A Rent A Ducati Ride

How many times have you fantasized about riding a brand new Ducati in an area that lies far from home and that you normally would never get the chance to experience on two-wheels?

If you’re like me, it’s a fairly common occurrence. Especially in today’s internet age, where thanks to the rapid use and posting of digital images, it’s rather easy to spend hours at the computer captivated by great curvy roads around the country that seem untouchable. Yet the fantasy of riding these roads rarely turns into reality because let’s face it, sometimes it’s just impractical or perhaps even impossible to get your beloved sportbike to where you want to ride it. That’s especially true if you love riding full blown sportbikes - Case in point, I will probably never ride Deals Gap in Tennessee on my 1098 because the time required to get the bike there and back would far exceed the time I’d get to spend riding it there and logically when I look at it that way it seems utter foolish to even consider it… Yet if I could just fly in and pick up the keys for a bike I like and then hit the road, I’d be there in a heartbeat…

Editor’s note: To be 100% transparent, Rent A Ducati is a Twisting Asphalt site supporter and while I was not ‘paid’ for the review below, I think it’s important to note that they do advertise on the site.

Enter Rent A Ducati, a company which as the name implies offers the opportunity to ‘borrow’ brand new Ducati motorcycles in regions far from home. The brainchild of Dane Nelson and David Johnson, it’s a company born out of necessity (so to speak). Two unabashed gearheads themselves, Dane and David faced the same problem as the rest of us, they wanted to ride in various places but never had enough time to haul their bikes to far-flung riding spot, ride them and then haul them back before their vacation week was over. Figuring that they weren’t the only ones with this problem, they put their heads together and came up with the idea to service the entire Ducati community by offering rentals all around the country. Their first rental destination - San Diego…

Last weekend Dane and David offered me the opportunity to come down to San Diego and try out the Rent A Ducati experience. While the roads aren’t all that far removed from my normal riding areas, once I saw the ride itinerary that was put together by partner site Sunday Morning Rides, I jumped at the chance to experience some glorious roads that lie outside my normal riding purview. The plan was to tackle a collection of roads that cling to the US-Mexico border and which I have to say I’d honestly probably never invest the hour and half to two hours of superslab time - and that’s with no traffic whatsoever - to get to in the first place. If you’ve ever come back from a day long ride and gotten stuck with a heavy Ducati clutch in stop and go, you’ll understand why…

So bright and early in the morning, I rolled into one of my favorite cycle shops, GP Motorcycles in downtown San Diego, handed over a credit card and signed my name on the dotted line in a few places. A minute later I was handed the keys to a brand new Ducati 848 in pearl white and a map. That was it. It took more time for me to put my riding gear on and all in all it was a super smooth transaction - quick, painless, and much simpler then any automotive rental agency I’ve dealt with in quite some time.

Part of that ease was no doubt influenced by the GP folks, Paul and his crew run a super smooth shop and I’ve got to say that every time I come back from dealing with them, I wonder how I got in and out so quickly and with so little hassle. There’s just a total lack of bullshit with this group and I’ve got to say I appreciate that immensely…

After turning the 848 over for the first time, we quickly jumped on the freeway and for the next eight hours I was able to taste the goodness of some fantastic roads that surround San Diego. Roads that are as good as any in California and the vast majority of which I never even knew existed.

At first blush the $199 a day rental charge for an 848 seemed relatively expensive to me, but while cruising up the Sunrise Highway, a road I’ve always wanted to check out but until now never had the opportunity, I was struck by the thought that when all is said and done the Rent A Ducati folks are charging roughly the same amount that I spend for a track day — Only here you get to experience a plethora of unique roads and more importantly when it’s over you don’t need to throw down for a new set of rubber (or any other maintenance for that matter). You just hand back the keys and go your merry way…

So would I use the Rent A Ducati service again? Good question… Right now the only rental location is GP Motorcycles in San Diego and since that’s relatively close to where I live, I’d probably pass and save my money for the track. But several other locations are on the horizon, most notably Ducati Seattle, and if things go according to plan they’ll be located in regions that without a rental service I’d never even think to ride. Once those sites go live I’d certainly be tempted to round up the boys, jump on a plane and make a week of it. Yet even more intriguing is that as the Rent A Ducati folks roll out new locations they hope to offer the ability to pick up a bike in one location and drop it off in another. This strikes me as the ultimate ‘get away’ method. If I could pick up a brand new Duc in San Francisco, head North up the “Lost Coast” of California and then drop it off in Seattle, I’d do that in heartbeat… That’s the sort of adventure that right now is completely out of the realm of possibility but one I’ve fantasized about countless times and the Rent A Ducati folks just might make it happen…