Not the Picos...

My son Tim and I have 'done' the Picos three years in succession. Admittedly some of the finest motorcycling experiences in all of Europe:- fab roads and scenery, not a lot of traffic, and cheap grub / overnights.

But for this Autumn, Tim wants a change. He became fed up with Brittany Ferries constantly bad timekeeping, leaving him waiting hours unnecessarily among other sweltering bikers on the dockside on each and every trip, apart from the horrendous charges they ask.

So instead, for this year's week-long holiday here in Spain he wants to fly to Málaga on the Costa del Sol, so that I can ride the 450km from my home here in Almería Province and meet up with him at a Bike Rental place and ride back here with him via the spectacular Sierra Nevada and Alpujarras Mountains routes that I've enjoyed riding along with my Spanish biking pals for several years past.

None of them can recommend a reliable and fair BMW bike rental outfit near Málaga Airport. Can anybody on here ?

I'm tempted to put him on to the English couple by the name of Corner in Málaga who do airport transfers and also offer a wide range of Beemers. But i don't know whether they're kushtie or not.

There are lots of other bike rental outfits in the airport area, but who knows whether the vehicles they offer are safe and well looked-after - and who don't rip your arm off with their suddenly-raised rental charges and hidden insurance extras ?

Once they've got your paid-up-front 50% loot and you're standing there in front of them with your helmet, gloves, boots and protective kit in a big plastic bag, along with your overnight suitcase, as you swelter away in the Costa del Crime heat, they've got you for sure, haven't they ?

I know what the Spans are like - I live and breathe amongst them eleven months of the year....

AL in s.e. Spain

I used this lot in 2012 http://www.imtbike.com/motorcycle-rentals/locations/malaga/

Picked up not too far from Malaga airport, got the bus almost to the backstreet from Malaga bus station.

Bike (1200GS) was well turned out and relatively new / low kms as far as I recall.

I'm sure you'll find something but don't leave it till the last moment, I tried several others like GS Heaven http://www.motoadventours.com/rental/ and BMW Motohire http://www.bmwmotohire.com/ but had left it too late.

Good luck

I'm sure that I read very recently, somewhere that one of the major car rental companies in the area is now doing bikes, Hertz perhaps?

How old is fed-up of waiting Tim? Can he do it himself?

Try a Spanish motorcycle forum?

Buy a reasonably decent secondhand bike, lend it to your son, then sell or keep it when he's gone home?

Why not ride / drive over and check some out? You could even do the booking for him perhaps? If nothing else, it'll save him sweating like a rapist whilst waiting to be rogered by some unscrupulous local brigand.

How about this place: http://www.bmwmotohire.com/#about-us as a starter for ten?

Rushy said:

I'm sure that I read very recently, somewhere that one of the major car rental companies in the area is now doing bikes, Hertz perhaps?

Click to expand...

SIXT had a new BMW 800GS for rental from their onsite office (multi-storey car park) at Palma airport, Mallorca recently. They may well have the same in Malaga, worth an ask

J.R. said:

SIXT had a new BMW 800GS for rental from their onsite office (multi-storey car park) at Palma airport, Mallorca recently. They may well have the same in Malaga, worth an ask

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That could be it SIXT . That's really great to know about Palma, guess who is taking the family to Mallorca very soon ? I hate sitting by the pool doing nothing

Thanks for the advice, guys. Wapping - second hand vehicles here in Spain are three times the price of those in the UK 'cos nothing rusts much. And I think when the weather cools I've ride over via the Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada to Málaga and check out the Comers - sorry I got their name wrong; it's not Corner it's Comer.
J.R - thanks too. I'll also check out the reliable German rental firm SIXT if they're now doing bikes. A big trusted firm.
And Craig - your suggestion of IMT is actually the biggest nationwide Spanish bike rental firm of all, including the Baleares and Canarias. They too have a depôt near Málaga Airport so I'll have a look at them also - and do the booking either with them or the Comers..
What a wonderful resource this forum is.
AL in s.e. Spain

Rushy said:

I'm sure that I read very recently, somewhere that one of the major car rental companies in the area is now doing bikes, Hertz perhaps?

Click to expand...

Hertz do rent GS's in Alicante, Madrid and Barcelona

120 Euros/day isn't a bad price compared to Eaglerider in the States which is nearly double nowadays

Pity I can't use my corporate discount code to get another 15% off....

Thanks Sven - I never would have thought that Hertz the car hire combine would do bike hire. A week on a 1200GSA out of Alicante is €945. Not bad...but more expensive per day tha the Málaga area hirers of a similar bike.
AL in s.e. Spain