Renting A Motorbike

I have previous posts about driving here and the issues around riding a motorbike if you are inexperienced. But the purpose in this posting it to try and help you navigate the issues of renting a motorbike if you are so inclined. Asdie from the taxi and jet ski pitfalls, motorbike (and car for that matter) rental experience can be a costly one for you. But it need not be.
There are many reputable companies and even individual you can rent from. But there are also a number of people who are not so helpful, friendly or fair. And it is the possible experience with those people I want to try and help you avoid.

1. Check out who it is you are renting from. If you are at a hotel, get a recommendation, or if they rent, then look at thier bikes. You can pay anywhere from 50Baht a day to 200 baht a day. Most of the bikes will be about 100cc engines. If you are going to travel the hills between patong and the other sites, you might want to consider a 125cc bike. But it is not necessary. If you are going to ride two on the bike, then I would definately recommend you look for 125cc or more.

2. INSPECT THE BIKE BEFORE YOU GO ANYWHERE!!! You will be required to sign an agreement. It will most likely be written only in Thai, but be assured that it places liability for damages on YOU. So you should inspect it before you sign the agreement. Make a note on the agreement form for any damages you see. Do not accept a verbal acknowledgement of the damage, which can be denied later.
The best thing to do is to take photographs. And as deceitful as this may seem, try to get a shot of the person renting to you in the photo frame. this may be very helpful later. And check to see that the headlight;tail light;signals and horn work.

3. Never leave your passport as security. You may let them photocopy it, or if you travel like I do, a spare photocopy comes in handy for the potential they do not have copying facilities. You are under no obligation , and in fact could get into more trouble if you are stopped and asked for it and you can't produce your original passport.

4. If you drive away and find things like the tires are wobbling, go back immediately to where you rented it. Going back after a few hours or days to report that it was wobbling when you drove away will not make for a strong case to deny you damaged it.

5. If you do have an accident, or you park and someone manages to scrape it in the many parking areas, you should also note and photograph that. What may be a small scratch could be claimed as an entire fender when assessing costs later. Always secure lock the bike. Most have a lock position on the key slot, that locks the steering column. Likewise, you can secure your helmet to the bike, because of course you would wear one, can be done by unlocking and lifting the seat, lay the long end of the strap across at the rear hinge of the bike, then place the seat back into the locked position, and if someone want the helmet they will have to cut the strap to get it. Not fool-proof, but it makes a lazy thief move on to the bikes, where they left the helmet perched on the rear view mirror.

6. In the event, and it does happen, you return the bike and suddenly damage is discovered, expect to be told that you caused it and you have to pay. The expectation is you pay immediately and in cash. An amount will be quoted and you can be assured it will be an exorbitant amount of money. If you make any attempts to indicate you are not paying, the police will get called. If you cannot or will not make a settlement, you will be told to go to the police station, or in some cases, you may be taken there. If you can, you should call the Tourist Police by dialing 1155 for assistance.