Rental Bikes

[ihmmrs]

G'day, I'm a newbie here and an Aussie but don't hold that against me. Has anyone had dealings with Bangkok Bike Rentals who advertise on this site? I'm coming over in Feb and want a bike for 1 month which they do at seemingly reasonable rates. I'm not completely green - rented bikes in Chiang Mai 2 yrs ago and I have my own. Any info on reliability of company greatly appreciated. Cheers.

[floridaguy]

I rented from them a couple of months back. Two bikes, ER6Ns for 24 hours. First, they wouldn't honor the 10% discount for Thaivisa members. No big deal, it was still a good price. Then, after returning both bikes, problems started. We returned it to the owner's home near the shop at their request, and it was after dark. The French guy who owns the company inspected both bikes and zero'd right in on a dent in the front wheel. I couldn't see it until he shined a torch on it, even then it was very hard to see. He asked me if I hit a deep hole, I replied no. I am an experienced rider, I never noticed any problems with vibration on the front, and no one rode that bike but me. I had the bike for a day trip to Bang Saen that day with a group of 5 other bikers. We all took the same route, no big pot holes, no one else had problems with their own (un-rented) bikes. They wanted to keep both my passport and my 5,000 baht deposit. I got my passport back, and he said that we would split the cost of the repairs. I couldn't prove that I didn't cause the damage, and he couldn't prove that I did, so I agreed to an inspection of the bike. I heard back from the girlfriend 3 weeks later that they still hadn't had it inspected by the Kawasaki dealer, and nothing since. No word on the cost of repairs, no negotiation for cost, no thank you for the free 5,000 baht.

I will never rent from them again, and neither will I recommend them. My American embassy friends who accompanied me that day also avoid them, because of the rudeness of the owners and the way they treated me throughout this ordeal. Just poor service. Funny part is that after all the horror stories you hear on this forum, this time it was a foreign owned bike rental place cheating a Thai renter. Live and learn.

[ihmmrs]

Thankyou for your response. I was under the impression it was run by Thai lady. Seems like a thorough inspection of bike in company of owner essential before hire. Got to say attitude problem puts me off. Thanks again.

[yannic]

come mon guys, you have to inspect the bike before rental and see if there is any damage, then note it down on the contract. I mean I rented a car from Budget in Germany and did not check thouroughly and had to pay for a damage on the front window which I had overseen. So it is not particularly Bangkok Bike Rental. That can happen at any bike/car rental place.

I rented a KLX250 for a week a few month back and checked the bike before and I had no problems whatsoever with them when returning the bike. I was happy finding a bike rental in Bangkok with a good selection of bikes.

[wantan]

come mon guys, you have to inspect the bike before rental and see if there is any damage, then note it down on the contract. I mean I rented a car from Budget in Germany and did not check thouroughly and had to pay for a damage on the front window which I had overseen. So it is not particularly Bangkok Bike Rental. That can happen at any bike/car rental place.

I rented a KLX250 for a week a few month back and checked the bike before and I had no problems whatsoever with them when returning the bike. I was happy finding a bike rental in Bangkok with a good selection of bikes.

To check the bike thouroughly is mainly the job of the (good quality) rental place. And they have to do this EVERY TIME the bike is returned, not only occasionally. They should have seen the dent before giving the bike out.

[BigBikeBKK]

Aussie friend of mine rents from Bangkok Bike Rent every time he comes to Thailand and has had no complaints. First time he rented an ER6n and one of the aftermarket mirrors fell off. I'm really not sure who ended up paying for it. Last visit he rented a Versys with 600km on the clock. Funny enough the owner had just crashed it, but the damage was all cosmetic and the bike performed flawlessly on our 2000+ km tour. It's the black one:

[floridaguy]

come mon guys, you have to inspect the bike before rental and see if there is any damage, then note it down on the contract. I mean I rented a car from Budget in Germany and did not check thouroughly and had to pay for a damage on the front window which I had overseen. So it is not particularly Bangkok Bike Rental. That can happen at any bike/car rental place.

I rented a KLX250 for a week a few month back and checked the bike before and I had no problems whatsoever with them when returning the bike. I was happy finding a bike rental in Bangkok with a good selection of bikes.

To check the bike thouroughly is mainly the job of the (good quality) rental place. And they have to do this EVERY TIME the bike is returned, not only occasionally. They should have seen the dent before giving the bike out.

I agree. I rented the bike during daylight and no mention of the dent, but plenty of cosmetic damage from scrapes. She took photos at the time of rental when we both inspected the bikes, but this dent could not be seen unless looking straight on to the wheel from the front or below and looking directly at the dent. How he found it in the dark is what made me suspicious, since we couldn't see it in the daylight. Here is a photo of the two bikes we rented at the time of pickup, and just before we dropped them back off after our ride.

[ihmmrs]

Glad to see some positive response. I am looking at the KLX 250 myself but for the month. I think I'll give them a call.

Thanks guys!

[wantan]

Last visit he rented a Versys with 600km on the clock. Funny enough the owner had just crashed it, but the damage was all cosmetic and the bike performed flawlessly on our 2000+ km tour.

Hmmm, i wouldn't like it if they would give me a bike that has signs of a crash. Even minor signs. How can i be sure they are only cosmetic and there isn't e.g. a hair crack somewhere?

I wouldn't expect a brand new bike at a good quality rental place. But it should have no damages or scratches from falling down. Only normal signs of wear are acceptable. If the bike has signs of a crash it should be repaired before handing it out to customers for rent. But OK, i am not used to track driving, so falling down is not a "normal use case" for me. And of course things are different in LOS. And if the price is good it helps to accept such things of course