[net.travel] motorcycle rental overseas

robg@mmintl.UUCP (Robert Goldman) (04/16/85)

	I would very much like to know if it is possible to rent motorcycles
for touring overseas, and if anyone on the net has any experience doing
this.  More specifically, I hope to go to Europe this summer, and would like
to spend one week of my vacation buzzing around in England and possibly
Scotland.*  When I mentioned this to a friend, he asked me to ask for
information about such rental in Japan, as well.  I think that responses
should probably be sent to me by mail (I am a little unsure about the
etiquette of this); if anyone wants me to, I will summarize to the net.
	Is it possible to get one of those "International Driver's Licenses"
with a motorcycle endorsement?  Do people in England and Japan accept such?
Is there anything funny I should know about motorcycling in England or Japan?
Is there anything I should know that I don't know enough to ask about?

					Thanks,

					Robert Goldman
					MultiMate International

*My bike is a BMWR65, and if at all possible, I would like to rent something
along those lines -- a dependable tourer, but not a monsterbike.

lrd@drusd.UUCP (L. R. DuBroff) (04/19/85)

Robert Goldman asks:

>	I would very much like to know if it is possible
>	to rent motorcycles for touring overseas...
>	My bike is a BMWR65, and if at all possible,
>	I would like to rent something along those lines...
Contact either
	1)  Edelvwiss Bike Travel
	    A-6414 Mieming Austria

	    Represented in the U.S. by Anchor Travel
	    (800) 52604789 or (201) 569-5464

	OR
	2)  Beach's Motorcycle Adventures, Ltd.
	    Box 36, 2764 West River Parkway
	    Grand Island, New York  14072
	    (716) 773-4960

Both of these organizations deal with BMW motorcycling in Europe
for U. S. residents and can provide the information and services
you want.

>	Is it possible to get one of those "International
>	Driver's Licenses" with a motorcycle endorsement?
The "International Driver's License" is not -- repeat NOT --
a driver's license!  It is a passport-type booklet, issued by
the national auto club of whatever country (for the U.S. it's
the AAA), that is a certified translation into many languages
of the information on your own driver's license.  It has no
legal standing, anywhere in the world, as a driver's license.
It's only use is, as an accompaniment to your own license,
to provide the information on your license in a standardized
way and in a language that is recognizable by the local rental
agency, traffic cop, or whoever needs to see it.

To obtain one, visit your local AAA office with two passport
photos (most AAA offices can take the photos there), a current
valid U.S. state driver's license, and some $$.  The last time
I held one of the International things, it stated that it expired
in 90 days, but that really doesn't mean too much as it's not a
license in the first place.