Need feedback on a motorcycle business idea

[marcham]

woodboats beet me to it! Guided tours would be a great way to start. I'm sure there's lots of places to explore. It would be great to tour with a support vehicle so I don't have to carry my luggage (extra weight) or worry about breakdowns or being short on fuel.

As for bikes, a KLR 650 is not the most accessible bike for someone that hasn't ridden one before because of it's weight, high seat height and high center of gravity. What is the ratio of paved to gravel/dirt roads? Are there trails to explore?

I'd be interested. Maybe do some market research with the adventure riding guys ... I've PM you a link.

[Bjori]

i think your idea is not bad at all . it is a low cost buisness that should be quick to pay for it self. It would be good if you can have another income for the first year or so while you are evolving the buisness and while you do some marketing for that idea... i think there are plenty of adventure turist out there that would try this out

[Buicknick72]

I think it could be a worth while venture. There are companies that do this in many countries.

I love KLR's, but you may be better off with BMW's. I'm assuming you are looking to get people that are making the trip specifically to come and ride the bikes, not tourist's. Most rental places seem to use BMW's. I'm guessing the reason is that most likely your customers will be on the higher end of the income brackets, and will probably already own BMW's at there home. As much as I love my KLR, people may be turned off by the idea of flying half way around the world to ride a budget bike. They will want to make the trip to ride a high end motorcycle. (KTM included)

I think you will need to stick with guided tours. With scheduled hotel/camping stops all included in a package price. People are going to want to write a check, get off a plane, get picked up, get acquainted with you, the customs, the bike- go for a few days ride that has been planned out well, get back on a plane and go home.

[marcham]

Originally Posted by Buicknick72

They will want to make the trip to ride a high end motorcycle. (KTM included)

And experience numerous breakdowns on the KTMs!

Seriously though, BMW 650 or Husqvarna TR 650 Terra might be a pretty good choice for dirt & gravel roads. On a budget, DR650 is still a great bike.

[superdiver]

I have never rented a MC before. So forgive my ignorance....

I have considered it, but I am unfamiliar with most areas I would think of renting a vehicle and its weather paterns, traffic patterns, and people acceptance of both MC and foreigners.

Taking these things into acct I have always decided to rent a car. its seems a little safer and more familiar and more in my comfort zone so to speak...

What is the car rental market like there? What does it cost to rent a car (if you can) vs a MC at $100+ a day??

[still.southern]

You guys are awesome...this is why I posted here first thanks for all the comments and keep them coming. I'm gonna try to respond the best I can.

Woodboats: Thanks for the awesome reply...if it's alright maybe we can exchange emails over PM so that we can discuss some ideas more thoroughly, provided you've got the time and are willing. Someone whose done this before would be great.

OK, in general here's some more background on Kygyzstan (K-stan for short) and the ideas I've got floating around that may answer some of the great Q's y'all've been asking.

Kyrgyzstan is around 90% mountainous with a good supply of water from glaciers. It has the world's second largest alpine and salt lake. Traditionally the people were nomads who moved from high summer pastures to low valleys for the winter while living in round felt tents called Yurts. Some locals still live in yurts, drink fermented mares milk called Kumis (quite nasty to my taste by the way), and everyone eats Shashlik (meat on the skewer). They still play horseback games like Ulak Tartysh (also called Dead Goat Polo...google it) and horseback wrestling games in the villages. K-Stan also lies on portions of the old silk road with the southern city of Osh having had a bazaar in operation for at least 3000 years. There is a small core of paved roads, but even in the cities once your off of the main roads everything is gravel (with even that being relative, often gravel can be the size of lemons to grapefruit).

As far as why visit, the Tian Shan mountains are absolutely breathtaking. There are 14,000+ft peaks just about 20 miles from the capital city of Bishkek. There is also a great chance to experience an old nomadic way of life that has disappeared throughout much of the rest of the world. Thirdly, as adventure riding destinations go this one is a little more accessible than most since there's a good airport and an easy going government. You should also rent a bike because the country is landlocked and mountainous, shipping your bike here will probably cost you around $1500 In short you should visit because of culture and mountains.

Alright, on the bike question, I'm leery of BMW and other European bikes because getting parts is hard even on Japanese, and is almost impossible with European makes. There are enough KLR650s that parts are much easier to come by. Other options would be something like Suzuki DRZ400s. I'd like to stick to one model of bike at first so that I can order commonly needed parts in bulk and not have to mix and match. I'd probably do the mechanic work since very few here have ever worked on motorcycles and I'm more comfortable working on Japanese. Really the market for this is experienced riders who don't want to hassle with shipping their own bikes. K-Stan also makes a great starting point for crossing into Tajikistan or Uzbekistan. I'm thinking first season would be 2014 riding season.

Well I'll respond to more as I get time. Thanks for all the great input...y'all are definitely challenging my thinking. Keep it coming.

[Buicknick72]

KLR's are defiantly the choice for all practicality, that's why I bought one, but for marketing you will have better luck with BMWs. I'd try to outfit the KLR's with some aftermarket stuff. You may want to add a 250 or something smaller than a KLR to the fleet. There's a good chance some of your customers would be couples, and KLRs can be very intimidating to less than average sized riders.

[John Hopkins]

Originally Posted by still.southern

The idea proper

The idea in a nutshell is to import a few bikes (probably about 4) into Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and start renting them out. Price would probably be around $100-140 US per day. The country is nothing short of spectacular (check some of my other threads for pics) and the tourism industry is only marginally developed. The bikes could be rented for self-exploration along with appropriate gear (GPS, sat-phones, riding gear, etc) or larger guided tours could be arrainged. This could be an ideal starting point for riding the Pamir Highway or just exploring the Tian Shan mountains.

Right now round trip airfare from the US can be had for about $1500 (sometimes less) and US citizens along with most Europeans can enter visa free for 60 days (basically no entry cost, just a stamp in your passport) unlike any other Central Asian country. Kygyzstan is generally hospitable with lots of opportunities for staying in Yurts and a great exchange rate so hotels and most other services are cheap (Luxury hotel room is often less than $100 per night, regular accommodations can be had for $40-50).

So the first question just a general feedback request. What do you think? Is it a type of vacation you'd be interested in? etc.

The second question is what type of bike. One idea is 2008 or newer KLR650s (I know, this is a Honda forum, but Honda doesn't have a good competitor to the KLR). The second idea is to go for a vintage theme and order some brand new Royal Enfields, set them up as Scramblers, and promote the business with the nostalgic appeal of yurts and '50s style British thumpers.

Interested in any and all feedback. I'd like to try to promote this business to people outside the normal Adventure Bike world. Let me know what you think!

You could probably decide all this for yourself but you asked for all feedback..

Using your figures this vacation will cost about $5,000 for two weeks per person..so how much does the average person in the USA spend on a two week vacation these days..If most spend a lot less than that, then most will not take that vacation..

Does that include fuel?

You could do a small survey on this forum to ask how many people spend $5000 each for a two week vacation, how many spend more and how many spend less..

And Royal Enfields are ok as long as you have a lot of spares and don't ride them hard, I don't think I would use an Enfield as a scrambler..

John.

[woodboats]

Still.Southern....I would be happy to share info and ideas with you. I have been riding in these type of areas for quite a while now, and have taken folks on rides with me , but have only formalized it with my cousin (who shares my ideas) this year. He lives in Canada and I live in New Zealand so our marketing is from both hemispheres.

We are probably only a year ahead of you and your plan, and have no problem sharing good ideas and, more importantly, ideas that were crap and didn't work so well so you don't have to go through them. lol

I imagine, except for the tar seal roads, most roads will be rough gravel so unless you cater for the experienced dirt bikers your rides will be at a lower speed anyway. 250 Hondas are great for this type of riding, especially if you are carrying people's gear in a support vehicle. (cheaper costing bikes allow for more add ons like support vehicles).
We don't cater for hard core dirt riders, more for older riders who the enjoy culture aspects with bits of shear terror on water crossings and trails thrown in. lol

Even though we are serious about our organizing, safety and comfort ...we don't baby sit anyone. They ride their own ride and we show them where to go.

[still.southern]

I wish the "own ride" were an option here, there just aren't enough bikes in-country. I own 1 of 2 known Dominators in the country and my friend owns 2 out of the 3 known KLR650s here. There is one KTM990 Adventure and a couple of BMWs and that's about it for Dual Sports that are registered in the whole country. Add a couple dozen sport bikes, a few cruisers and a few dozen Urals, Jawas, etc and you've listed all the bikes in Kyrgyzstan...something I and a few friends hope to change!