Scooter Hire in Greece – Part 4, Checking the Bike

This is part four of a series by Suntrap Holidays about scooter hire in Greece, and here you can find out how to do some quick safety checks on that bike before you hand over your money.

In case you came here first, here’s a link to the earlier parts of this series:

Scooter Hire in Greece – The Series

Right, on with those safety checks:

When you are about to get on a machine with only two wheels, you really do need to carry out a few simple checks, because if something goes wrong, there is literally no chance that the bike will quietly roll to a stop like a car might. It will fall over. That’s physics. So, this is what you need to do:

Greek Islands Scooter Hire - On the Move, courtesy of flickr.com user: iain

Rental Bike Checklist

First of all, ask to see the actual bike you will be getting. Don’t just point to one and say “I want one of those”. Ask to see the one you will be getting.

• Tyres – Get down and look at the tyres – check the tread. Look for bald patches, tears and objects like nails embedded in the tyre.
• Damage – Look at the front forks and the chassis in general. Is anything bent or cracked? Look at the wheels. Is there any sign of buckling or mis-alignment? Note that we’re not concerned with cosmetic damage to the body panels – most bikes offered for scooter hire in Greece will have some of that.
• Chain – check at least that the chain is well-oiled, not dry. See if you can spot any irregular links or anything obviously out of place. Ideally, you want to check the tension – the correct tension varies between models, but for a rough check see that the chain moves up and down at its loosest point no more than an inch – this is tricky without getting oily!
• Lights and horn – ask to be shown that the lights work, and see for yourself that they do, including main and dipped headlights. Check the horn. Do not be fobbed off with “aah, you won’t need the left indicator, it’s the right one that’s important!” Or, “you won’t need main beam because you won’t be going fast at night, will you.” I’ve heard both of these lines personally when hiring a scooter in Greece.
• Mirrors – you will NEED your mirrors, especially the offside one on the left. You will be using it ALL the time. When bikes destined for scooter hire in Greece have been around a bit, and fallen over a few times, the mirror is one of the first things to get damaged. So, make sure at the very least that the left-hand mirror is – well, first of all make sure it’s there! Then, check that it’s clear and not cracked, and try to adjust it or ask the man to show you how to adjust it. The mounting must be tight but just loose enough to allow for adjustment with one hand. Many a time I have not bothered to really check this, and for the whole week I have struggled with a mirror that just won’t stay in place.
• Cables and hoses – check for badly worn or frayed cables or hoses. Check that all cables are not trapped or snagged on any part of the bike.
• Brakes – Check that the brake levers move smoothly and easily. Ask for the bike to be placed in neutral and to be taken off its stand. Grasp the handlebars and roll it a little, then apply first one brake and then the other to check that the brakes work. It’s better that they do if you’re planning to enjoy your holiday in Greece. With each brake applied, you should in no way be able to move that bike.
• Steering – astride the bike, still with it off its stand, check that the handlebars can move from one lock to the other nice and smoothly, no grating, jarring or stiffness, and without any cables getting caught anywhere.
• Oil – ask how to check the level of oil in the engine and get him to show you how. We are talking about engine oil not fuel. There may be a little gauge where you can see the oil level, or there may just be a dip-stick. You need to know that the oil level is within the acceptable range shown on the gauge or dip-stick.

So those are the checks I recommend for safe scooter rental in Greece. Once you have run through them a few times, it

Greek Islands Holidays - Old Basket Scooter, courtesy of flickr.com user: daquellamanera

only takes about five minutes. But, if you feel awkward doing these checks when you are in front of the man in the shop, at the very least you should do them afterwards – and go back to the shop if anything is not right.

Operating the Bike

If you are not familiar with the model, and most especially if you have never ridden a moped before, you MUST make sure that you get the man in the shop to show you where the controls are and how to operate them. This is a vital step for successful scooter hire in Greece. DO NOT somehow think

“it will fall into place as I ride away down the road”.

It’s more likely that:

you will fall into the road as you ride away from the place!

You need to be certain at the very least where to find the brakes!

In my early days, I had the embarrassment of having to ask in the petrol station for petrol without having a clue where it went in! So, ask where the fuel goes and what sort to ask for. If it’s a two-stroke bike, you will see a separate oil filler cap next to the petrol cap (under the seat on many scooters), and you will need to ask how and when to check this too.

Now, assuming you have your moped or motorbike, and have left the motorbike hire shop, you might be wondering what to wear out on the bike.  Here’s part five of this series, on that very subject:

Scooter Hire in Greece – Part 5, Clothing

This article’s reference number is suntrap145. Text suntrap145 to your friends and family and tell them to Google it to find this article.