Motorcycle Tour, Shipping, & Rental Info

This Web page is an attempt to provide useful information on bike rentals and tours all over the world. It is targeted toward sport touring bikers, but should work for riders of standard, touring, and sports bikes. I have left out cruisers, both since I am not into that style, and since they are well covered by other resources.

There are sections specifically for tours and rentals, but there are a lot of the companies doing both. I don't always cross list, so do check both lists. Someday I'll make this better... ;-)

Also, if you do patronize one of these outfits, I'd appreciate it if you would mention now you learned of them. Mahalo!

Motorcycle Touring Lists

These are links to other lists. Some may be duds by now...

BMW Motorcycle Travel, Rental, and Touring Info DUD!
DJ's: right here in Kona, one of the best lists
International MotorCycle Tourism Association (IMcTA) DUD!: Go to the bottom of the page -- lots of links, also lots of duds!
Motorcycling.net DUD!
MCguide.com
web Bike World

Motorcycle Tours

Some of these folks also rent bare bikes.

Action Factory

These guys have addresses in Kongsberg, Norway, and York, UK. Slow Web access. They do tours in Europe, Asia, and Australia. Actually, I never got the pages to fully load, so ...

AdMo-Tours

Adventure Motorcycle Tours. They have bases in Switzerland and California, and do tours there and also in Transylvania, India, China, Israel, Honduras, Bolivia, and Patagonia. They can connect you with tours in even more places. They also do motorcycle rentals in Europe and the US, with an extensive list of places and bikes

Adventure Cycle Tours

They are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and do tours of midwest U.S. and Canada. They only handle the tour part - you must provide the bike.

Asian Motorcycle Adventures

Tours of South East Asia, in Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, and Borneo.

Adventure Travel On Motorcycles

Headquartered in Denver, ATOM offers dual-sport type tours in Colorado and Utah. They also rent a range of motorcycles for both on and off road use. Street bikes are BMW R1100 and R1150GS, Honda Shadow, and a Harley bagger. Dual sports are BMW F-650GS and F-650 Dakar. They also rent off road bikes.

Australian Motorcycle Adventures

Located in Brisbane. They say they have 40 Yamaha bikes, but most are probably dual sport, off road, or cruisers. The one good road bike (they may have more than one) is a XJ 900 Diversion. They offer both guided and unguided tours.

Ayres's Adventures

Tours of the Alps, Africa, South America and New Zealand. BMW motorcycles. A very good company, but a bit expensive. The money does get very good accomodations and food, though. I rode them in South America in the Escape to Macchu Picchu Tour.

Beach's

Tours of the Alps, Norway, and New Zealand. BMW motorcycles. A bit less professional, but more friendly than Edelweiss. Otherwise, both companies are pretty much on a par as far as quality of the tour. I did an Alpen tour with Beach's in 1997, Norway in 1999, and New Zealand in 2002.

Bosenberg Tours

Tours of Europe and the Alps, out of Germany. They offer a much wider variety of bikes than the others, including Pans.

Central Italy Motorcycle Tours

This is a new outfit headquartered in Rome. Their idea is short tours in the central section of Italy. There are either fixed tours, or they can customize for you. Bikes are a mixed bunch. They also do simple bike rentals.

Coastline Motorcycle Tours and Rentals

They say they are on Denman Island, which is off the coast of Vancouver Island, on the left coast of Canada. They also say they do BMW bikes, in addition to their traditional Harleys. No other real info on the pages.

CountryWide Motorcycle Tours

They are located in Moruya, NSW, about 300 Km south of Sydney. They work with BMW bikes, with GS's shown on their page. They may do rentals.

Edelweiss Tours

Edelweiss is the grand champion of the Alpine tour. Currently they do tours in the Alps in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and France. They also do tours in Africa, England, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, and Spain. They use all BMW bikes in Europe.

You might try looking on my home page for some photos shot on my 1995 Edelweiss Alpen Tour.

Freedom Tours

Tours of Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. I believe they also do bare bike rentals. Bikes include Gold Wing, ST1100, Shadow, and BMW K bikes.

Great Canadian Motor Corp

Out of the business, but their page is still there!

Himalayan Roadrunners

Tours in Ladakh, Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Thailand. Headquarters is in Kathmandu, Nepal, but they have contacts in the UK, US, and Thailand. Bikes seem to be the appropriate and ever popular Royal Enfield Bullet 500. Beautiful page.

Iberian Moto Tours

Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, their contact is Armonk Travel in New York. They do tours in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and the French Pyrenees. They also do custom tours. Bikes are all BMW's, in a wide range.

Inca Moto Adventures

Inca is located in Lima, Peru, and have several tours. Bikes are Honda XR600's. Their web page is supurb.

Lotus Tours

Their speciality is special tours. Offerings in 2000 are Madagascar, Morocco, Bhutan, Mongolia, Rajasthan, Malaysia, Tibet, Vietnam, Corscia, Sardinia, Cote d'Azur, Isle of Man, Ducati Factory Tour, Spain, France, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and Peru. They do tours in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and the French Pyrenees. Bikes are whatevers, but I saw Royal Enfield's and Honda Transalp's.

Moto Aventura of Chile

Tours of Chile on Yamaha XT600's. Web page is not too informative.

Moto Evasion

Tours of Quebec.

MotoTouring

Located in Milano, Italy, they offer guided tours of southern Italy, Corsica and Sardinia. They are mostly into rentals -- see the entry under rentals. Phone is + 39-02.2720.1556.

Mountain to Sound Motorcycle Adventures

Tours in the Pacific Notrhwest, and bike rentals. They do Beemers, Harleys, Hondas, and ST1100. Word currently is that they will have a ST1300 in 2002.

Mountain Thunder

Headquartered in Charles Town, West Virginia, they are in a good riding area. They let you tour on your bike, or they have rentals available -- BMW, Valkyrie, Shadow, and Harley. Site seems dead (2005)...

New Zealand Motorcycle Rentals

These folks have bases in Christchurch and in Auckland. They do both tours and rentals. Bikes are BMW, Harley, Honda, and Yamaha.

Northeastern Motorcycle Tours

New England, Adirondacks & Canadian Maritimes. Offer ST1100's! and many other bike options, including your own. Seems first rate, good pages, and some good recommendations. And the Adirondacks can surely be fun!

Pacific Motorcycle Adventure Tours & Rentals, Inc.

Tours of British Columbia. They also do custom tours, and straight rentals. They have ST1100, Gold Wing, Yamaha FJ1200, Yamaha Seca II, BMW K & R, Honda 750 Magna, and Kawasaki KLR650 dual sport. Info in German.

Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Holiday

They are in Whistler, BC, and have one of the neatest pages I've seen. They only have Triumph bikes, but I can attest that the Tigre is one fine ride.

Siam Bike Travel

Located in Chaing Mai, Thailand, they do enduro type and 4WD tours in Thailand, Laos, and Burma.

Speciality Travel

Speciality Travel Motorcycle Tours

See the spiel below. The motorcycle button takes you straight to the best part. But they have a lot to offer besides bikes.

Looking for unusual and exciting adventure travel opportunities? You've come to the right place.

Welcome to Specialty Travel Index ONLINE - The #1 directory of adventure vacations and special interest travel worldwide. As you look through our Internet version of the magazine, you'll find detailed information about thousands of unusual vacations, offered by over 600 tour operators and outfitters around the globe.

Te Waipounamu Motorcycle Hire and Tours

A New Zealand outfit, based in Christchurch, but are also in Auckland. They have lots of bikes, and lots of options, including rentals. Bikes are Buell, BMW, Ducati, Harley, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha. They also handle the New Zealand tours marketed by Beach. I have done a Beach Maori Meander tour, and it is highly recommended.

Triumph Bike Tours of Greece and Turkey

I suppose the title says it, but they have bikes other than Triumphs, and even some cars. There are lots of tours, but the Web page is a bit busy and hard to digest.

Twist Grip Tours

Headquartered in Staalveld, South Africa, they do tours in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho. Bikes are all Yamaha XT 500. Site seems dead (2005)...

Utah Motorcycle Adventures

For something entirely different, perhaps an off road tour in southern Utah. They use Honda ZR400's. Tours seem both fixed and flexible. This link leads to another site now (2005).

Westrider Motorcycle Tours of West Australia

These folks do both guided tours out of Perth and bare bike rentals. Bikes include ST1100 , XV250, XJ900 Diversion, TTR 250, XT 600, and others. Looks like a bit of the touring might be dual sport. Not sure how the ST fits in.

Motorcycle Shipping

Shipping a Motorcycle to Europe: One person's notes on how to get you bike to Europe. Also has a bunch of other stuff at the bottom.
Companies which ship motorcycles: A listing of address, some with email and/or Web links, of companies which ship bikes, both within the US and around the world.
Berklay Air Express: They ship bikes anywhere, and have been at it for a long time. Their email is info@motorcycleshipping.com
Lufthansa Air Lines: No real experience here, but Lufthansa is supposed to offer a very good air service direct to Germany. Apparently they have a lot of experience, and the hassles are minimized. You ride on the plane with your bike. (If anyone has more info, please mail to me - thanks.)

Motorcycle Rentals

You might also check under tours in the area you are interested in. Many of the tour people seem to work with rental organizations, and this might provide you a good contact where you can eventually work something out.

And, some of these folks also offer tours, although that is not their main thing. Many will assist with self-tour plans, such as routes, maps, hotels, etc.

AdMo-Tours: Adventure Motorcycle Tours. They have bases in Switzerland and California, and do tours and motorcycle rentals in Europe and the US. Rentals vary from site to site. Bikes available in Europe are BMW, Ducati, HD, Honda, KTM, Suzuki, Triumph, and Yamaha. European locations are Bologna, Busseto, Florence, Frankfurt, Geneva, London, Madrid, Malaga, Milan, Munich, Rome, and Zurich. In North America the bikes available are fewer and limited to BMW, HD, and Honda. The rent in Boston, Calgary, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver. They say they can help you in other places.
A GOGO Motorcycle Rentals: Also seem to have quit the rental business! Located in Morgantown, NC, this outfit rents BMW R, RS, RT 1100's, and K75's. They are perfectly located between the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Albuquerque Motorcycle Rentals: These folks have a bunch of Harleys, a Virago, a Magna, and an old model Gold Wing. Prices seem high, and I would strongly suggest you read the fine print in the terms. See my remarks about the apparently defunct Cruising Southwest, below. I sense similarities.
Allround Vermietung: Located in Frankfurt/Main, they have a large selection of bikes from Honda and BMW, including ST1100. Their rates have a distance limit, so the effective price may be much higher for a long distance rider.
Atom Tours: They are in Denver and rent BMWs, Honda Shadow, and Harley's. They also do several trail type tours in Colorado.
Aussie Biker Tours and Rentals: They are 90 km north of Brisbane. Rentals now are Ducati's, Harley and Yamaha cruisers, and Yamaha trail bikes. They say they will soon have a ST1100.
Australian Motorcycle Rentals: Located in Victoria, this seems a very Harley/cruiser oriented outfit, but they do have big Beemers, Wings, and ST1100 in the rentals. Other bikes are Harleys and VW trikes. They have Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki cruisers.
Blue Ridge Motorcycles, Inc.: These folks are about 50 miles north of Atlanta, Georgia, and rent three models of BMW K75's. They also do one tour in North Carolina per year.
BRITS: Australia - Motorcycles: Obviously these folks rent in Australia. They rent Kawasaki GTR 1000 (touring) or Honda NX 650 dual sport, or similar. They have offices in Alice Springs, Cairns, Darwin, and Sidney.
BMW Motorcycles of Houston: The only exclusive BMW rental place in Texas. They rent a small range of BMW's -- LT, RT, and GS, and probably not current year. There are lots of rules, but not that unusual. Two day and weekly rates aren't too high.
California Motorcycle Rental: They have offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle and New York. They rent BMW bikes, and can offer one way rentals to their other offices.
Cruise America: These are the guys who mainly rent the big RV's. In fact, now that's all they rent. Seems they are out of the motorcycle business.
Cycle BC Rentals: They have offices in both Vancouver and Victoria British Columbia, both conveniently located. They rent Concours, VFR 800, Bandit 800, KLR 650, several types of cruisers, and a whole list of smaller bikes -- 600 and down. And, they do bicycles and scooters. On the down side, mileage allowance is only 300 Km per day.
Cruising Southwest Cruising Southwest: Located in Albequerque, New Mexico, they rent Honda V65 Magna and VFR 750, Kawasaki Vulcan 88, Suzuki Intruder 800, and Yamaha Virago 1100. Their deal is that you must buy the bike, with a provision for returning it. This is due to liability insurance. You must provide your own liability insurance. It's fairly unlikely that your home bike policy really covers this. Read the fine print carefully! When I went to Albequerque I tried talking with them, but could not reach agreement. Their prices are prohibitive for riding any distance, and they would not negotiate. Maybe others agreed -- the site doesn't work!
DJ's: DJ's is located right here on the Big Island of Hawaii, in Kona. They mostly rent big Harleys, but they have a couple of big Japanese bikes, probably Kawasaki's. Their page has a lot of other cycle rental links.
H-C Travel: This is a large travel agency in Overton, Hampshire, UK. They bill themselves as the world's no. 1 motorcycle travel agency. Maybe you don't want to book with them, but you should at least take a look at their listings of bikes available in what parts of the world. More US listings here that any place else, including this page.
Interior Motorcycles Ltd: Located in Kamloops, British Columbia, which is well up in the Rockies, they rent Kawasaki Vulcan 500 & 800, and Suzuki GS759 Katana and Intruder 800. Site not working (2005)
Knopf-Motorradreisen: Located in Heidelberg, near Frankfurt, and reputed to be the cheapest rentals in mainland Europe. They will pick you up at the Frankfurt airport. They only list K75's, but say they have other bikes. Also do motorcycle shipping from Orlando coordinated with bike week, and do cycle storage. Phone is 06221 782913, and FAX is 06221 786814.
Maui Island Dual Sport: These guys offer a bit of a different ride. They are in Honokawai, Maui, Hawaii, and rent Suzuki DR 350 dual sports bikes. They will also do guided tours. Page isn't working.
MotoTouring: Located in Milano, Italy, they have many kinds of bikes from scooters to Ducati 996, BMW LT, Aprila, etc. They have a lot of different Ducati models, and almost the entire BMW line. There is also much information on the site about riding in Italy and Europe. They will handle insurance for your bike, and they even do bike storage. They are near enough to the Alps to make for a great trip. Phone is + 39-02.2720.1556.
Moturis: This is a large rental outfit based out of Switzerland. They have offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Denver, New York, Chicago, Boston, and Florida. In addition to the obligatory Harley's they have R1100GS, R850R, Gold Wing's, and Suzuki Intruder's. And motorhomes, which are not really the same things as Wings, although there have been differences of opinions on that one.
Parkway Motorcycle Rentals: Despite the NZ URL, they are in Asheville, North Carolina. They rent BMW K and R bikes, and say they have Moto Guzzi and Cagiva also. Page isn't working.
Rainbow Motorcycle Hire: Located in Sheffield England, they have Beemers from the F650 to the K1200LT. Not working.
ride the world.com: This is a travel service site which may assist you in finding rentals all over the world. Do not click on the big "Click me" thing at the top. Use the "Ride where?" links instead. They don't give you links to the dealers, but only have a contact form you have to fill out. Still, it might be useful.