Topic: Motorcycle Rental/tour business

[Tretnine]

Sounds like a great business idea.  I know there are companies that do this in other parts of the country.  What bikes would you have available?  I read an article in a motorcycle mag (can't remember which one) about a tour company in northern Spain that did the mountain roads.  They used Royal Enfields!  People enjoyed them on those roads and apparently they were cost effective. 
So maybe you'd want some kind of interesting bike that would be fun in the twisties.  I recommend a fleet of CB500s! 

550s would probably be better, since "all" the bugs are worked out. (clutch etc) Also, you should have a 'pack mule' van following behind the group. (storage for materials and spares.)

[Operator]

Have you considered bringing in a motorcycle dealership in on the deal?

You could use "demonstrator bikes" out of the shop that folks could rent for a few days, once they get a few thousand miles on them the dealer can still make money by selling the bikes off the showroom floor as "nearly new". In the meantime, they have made a profit off of the rentals that would make up for not selling new. Besides that, there is already a maintenance staff in place to keep the bikes in tip top shape.

Now that I have voiced this idea, I may look into it myself up here in the North

Just a thought

[Tretnine]

Have you considered bringing in a motorcycle dealership in on the deal?

You could use "demonstrator bikes" out of the shop that folks could rent for a few days, once they get a few thousand miles on them the dealer can still make money by selling the bikes off the showroom floor as "nearly new". In the meantime, they have made a profit off of the rentals that would make up for not selling new. Besides that, there is already a maintenance staff in place to keep the bikes in tip top shape.

Now that I have voiced this idea, I may look into it myself up here in the North

Just a thought

I think you'd be better off offering bikes for sale as part of the trip, you decide beforehand if you want to buy a bike, with an option to buy after. (You might be able to make money every time you sell a bike, also, since the dealer wouldn't have to do any work.) You're not going to get a nearly new price off of a rental bike. People beat the crap out of rentals. I do like the idea of having a dealership in on it though, Buying a bike at the onset could save you money on the price of the trip and you could have the bike shipped to your house at the end of the deal. Not so bad. I wonder what a dealership would want for renting out bikes, those you might need to buy.

There would be a lot of work that would go into pricing the cost of riding on a vintage bike, or any bike, though the money you make for rentals would be all yours, none would go to a dealer. You'd have to look at the cost of the maintenance schedule plus depreciation and insurance. Oil change every 2k miles or 2 months? Lots of oil and air filters, valve clearance adjustments, timing adjustments, sync-ing, leak issues. (lots of time invested) Depending on how many miles you really put on them you are going to have more frequent overhauls. There could actually be a premium for a vintage bike, but the cool factor would be unmistakable. Also, initial overhead would be lower. If you lose a bike, too, to an accident or 'old age' you'll have to work at getting a replacement. I think, though, that to do this type of an operation you'd need at least 2 guys unless you have some sort of shop in on it, like operator says. Help with the maintenance, coordination and legwork as well as (and I do think this is important) an additional person to carry gear in some sort of large(ish) vehicle behind. (Food, drinks, spares, luggage, injured people.)

I'm really getting into this idea. I think it would be a lot of fun to do. It'd be great to see it get off the ground.

[Rocking-M]

All good points, questions, opinions, etc.... I've checked into doing a tour in Italy where hotels are arrange with meals on the route.
Same deal in Scotland. Now to the serious stuff.

How much do you think it would cost to capitalize your venture? Would you buy used or new bikes, who would service them?
What other expenditures would there be? How would folks get from the airport to where they'd pick up the bikes? What other factors are there in setting this up?

I've always been prone to jump in feet first and work out details later. But in this case Azure has offered the right approach (as have others, not leaving anyone out here since lots of you have the same observations). I like the idea of using well maintained vintage bikes. Particularly Honda's fours. So used bikes to start is the way I'd lean. Besides, a lot of the new bikes leave something to be desired. Service I do on my own myself, but for a fleet I'm not sure I'd want to do all the maintenance. I have a good friend that has a garage and a deal may be desirable there. Just depends on how big this gets. The chase Van should be employed and it can double as a Airport to start point pick up vehicle for riders. We're 50 miles from the Airport.

So, I'm going to have to sit down and figure what bikes I want to use, the cost for the bikes, the insurance, Chase vehicle cost,
I'm wanting on the insurance quote to start with since this may be bike dependent. It may be something to run by the local Honda dealer, a fleet of VFR's would be nice.  It may be that medic should be in the chase vehicle on some of the tours, I have a motorcycle friend (Hank happened to be behind me when I hit the deer) who is retiring this month and may be enticed and brought on board.


 

[RatBikeRandy]

Hwy 60 in North Georgia is excellent plus there is a good motorcycle campground about halfway (I think it is closing soon after many years however).  Also look into Cherohala Motorcycle Resort and Cherohala Skyway.  Of course, the Tail of the Dragon in Deal's Gap plus the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Lot's of luck to you - could be a dream come true.

[azuredesign]

I've always been prone to jump in feet first and work out details later. But in this case Azure has offered the right approach (as have others, not leaving anyone out here since lots of you have the same observations). I like the idea of using well maintained vintage bikes. Particularly Honda's fours. So used bikes to start is the way I'd lean. Besides, a lot of the new bikes leave something to be desired. Service I do on my own myself, but for a fleet I'm not sure I'd want to do all the maintenance. I have a good friend that has a garage and a deal may be desirable there. Just depends on how big this gets. The chase Van should be employed and it can double as a Airport to start point pick up vehicle for riders. We're 50 miles from the Airport.

So, I'm going to have to sit down and figure what bikes I want to use, the cost for the bikes, the insurance, Chase vehicle cost,
I'm wanting on the insurance quote to start with since this may be bike dependent. It may be something to run by the local Honda dealer, a fleet of VFR's would be nice.   It may be that medic should be in the chase vehicle on some of the tours, I have a motorcycle friend (Hank happened to be behind me when I hit the deer) who is retiring this month and may be enticed and brought on board.

[/quote]

All good points, questions, opinions, etc.... I've checked into doing a tour in Italy where hotels are arrange with meals on the route.
Same deal in Scotland. Now to the serious stuff.

How much do you think it would cost to capitalize your venture? Would you buy used or new bikes, who would service them?
What other expenditures would there be? How would folks get from the airport to where they'd pick up the bikes? What other factors are there in setting this up?

The reason I asked was that I have thought about doing the same thing in southwest France. I also think it's a good idea to get a ballpark estimate of overhead expenses initially so it's possible to figure what you'd have to charge to make a go of it.
My initial plan was to purchase used bikes one by one, and insure them in my name, or in a company name. I think the good things about this are that initially the groups will probably be small. This may not generate a lot of revenue, but leading tours for large groups takes some getting used to logistically anyway, and starting small is probably how it'll go. It's easier to buy bikes one at a time both for out of pocket expenses and because good deals don't come around every day. One thing to look at is quantity discounts for bikes. My last purchase here in the U.S. only cost me $11. per year more to insure because I have a half dozen bikes on the road. One other thing that I thought about was to lease used bikes from a local dealership or rent from an existing rental company. I do think it's a good idea to try and use bikes that have interchangable parts. For the most part, I think that means picking a model and using multiple units.

I'm not sure about the necessity of a sag wagon or chase vehicle. I think folks should be able to carry what they need, or if it's an upscale tour then a vehicle can transport luggage and what not from one hotel to the next. If I was to go with a chase car, I think I'd want it to be sort of utility vehicle with a trailer. Alternately, it might be possible to contract for the airport shuttle or for taking belongings from one place to another. 50 miles is kind of a schlep.

It might be a good idea to check out a company like Sport Ryder rentals (http://www.sportryderrentals.com/) or Arizona Sport bike rentals (http://www.azsportbikerentals.com/) to see how they manage things and what the standard is for non Harley rentals.

[bucky katt]

i didnt see anyone else suggest this (i AM pretty wiped out so i might have missed it) isnt there some kind of small business loan that you can get through the government? this sounds like a fantastic idea! i wish i had the money to invest in it myself.