If the price is the same, consider a 750GS. It will be a year old.
I used one last November - very nice.

https://adventure-motorcycling.com/2...200-km-review/

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

I see Loc in Marrakech have got couple of 790s to rent now.
Same price as an 800GS.

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Hello!

Thanks so much for this thread. I am planning a trip out to Morocco in October this year and it has been super helpful.

Although Loc seem like the best I am pretty set on renting the XR250's so it looks like atlantic moto will be the best option even though they have gotten a few dodgy reviews. If anyone can correct me on this and recommend somewhere better to get XR250's from then please do let me know!

We are planning to do a loop from Marrakech across to Merzouga and it is very early days in our planning. If anyone can direct me to any info on good possible routes that would be awesome. We are planning to do a fast couple of days out to Merzouga and then 7ish days back (just because of meeting other people).

Also any tips you might have about rental, gear to take, spares/repairs would be much appreciated.

I'll look forward to feeding back after the trip on how it went!

I agree a Tornado is a lot more fun on the trails than a podgy 310 (providing you're not too short) but bear in mind they will be 10 years old now. (Nothing newer than 2011, afaik)
When Loc got rid of theirs they had ~100,000k on the clocks.
That is rental kms, so they will be well and truly shagged if not looked after.
And in Morocco, they tend to only fix when it's broken/worn right out.

https://adventure-motorcycling.com/2...xr250-tornado/

Common neglect includes head bearings, weak back drums brakes, grabby clutches, high oil consumption plus worn chains and sprockets. The one time I rented from somewhere other than Loc (not Atlantic) the noisy chain broke on day 2. Luckily I knew people nearby and we managed to cut out a couple of links and pin it together.

Then, of course, it will be punctures due to worn tyres or too low tyre pressures. So you need spare tubes and the tools to do the job, including reinflation. If I were you I would also make sure the wheel nuts have not been torqued down like a brake caliper before you leave the garage. Patches and glue (and menders) are found in every small town.

If there are a few of you then solving small problems will be part of the adventure.

As for routes, there are all sorts of great ways of getting back from Merzouga, but October will still be hot down south.
Best to study a map
https://sahara-overland.com/2014/12/27/morocco-maps/
other ride reports, this forum and maybe put up your own itinerary and ask for opinions here.
Be aware that many beginners over-estimate what they can do in a day.

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Hey Chris, thanks so much for the useful advice. I'll save your recommendations for giving the bike a check over & tool packing list.

I'm wondering if based off what you say about the XR250's it would be wise to look for something else.... Are there any equivalents to the Tornado that any of the rental places in Marrakech hire out? I saw one place that had a fleet of KTM 450's but they sadly seemed to be for guided tours only.

Yep I will definitely be doing some map studying to find some good looking routes there and back. Am thinking we're probably going to have to stick to main roads to get out to Merzouga quickly, but hopefully can find some more interesting routes on the way back.

Peter Gray sold Wilderness Wheels last year but it's still operating under new ownership. Peter Gray and Peter Buitelaar did a tour with WW bikes a couple of months ago.

My preference on maps is the Reise KnowHow. Amazon lists this as a 2015 version but it's the 2020 version with both old and new road numbering shown, see https://www.amazon.co.uk/Morocco-Rei.../dp/3831773068

For very basic routing advice... try to avoid the N (national) roads and instead where possible use R (regional) and P (provincial) as these will be quieter, safer, more interesting and sometimes also faster. Scenic routes are indicated on both the Reise KnowHow and Michelin maps as green edged.

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the advice regarding mapping. I love getting the map out and coming up with routes so will get the one you sent over ordered. A nice addition to the collection! We'll definitely aim for all the R and P roads.

I have emailed WW to see if rental is possible. I have also received a reply from AM saying they are happy to rent the XR250's but am now a bit unsure based on what has been said about the condition of them. Will message them back and ask them what they reckon....

If we were to not go for the Tornado's would there be a bike in particular that you'd recommend as a good way to get around the Morocco roads?

Shame that the rental places don't seem to stock any enduro or lighter bikes as standard (other than the old Tornado's).

Thanks for all the help.

No one's going to rent out highly-strung dirt racers like KTM450s because they need too much looking after compared to a Jap trail bike.

You'd think there must be someone with CRF250Ls or similar but for the moment they are squeezing every last mile from the remaining Tornados. Most renters mistakenly think they are too small for Morocco, go bigger and pay the price on the dirt.

Bear in mind I am giving you the worst-case scenario with Tornados.
In all the many, many laps I did with them - 7 bikes at a time - only 2 ever DNF'd.
One broke a cable (luckily we had a pickup on that trip), the other blew its output sprocket seal – amazing just a mile from the garage coming back in.

I would say rent from Atlantic, check the bike properly before you leave, now knowing what to look for, and hope for the best. Whatever assurances you're given in advance, assume it will be b/s on the day.
You will need to nurse them. Take them out for a thrash on Erg Chebbi and something will break.

On the road you soon get used to the poor brakes, dodgy shifting, and worn-out chassis bearings. The important things are the state of tyres (and tubes inside) + the chain and sprockets.
If you plan to get very high (2000m+) you will find they struggle, but keep going.

BTW, I see Loc have moved round the corner:
https://www.facebook.com/13177627022...0446995349154/
Hopefully no more sweaty tramping down the spiral ramp in the dark.
(the website still gives the old location)

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Just an update on this.

I messaged M2R as they seemed to have CRF250L's. I initially got a response, but since then I have had radio silence for 2 weeks. Is this normal?

I quite want to crack on with getting the trip booked but also don't want to be rude by messaging asking if we can proceed with booking as they said they'd verify the dates and get back to me. Have messaged once to ask about another thing, which they've seen but no reply.

They have a website where you can book but not sure if that is a more risky way to go about it...? Website: Honda CRF250L - Location

Maybe I'm being overly pushy expecting quicker replies that are the norm here in the uk...

Ask to see an actual picture of the machine to be rented (and all the other fabulous machines they offer...), not a brochure shot from the Honda website.
They might say 'oh sorry, they are all rented out for those dates'.
When I rented from M2R, he rocked up opposite a flash cafe plaza downtown with the bike on a trailer and a portable card reader, though the implication was M2R were based was there.
It all felt very dodgy and the Tornado was in bad shape (no surprise) but the transaction went through OK and the bike scraped through.
This sort of disingenuousness is why I prefer to work with Loc.

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Atlantic motors
They are hard to find as they keep there bikes in an underground car park , near the station .................. 250 450...790 !!

Hi, thanks for the information, very useful as I am planning a trip next month! Any new/other places that haven't been mentioned yet?

Noureddine at Loc2roues has an impressive fleet, here's about 12 of his larger bikes which are mainly BMW 1250GS, BMW 750/850GS and a couple of KTM 790s (I believe the guy in the photo is a Slovenian customer).

As well as renting bikes Noureddine also organises tours and I believe his Facebook posts are public viewing: https://www.facebook.com/noureddine.said.3

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

The 790s are alongside newer 890s now and they're getting more of them.
These may be big bikes but at least on the 790 I saw, the wide seat looks really low for a bike of this type.
There's talk of getting some 390s once business starts moving again, but the 310s seem to be doing OK.
They're ditching the two 850GSs which have proved to be unreliable (camchain tensioner?); the more road oriented 750GS I tried one time is solid. So are the 1200/1250 boxers.

For Brits especially, fly & ride was a good option to riding across France to catch a 40+ -hour ferry to Morocco.
A rental may not be the bike of your choice but you save over a week in getting there and various Covid hoops.
The current suspension of direct UK flights is easily dodged via France or Spain (unless they too are suspended).

Loc have a new website, fyi. The old loc url redirects to:
https://bm-attitude.com/location-moto/

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Hi Chris, Tim and and everyone!

Great thread!

A few years ago, I had quite a bad experience renting a XR250 Tornado in Marrakech, from "Palmekech" or "location-moto-marrakech": odometer was purposedly blocked by the renters, so it made it quite challenging to follow Chris' trails from the Morocco Overland book...

Also for the last day & 1/2, I had every time to push start the bike, fortunately I was back on tarmac and not on the southern trails anymore...

Reading your advices it looks like Atlantic Moto & M2R are the most reliable renters, and it looks like M2R have a CRF250 available?

Wanted to know if anyone had a rental company to recommend to rent a not too worn CRF 250, KLX 250 or equivalent ideally in Marrakech?

Thank you!