EagleRider teams up with Harley-Davidson

EagleRider is already the largest motorcycle rental company in the world, and a new deal with Harley-Davidson will see it expand further.

There are a couple of interesting aspects to the new deal. First, it sees US-based Harley-Davidson dealerships added to the Eagle Rider rental network as pickup or drop-off points, meaning it should be easier than ever to find a rental opportunity.

The press release also says  “EagleRider will exclusively offer current model year Harley-Davidson motorcycle fleets in the Touring and Large Cruiser motorcycle segment.”

This raises a couple of interesting questions. First, does this mean Gold Wings and similar models from other manufacturers will be dropped from Eagle Rider’s lineup? It sounds so. Also, what happens to the Harley-Davidsons once they’re no longer “current model year”? Will we see the market flooded with lightly-used former rental bikes?

The deal is also supposed to make it possible for more customers to do a one-way rental ride—rent a bike in one city and ride it all the way to the end of your trip, leaving it there. This wasn’t possible at every EagleRider location before, but with the new expanded network, it’s supposedly going to be easier to do. For riders who wish to do a classic road trip—say, fly to the US and do Rt. 66—this option is likely going to be highly attractive, as it eliminates a lot of time-consuming backtracking to return a rental bike, or the hassle of swapping bikes between rental points to continue a longer journey.