clothes/outfit shops in LA or Palm Desert

[lunak]

Hello,
On Monday I will be in LAX! I decided to split my trip into two segments:

SEGMENT 1: Learning bike, roads, riding culture etc
Date: From 30 Dec to 1st of January.
Place: Palm Desert / LA neighborhoods.
I will rent the bike in eaglerider.com, probably in Palm Desert, as I will stay there during first days.

SEGMENT 2: Main riding
Date: from 6 or 7th of January to 14-16 of January.
Place: I don't know, I will ask for advices, in other post

Main subject of this post:
as I don't want to take any clothing and outfit from Poland, I have to buy them in LA/Palm Desert. So I have to buy; helmet, jacket, gloves, shoes, trousers. I don't necessarily need HD staff, as in Poland I will probably ride other bikes, I like different types

1. Someone recommended Del Amo Motorsports and Bert's Mega Mall.
Please tell me which one should I pick for clothing. Maybe something else?
2. Do you have places with used motorcycle outfit? Are they worth anything?
3. Do you think that riding around LA, San Diego, maybe Las Vegas would require heated gear?

And; If you want to join me in my riding and help to meet new environment, (yes, I am a little hm... scared :31:, all this is so different and unknown for me), you're welcome and I will appreciate this. And I really would like to meet my American friends :42:

Many thanks for previous answers and help!

cu on the road, hopefully :bigsmiley23:
lunak

 

[SledDog]

Hello,
On Monday I will be in LAX! I decided to split my trip into two segments:

SEGMENT 1: Learning bike, roads, riding culture etc
Date: From 30 Dec to 1st of January.
Place: Palm Desert / LA neighborhoods.
I will rent the bike in eaglerider.com, probably in Palm Desert, as I will stay there during first days.

Well.... First off... Palm Desert and LA are not co-located. Palm Desert is about 90 miles south of downtown LA. Eagle Riders is located in Palm Springs, not Palm Desert. I rent from them when I'm in Palm Spring visting family. It's a good shop, lot's of knowledgable folks...

SEGMENT 2: Main riding
Date: from 6 or 7th of January to 14-16 of January.
Place: I don't know, I will ask for advices, in other post

Main subject of this post:
as I don't want to take any clothing and outfit from Poland, I have to buy them in LA/Palm Desert. So I have to buy; helmet, jacket, gloves, shoes, trousers. I don't necessarily need HD staff, as in Poland I will probably ride other bikes, I like different types

Why? It's gonna cost you an arm and a leg. Also, what are you looking for? Are you looking to be a poser? Or are you looking for good riding equipment? Also, Eagle Rider includes helmets in the rental cost, plus you can rent other equipement from them.

1. Someone recommended Del Amo Motorsports and Bert's Mega Mall.
Please tell me which one should I pick for clothing. Maybe something else?
2. Do you have places with used motorcycle outfit? Are they worth anything?
3. Do you think that riding around LA, San Diego, maybe Las Vegas would require heated gear?

Redondo Beach and Covina are closer to LAX then Palm Springs. Are you renting a car before you rent the bike? How are you getting from the airport to Redondo Beach, Covian and then Palm Springs? If you get your equipment that these places, how are you getting it to the place you are renting the bike? You're going to be humping all this gear around until you do..

Also, what about your international drivers license? You're going to need something other than your local license to rent and drive a bike in the U.S., if I'm not mistaken.

Sorry to say, but it sound like you need to do a bit more research and planning

 

[lunak]

Thanks SledDog for you help. I took care about as many things as I could imagine

Driver licence; I checked this before, it's ok to rent and ride motorbikes in US.

As for my shopping; I want to buy clothing in US, as it's cheaper, better and I can have greater variety than in Poland. So - I want to buy stuff as soon as possible to avoid paying for rented outfit.
I thought that if I buy a lot of things, and I don't have transportation, I can ask to send that to Palm Desert. I still hope that it is possible...

The main problem is that my group is renting a car in the morning of 30th Dec and going to Palm Desert. They can wait for me some time, but I don't know how long my shopping would take, so I wouldn't like to stop them.

So - I am still thinking about best solution. My current ideas require answer, to following questions:
1. How quickly I can ride with eg scooter thru area within 10 miles from LA? Does it make sense? I know it may sound like stupid question, but I don't know LA traffic realities.
2. Is there possibility to get from LAX to Palm Desert with buses, or whatever else?

lunak

 

[docsledge]

Lunak,

In reality, you're going to need some help. I know nothing about L.A. traffic, but probably like anywhere else in the U.S., it can be a bit much.
Maybe some of the guys from so cal can help you some.

Like Sled said, maybe a bit more research. Have you looked at your customs on return. You might be paying a stiff tariff when you get home for all those cheap items you bought.
First thing is to get a really good map or maybe several.
You need to be sure of your locations maybe a little better. L..A. itself is pretty big size. I've never been there, but I'm sure it is.

If you can, look up online California Department of Transportation to check up on any current road closures/construction. You may be planning on using a route that may not be available.
Good luck to you,
doc

 

[lunak]

I think I have enough information for now.
I think I will rest of decisions when I am in LA.
I can rent outfit from eaglerider and then slowly shop for my own.

Probably I will go to Palm Desert, rent a bike and outfit in Palm Springs' eaglerider, and go shopping in Chaparral. Or rent a car on LAX for 60USD, shop anywhere, and return it in Palm Springs.

Therefore I consider my shopping problem solved . Thank you!

lunak

 

[lunak]

Thanks Gary.
I think I'll rent a car and on 30th of December I drive from shop to shop and buy what I want, I think it's doable... I'll have GPS with google maps... Is it?
If someone wants to go shopping with me, you're welcome.
lunak

 

[STEVE07]

No offence to the people of LA but I have driven there and I think I would rather drive in the Dominican Republic where the mountain roads wash away into the valleys below.

 

[SledDog]

So - I am still thinking about best solution. My current ideas require answer, to following questions:
1. How quickly I can ride with eg scooter thru area within 10 miles from LA? Does it make sense? I know it may sound like stupid question, but I don't know LA traffic realities.
2. Is there possibility to get from LAX to Palm Desert with buses, or whatever else?

lunak

Lunak,

What do you mean by "10 miles from LA". Are you talking downtown? The airport? LA is a VERY big city/area...

As for riding in LA, you best be VERY careful. As with most major cities in the USA, driver are more than willing to run you over. They will not see you, the will run redlights, and so on. As for how fast, depends on the time of day. Is it rush hour? Has there been an accident that has slowed traffic to a crawl? Just where in the city are you?

Since you reference the "mall", I assuming you will need all types of cloths, not just motorcycle equipment.

I hope you have a fat wallet.. It's going to cost you an arm and a leg. An as doc said, you may want to check on the custom duties for bring this stuff home. It may cost you more than buying it at home.

I've done 4 week motorcycle trips with a minimum of cloths. You just have to stop to do laundry more often. You bring everything you need in one regular sized suitcase or a Universal T-Bag. The T-bag is what I use for my trip to Palm Springs. I pack it, it goes on the airplane (I fly into Palm Springs after changing planes in LA) Then on to the bike. I bring all of my own riding equipment, helmet, boots, gloves, jacket, the whole 9 yards....

 

[STEVE07]

I think our Polish friend is in for a rude awakening if He thinks driving from LA to Palm Desert is going to be easy...I for one would not rent a HD in LA, not knowing the routes those people will run right up his back...

I for one Don't know how they drive in Poland,maybe he will feel right at home.Does anyone on the forum know driving style and traffic congestion in Poland? I do agree with you Gary I think he is in for a rude awakening I just hope he keeps up the posting and lets us know how he is doing

 

[ProF]

It looks like I'm the only LA-er to respond so far. Here's some thoughts, albeit mostly negative, which is probably why most other locals have kept quiet.

Palm Desert is easily a 2 hour trip from LAX, maybe more if there's traffic. The route is easy, the traffic is not. If you're not used to freeways, you are in for a real shock. Renting a bike in Palm Desert makes a lot more sense. The traffic is easier there, and you don't have to fight the LA congestion.

I hope you checked the license situation completely... California requires a motorcycle endorsement. And there's two levels of endorsement, one for small bikes/scooters, and one for the larger bikes. M1 and M2, they're called. I'm not sure what the breaking point is, but I'll guess around 500cc. If you don't have the equivalent of such an endorsement on your Polish license, they may not rent to you. I guess you'll find that out when you get up to the counter.

Keep in mind, too, that this is So Cal's rainy season. Shouldn't be a problem out in the desert, but you sure don't want to be doing your first bike riding in LA in the rain!!!

Those are my negative thoughts.

On the positive side, there are some beautiful things to see and fun stuff to do. Enjoy your vacation and take lots of pictures. And be careful on that rental!