This past weekend,
I leased a Kawasaki ZX-4RR
To transport me around Boston for a wedding. I penned my experiences with piloting “Baby’s First Four-Cylinder,” yet everyone in the comments seemed more intrigued by an altogether different aspect: How on earth did I manage to lease such a vehicle?
sport-ish bike
Without seeing it first, could I simply enjoy riding it without restrictions? Was this perhaps a benefit for motorcycle journalists, a test bike provided to me by the generous people at Kawasaki that I neglected to mention?
Nope! It was a regular old rental, paid for from my own wallet. As it turns out, there are plenty of Turo-style sites that are more than happy to let you rent other people’s bikes when you’re in town — or rent out yours when you’re away. In fact, having rented from Turo before, I’ll likely seek out one of these other sites first, the next time I need a vehicle to get around after a flight or train.
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Moto Rental Sites
I used
A website named Twisted Road
For my Boston rental, where the ZX-4RR motorcycle I was riding
is still available
The website confirms your license and identity, along with ensuring you’ve held your motorcycle endorsement for over half a year before allowing you to ride someone else’s bike. Additionally, they add substantial insurance costs to your daily fee and place a hefty damage deposit, typically several thousand dollars, which remains on hold on your credit card for multiple days following the return of the motorcycle. For my journey, this amounted to roughly $180, coupled with a $2,000 damage waiver that was fully reimbursed since I’m an impeccable darling who has always led a faultless existence.
Twisted Road’s competitor is
Riders Share
, a website offering similar functionality and an almost identical range of bicycles — including
the ZX-4RR I rented
It functions quite similarly—daily rental fees, deposits, insurance options, additional equipment—with only slight variations in cost. Initially, I tested Riders Share for my weekend rental by checking the identical ZX-4RR model; however, Riders Share turned out to be approximately $20 pricier. Additionally, they required an extra $1,000 deposit which would eventually be refunded entirely. For my needs, I opted for the less expensive option, although this doesn’t ensure that Twisted Road will consistently offer lower prices compared to others like it. Such applications estimate risks and charge for insurance through their proprietary methods, hence costs can differ based on individual circumstances.
What About the More Conventional Choice?
However, there’s another well-established rival in the motorcycle rental market with quite a distinct business approach.
EagleRider
, which has its own fleet of motorcycles and operates similar to a conventional rental agency. While the company provides a peer-to-peer rental marketplace akin to Twisted Road and Riders Share, this service plays a subsidiary role compared to its main focus on rentals and guided tours. What sets EagleRider apart is its provision for pick-up and return at specific locations—enabling customers to embark on journeys between two points using their motorcycles instead of limiting rides to circular routes.
EagleRider has a more limited selection of makes and models than the peer-to-peer sites, but there’s also a certain quality floor that comes with an actual rental company. Bikes come from affiliated dealer locations, not the parking lot behind someone’s apartment, and the company has a broader selection of gear and accessories to outfit rentals. It’s a trade-off, for sure, but one that some folks will likely be eager to make.
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