Thoughts on renting a bike for a month in the UK?

dirty_t

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Heading over there in August to visit my wife’s family in Malvern (Worcestershire). Rather than renting a car, thinking it would be nice to be on a bike, but not interested in paying >£100/day through usual m/c vacation hire places. I found one place, https://www.spydermotorcycles.co.uk/motorcycle-hire/, up in Silverstone.

Anyone here have any advice, tips, suggestions? Thanks.
 
Why don't you buy one off Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree Or main dealer??

Register it in your name at the place you are staying and arrange insurance etc the same way

And sell it again when you are going ~?


Obviously it depends what you want to ride

But prices have gone pretty high this last while
 
Why don't you buy one off Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree Or main dealer??
Register it in your name at the place you are staying and arrange insurance etc the same way
And sell it again when you are going ~?

Good idea - been wondering about going that route. Will have a look. (And probably starting with listings on this forum is a good place to start...).

https://www.westsussexmotorcyclehire.co.uk/

Give Pete a call, and see what he can do,

He was super helpful when i was looking for a GS to buy

Thanks - great tip. Looks like they have some good rental deals on the mid-size bikes.:beerjug:
 
I suppose there's a risk with buying that if it turns out to be a dog you have few realistic options within a short timescale. At least if you hire a bike and it goes pop a replacement should be a phone call away.

Given the propensity for rain here, maybe it'd be worth hiring a bike for part of your trip and a car for another part. Maybe wait until you get here to see what the weather forecast looks like.

Finally (and off topic) I'd love to hear how you are pronouncing Worcestershire (without coaching from your wife, obviously).
 
I suppose there's a risk with buying that if it turns out to be a dog you have few realistic options within a short timescale. At least if you hire a bike and it goes pop a replacement should be a phone call away.

Given the propensity for rain here, maybe it'd be worth hiring a bike for part of your trip and a car for another part. Maybe wait until you get here to see what the weather forecast looks like.

Finally (and off topic) I'd love to hear how you are pronouncing Worcestershire (without coaching from your wife, obviously).

Good thoughts about weather/car - thinking that same thing a bit. I don’t even have decent rain pants - don’t need ‘em here.

re sauces, etc., obviously we have a different accent which affects our pronunciations. This is pretty close, though:
 
Big problem with buying is the insurance.

First question........ Are you a resident, and have been for,last 6 months?

No..... Sorry no insurance.
 
Heading over there in August to visit my wife’s family in Malvern (Worcestershire). Rather than renting a car, thinking it would be nice to be on a bike, but not interested in paying >£100/day through usual m/c vacation hire places. I found one place, https://www.spydermotorcycles.co.uk/motorcycle-hire/, up in Silverstone.

Anyone here have any advice, tips, suggestions? Thanks.

How long are you here for?

I've got several bikes which most of the time sit in my garage getting bored.

If you could sort Insurance and wanted a bike for a week or two you could borrow one of mine.

I'm only half an hour from Malvern.

PM me if you'd like to discuss further.

Thanks


PS - If anyone knows how temporary insurance could be bought please will you let us know.
 
Good thoughts about weather/car - thinking that same thing a bit. I don’t even have decent rain pants - don’t need ‘em here.

re sauces, etc., obviously we have a different accent which affects our pronunciations. This is pretty close, though:

I've accumulated lots of decent bike gear over the years ie medium sized helmets, jackets, gloves etc which you're also welcome to borrow.
 
I have friends who visit from Argentina.

They borrow a friends bike and they are added to his policy as a named rider.

In this case, it maybe a good idea to work out a prior arrangement that if their insurance is claimed upon for any reason, you cover the expenses.
 
Big problem with buying is the insurance.

First question........ Are you a resident, and have been for,last 6 months?

No..... Sorry no insurance.

This isn't always the case. There are many insurance companies who will temporarily insure foreign residents. It's just pretty expensive. But It should still be cheaper than renting a bike if you can get a bike to borrow.
 
Heading over there in August to visit my wife’s family in Malvern (Worcestershire). Rather than renting a car, thinking it would be nice to be on a bike, but not interested in paying >£100/day through usual m/c vacation hire places. I found one place, https://www.spydermotorcycles.co.uk/motorcycle-hire/, up in Silverstone.

Anyone here have any advice, tips, suggestions? Thanks.

If you do rent I can recommend Spyder, good range of bikes and very friendly and helpful. I doubt if it’s worth buying for a month, there’s the hassle of buying and selling plus if it goes wrong it’s more of a problem to solve.


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How long are you here for?

I've got several bikes which most of the time sit in my garage getting bored.

If you could sort Insurance and wanted a bike for a week or two you could borrow one of mine.

I'm only half an hour from Malvern.

PM me if you'd like to discuss further.

Thanks


PS - If anyone knows how temporary insurance could be bought please will you let us know.

I've accumulated lots of decent bike gear over the years ie medium sized helmets, jackets, gloves etc which you're also welcome to borrow.

Wow - super generous of you, @SteveC10. Thank you! PM sent!

Also, thanks all re points about insurance. My wife mentioned this issue, and we were going to talk to her mother about getting us added to her auto policy. Will do some research on insurance for visitors. Must be available as the bike hire companies would have navigated this many times before.

Found a good thread over on advrider.com about this UK insurance for non-residents. One option mentioned in the thread:
https://www.bikesure.co.uk/short-te...MI9tPStYqt4AIVT5PtCh2xYwSCEAAYASAAEgJme_D_BwE

Thanks, again.
 
Not massive amount of great riding in the UK, and for a lot of getting about and going to places of interest a car would be more useful. Bike hire is probably expensive and if you end up only using it every 2nd or third day will be very expensive.

If you can sort out to borrow a bike then perfect, if not I would suggest maybe just hiring for a few days, Wales is on your doorstep to the West, and well worth exploring for a day or three - you can ride around it and take in most of the "best roads" in a couple of days as it is pretty small, but if stopping for sights and attractions you could spend a week there.

Cotswolds to your South (pretty enough) not much to your East and Frozen Wastelands with folk who cannot speak English to your North.
 


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