highway. As I recall on the BDR I'd figured out that I had about a 200 mile range with the tank and a conservative 35 with my spare fuel cannisters. It'll take more than the advertised 3.7 or 3.9 or whatever if you fill it right up to the neck which works fine as you've burned off enough by the time you've slabbed from the gas station to the good stuff to not need to worry about a bumpy ride splashing out of the vent hose.

I can see a much bigger tank being nice for those cases where a road just goes off into the distance and you want to be able to see where it goes and make it back out.

 

[HadesOmega]

I win 6.6 Acerbis, I hate it though, makes the tank look like a body builder who only worked on arms. 250+ miles range though goes the distance.

 

[ScottRNelson]

I haven't tested the full range to empty on the tank yet...

If you know how much it holds and you've figured the mileage on a few tanks you should have a pretty good idea of how far you can go on a tank. You don't actually have to run it dry to be sure.

I've owned my XR650L since 2008 and I think I've only hit reserve on it three times. I know that I can go 160 miles before hitting reserve, depending on how I'm riding it. A few months back I managed 188 after hitting reserve, but I was concerned about making it to the gas station from my house with it that low. The KTM will go 220 minimum and past 250 if I'm not riding 80 mph on the freeway.

For the IDBDR, I'm pretty sure you don't have to go more than 100 miles between gas stops. I've learned the hard way to top off the tank before venturing out into the wilderness, even if it will only take half a gallon.

 

[matty]

:laughing I'd do some serious zip-tying

I use those super long zip ties, but I don't cut them, in case I need to re-purpose them, so not only does it look goofy with the water bottle holders, I have these giant zip tie antenna flapping in the wind to complete the look:laughing

IMS tank for my someday-WR, bad-a@#:

You know, I have a pretty good imagination, but trying to picture one of your epic posts without a KLR is just too much.

I win 6.6 Acerbis,

I had one of those on my DR, at times, I found myself strategically only putting in enough fuel to get me to the next gas station esp if I was going to be in dirt, just to keep the weight down. 6 gallons is like 50 lbs.

 

[ScottRNelson]

6 gallons is like 50 lbs.

At 6.3 pounds per gallon of gasoline, more like 38. :nerd

 

[matty]

At 6.3 pounds per gallon of gasoline, more like 38. :nerd

Oh. Well, it feels like 50ilbs :laughing

 

[HadesOmega]

Yeah that's why it's best to go with the largest you can get you don't necessarily have to fill it up all the time. Also the benefit of a having larger tank is the weight balance is lower as the fuel level gets low.

But I don't think it's good to fill it up with exactly as much as you need to get to the next stop. You never know when a route is closed or blocked off by nature so you will have to go a different route or turn around. It's ALWAYS good to have extra fuel. Like when I was doing the OR TAT there was a supposedly a town you could get gas at, but when I got there the town was like a ghost town, the gas station was closed no services. If I continued on I might not have enough to go to the next stop so I took rode to the I5 to get gas instead, if I hadn't of had that extra fuel I might have not of made it.

Also if you are riding a BDR and you have the Butler Map it will let you know where the gas stops are and the distances between them.

 

[D408]

I win 6.6 Acerbis, I hate it though, makes the tank look like a body builder who only worked on arms. 250+ miles range though goes the distance.

buddy and I are running the 5.3's on our Dr's and its as big as I would want to go. Had another buddy buy the 6.6 as it was on sale, installed it, and it just felt porky. All that being said, after 200 ish miles im dying to get off the bike most of the time.

 

[ScottRNelson]

All that being said, after 200ish miles I'm dying to get off the bike most of the time.

You should be stopping regularly to enjoy the views on any of the BDR routes. Otherwise you would be missing half of what makes them so good if you stay on the bike and continue riding the whole time.