Dirtbike rental in Baja California?
 

My girlfriend and myself are planning a trip to Baja in November (2024), for a month. We'd like to explore some of the peninsula with dirtbikes, for about 10 to 14 days.

We're hoping to get suggestions as to bike rental places/logistics, or other options (buy and re-sell?).

Thanks in advance :-)

Are you going to fly down to BCS to stay at one of the resort towns ? Or are you driving to the north end hoping to ride bikes south and back ?
Do you now own dirt bikes and a trailer ?

There may be a rare California rental company that does organized dirt bike rides based from the USA . The advertised rentals I did discover tend to push heavy expensive street bikes for tourist use , and rates run into several hundred US dollars per day . I think they re aimed at the really rich , Mexicans from the DF ,Monterrey, Guadalajara ...and millionaire gringos and the like who want to do a Starbucks tour . :)

In the Mexican tourist resort areas there are companies which will stock a pile of small dirt bikes, pizza bikes and quads for hourly or day rentals for use in the beach community and some designated trails .

Buying and re-selling, even if possible (unlikely), never makes sense for a couple of weeks. That leaves you with bringing your own or renting, and I doubt you're thinking of riding or trailering your own all the way from Quebec.

I'm not familiar with the rental scene in Baja, but I'd suggest you clarify what you're looking for. "Dirt bikes" to me means non-street legal, which makes me wonder about where you'll go, eat, and stay during your 10-14 day tour. I assume I'm misinterpreting what you really want.

I did a quick Google search to satisfy my own curiosity. Tours out of California seem to be priced at stratospheric levels, e.g., US$600/day and up. Tours out of resort towns are a bit cheaper, but not cheap. Standalone rentals of small, offroad-capable bikes run well over a hundred USD/day. That satisfied my curiosity!

You could give these guys a try:

https://www.diespro-bajatour.com

I know Alfonzo (Poncho) - he's a good guy, and he knows the peninsula intimately.

All I'd say is they might not be all that cheap, so perhaps consider a shorter and more intense few-days tour with a guide as part of the overall trip, rather than renting for two weeks?

Jenny x

edit. a quick google showed up these guys too, based down in Cabo: https://www.bajaride.com

Looking at it, I think any 'dirt biking' is going to be part of a [shorter/intense] tour, rather than finding your own way over multiple days/two-weeks, but these companies sort the logistics/accommodation/food/bikes/support for you, and have local knowledge - so that might be worth paying a premium for, particularly if it's your first time in Baja?

Thanks all for your input :D
I've revised our planned riding-time down to about a week (instead of 10-14 days)... within a 4-5 week overall stay in Baja.

@sjoerd bakker: yes we'll fly down, not sure if to BCS or Norte. We plan on staying about a month, but renting the dirtbikes would only be for 7 days I guess... my girflriend is new to motorcycling and off-road riding so I want to brun her enthousiasm for adventure riding :)

@markharf : I was referring to dual sport bikes (plated dirtbikes), under 400cc. The idea is to venture through the backcountry, on and off-road to explore the peninsula for about 7 days. Doesn't have to be a full tour of Baja, but just a thrilling adventure; my girlfriend has just started riding, as I mentioned above :wink3:

@JMo (& piglet) : thanks for the referral and links. I've reached out to Diespro through their website. I get what you're saying re: a shorter/more intense guided trip off-road. We'll see. As my girlfriend is a beginner rider, I am not sure if an expensive guided off-road trip is the best way to go at this stage. Possibly in a subsequent trip :cool:
With that being said, maybe we'll limit our rentals to 3-4 days if it's more expensive than planned (I was hoping under $100 a day per bike, and the cheapest rate I found so far is $150 per day for a Honda XR200, but they only have 1 of it :rolleyes3:

I have to work (remotely) during our 4-5 weeks stay, so wanted to combine a camper van rental time, a stay at 1 or 2 villages in an accomodation, and a short (week) moto trek through the backcountry.

If any of you has more suggestions based on your local experience, they are welcome ?c?

Having seen them I know that there are some small-bike rentals down in southern BCS . They are hard to find on the internet because every google search seems to wind up with some state-side Harley or BMW rentals and expensive long guided trips from Arizona and California and Nevada $$$ .
I did locate some in Baja by going to GoogleMap and then asking about dirtbike rental locations .

With the flexibility in scheduling of time and location you describe it might be just as easy to fly south to the Cabos and La Paz to see what you can find in the way of small dirt bike rentals. If it pans out ,great , if not your girlfriend can always learn to ride in Quebec .
The rental businesses usually set out a selection of small bikes and quads under a sunshade on or near a beach or near a resort hotel , with a bunch of flags and banners to draw attention . They rent out at an hourly rate so you could sign up for a full day , come back for more if you liked it or try at a different location .
Their target customer base is the youth who fly in with little to no experience in operating a dirt bike or quad but who want to goof off on the beach or use it for personal transport around the resort . This is the type who show up on "Funniest Videos " as they grab a fist full of throttle and wheely a moped straight into a hedge on their first try. "Its a tiny bike , eh ? . What could be so difficult ? "

Just outside Todos Santos I was riding my own bike on Mex 19 when I noticed such a rental company so I stopped to observe . They were setting out to give a group of tourists on small quads a guided ride around their desert property trail . It was clear that most of those riders were absolute first time riders as they repeatedly stalled their engines , rode into the brush or got stuck in a sandy dip after going over the bars. The tour guide /instructor was quickly exhausting himself by babysitting them , running his bike up an down the line repeatedly yanking quads out of their predicament while the group did not make much headway . ( I am trying to get a picture into this email, did it once before , but I forgot the convoluted steps required here )

Most of the renters offer quads , or only quads because the novices are less likely to break their own body sitting strapped into a four wheeler . There are such services shown at San Jose del Cabo, Cabo San Lucas , Todos Santos and along Mex 19 midway between CSL and TS .

At Todos Santos this next company , Nomadas Drift ,has a website and advertises actual dirt bikes and a social, experience ( not my cuppa ... and probably very $) .
Have a look

https://www.nomadasdrift.com/

Thanks @Sjoerd ! I think that will indeed be our best option, ie fly down, and check out the day rentals on-site.
Was it a photo of a whiskey throttling tourist on a quad you wanted to upload? :rolleyes:

Attachment 28478

Attachment 28479

By golly ,I surprised myself . With some probing and patience I managed to "download " two paperclip-connected files . In the composing step they only showed the number of the file , so I was dubious as to any success . So I posted and they really showed up here as actual pictures .
First image is the rental company location with the quads setting off into the trail.
Second image is of the bikes into the trails a short distance and already the tour guide /wrangler is having to aid the clueless riders . The horse riders appeared to be using the same trails but they probably really don't need to rein the horses because the animals are self steering around their familiar terrain . They will auto-pilot it back to the feed and water supply .