Thinking about a Rental business for Motorcycles | GTAMotorcycle.com

Thinking about a Rental business for Motorcycles

B

Blofeld

Member
Forum Sponsor
Just toying with the idea but the first thing comes to mind is insurance. I see a couple of places like GTAexotics and another one call Ryderz rent out motorcycles in Toronto. There is an extra daily charge for insurance on their bikes. Would anyone know which insurance brokers provide these type of rental insurance???

I know there is a franchise call 'Eagle Rider' that rents out everything from Harley to SS bikes. They are mainly in the US but one or two shops out in western Canada, none in Toronto. I would probably want to start out small and just do rentals for smaller CC cruisers and sport touring only, don't want to attract the wrong clientele.

Thanks!
 
Sounds like a super tough business... risky too... think there's a market for something like this?
 
Maybe if we had more sights to see/tourism...
 
I think there might be a small market in Toronto for this, definitely risky but all niche business' are. I rented a 1098 in L.A last month.. felt like dumping my gsxr in the lake when I got home lol
 
SRADguy said:
I think there might be a small market in Toronto for this, definitely risky but all niche business' are. I rented a 1098 in L.A last month.. felt like dumping my gsxr in the lake when I got home lol
Click to expand...

If you do, don't dump it into lake Ontario. It deserves better.
 
I think that there's definitely a market but check with insurance first. When I called SF and asked them about it (was toying with same idea last year) they point blank told me 'don't do it the rates are ridiculous' ....

Im not sure about legality of Ryderz. Pick up a few 125s and 250s and I'm sure you'll make money. Just gotta worry about people dumping the bikes, stealing the bikes, damaging the bikes, and injuring themselves. Tough business but that's why rental rates are high.
 
There is a market for this. I have a friend that owns a few Ninja 250Rs (all 2008+) and rents them out. Problem is they don't know jack **** about motorcycles and are in it for the $$$ only. One of them asked me how to charge the battery once.

We all know the Ninja 250R batteries require more steps than "remove the seat" to get to the battery. She was very very confused when I told her to take off the side covers and battery cover lol thought I wanted her to take the whole fairing off.
 
If you're actually serious about this I would recommend looking to open a franchise location rather than opening an independent place. Call up that Eagle rider place and talk to them about it. The overhead for something like this will literally be outrageous!
 
Wasted said:
If you're actually serious about this I would recommend looking to open a franchise location rather than opening an independent place. Call up that Eagle rider place and talk to them about it. The overhead for something like this will literally be outrageous!
Click to expand...

I completely agree with this. The initial investment will be astronomical and if the niche market doesn't realize this business is available (poor advertising due to lack of funds), the RoI will not happen.
 
Like SRADguy said, starting niche businesses will always have inherent risks. Franchising is definitely and option, it has it's benefits; brand awareness, established connections etc.. however... there's something to be said about running your own business, your way. Plus upfront franchise fee can be pricey. Grab some 250s and start your own thing, my gf will rent one (just can't promise it will come back in one piece)
 
As many have said the ROI on this will be tough. Overhead costs wil be hefty, liabaility issues will be significant and you are faced with a contracted sesonal business.

niche market, seasonal, high risk...more risk than reward, I would walk
 
I would also recommend incorporating because the first person that gets injured and wants to sue will take everything from you.
 
There is a place near Deals Gap that rents out sport bikes ... talk about being in a risky location. I was talking to one of the people that operates it at Wheeler's shop this spring. They are selective about who they will rent to. It requires a personal assessment about the risk that any given rider will be. This also means that you can't set up a front counter with an automaton (clerk) behind it and rent to anyone as long as they fit X criteria, because you can't really write down criteria for defining who is an irresponsible idiot, and the necessary judgment calls mean that - particularly in a larger market - you WILL get complaints like "Boo hoo those guys wouldn't rent me this, even though my buddy rented from them last week".
 
Definitely a tough business. Lots of details to iron out. In my humble opinion I think you would be best off defining a specific type of rental for a specific purpose, for example: renting ninja 250's at the race track, or renting sport tourers out with a guide to show them all the cool ontario roads (and keep an eye on them!). I think since it is a very specific market, you need to get very specific about your business plan. I like your idea, I just hope it is profitable.
 
I definitely think that there is a market for it. When I was overseas in Europe I rented motorcycles and I could definitely see it working here. There is no need to rent a place and buy 10 liter bikes for people to rent. If you have all the legit insurance and the like, buy a cheap used 250 or something, and rent it out from your garage or something. Keep overhead costs as low as possible. If done right, I could definitely see it working. When I rented in Europe, they were all legit, but none of them had rented a place to solely rent out their bikes from.

It could work if done right IMO.
 
There must be a reason why it's so exclusive to a few a places in Toronto. Must be an insurance issue.

How about scooters ? There has to be a market for that especially in Downtown, Toronto. Initial costs and insurance might be less. Then if it goes, you can start renting bikes. Sounds like a plan to me.
 
rainman said:
Definitely a tough business. Lots of details to iron out. In my humble opinion I think you would be best off defining a specific type of rental for a specific purpose, for example: renting ninja 250's at the race track, or renting sport tourers out with a guide to show them all the cool ontario roads (and keep an eye on them!). I think since it is a very specific market, you need to get very specific about your business plan. I like your idea, I just hope it is profitable.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. I think any business should start off with a target customer segment. My initial plan would be focus on mature riders who used to ride but had since sold their bikes and just getting back to the scene but have not yet wanted to commit to buying a bike. Another market is to focus on people who have not bought a bike and would require a rental for their M test.
 
rented a ducati from racyrentals in LA. he is setup in a storage unit ground floor and we met up there. He did all the paperwork thru his iphone, swiped my credit card and took a photo of me. He had something setup with ducati boring bikes or short term leases. they were all newer bikes. Young guy and said was successful. it cost me $250 all in included some miles for a multi strada.
def see a need here. it would be great to try out dif style of bikes before purchasing. Using a bike to get your license.
Forum Sponsor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom