Old Route 66

[slavkod]

Hello all,

I am a biker from Slovenia and my plan is to drive route 66 in May 2008. As I think it would be time consuming to fly my 1200 LT to USA, renting one is another option. I and my wife would like to start in Chicago and drive to Santa Monica. We plan 3-4 week for this trip.
I am kindly asking for advise where to rent 1200 LT and any other information that you can share with me (hotels, route, sites to visit.....)

I have found a site where one can rent HD, bur would prefer BMW.

With best regards from Slovenia,

Slavko

[dadler]

May I suggest that you ask for suggestions - I would NOT spend my time on old 66 - only AZ is interesting.

There are so many other roads and places between Chgo and S CAL.

Maybe old 66 chgo to Bloomington. Head to Southern MO(south of 44 which parallels 66) for rides there and northern AR. Eurika Springs, to Tellamena Trail from Mena, AR into OK. Into N Mexico to Taos , south CO, to Grand Canyon, Coranado Trail in AZ, maybe UT( Bryce, Zion, Moab).

4 weeks would be heaven.

David Adler
Aurora, IL

[cfell]

Howdy, Slavko!

Ya know, it might be worth it to actually purchase a used, yet functional bike on this side of the pond. Then ride it and sell it when you are done!

I think "North Houston BMW" actually rents BMW's... you could begin there and "make a loop" around the country..

Anyway, I'm merely suggesting this so you can keep your options open... go ahead, live your dream.

BTW.. there are only "pieces" of "Ye' Ol' Route 66" remaining.. very sad. On a "bright note", it is fun searching those places out....

[ATFLT]

There is some of route 66 in Oklahoma that is pretty nice. Not much of it is really designated as route 66 except for the occasional sign. In Davenport, Oklahoma there are a couple of buildings with nice paintings and license plates to commemorate the road, and they have a rough section of the old brick road there. There is a route 66 museum west of there-I don't remember the name of the town but it is a good size building. I didn't have time to stop but if you are in the area it is easy to spot.

If you are looking for history you should be able to find some in places on old 66. There are much better roads to enjoy the view. Enjoy your trip however you go!

[Big_E]

A Harley dealer would probably be your best bet. They do one way rentals for that route.

[SilverBuffalo]

Some very good suggestions have already been made,

Route 66 just isn't what it used to be,
I understand that it is the European dream to come here and ride this road but you should understand that in many places it has been replaced with sections of interstate and in many others you may be able to ride the 66 route for 20-40 miles and then it just dead ends.

I suggest you do a little more research (like you're doing here :) )
Whenever I've been "out west" there were always a lot of Euro visitors (mostly on Harley's)
that rented out of the Los Angeles and Las Vegas area.

Whatever you do decide to do, get yourself a national parks passport and don't miss Utah,
it is incredible.

[K1200KING]

Don't miss Oatman between Kingman, Az and Needles. Bring a few carrots.

[jkersh1]

Check out
http://route66.backroadsplanet.com/global-positioning-system.html

Don't miss the Navajo Reservation in AZ and NM, and Mesa Verde National Park in southern CO.

[ranks]

And PM me if you actually ride 66 or I-40 through Oklahoma.

I live just off 66 near Oklahoma City.
Would be happy to meet and depending on the situation (too early to tell), could even put you up for a night or two.

[rcockrum]

Several years ago, some where near Durango, CO we ran into a group from Japan. There were 5 guys and a lady all decked out like bikers. I'd never seen so much leather or so many chains. Only the lady spoke any english and she had learned just for the trip. They had one bike and a van. They had rented both in LosAngeles and were taking turns riding the bike to Milwakee for a Harley reunion. We were on a couple of Harley's back then. Should have ridden along with them.

[Ron_Kendall]

Slavkod...here are some links to Route 66.

"www.tomferderbar.com/new/site/route66pixhomepage.html" (http://www.tomferderbar.com/new/site/route66pixhomepage.html%22)

"www.leglandsofamerica.com/66-mainpage.html" (http://www.legandsofamerica.com/66-mainpage.html)

"www.historic66maps.com" (http://www.historic66maps.com)

"www.historic66.com/gps/" (http://www.historic66.com/gps/)

"www.route66university.com/" (http://www.route66university.com/)

You can Google "Route 66" & get a lot more. If you are here over the Memorial Day weekend, May 30 to June 1, some city/towns along 66 will have festivals with a Rt. 66 theme.

When you get your plans firmed up let us all know. I'm sure there are some that would be glad to meet up & guide you.

[JPSpen]

+1 with James on the give us a shout if you get to OKC.

We'll show you some of old 66 and take you to a few other cool spots as well.

PM me for numbers and we'll look after you..

John

[JohnnyBSurfing]

Hello:

I did a large part of Route 66 last summer. You can read my account at www.GraceHighWay.WordPress.Com

I did meet other bikers from around the world in groups of 2 to 12 that rented Harley Davidson Bikes in Chicago and were taking 2 weeks to ride across.

I didn't see anyone else say it so I will, Old route 66 is gone and mostly paved over and now it is Interstate 40. So you have little segments of old Americana with old motels with neon signs and little shops along side the interstate on the old 66 cement slab. Some places you can get off on old route 66 and really go but that was mostly from the Grand Canyon to Bakersfield.

The Great American West and a Motorcycle is a great recipe for Adventure.
I recommend : The Grand Canyon, Durango Colorado and the Million dollar highway in SW Colorado, Mesa Verde NP, Highway 12 across Southern Utah between Moab and Bryce Canyon was outstanding. The pacific coast highway was nice but cold and windy.

WARNING: May dosen't give you perfect weather expect some rain and cold and you won't be unprepared or disappointed, and able to enjoy the great sunny and dry southwest. PS Laughlin to Vegas in Nevada was about 108 F the first week of June. Read up on long distance riding techniques to keep cool.

The funniest group of rough looking harley guys turned out to be a group of Irish men who about puked upon hearing I started my ride with an Iron butt 1177 miles in 24 hours. They were beat up ridding 200 mile days. They stayed at nice hotels about $80 per room per night, and drank about the same every night "we're Irish!" they said.

Good Luck!