Motorbiking in Asia forum

In all my years travelling in Asia I have never found one hirer willing to take a photocopy of my passport.Recently in Pakse we even offered a Thai ID card but he insisted on a passport.
Perhaps a better way of doing it is to hire from the hotel or guesthouse you are staying in.As long as they know you have a room there they will often let you keep your passport.Also,when I hire I make a point of indicating all the damage currently on the moto so that I don't get the blame for old damage.Obviously that is not going to help if it's a scam so I suggest a quick photo of the bike might help your case if there is a dispute.

When hiring a car or motorbike, be sure to point out (and document) any existing damage, and take photos. If there is any damage, take close-up photos.

Also, I carry around a laminated copy of my passport, although so far, I haven't been asked to hand it over for transport hire (in Indonesia, and Vietnam). Hotels also sometimes ask for my passport. Again, I just show them my laminated photocopy, and tell them that I don't want to leave it with them. In three months of travelling, I have only lost this battle a few times, and only in southern Vietnam. Apparently in Vietnam, hotel owners are required to take the passports of all guests to the local police station to be recorded.

Its a fair warning, a friend of mine lives there, and was watching a couple of guys coming back with mopeds each night and hiding them, then taking them away, then a few nights later coming back with the same 1 or 2 bikes.

Seems they were in cahoots with a hire shop, stealing them, the shop was charging the customers big money, then they would be on hire again a few days later.

With regards to the injury warning I think thats the most valid, you see so many people hobbling around bandaged. Its a case of knowing your limits really, and not getting steaming and driving. Something I should take heed of myself actually.

As several folks have already suggested above, I've had really good luck this trip renting motor scooters directly from the guest house where I've been staying and therefore not having to leave my passport as a deposit. Anytime you can do business where you have already established some kind of connection with the people there will typically help make things go better.

I agree too that being on holiday isn't really the best time to learn to ride a motor scooter either. If you do, pick a spot that isn't all that busy and where there isn't much sand or other debris on the road either; e.g not Chiang Mai or Samui. Always wear a helmet and absolutely don't drink and drive.

Sorry to hear about the scam above, but even though it sounds like it is common at this one place, I don't think this type of thing is all that common everywhere, so apart from this one place I wouldn't necessarily let it change my plans on renting or not renting a scooter.

By the way, "Haad" more or less just means beach so I imagine Haad Salad is the name of that particular beach. Cheers.

yes this happened to mne on kho pangang a few years ago. if you stay calm and simply tell them you dont have that much money you can bargain them down. we got it froma similar 20K figure down to 2,000 baht. still unfair but a much better outcome.
the best way to avoid this is to give a cash deposit. usually 2,000 is enough. if the rental place doesnt accept thsi then they are potential scam anyway.
also you can chose to get it fixed at a local mechanic yourself. scratches cost about 100bht to buff out.
give that a go next time. scooters are agreat mode of travel and such an adventure.
ps; i have a russian mionsk for sale in phuket if anyone is interested
kynanr@yahoo.com

I agree with the above comments. Renting bikes through your hotel/guesthouse may help reduce your chance of being scammed. I found this to be a little more expensive, but was worth it for the peace of mind.

I rented a scooter (not ready for a real bike!) in Chang Mai. May not have been smart as Id never ridden one before - but ridding around the areas outside of Chang Mai, was the highlight of the trip.

Just remember to be careful.

be careful of other motorbikers as well. i had mine parked and a girl(not a local, a tourist) hit it while trying to park next to mine. she cracked the gauge cover and split the side mirror. we argued for hours and she refused to pay for it and stiffed me with a 6000bht bill! the lady i rented from felt really bad for me so she only charged me the bare minimum and did not try and profit from me. the police were absolutely no help, they see tourists get into accidents with each other all the time and probably just laugh at us. its not like i could put her in a headlock and strongarm money out of her. **** happens right?

If you need a bike in in Thong Sala Koh Phangan, Kates is good....on road opposite pier next to Adams bike rentals. Will take 5000bht deposit or Passport.... I rented for 3 days 100bht a day no problems

haha... Unfortunately the south is a very different country than the likes of the North. My only bad experiences with bike rentals and guest houses have been in the south. Especially Koh Phangan.

Its all safe, just becareful and more weary in the South in my oppinion. For example, my bike rental lets me hire the bike, pay late and keep my passport and thats in Chiang Mai.

Maybe a different breed of Thais... but then maybe a different breed of travellers. hehe

Somethin to ponder anyways......