General Holiday Enquiries, Hints and Tips

General Holiday Enquiries? Got General Hints & Tips? Post Them Here.
Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
12 Posts
shirley h
2010-09-06 17:58:35
On past holidays we have been known to hire quad bikes and motorcycles but have only recently thought about the legalities of doing so. We love the freedom of being able to go where we want with the wind in our hair ;)

I've ridden pillion with hubby on a small (125cc or less) motorcycle but have only just found out that it's not legal for him to carry a pillion with a full car licence :que :que

I understand that I can ride pillion on a quad as long as it's a two seater. However, there are more and more people saying that quads aren't safe on the road because they can tip easily especially on corners. when I told hubby this he said the newer type are much better- something to do with the back axle :que Does anybody know if this is right?

We're off to Zante next summer and are hoping to get around the island in this way but I'm not prepared to go against the law.
Any info please?
Reply
Wizard
2010-09-06 18:14:41
Re: Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
well what can i say.. as an ex BMF proficiency examiner i would NEVER consider hiring any form of two wheeled transport in Greece/Cyprus and even Spain, when i walk past these hire shops i automatically look at the bikes many of which i would consider to be a death waiting to happen due to poor maintenance, as for dune buggies/quads I have seen several accidents where they have turned over usually on a bend, these vehicles were Never designed for road use, Then we come to the the crux of the matter MOST holiday insurances will not pay out if you have an accident without first declaring to intention to hire such machines [and if you do the premium will shoot up],

you pay your money and take your life in your own hands,,,only you can decide whether or not to take the risk

wizard
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shirley h
2010-09-06 18:21:44
Re: Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
Hi wiz,
Yes, your response is exactly what I thought I was going to get. So there is no such thing as a newer type quad with a back axle then? don't really know what I'm talking about as I was only half listening to hubby :think

We used to have such fun going up into the local villages but I can't see us doing this any more :( I have checked my insurance and I would inform them that we might hire a quad but now it's the safety I'm worried about. The thing is we've done it before and I think hubby will probably say that we were safe enough then and nothing happened and he's a careful driver. I can see me being called a party pooper :(
Reply
Wizard
2010-09-06 18:32:45
Re: Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
So there is no such thing as a newer type quad with a back axle


this i cant answer as i work in the motor industry [road vehicles] and non of the manufacturers i do work for make them

hubby will probably say that we were safe enough then and nothing happened and he's a careful driver.


so what .. I think of myself as a safe professional driver [and an institute of advanced motorist member] but i have had 3 accidents in the last 6 yrs...ALL were caused not by me but idiots on the M25 not looking at whats going on 2 i was directly hit up the rear end [one by girly and one by a Romanian] and the 3rd, a builders van [fully or possibly over loaded] hit the car behind me in a stationary cue at the roadworks and cannoned him into me, as we say you may be safe but what about the other 90% of people on the road

wizard
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luci HT Mod
2010-09-06 19:25:14
Re: Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
You do need to check your travel insurance. Some companies do cover quad biking, but most do not.

A girl at work is just back from Thailand where her quad bike overturned and she broke her wrist. Her travel insurance didn't cover her, but the insurance she took out with the quad company did.

luci :wave
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Alsacienne
2010-09-06 19:31:26
Re: Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
All I would say is that if you have never ridden any of these in the UK or in your home country and therefore don't have experience in handling them, being on holiday is a dangerous reason for starting riding them, because you don't know what mechanical state they are in or how to drive them ... and they may end up driving you and causing you to have an accident.

OK so if you can take the risk of having an accident, and can live with any damage to yourself fine ... but what about anyone else involved?

Personally I don't think it's worth the risk.
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Justval
2010-09-06 19:55:07
Re: Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
we have hired cars in the Canary Islands but would not hire a moterbike or owt like that anywhere. We saw what the crack was in Thailand and it frightened the living daylights out of me!

Rob is experienced at driving abroad in Europe with the lorries but I don't think he would hire a motercycle either on some of these foreign roads.
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juby 5
2010-09-06 21:56:23
Re: Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
I ride a scooter at home, and thats scary enough ! definately wouldn't do it abroad :duh
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shirley h
2010-09-07 06:39:08
Re: Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
Thanks for all your input. Hubby used to own and ride a motorcycle at home albeit many years ago and we've hired them on holidays over the years. He's only driven a quad on road once, whilst in Santorini. We had a great day seeing most of the island although he said the Quad took at least an hour to get used to driving and I was really nervous at first. However, in light of all the negative feedback here, I don't think we'll be hiring them again :(
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shirley h
2012-01-03 16:02:07
Re: Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
Just searched for this thread as my sisters and I were only last night talking about our upcoming holiday to Corfu in the summer and younger sis said that they'd never hired quads but had driven a buggy around Barbados.

I need to update this thread. We did actually go ahead and hire the quads after all. Not sure what convinced me to do it- but there you go! We had a brilliant day and saw lots of places we wouldn't otherwise have seen. There were a choice of engine capacities and our party on my hubby's advice opted for the larger ones.
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OSCARBEN
2012-01-03 16:46:38
Re: Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
My 18yr old son and his girlfriend have just bought a brand new, road legal, 2 seater quad and think it's fantastic.They are both qualified drivers,wear helmets and hopefully act sensibly whilst on it.
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hockey6
2012-01-03 17:03:53
Re: Do you hire motorcycles, scooters or quads?
Does anyone know how old you need to be to be able to hire quad bikes on the island of corfu?
thanks.
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