Survey: starting a motorcycle oasis/BnB in Manali
 

Folks,

I am a veteran motorcycle rider based out of San Francisco. Indian by birth. Very frustrated with how impossible it is to rent a adventure bike in India. So starting a motorcycle motel based out of Manali. We will begin business from May 2018. Stay tuned for more details. Rates are going to be affordable. Not really doing this for much profit but to support the lovely motorcycle community.

We would offer the following services:

1. Provide bikes for rent
2. Provide a safe place to store/trickle charge your bikes
3. Provide some basic maintenance
4. Provide an address for you to ship supplies/parts in advance of your arrival
5. A place to set up tent or a basic room
6. Provide organized tours
7. A community board or website so travelers in and out of Manali can co-ordinate their travels
8. We will also buy and sell your bikes. Consignment also will be available. This will allow you to enter and exit India more easily without worrying about carnet or other beaureaucracy
9. And finally organized tours into Nepal, Ladakh, Himalayas, etc.
10. We will be incorporated in USA so will try to provide dependable insurance, liability, etc. that you need
11. Arrange for safe pickup and drop-off from Delhi
12. Customer service available via phone messenger service (Whatsapp, etc.)

Need some help/inputs:

1. Which bikes would you like to rent?
2. Which of these services mentioned above are less or more important (so we can prioritize our services).
3. Is this something you guys would use?

?c?

I am a professional guy and I own a few AirBnB properties around the world so I know what customer service is. Hopefully we can help the community explore India better.

Happy to hear about your plans! I've wanted to get back to that area since backpacking through (by bus) in the nineties, and have definitely schemed and wondered how I could easily do it with a bike. Manali, at least as I remember it, would be an ideal base.

I've never had much fascination for Enfields, so I'd eliminate them from my personal consideration. Nor am I interested in German, Austrian, Italian, British or American brands. I'm most fond of exploring mountainous backcountry, therefore in your case Lahaul and Spiti, Ladakh and farther afield, but my tendency is to putter along, rather than aggressively explore the limits of my bike or my aging self. So my preference is for the usual Japanese dual sports, 250-650, modestly-equipped.

I'd think that rentals, indoor lodging, and reliable communication with customers would be most important. Storage and sales seem to be popular in a lot of operations. Other important elements, like repairs, Delhi pickup, and tours, could be contracted out.

For a business model, I'd look to Mike at Motolombia in Colombia--he's rapidly built a solid business with similar elements in an area of the world which previously had no such thing. There are others as well--Freedom Bike Rental in Quito, Motocamp in Bulgaria, and Bikershome in Oararzazate come to mind. If you haven't done so already, it'd be well worth contacting the owners of some of these places for ideas about what works and what doesn't.

It may be obvious, but engagement with the usual on-line communities has been key for the owners of at least most of the above, especially offering by support even without direct expectation of financial benefit. Advertising is just advertising; establishing yourself as a solid, ethical resource for riders will not only drive business your way, but expand the whole field in which you operate, i.e., adventure-style riding in the north of India.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

I wish you the best of luck. I'll be sure to visit.

Bikes I'd like to rent are Jap single dual sports. 250-600cc.

The guarantee of a well maintained, serviced bike which doesn't break the bank is the dream !!

Many thanks for your replies so far. So as I infer it the Jap bikes you are interested in could be Suzuki DRZ400, Suzuki DR650 , Kawasaki KLR 650, Honda CRF250L, etc. Am I right?

That kind of thing, yes...

Sent from my G7-L01 using Tapatalk

We will also buy and sell your bikes. Consignment also will be available. This will allow you to enter and exit India more easily without worrying about carnet or other beaureaucracy.................................


Curious how you intend to go about that. A Carnet is issued in the name of the registered owner and for entering India requires a deposit of 500% of the bikes value, this deposit is only refundable when the bike has been returned to it's home country with all of the customs entry and exit stamps in the Carnet completed, that is to say, if the bike enters India but does not leave by the time the Carnet expires ( normally 12 months ) you either have to surrender the bike to Indian customs or you loose your deposit !
As an OCI you may be able to import a foreign reg bike, but you will still be liable for the import duty, this is the reason that you don't see these type of bikes in India and most people ride Enfields. If you did manage to import a few bikes, the cost would be so high it would be impossible to keep the rental price 'reasonable'.
Good luck.