Motorcycle rental in Paris

Motorcycle rental in Paris starts from €16.62 a day for a 125 cc scrambler and goes up to €120 for a 1,300 cc tourer, with the middle of 47 models at €56. Below: what each licence class unlocks, how riding style moves the rate, why the rental length changes the daily price, and what age, deposit and mileage rules to expect.

Day rates from €16.62 to €120

Forty-seven motorcycle models carry a daily starting price in this section, and the spread between the cheapest and the dearest is more than sevenfold. Most of that spread comes from two things: the licence a bike requires and the kind of riding it is built for.

What the range covers

At the bottom sit two Zontes 125s, the Scrambler X 125 at €16.62 and the Hyper Trail 125 at €16.63 a day. At the top sit four big touring machines: the BMW R 1300 GS at €107, the Harley-Davidson Street Glide and the Yamaha Super Ténéré 1200 at €110 each, and the Yamaha FJR 1300 at €120. Between them there is everything from a 348 cc Honda GB350S to a 1,250 cc BMW R 1250 RT. Eleven brands are represented: Yamaha with 10 models, BMW with 8, Honda with 7, Royal Enfield with 5, Triumph and Moto Guzzi with 4 each, Kawasaki with 3, Ducati and Zontes with 2 each, and KTM and Harley-Davidson with one model apiece. For anyone comparing motorbike rental in Paris, that mix matters: the same budget can buy a modern A2 naked, a classic twin or a mid-size adventure bike.

Starting prices by band across 47 models

Where the middle sits

The median is €56 a day: half of the 47 models start at or below that figure. Twenty-five models start under €60, and 22 at €60 or more. The densest band is €50 to €59, with 15 models, 10 of them bikes that an A2 rider can take. Only four models cross €100, and all four are large tourers or adventure bikes that need a full A licence. In practice, 35 of the 47 models start between €42 and €76 a day, which is where a rider who wants more than a 125 but not a flagship tourer will find most choice. These are starting prices: a dated quote for a short rental can come in above them, as the section on rental length shows.

125s, A2 and full A: matching the bike to the licence

The licence category on your card decides which part of the range you can book at all, so it is the first filter before price or style.

125 cc bikes on an A1 or a car licence

Four models sit in the 125 class: the two Zontes at €16.62 and €16.63, the Yamaha XSR 125 at €45 and the Yamaha MT-125 at €55 a day. The rule used by renters here is an A1 motorcycle licence, or a car licence (category B) plus the 7-hour training course. That makes the 125 the only route for someone who wants to rent a motorcycle in Paris on a car licence alone, provided the training has been done. The gap inside the class is wide: the two Zontes cost about a third of the Yamaha XSR 125.

Starting prices by licence class

What an A2 licence opens up

A2 covers bikes with up to 35 kW, or 47.5 hp, and it is the largest class in the section: 22 models, from €42 for the Kawasaki Z650 and the Honda CB750 Hornet to €72.25 for the Ducati Scrambler, the Honda NC750X and the Triumph Trident 660. Six of the 22 are marked for both A2 and A riders. The A2 group is not limited to small bikes: it includes the BMW F 800 GS, F 850 GS and F 900 XR, the KTM 890 Duke, the Kawasaki Z900 and the Triumph Street Triple S, all in A2 form, mostly at €50 to €52 a day. The median for the class is €51, a full €25 below the A class.

Full A: the big tourers and adventure bikes

A full A licence opens the other 21 models, from €55 for the Yamaha Tracer 9 and Tracer 9 GT to €120 for the Yamaha FJR 1300. This is where the large adventure bikes sit — the Honda Africa Twin, the BMW F 900 GS and R 12 GS at €97, the BMW R 1300 GS at €107 — together with the tourers and the 1,690 cc Harley-Davidson Street Glide. In my view, an A2 rider should not read the A list as the better list: for city riding and day trips, an A2 naked or a mid-size tourer at €50 does the same job as a €97 adventure bike, and the price difference is close to double.

Naked, adventure, touring and retro bikes

Riding style is the second filter. The same licence class can cost €45 or €110 depending on what the bike is built for, and the cluster of prices inside each style is narrower than the overall range.

Starting prices by riding style

Naked bikes and sport-tourers for city riding

The eight naked bikes are the most compact choice for traffic, from €42 for the Kawasaki Z650 and the Honda CB750 Hornet, through €50 for the Kawasaki Z900, the KTM 890 Duke and the Triumph Street Triple S, to €72.25 for the Triumph Trident 660. For anyone who wants A2 motorcycle rental in Paris with a pillion seat and a little wind protection, the five sport-tourers are the tightest group in the whole section: every one of them starts between €50 and €55. The Yamaha Tracer 7 and Tracer 7 GT and the BMW F 900 XR are offered in A2 form; the Tracer 9 and Tracer 9 GT need a full A.

Adventure bikes, from the Himalayan to the GS

Fourteen adventure and adventure-touring bikes above 125 cc make this the largest style group. The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 starts at €45, the BMW F 800 GS and F 850 GS at €52, the Honda NX500 at €68, the Honda Transalp XL750 and Moto Guzzi V85 TT at €76, and the Yamaha Ténéré 700 and Moto Guzzi V85 Travel at €85. The flagship tier begins at €97 with the Honda Africa Twin, the BMW F 900 GS and the BMW R 12 GS, and ends with the BMW R 1300 GS at €107 and the Yamaha Super Ténéré 1200 at €110. Tall seats and long suspension travel are the trade-off for the comfort on longer runs, so these bikes suit riders who plan to leave the city rather than cross it.

Tourers and the Harley-Davidson

Three full tourers start at €72.25 for the BMW R 1250 RT, €97 for the Honda NT1100 and €120 for the Yamaha FJR 1300. They are built for two people and luggage over long distances, which is what the higher price pays for. The Harley-Davidson Street Glide, a 1,690 cc cruiser with 86 hp, starts at €110 a day and is the largest engine in the section.

Classic twins, scramblers and cruisers

Eleven retro-styled bikes above 125 cc range from €45 to €110. The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 starts at €45, the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Bear 650 at €49, and the Kawasaki W800, the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 and the Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber at €56. The Moto Guzzi V7, the Triumph Bonneville T100 and the Triumph Scrambler 900 start at €68, and the Ducati Scrambler at €72.25. Four of the Royal Enfields are A2 bikes, which makes this group one of the cheapest ways to ride a 650 twin on a restricted licence.

48 hours, 3–6 days, weekends and long rentals

The figure on a card is a starting point, and the unit behind it changes what you actually pay. Renters here price the same bike differently for a short rental, a rental of three to six days, a weekend and a long rental.

Short rental versus three to six days

How much the longer rental saves

On all five bikes in the table, three to six days cost exactly €10 a day less than a 48-hour rental. On the MT-07 that is a drop of 12.5 per cent, on the FJR 1300 about 7.7 per cent. Over five days the difference adds up: five days on an MT-07 at €70 come to €350, against €400 at the short-rental rate. The weekend price works the other way: €170, €220 and €240 are exactly two days at the 48-hour rate, so a weekend is not discounted against a two-day rental.

Long rentals and the per-day rate

Some renters set a separate per-day rate for long rentals. The clearest case is the Kawasaki Z650: it starts at €42 a day, while the long-rental rate is €21.50 a day — about half. The section offers motorcycles by the day and for a week or a month, so for a stay of more than a week it is worth asking for the long-rental figure explicitly rather than multiplying the day rate.

One model, four different prices

The Yamaha Tracer 7 shows why two quotes are rarely comparable as they stand. It appears with a starting price of €50 a day, with a long-rental rate of €72.25 a day, at €75 a day for three to six days and at €85 a day for 48 hours. The Ducati Monster 937 is another example: one renter starts it at €52 a day, another at €72.25 on a long rental. Behind such gaps there can be a different renter, a different model year, a different unit and a different mileage allowance. Before comparing two figures, check the rental length each one assumes.

Age, licence history, deposit, mileage and the IDP

Rental conditions vary from renter to renter, but the same five checks come up on almost every motorcycle in the section.

Minimum age

Age limits range from 18 to 22 depending on the bike and the renter. One renter accepts riders from 18; another rents the Yamaha Tracer 9 from age 20 with an A licence; a third sets 21 as the minimum for the BMW R 1250 RT; and for the largest bikes — the Yamaha Ténéré 1200 and MT-09 Tracer — the minimum is 22. A rider in their early twenties should check the age line on the specific model before planning around it.

Years with the licence

For the biggest machines, age is paired with licence history: the Ténéré 1200 and the MT-09 Tracer require an A licence held for more than two years. A newly qualified A rider is therefore likely to be offered the mid-size A bikes rather than the large tourers, even with the right category on the card.

Security deposit

Deposits for large bikes start from €1,500 at one renter, quoted for its BMW R 1250 RT. Before you book, ask how the deposit is taken — as a card hold or as a payment — and how long its release takes, since the exact figure and method depend on the renter.

Mileage allowance: 100 km per 24 hours

Several renters include 100 km per 24 hours in the price, including on the Yamaha Tracer 7, the Zontes 125s and the BMW R 1250 RT. That is ample for a day of riding around the city, but it changes the arithmetic of a day trip: a ride out and back of 250 km on a one-day rental goes 150 km over the allowance. Ask how extra kilometres are charged, or book an extra day so that the allowance covers the distance. Over three days, the same rule gives 300 km in total.

Licence and IDP for foreign riders

Riders with a licence issued outside France are asked for an International Driving Permit alongside their home licence. The permit is a translation, not a licence in its own right, so the home licence must show the right category — A1, A2 or A — for the bike you book. Bring both documents to the handover.

Pickup points and a request that gets a comparable quote

The motorcycles in this section are handed over at renters' own desks across the city, so the pickup point is part of the choice.

Where the bikes are handed over

Rental desks sit near the main railway stations and in central districts. One renter runs three desks — at Montparnasse, Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon — open seven days a week from 8:00 to 22:00; another operates near the Arc de Triomphe and in Bastille. For a rider arriving by train, a desk at the arrival station saves a crossing of the city; for a rider staying in the centre, a desk near the hotel shortens the first ride in unfamiliar traffic.

What to put in a rental request

• Dates and length: give the pickup and return days, so the right unit — 48 hours, three to six days, weekend or long rental — is applied.
• Licence: state your category (A1, A2 or A), the year you obtained it, your age and the country that issued it.
• Model: name the model from the cards on this page and ask whether the quote is for that exact bike or a similar one.
• Distance: say roughly how many kilometres you plan to ride, so the 100 km allowance and any extra charge are clear.
• Pickup point: name the desk or station that suits you.
• Passenger and luggage: mention a pillion or panniers, since not every bike in a class is set up for both.

Reading two quotes for the same bike

Line up four facts for each quote — the rental length, the mileage included, the deposit and the minimum age — and only then compare the totals. Rent-Trip brings these models together on one page, but each quote is set by the renter who hands over the bike. A quote that leaves out one of the four is not yet a final price, whatever the figure on it says.

Key points before you book a motorcycle

Five figures to keep in mind

• Day rate: 47 models start between €16.62 and €120 a day, with the middle at €56.
• Licence: a car licence plus 7 hours of training opens the 125s; A2 opens 22 models up to 35 kW from €42; a full A opens the rest, up to €120.
• Length: three to six days cost €10 a day less than 48 hours on the five bikes where both rates are known; a weekend costs two short days.
• Conditions: expect a minimum age of 18 to 22, an A licence held for two years on the largest bikes, a deposit from €1,500 on big tourers and 100 km included per 24 hours.
• Documents: riders from abroad bring an International Driving Permit together with their home licence.