About Us

Wild Rider Motorcycles is the friendly operator for On- and Off-road Motorcycle Fun in Costa Rica, the paradise for motorcycle lovers. We also offer 4x4 car rental at backpacker rates. Discover the beauty and the diversity of Costa Rica´s unique nature and wilderness on two wheels. Climb the highest volcanoes of the country on your bike, discover the tropical rainforests and some of the numerous national parks, or just ride over endless beaches. Whatever you want to do on a motorcycle and wherever you want to go in Costa Rica, Panama or Nicaragua: Wild Rider Motorcycles make your plans come reality!

In the mid-90´s, Thomas Brennenstuhl, the German owner and founder of Wild Rider Motorcycles, started operating the Hotel Ritmo del Caribe B&B in San José, together with his wife Patricia. As more and more hotel guests asked for renting a motorcycle and Thomas being a motorcycle enthusiast, he soon bought his first Suzuki DR250 and DR350 to satisfy these needs.

As the business grew rapidly, a good mechanic was needed, who one day suddenly appeared at the front door of the hotel in form of a Romanian guy called Coco, who was seeking work. "Any kind of work" he said and "preferably as a mechanic".

And indeed he was a good mechanic. However, he had a serious problem called "love sickness". As his girlfriend stayed behind in Romania, he spent more money on International phone calls than he ever could earn. After several months, he finally gave up and returned to Romania

After a couple of mechanics, which were less reliable (to put in nice words), Thomas decided it was necessary to look after the maintenance of the bikes himself and rather get some help for the office instead. And once again, the right person turned up.

Thorsten Klier, a German as Thomas, spent his vacation in 2002 in Costa Rica and stayed his first night at the Ritmo del Caribe Hotel. As he is crazy about motorcycles too, he of course saw the bikes parked in front of the hotel and asked the receptionist if he could rent one. The receptionist replied that all bikes were reserved for the next day, and the only available one had some engine problems and the mechanic was sick that day.

A few minutes later Thorsten himself sat in front of the hotel and took the carburetor of the bike apart (and successfully back together!). So the next day he could go on a large motorcycle tour. As one does a lot of thinking, when riding on a bike through Costa Rica, Thorsten thought of his job back in Germany that he did not like,  the cold weather and cold people over there, and his livelong dream to run a motorcycle rental one day.

So when he returned the bike, he asked Thomas on his last day, whether he was looking for a new business partner. The outcome was that Thorsten went back to Germany only to quit his job and to pack a few things together, and then went right back to Costa Rica to join the Wild Rider team.

It took another year, until they finally found another good mechanic. Jairo, a very reliable and always smiling young one, who has been working on bikes since he was 10 years old as he says. The first engine he took apart was of the motorcycle, which his father used for work - and that never could been rebuilt, as little Jairo had mixed up some tiny but important engine parts with his toys in a big paddle. But that early experience might has helped the fact, that today Jairo can rebuild complete engines with his eyes closed (even though the workshop sometimes still looks like a gigantic playground).

Today, WILD RIDER Motorcycles offers around 20 dual-sport motorcycles for rental (from 250cc to 650cc) as well as a number of 4x4 cars at backpacker rates.

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Our Services:

We believe in helping and advising each traveler individually, to realize his or her very own plans of how to discover Costa Rica. Especially when it comes to motorcycle tours, we prefer to work with rather small groups of riders. Even if you are traveling on your own, we are more than glad to advise you on which places to visit, where to stay and what to see.

With contacts all over Costa Rica, we can also organize hotel reservations etc. for you. We also offer complete tour-packages for groups, including permanent technical assistance, luggage transport, road books, hotel reservations and special activities (white water rafting, horseback riding, Canopy tours, hiking, guided tours to National Parks etc.). For tours to Nicaragua or Panama, we can prepare the special customs documentation that is needed for the vehicles and drivers.

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