Renting motorcycle?

We are doing a southern caribbean cruise in early 2017. We think it would be fun to rent a motorcycle for a day and see the sites on our own, but never having been to any of these islands (St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, Barbados), we aren't sure if one island would lend itself better to such an activity. We aren't big city people if that makes a difference:)

We appreciate any feedback!

Here's my feedback, you may not like it but I speak from years of experience.

There is no way I would ever rent a motorcycle while on vacation.

I have been riding for 40+ years. It is an inherently dangerous sport that is unforgiving of mistakes or errors.

Add in an unfamiliar bike in unknown condition, unfamiliar surroundings, lack of safety gear, different road rules and conditions, you name it and all you've done is increase your risk of something bad happening.

Sure it sounds like fun. There's a time and place for everything, but please reconsider the bike. Rent a car and do the same things.

Thanks.

We are doing a southern caribbean cruise in early 2017. We think it would be fun to rent a motorcycle for a day and see the sites on our own, but never having been to any of these islands (St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, Barbados), we aren't sure if one island would lend itself better to such an activity. We aren't big city people if that makes a difference:)

We appreciate any feedback!

I'm a little nervous of renting a motorcycle but we usually rent scooters when we visit islands such as the Bahamas and Bermuda. We used to live in Africa so we are familiar with driving on the opposite side of the road and driving with crazy drivers who don't care if they run you down or not. After driving in Nairobi nothing really scares us anymore. That being said, we have lived back in Canada for 6 years now and have been driving in more normal traffic (although I still hate driving in Toronto and avoid it at all costs-way worse than Nairobi).

We are renting an ATV on St. Maarten (Johnny's ATV rentals) and driving around on our own. The rate is very reasonable, you can go at a slower pace and go off the beaten track so we are hoping that we won't be dealing with the crazies. I know there will still be those who will be trying to pass us but we will drive defensively.

You can also book the ATV as a tour but we are doing our own ( we got a double so I don't have to drive and can be on the lookout for the crazies :)

Unless you are an experienced rider, you should not even think of it on any of those islands - and even if you are, you should think twice: the road conditions are not what you are likely used to: pot holes, broken pavement, narrow roads with some steep drainage ditches - and then there is the heavy traffic sometimes encountered and the free-for-all approach to driving common in the Caribbean.

If you are interested in sightseeing - having an air conditioned vehicle can make the whole experience a lot better .

I'm a little nervous of renting a motorcycle but we usually rent scooters when we visit islands such as the Bahamas and Bermuda.

On a technical basis scooters are more dangerous than motorcycles.

Wait, what?

Consider these points:

Slower speeds and smaller wheels create less gyroscopic forces to keep you upright. Lower gyroscopic forces make it easier to overturn the handlebars. Shorter wheelbase becomes less stable as speed inceases. Add in the weight of a passenger (often behind the rear axle) to shift weight bias to the rear which lightens the front end.

With those factors in play, here's the scenario. You've been out on the scooter two up, tooling around and having a great time. It's fun stopping at shops, beaches and cafes. Maybe a couple of wobbly pops too. Look at the watch, OOPS how long did it take us to get out here? Let's go, we might miss the boat!

So you start hightailing it back, pushing faster than you have the entire day but it's all good because you've got the hang of this. Gentle turn, bump in the road, slight shake of the bike and BANG you're sliding down the pavement in your shorts, flip flops and tank top.

Why? All those technical points earlier came in to play, but you caused the accident.

How? With no rider training you didn't know that at speeds below about 10 mph (which is where you spent most of the day) direct steering (turn right to go right) works. But above that speed it's counter steering (push left to turn right). The bump in the road compressed the rear suspension which lightened the front end. You turned the handlebars the way you wanted to go but with less resistance you oversteered. When the front suspension tightened back up the front wheel tucked causing the crash. And it all happened in about

2/10ths of a second

Would you be comfortable with some guy renting you a potentially dangerous piece of equipment in unknown condition, you have little to no experience or training in its operation, no protective safety gear and your instructions are "Here's the gas, here's the brakes, put on this bike helmet and go have fun!"

Please folks, consider this info if you are thinking about scooter rentals. MC rentals too.

Thanks for reading. I'll get off my soapbox now.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's my bike in it's natural environment.