Motorcycle Rental Business Plan?

[Klondike1020]

Hello

I am looking into a motorcycle rental business.

I have looked and found that most motorcycle rental businesses only offer Harley and honda cruiser rentals.

I am getting quotes for ex650 and 300 and 250 rentals.

I was considering starting the business and renting sport bikes for bike weeks in Myrtle beach and Daytona Beach.

And doing guided ridding tours for tail of the dragon and other highly desirable destinations.

I am just looking at it as a business model.

I am thinking 65$ per day with a 500$ security deposit for ninja 300 rental with discounted rates for 5 days or more.

But that is just a guesstimate because I have no idea what insane quote I am going to get from the insurance provider.

Do any of you think this sounds like a viable idea…. or basically would you consider renting the smaller sport bikes as vacation rentals at those rates?

I have been trying to think of a business I can run over the past year or two.

Do you know anyone who has run a motorcycle rental or tav rental business?

[Klondike1020]

I have already received a quote from the insurance company.

It seems I can get decent coverage at a reasonable cost.

The question now is what models of motorcycle could I actually rent???

Any in put on what vehicles you would like to see available to rent to ride
Tail of the dragon

Myrtle beach bike week
Black bike week
Daytona bike week?

[Alex]

The guy that writes the last page of Motorcycle Consumer News (Fred Rau) just had an article about his motorcycle tour business. The short answer was, of all of the people he knows who have set up such a tour business, all but two went bankrupt. The two that stuck around, including his, make very little money, and rely on other sources of income. I'd seek out that article for the specifics before investing much. May want to seek out the Feel Like a Pro folks as well, to see how they got into bike rentals. They are more track-focused, but it's a pretty similar business model.

[alex.s]

people who rent sport bikes typically crash them

[Desmoluci]

Originally Posted by alex.s

people who rent sport bikes typically crash them

At the very least pound the snot out of them, then hand it back to you to repair.

No thanks!

[dcj13]

How many bikes?
How much per bike to buy them?
How much per bike to maintain them per year?
How much per bike to insure them per year?
How many days per bike per year do you expect them to be rented?
Are you prepared to go pick up the bike and renter 200 miles away when they crash or the bike dies?
Are you prepared to be sued by disgruntled renters?
Will you rent to obvious squids? Noobies? Drunkards? Drug addled maniacs? Nineteen year olds?
Where will you store the bikes?
Where will you maintain the bikes?
Will you rent gear?
Cheap or expensive tires?

Think it through before you commit to anything.

[Klondike1020]

Originally Posted by Alex

The guy that writes the last page of Motorcycle Consumer News (Fred Rau) just had an article about his motorcycle tour business. The short answer was, of all of the people he knows who have set up such a tour business, all but two went bankrupt. The two that stuck around, including his, make very little money, and rely on other sources of income. I'd seek out that article for the specifics before investing much. May want to seek out the Feel Like a Pro folks as well, to see how they got into bike rentals. They are more track-focused, but it's a pretty similar business model.

Thanks I am looking up that article. I was going over the actual cost and what the minimum number of days I would need to rent a bike just to keep it from costing me money is. I think the only way it works well is if you have a track, region to tour, large influx of tourists and can keep business very steady

I have seen a few ATV rental shops that do very well, but they are near large atv parks

Originally Posted by Desmoluci

At the very least pound the snot out of them, then hand it back to you to repair.
No thanks!

I guess I was operating off of the pretext that I don't beat on stuff when I rent it.

I was looking at other rentals and they have a $1000 deposit which helps deter abuse of vehicle and a pile of waivers and acknowledgments that you must sign to ride.

Originally Posted by dcj13

How many bikes?
How much per bike to buy them?
How much per bike to maintain them per year?
How much per bike to insure them per year?
How many days per bike per year do you expect them to be rented?
Are you prepared to go pick up the bike and renter 200 miles away when they crash or the bike dies?
Are you prepared to be sued by disgruntled renters?
Will you rent to obvious squids? Noobies? Drunkards? Drug addled maniacs? Nineteen year olds?
Where will you store the bikes?
Where will you maintain the bikes?
Will you rent gear?
Cheap or expensive tires?

Think it through before you commit to anything.

Thanks for the advice. I have been working through a detailed plan.

You cannot rent a motorcycle to anyone under 21 years of age

And you must have a current drivers license with a M class endorsement

Also I was thinking of setting up a small competency test and road cone course that people have to ride through before they are released into the wild lol like a little lap to prove clutch and breaking competency

they have to sign Liability waivers
1million worth of liability coverage is included in the ins policy
I was going to include helmet with rental and other gear is optional to rent
Also was thinking of renting go pros and blue tooth helmets for extra
I am happy working on bikes so maintenance should be reasonable

The insurance covers the motorcycle NADA value - deductible and I use the 1000$ deposit twords the deductible

The most risky part is theft coverage is 75% of NADA
so if it is taken I cannot have someone arrested for not returning it because I turned it over to their custody. I can only sue them.

[JohnnyBravo]

Ever see what bad tenets do to rental properties? No thanks!
Ever see what bad renters do to rental cars? No thank you!

Get my drift? You buy the insurance so you can get wasted and build ramps for it right... You don't do stuff like that, but this is America... Folks crazy

[JohnnyBravo]

It's a cool idea if you can keep a leash on the folks, run background checks, somehow keep a lid on the

[Klondike1020]

@ JohnnyBravo

Yeah i guess this is the land of the advantage takers and abusers

My family business in NY is rental properties so i know all too well what you are talking about.

And I guess it is a bit ludicrous to try to detail background check and competency test every person who wants to spend 100$ on a moto rental

In thailand most of the tourists were respectful of the thai scooters for two reasons… travelers in thailand are usually trying to travel on the cheap and down want to incur injury or added expense.

AND

The rental place keeps your PASSPORT so there is not getting away w a bike or you are trapped in thailand forever.

Renting to Americans on US soil is risky because we as a nation are a bunch of spoiled entitled users.

I could just buy a couple of spare ninjettes and rent them to pay them off.
but I would have to get 100 days worth of renting to break even I guess, and a lot can happen in 100 days of ridding

[dcj13]

Wasn't trying to be a Debbie Downer. It could be kind of fun. But when I start thinking about all the bad stuff that could happen, I decide to keep working for the man.

We should each go rent a Harley (or whatever) for a day or two, ride the tires off it, and see what it's like to be on the customer side of the experience.

[adouglas]

It occurs to me that a rental business is really a maintenance business... as in, you'll always be trying to keep bikes on the road. It will never, ever end. It is likely that at ay given time, part of your fleet will be down and not making you money.

Maintenance and cosmetics are very important. Consider that if your bikes aren't in good condition (which is not the same thing as "rideable" condition"), people won't want to rent from you. Would the average person want to rent a bike with rashed fairings or duct-taped turn signals?

So that means....

- lots and lots of spares with a place to store them (at a wild guess, a half a bike's worth of spares for every bike on the road). More emphasis on the stuff that breaks in a tip-over or is easily damaged through use (plastics, handlebars, brake/clutch/gearshift levers, turn signals, mirrors, seat vinyl, etc. etc.), less on stuff that will survive a minor accident unscathed (frame/swingarm, wheels, etc.)

- a healthy stock of normal wear items (tires, chains, brake pads)

- at least one dedicated mechanic on staff

- a place to work on bikes + a place to park the whole fleet

- proper tools, and lots of 'em

- budget to allow inspection and maintenance every time the bike gets rented (how many hours of maintenance will be required per rental day? How much will one hour of maintenance cost you?)

So let's say you pay your mechanic minimum wage (a non-starter, but just for argument's sake), and get rent a place to do business (store bikes, work on bikes, deal with customers), and oh by the way keep enough to pay yourself enough to eat....

Easy to see that this is one very expensive proposition.

Oh, and don't forget budgeting for transport. You're going to have to go retrieve bikes that don't make it back.

[Klondike1020]

@adouglas

I was thinking a bit smaller scale.
My one car garage , I am the mechanic, and keep 6-8 bikes to rent with a fully stocked enclosed trailer I can tow anywhere.

I was thinking getting decent used bikes and do it as a part time hobby/job

But once I started running the numbers
Ins, regi, maintenance, trailer, gear

Just to have 8 used bikes and a trailer available and insured would be roughly $5k a month- I would have to have at least 100 days of rented motorcycle each month just to break even. If I rented them 100% of the time assuming 20% down time for repairs though- 25000$ each month income - expenses

But that would hardly be achievable

[alex.s]

what are the numbers for just one or two rented bikes. its not that hard to expand but over estimating demand is bad

[dcj13]

Originally Posted by alex.s

what are the numbers for just one or two rented bikes. its not that hard to expand but over estimating demand is bad

Not a bad approach to start small: two bikes (in good shape, but you don't love them); run ads on the internet and maybe a magazine or two; see how it goes for a year or two.

If it doesn't pan out, you can sell the bikes the following spring.

Heck, I'd rent one from you for a day or two if I was in town and you provided maps of interesting rides. Weather permitting. And I met your criteria as a renter.

But how many people like me are out there during the riding season? And scattered out, date-wise?

[alex.s]

here's a thought- rent only to licensed racers? advertise specifically to experienced bikers who you know can handle themselves? although you might get lots of blown engines and go through tires really quickly

[Klondike1020]

Originally Posted by dcj13

Not a bad approach to start small: two bikes (in good shape, but you don't love them); run ads on the internet and maybe a magazine or two; see how it goes for a year or two.

If it doesn't pan out, you can sell the bikes the following spring.

Heck, I'd rent one from you for a day or two if I was in town and you provided maps of interesting rides. Weather permitting. And I met your criteria as a renter.

But how many people like me are out there during the riding season? And scattered out, date-wise?

Yeah the problem is buying desirable bikes is the risky part.

But Tale of the dragon tours on 300s would probably be a blast

[Klondike1020]

Originally Posted by alex.s

what are the numbers for just one or two rented bikes. its not that hard to expand but over estimating demand is bad

Buying two brand new bikes
500/month payment, 175$ a month for insurance plus registration and maintenance and buying ridding gear to provide to people.

I was making an excel spread sheet that had it organized by model of bike.
Some cannot be rented because no one will insure them for that purpose.

If I ran the business just during the summer. Do Myrtle beach bike weeks
Do Daytona bike week

and then fill in the off time with pre scheduled arranged Tail of the dragon tours. Work with the local businesses to make a all in one package including stay.

I guess its doable but probably not something I want to do next week and count on for my lively hood.

I will see if I can work it out over the rest of this year and start next year off with a new enclosed trailer and a few used bikes to rent.

[dcj13]

Read the Fred Rau piece (as Alex suggested).