Hi Rob,as you have said they are only your personell opionions but are they qualified opionions? By that I mean are you a fully licenced rider in the UK? I am asking this quetion because I think that the roads in Goa are far differant than in the UK. Therefore the "learner" has to not only to get used to the bike and controls but also road conditions and driving habits which are alien to them. You also state that you recomend that people should "learn" to drive a scooter / motorcycle early morning before 6 am. Surely it is still dark in goa at that time? If not totaly dark then it is still bad light. To ask someone to learn how to ride a motorcycle/ scooter on strange roads and in bad light or darkness when the streetlighting is abysmal is to me totally irresponsible. You also ask them to make sure that the brakes and steering are o`k, how about the other things that make a motor cycle / sooter unsafe like the suspension, fork allignment, steering head bearings. the angle of the brake arm to the drum. hooked sprockets etc. these are the things amongst others that I always check for safety. I can go on and on,but hen I hire a motorcycle in Goa ( normally a 500 Enfield) I always first have a check myself and then go down to the Enfield main agents in Panjim and have them check out what I can`t. It may cost me £10 but my life is worth more than that. Also I have survived riding in many countries by being a skillfull and deligent rider and looking after my own safety requirements (eg having a comprensive knowledge of the road conditions that I am going into) and only taking advice from people who are genuinly concerned about my safety and are of a greater knowledge than myself. I would therefor not take or recomend anyone else on here to take your advicve. Origo

Ok you do seem to know a lot more about bikes than me, that definitely seems the case. Dare I even ask what a most of the following are

'suspension, fork alignment, steering head bearings. the angle of the brake arm to the drum. hooked sprockets'

When I drove in the UK I only had my bike for a few years before I decided it really wasn't fun, I was using it as my transport to work so the days in the sleet and snow really put me off. The day of my test there was a large quantity of snow everywhere and they nearly called the test off but thankfully I passed. I loved riding in the UK put getting to work as a very wet and slushy one sided snowman put me off, I was very sad to let the bike go and because I drove it everyday the maintenance for it was also starting to climb as it wasn't a brand new beast like most riders have now a days, or the classics they take out once a week. Anyway I digress...,

Goan roads, yes the roads are very different in Goa, but if you have common sense about you I think they are safer than England once you have highlighted the main differences (which I have in many of my posts), I think they've safer for a few reasons.

1. People drive at least half the speed they do in England, I talk about going fast in my posts but it's all relative. For starters my bike looks sporty, but it's still only a 150cc, the speedo is in Kmh's not Mph, so when the wind is rushing through your hair and look at the speedo and it says 60, it's actually 37mph. Even when I'm REALLY in a rush I think my bike tops out at 100kmh (60mph).

2. Away from the obvious hot spots like Mapusa, Panjim or Calangute in season the roads are very quiet most of the time and when someone comes past they're normally only doing 20 - 30mph...

3. OK, my mind has gone blank, can't think of a third reason... Oh wait, weather, out of the obvious monsoon season the roads are baked dry so no slippery snow, water etc.

learning to drive a scooter / motorcycle early morning before 6 am. I can see you're not an early riser.. Pretty much all year round it gets dark at 7pm and is light by 5am, it's not like England as we're close to the equator (well I think that's the reason why) so it doesn't really change all year round. So it's not dark at all at 6am.

Have I found a chink in your armour? I thought you'd be an Enfield man, lovely bikes but unfortunately I daren't get one as they're not as efficient as the Pulsar (and I have to watch the pennies you know). I haven't actually been on one... Must rectify that!

Back to my point... If you've rented the Enfield here in Goa then there's a 99% chance that you won't be covered by the insurance... As the insurance policies do not cover drivers who rent out the bikes, the bike owners also have to register and pay for the privilege of renting a bike out. (OK there's a 1% Chance that you rent it off an agent who does cover the riders - but I'm guessing not) If my guess is correct then you would not be driving legaly over here.

I'm not trying to put down your obvious concern for innocent parties being hurt by an unexperienced driver, I was run over when I was 5 so I have a definate respect for the road and driving, I also know of a little girl over here who was run down (by a bus) and lost her leg (one of the girls the charity has been helping for the last month). But I do stick by what I've said.

I have also driven in a few countries, probably not as many as you and not as long as you . But I have also survived. Acutally I've never been involved in an accident at all. (Although now that I haven't driven on my own insurance in England for nearly two years now all my noclaims will undoubtibly be lost! (Insurance Companies!)

I have been following this thread with intrest. everytime we have been to goa we have hired bikes and scooters. we find this a lovely way to get around and explore. Yes we know that we are not insured. but neither are most of the goans who ride around on scooters most of them driving with up to 4 passengers including small children.
If an accident occurs i dont think it makes it any better if they are an uninsured Goan or holidaymaker.
My son also hires a bike he is now 16 and has a bike in the UK but he prefers driving in goa and i am glad that he did learn out there.
Yes we do check out the bikes my partner is a machanic and he has even taken time and spent money on making sure that bikes we hire are safe to drive.
We always when we get our bikes go to some quite road when it is not busy to get a feel for the bikes. brakes etc. we prefer the road that leads to the prison. the road is tarmac. and quiet. no different from the roads around on where we live.
Any road can be dangerous. no matter how experienced you, but i am in agreement that Goa is a good place to learn, We have never had any problem with the police or the bikes.
Everyone is entitled to an opinon and you will never stop people hiring bikes, so i belive that it is better to hand out good advice to those who are going to hire bikes as they will anyway.

Glad I posted my reply first.............. talk about heavy & over the top.....!!!

"Yes we know that we are not insured. but neither are most of the goans who ride around on scooters most of them driving with up to 4 passengers including small children". Haley can you please qualify where you got your info from "that most Goans have no insurance" and also whenever I have ben in Goa the majority of the local peope do not ride 3 or 4 people on a motorcycle. Maybe this way of exaggerating a point is your way trying to prove that you are you are right in what you are doing?
Rob I have just returned home from my hift o I will speak tomorrow. Origo
Haley please do not reply. I have lost patience. Origo

Mids on tour, you have been once and want to be a convert and also want to give advice about hiring motorcycles/ scooters. First of all you do not know the slightest thing about Goa. Having only been once you are a novice so please do not think thet you can come on the other thread and be sarcastic about things that you canot possibly know about. Origo

lighten up............ I spent 3 weeks riding without problems I have held a full motorcycle licence for 20 years and am a experienced rider an in such am used to riding defensively, I also posted the first short practical reply to this post. I was not being sarcastic but was pointing out the original question seems to be lost in the argument that is taking place................

This does not require a reply, as its "my" last word on the subject

thanks

my partner has ridden big bikes in the uk (and all over the world ) for 30 years and no matter how defensive you drive ,you are dealing with people who have no concept of prioity on the roads and they do as they please,so you have to take extra care at all times,but we think that the best way to see goa is on a bike
good luck and enjoy

Peterji

Speak to Sanjay from Ice & Spice in Candolim. He'll deliver scooters to you. when we were last there we had 2 brand new scooters. Cost a little more (all of £ 2.50 a day) but they were spot on quality wise.

I can give you a number for sanjay if needed.

£2.50 seems well pricey.. You can hire from 75rs (£1), and I'd never pay more than 125rs for a moped, if required I hire a new one for 100rs of a taxi driver...

You mean I'm being ripped off for a whole £ 1.50 a day!!

HI
We also only pay 100rs from stall owner.

We normally hire scooters when overseas and I will probably hire one in Goa - I have read somewhere that it is best to get an international driving licence before travel - is this right????

You don't need any form of driving licence usually. Most rentals are peoples mopeds that they rent you for however long so there is no documentation.

What they will give you are the owner documents and their mobile number so all you need to say is a "friend" lent me the moped if the police stop you - very unlikely.

There are a few posts on this forum about mopeds so try a search but in brief the police tend to try it on a bit with tourists and hand out the odd on the spot fine for some spurious reason.

I wouldn;t particularly reccommend this to all and sundry but what works for me is if you smile, wave and keep going if the police try to stop you. This isn;t as onerous as it might sound as the ploice stop you at 2 or 3 places on the coast road and the chances of you getting above about 20 miles an hour anywhere are slim to none so it's more of a low speed smile and wave. it certainly will not result in anything like a high speed chase and I can honestly say I have NEVER had the police follow me and stop me after doing this - it's just too much like actual work for them. I pass through the roadblocks at least a dozen times each visit and I'm usually there twice a year.

You should note that you are NOT insured under your holiday cover so be very careful and avoid riding at night like the plague. If nothing else you'll be eating bugs the whole time.

we always get an international driving licence as it only
costs 5 pounds.

I do beleive it's best to get an International drivers licence, it's normally the first thing which you're asked for when you're stopped by the police. If you have a standard one then you MIGHT be lucky, but I don't think you will be. A volunteer actually got away with a provisional licence recently... (I guess they didn't know what it was)...

Like cmj said, it only costs £5 and is returned within days (got mine through the RAC). ALSO I have heard that you can (if staying long term) you can get it transfered into an Indian Licence at the RTO office... (although still to try it!)

Most rentals are illegal, if you haven't got your licence you might be asked to leave the bike with the police while you get it! - Can be a pain if you are in the middle of nowhere!

can anyone tell if there exists any legal hire joints in Goa.
Thanks Martinez

If you don't get the IDP, then you are an easy target for the cops to make a buck.

This year they were pulling loads of tourists over and handing out fines, not sure why, but it's likely because they were not holding an IDP.

Personal view but I think renting a scooter is for those with some sort of death wish. Nearly all drivers are crazy, the roads are potholed and the scooters look like something off a tip. Ok - I exagerate to make a point but it sure is dangerous.
A couple of years back we met a couple on honeymoon who made a real mess of themselves through hitting a pothole at dusk. Broken arms, wrists, head and neck all bandaged up. Not the way to spend a holiday!
Perhaps I'm just a coward!