Buy and sell a motocycle in France

[Don_Siewert]

If you plan a long term motorcycle trip in Europe there are 2 common solutions:
You rent the bike or you ship your bike. Both solutions can be very expensive.
There is a third option: buy and sell a motorcycle.

I have dealt with Ride in Tours; www.ride-in-tours.com .The owner, Laurent is a personal friend. They offer a buy and sell option to all long term travellers intending to travel in Europe. Ride in Tours is located in Tours, in the Loire valley, in the center of France.
Their system is a little bit different because they give the money back straight at the end of the trip, so you don’t need to wait that the bike is sold to get your money back.

They offer 2 options:

Classic buy and sell:
You ask for the type of bike you want and the budget you have, they provide the bike ready to go (insured and registered in your name). You pay the full amount when you pick up the bike and when you come back you get your money back minus the fees that apply.
Those fees are based on the mileage and duration of your trip (usually from 40% to 60% of the value of the bike).

They can insure you for 3rd liability at a fairly reasonable cost depending on the bike model of course. But if you have your own insurance that covers you for Europe then its fine. This insurance will cover you for all Europe, for some other countries you might need to get insurance when you get to the border.

If you deal with Ride in Tours they can store the bike for free until your arrival. Accommodation at no charge is also available if you need to take some time before leaving for your big trip!

Long terms rentals:
They have a fleet of cheap road or dual purpose bikes (600 XT, 650 KLR, 600 Bandit etc.) at a budget between $1800 to $4600
So if this solution suits you, you book the bike (already insured and registered) and take it for your trip. In that case the bike still belongs to Ride in Tours, they provide insurance. This solution is like a rental contract but at a very low cost.

Anyway both options are definitely cheaper than shipping your bike or renting from a rental company. On top of that you save a full amount of time and money in paperwork and dealing with customs.
Laurent at Ride in Tours is also happy to provide any help to any traveller passing by.