Motorcycle Rental in Knoxville: Every Shop, Price, and Smoky Mountain Option
Oct 5, 2026
Knoxville looks like it has more motorcycle rental options than it does. Several names in a search route to companies that no longer rent, the one traditional counter is temporarily closed, and the same Maryville fleet shows up on three marketplaces at once, so the working market is smaller than the results suggest. Almost all of the live inventory sits on peer-to-peer platforms and in the towns south of the city toward the Smokies rather than in downtown Knoxville itself.
Riders Share holds the deepest tracked fleet in the metro at 28 motorcycles, Twisted Road carries 20 Harley-Davidson touring bikes out of Maryville, and the rest come from one staffed shop near the Tail of the Dragon and a cluster of three-wheel Polaris Slingshot operators in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg that Tennessee treats as autocycles rather than motorcycles. Daily rates start at $30 for an owner listing and run to about $250 for a touring Harley-Davidson on EagleRider's national card. All figures below were pulled from each operator's public website or booking system on October 6, 2026, for November 2026 availability.
Knoxville and Smokies motorcycle rental comparison chart
Verified October 7, 2026, for November 2026 availability. Pricing, inventory, deposits, and policies were pulled from each operator's public website or booking system on this date. All rates and availability are variable and change with inventory, season, and demand. Confirm directly with each operator before booking. Riders Share is not affiliated with and does not endorse the businesses listed.
| Operator | Location | Rental types offered | Motorcycles available | Daily price range | Deposit or hold | Mileage cap | Overage rate | Gear included | Tours offered | Minimum age | Minimum experience | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RS Motorcycle Rentals Knoxville (Riders Share) | Service area across Knoxville and East Tennessee, no storefront, owner listings across the metro including Maryville and Dandridge, delivery available on many listings | Peer-to-peer marketplace, cruiser, touring, sport, adventure, dual sport, scooter, and three-wheel, brands filterable including Harley-Davidson, BMW, Indian, Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Triumph, select listings also available for purchase after rental | 80 | From base rates of $30 to $150, service fee of about 25 percent of the rental total added at checkout | Damage waiver from $19 per day plus deposit tied to waiver tier, typically $500 minimum and as low as $0 for low-risk renters, waived for riders submitting comprehensive and collision declarations page | Unlimited mileage, certain bikes limited mileage | Set by owner on bikes with limited mileage | Yes, free gear, helmets, jackets, gloves, and boots, sizes S to XXL dependent on bike rental | No tour products listed on the Knoxville location page | 21, riders under 25 require three or more years of riding history, individual owners may set 25 as the floor on their listing | Motorcycle endorsement, temporary licenses restricted to Easy Rides listings | Pickup and drop-off daily 8:00 am to 10:00 pm, time arranged with owner, customer service available 24/7 |
| Twisted Road | No physical location, pickup arranged with owner, most listings in Maryville, about 15 to 18 miles from Knoxville | Peer-to-peer marketplace, cruiser and touring, current listings Harley-Davidson including Street Glide, Road Glide, Road King, Electra Glide Ultra Limited, Heritage Classic, and Pan America | 22 | $90 to $131, community fee added at checkout | $500 to $2,000 credit card authorization, may be increased for riders under 25 | Most listings unlimited, limits disclosed in the individual listing | Set by owner | Set by owner, some listings show helmet available and some offer delivery | No tour products listed | 21, non-US license holders must be 25 | Motorcycle endorsement, riding experience documented in rider profile, riders under 25 may be required to show two years of current riding history | Set by owner |
| Riderly | No physical location, pickup arranged with owner, listings in Maryville and Townsend, about 15 to 30 miles from Knoxville | Peer-to-peer marketplace, cruiser, touring, and adventure, brands including Harley-Davidson and BMW, some listings also appear on Riders Share and Twisted Road | Not listed | About $113 on a sample Maryville listing, set by owner | Set by owner, sample listing showed a card authorization at pickup | Unlimited on many listings, set by owner | Set by owner | Set by owner | No tour products listed | 21 | Motorcycle endorsement, Category A license on sample listing | Set by owner, 15 percent due at booking and balance at pickup on sample listing |
| EagleShare | No physical location, pickup arranged with owner, inventory drawn from the broader region | Peer-to-peer marketplace, motorcycles and powersports vehicles, operated by EagleRider Holdings | 18 | Set by vehicle owner | Set by vehicle owner | Set by vehicle owner | Set by vehicle owner | Set by vehicle owner | No tour products listed | Not listed | Not listed | Set by vehicle owner |
| EagleRider Knoxville | Knoxville area, listed temporarily closed as of October 7, 2026, nearest active EagleRider is in Nashville, about 180 miles west | Harley-Davidson and Honda, plus guided and self-guided tours, operated by EagleRider Holdings | Not listed | Not bookable while listed temporarily closed | Not bookable while listed temporarily closed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Guided and self-guided tours on the national catalog | 21 | Motorcycle endorsement | Listed temporarily closed, confirm reopening directly before booking |
| Wolf Creek Rentals | Stecoah, near Robbinsville, NC, about 75 miles south of Knoxville, near the Tail of the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, and Moonshiner 28 | Cruiser, touring, sport, dual sport, and adventure, plus three-wheel, brands including Harley-Davidson, BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, KTM, Polaris Slingshot, and Can-Am Spyder | Not listed | Not listed | Required, refunded on return in good condition, amount not listed | Unlimited on most listings | Set per listing | Yes, helmets, jackets, gloves, and roadside assistance included on selected models, also available separately | Self-guided tour and route packages | Not listed | Valid motorcycle license required | Online booking, after-hours returns available, staffed hours not listed |
| Wranglers and Razors (three-wheel) | 2850 Parkway Suite 16, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863, about 30 miles southeast of Knoxville | Polaris Slingshot three-wheel, plus street-legal and off-road UTVs and Jeeps, not two-wheel motorcycles | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | No tour products listed | Not listed | Standard driver's license, Slingshot classified as an autocycle in Tennessee | Daily 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, advance and day-of rentals |
| American Patriot Slingshot Rentals, also Smoky Mountain Adventure (three-wheel) | 1220 to 1230 Mill Creek Rd, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863, one business under two listings, about 30 miles southeast of Knoxville | Polaris Slingshot three-wheel, plus Can-Am Maverick UTVs and side-by-sides, not two-wheel motorcycles | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | No tour products listed | Not listed | Standard driver's license, Slingshot classified as an autocycle in Tennessee | Daily 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, full-day and four-hour rentals |
| Rocky Top Adventure Rentals (three-wheel) | Gatlinburg, TN, about 35 miles southeast of Knoxville | Polaris Slingshot three-wheel, plus UTVs and Jeeps, not two-wheel motorcycles | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | No tour products listed | 21, standard driver's license, Slingshot classified as an autocycle in Tennessee | Not listed | Not listed |
Inventory counts reflect vehicles available for November 2026 dates as of October 7, 2026, and change daily. Riders Share lists 80 motorcycles from individual owners across the Knoxville area and East Tennessee, with no separately staffed Riders Share storefront in this market, and delivery available on many listings. RS Motorcycle Rentals Knoxville is the Riders Share Google Business Profile for this market. Twisted Road lists 22 motorcycles, and EagleShare lists 18. EagleShare is a marketplace operated by EagleRider Holdings, and because the EagleRider Knoxville location is listed temporarily closed with no bookable local inventory, no EagleRider listings are netted out of the EagleShare count. Riders Share, Twisted Road, and EagleShare figures are live marketplace listing counts. Riderly, Twisted Road, and Riders Share overlap in Maryville, where some of the same Harley-Davidson touring bikes are cross-posted across platforms, so those listings are not a separate count on each.
Both marketplaces add a fee at checkout that isn't included in the ranges above. Riders Share charges a service fee of about 25 percent of the rental total and publishes that figure in its own help center, and its owner-set discounts include 20 percent off a first booking with multi-day discounts up to 30 percent. Twisted Road charges a non-refundable community fee at checkout and applies either 25 percent off or one free day to first-time riders only, so a returning renter there pays the base rate.
Knoxville is a destination market for motorcycle travel, with the Great Smoky Mountains, the Tail of the Dragon on US-129, the Cherohala Skyway, and the Foothills Parkway all within riding distance. Two-wheel rental in the area runs mainly through marketplaces. Riders Share, Twisted Road, Riderly, and EagleShare list bikes from private owners. EagleRider is the one fixed-fleet two-wheel rental brand that has operated in Knoxville, and its local location is listed temporarily closed. Wolf Creek Rentals is a fixed-fleet shop on the North Carolina side of the mountains, about 75 miles south. Wranglers and Razors, American Patriot Slingshot Rentals, and Rocky Top Adventure Rentals rent Polaris Slingshot three-wheel autocycles rather than two-wheel motorcycles, and are included here because they surface in Knoxville and Smokies rental searches.
Dealerships in the Knoxville market sell motorcycles rather than rent them. Knoxville Harley-Davidson, Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson, and the area Indian, Triumph, and BMW dealers are sales and service dealerships, not rental counters, so they are not included above.
Tennessee requires a Class M license or endorsement to operate a two-wheel motorcycle, and every two-wheel operator in this market requires it before releasing a bike. Tennessee has a universal helmet law, so every motorcycle operator and passenger must wear a helmet on public roads. A Polaris Slingshot is classified as an autocycle in Tennessee, so it is driven with a standard driver's license and is not subject to the motorcycle endorsement or helmet requirement.
Where a field reads "not listed," it means the operator didn't publish that information on its public website as of the verification date. It doesn't indicate that no policy exists.
About this comparison
The information on this page was compiled from publicly available sources, including each operator's own website, published rate sheets, and booking systems, on October 7, 2026, for November 2026 availability. Sources are listed below.
Rental rates, inventory, deposits, mileage policies, gear, tours, and hours change frequently and vary by season, demand, bike model, and individual listing. Figures shown reflect what each operator published on the verification date and shouldn't be relied on as current pricing. Confirm all terms directly with the operator before booking.
Several operators that surface in Knoxville and Smokies motorcycle rental searches are excluded from the chart. GSMmotoRent in Townsend, a long-running adventure and dual-sport rental shop, shows no booking activity or reviews since 2021 and is reported permanently closed on at least one travel listing, so it is excluded pending direct confirmation. Wolf Creek Motorsport Rentals in Pigeon Forge, formerly a motorcycle and Slingshot shop, is marked closed. An older EagleRider of the Smokies location in Kodak closed years ago and survives only in stale directory listings. Mobility scooter shops in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, and car-only platforms such as Turo and Getaround, are not motorcycle rentals.
This comparison is provided for informational purposes. Riders Share is not affiliated with and does not endorse American Patriot Slingshot Rentals, EagleRider, EagleShare, GSMmotoRent, Knoxville Harley-Davidson, Riderly, Rocky Top Adventure Rentals, Smoky Mountain Adventure, Twisted Road, Wolf Creek Rentals, or Wranglers and Razors. All company names, trademarks, and logos are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.
Operators who identify an inaccuracy in this comparison can contact us, and we'll review and correct the entry.
Sources, all accessed October 7, 2026: riders-share.com/us/knoxville-tn, riders-share.com/us/tennessee, riders-share.com/listings/knoxville-tn, riders-share.com/help/how-does-pricing-work, and riders-share.com/help/license-requirements, twistedroad.com/listings/tn/knoxville and twistedroad.com/other-policies, riderly.com Maryville and Townsend rental listings, eagleshare.com, eaglerider.com/locations and eaglerider.com/faqs, the Wolf Creek Rentals listings on advcollective.com and the Tail of the Dragon business directory at tailofthedragon.com, wranglersandrazors.com, the published business profiles for American Patriot Slingshot Rentals, Smoky Mountain Adventure, and Rocky Top Adventure Rentals, gsmmotorent.com and the GSMmotoRent profiles on tnvacation.com and tripadvisor.com, harleyofknoxville.com and smh-d.com, the Tennessee autocycle statute under Title 55, the Tennessee universal helmet law under section 55-9-302, and the Tennessee DMV Motorcycle Operator Manual.
Where can I rent a motorcycle in Knoxville?
Knoxville runs on three kinds of rental operation, and the split matters more than the daily rate.
Peer-to-peer marketplaces
Riders Share, Twisted Road, Riderly, and EagleShare list bikes from local owners, with each owner setting the rate, the mileage terms, and the gear. Delivery is common, which puts a bike at a hotel downtown or near McGhee Tyson Airport instead of sending you to an industrial block. Riders Share holds the deepest tracked fleet in the metro at 28 motorcycles, across cruisers, touring bikes, sport bikes, and adventure machines from Harley-Davidson, BMW, Triumph, Honda, and more.
Fixed-fleet shops
These shops hold their own inventory and publish rate cards, and that side of the market is thin right now. EagleRider, the brand most riders search for, has its Knoxville counter listed temporarily closed, so the nearest one taking bookings sits in Nashville, about 180 miles west. That leaves Wolf Creek Rentals near Robbinsville, North Carolina, about 75 miles south, as the main staffed shop with a full street fleet.
Three-wheel autocycle shops
Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg hold several Polaris Slingshot operators that rank for the same searches. Tennessee treats the Slingshot as an autocycle that needs only a standard driver's license, so they compete for the search without competing for the same rider.
If you are weighing pickup points across East Tennessee, you can compare motorcycle rentals in Knoxville rather than working from a single counter, and riders planning a longer trip can compare motorcycle rentals across Tennessee.
Why Knoxville rental listings are often out of date
Several operator names that surface in directories and review sites either route to a company that no longer rents or point at an address the business has left. That is the most common reason a rider calls a number and gets nowhere.
EagleRider shows up twice, and neither rents today
An older EagleRider of the Smokies location in Kodak still appears across directories with a phone number and hours, but its only substantive references date to around 2009 and no bookable inventory attaches to it. The current EagleRider Knoxville listing shows as temporarily closed. Call either one and you do not ride today; the nearest EagleRider taking bookings is in Nashville.
Dealerships that sell but don't rent
Several Harley-Davidson and metric dealers rank in rental searches but run no rental program of their own:
- Knoxville Harley-Davidson
- Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson, Maryville
- Thunderhead Harley-Davidson, Kodak
- Area Indian, Triumph, and BMW dealers
One Maryville fleet, three platforms
The Harley-Davidson touring fleet parked in Maryville shows up on Riders Share, Twisted Road, and Riderly at the same time, so checking those three platforms often means comparing the same bikes three ways rather than three separate pools. EagleShare, run by EagleRider Holdings, pulls listings from a wide region and does not filter by travel dates, so its Knoxville results are not a clean local count either. The chart above works from operator sources, carries a verification date, and applies the same fields to every operator, including Riders Share, so check the date on any comparison you read and confirm terms before you book.
How much does it cost to rent a motorcycle in Knoxville?
The lowest published rate is $30 per day for an owner listing on Riders Share, with most metro inventory between $30 and $150. Twisted Road, almost entirely Harley-Davidson touring bikes out of Maryville, runs $90 to $131 per day. EagleRider's national rate card opens around $150 and climbs past $250 for a touring Harley, though its Knoxville counter is not bookable while it shows as temporarily closed.
Base rate alone will not tell you what a rental costs. Four fields decide the real number, and every operator here handles at least one of them differently:
- Deposit or hold: waived on Riders Share for riders who submit a personal comprehensive and collision declarations page; $500 to $2,000 on a card at Twisted Road.
- Mileage: unlimited on most Riders Share listings, owner-set elsewhere.
- Gear: free on many Riders Share listings, owner-set on the other marketplaces.
- Platform fee: Riders Share adds about 25 percent at checkout; Twisted Road adds a community fee.
How much does it cost to rent a Harley in Knoxville?
A Harley-Davidson rental in Knoxville runs from about $90 to $250 per day, and where you land depends on whether you book a marketplace owner or a fixed-fleet counter. The lowest rates sit on the marketplaces: Twisted Road's Maryville fleet runs from a Pan America at $90 up to an Electra Glide Ultra Limited at $131, and Riders Share owners cover the same model families at owner-set rates with the deposit waived for riders who bring their own coverage. EagleRider prices Harley touring bikes at the top of the range on its national card, though its Knoxville counter is not taking bookings while closed. Because the same Maryville Harleys appear on more than one platform, compare the listing itself, not just the platform, when a price looks familiar across two sites.
Can you rent a motorcycle to ride the Tail of the Dragon?
Yes. The Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap is about an hour southwest of Knoxville, and the trip is round-trip by design on the marketplaces, since a Riders Share or Twisted Road booking returns to the owner it came from. The ride out and back clears about 160 miles before any detours, and every operator here runs unlimited or owner-set mileage rather than a tight daily cap, so the loop does not run up an overage charge. Riders often pair it with the Cherohala Skyway, which links to the same corner of the map and turns the two into one day.
Where you collect the bike decides how much of the day is the Dragon and how much is the ride to it:
- Wolf Creek Rentals (Robbinsville): sits within reach of the Dragon, so you can start on the road rather than ride down from the city first.
- Riders Share owner (Knoxville side): can meet you or deliver toward Maryville and Townsend, shortening the approach to the mountains.
Where can I rent a motorcycle near the Smoky Mountains?
The towns south of Knoxville, not downtown, hold most of the rental supply:
- Maryville (about 15 to 18 miles): Twisted Road and Riderly owner bikes.
- Townsend and the park entrances: Riders Share owners who deliver.
- Robbinsville, NC (about 75 miles): Wolf Creek Rentals, the one full-service street-bike shop on the North Carolina side.
- Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg: Polaris Slingshot shops, three-wheel autocycles a standard license covers, not motorcycles.
For riders flying into McGhee Tyson, delivery or an owner meetup near the airport is the most direct route onto a bike, since no rental counter sits inside the terminal.
Do you need a motorcycle endorsement in Tennessee?
Tennessee requires a Class M endorsement to operate a two-wheel motorcycle on public roads, and every operator here requires one before releasing a bike, with out-of-state licenses accepted when they carry it. Age and experience rules layer on top:
- Minimum age: 21 across the market, with no published path for riders under 21.
- Under 25: Riders Share asks for three or more years of riding history; Twisted Road may ask for two years of current riding.
- Temporary licenses: on Riders Share, limited to bikes filtered as Easy Rides.
- Polaris Slingshot: a standard driver's license only, since Tennessee classifies it as an autocycle.
Do Knoxville motorcycle rentals include gear?
Most operators include some gear, though what arrives with the bike varies:
- Riders Share: free gear on many listings, helmets, jackets, gloves, and boots in sizes S through XXL depending on the bike.
- Wolf Creek Rentals: helmets, jackets, gloves, and roadside assistance on selected models.
- Twisted Road, Riderly, and EagleShare: gear comes from the individual owner and shows up on each listing.
Tennessee raises the stakes here. It is a universal helmet state, so every rider and passenger must wear a DOT-approved helmet regardless of age or experience, and eye protection is required unless the motorcycle carries a windshield. A rate that leaves gear off is not comparable to one that includes it. East Tennessee summers run hot in the valley and cooler in the mountains, so ventilated gear and a light layer both have a place on a longer ride.
Renting a motorcycle in Knoxville with Riders Share
Riders Share lists the deepest tracked motorcycle fleet in the Knoxville metro at 28 bikes, spanning cruisers, touring bikes, sport bikes, and adventure machines from Harley-Davidson, BMW, Triumph, Honda, and more. Most listings include unlimited mileage, gear comes free with the rental on many of them, delivery is available across the metro toward Maryville and the park entrances, and the deposit is waived for riders who submit proof of comprehensive and collision coverage on a personal policy. Select listings are available to buy after the rental, so you can ride a bike before you decide whether to keep it.
Browse motorcycle rentals in Knoxville and book your next ride today.
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