Quad bikes from Islands hit streets
Individuals across the city are the proud new owners of famous four-wheelers
They’ve been lovingly sanded, painted and sealed. Some have new wheels, fancy gears and LED lighting. And while they’ve all taken on new lives with new families, the one bond they’ll always share is having called the Toronto Islands home.
Priya Rao, whose parents co-own the Toronto Island Bicycle Rental, has been watching the 30-odd quadricycles evolve since they were snapped up in a sale two months ago, after the family-owned business briefly lost its contract with the city to rent bikes on the island.
After 32 years serving tourists and Torontonians, the business was forced to sell off its stock over the Easter weekend and leave the island by April 24 because their contract was awarded to another bidder.
In a surprise twist, the winning bidder ended up backing out shortly after, and Rao’s family and its partner regained the contract.
The quads sold for anywhere from a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000, depending on their condition and age, said Rao.
“It’s just been amazing,” said Rao of the quads’ new journeys. Shane Leslie, a father of two, was one of the lucky few who got his hands on a quad, which he’s been riding around the city ever since.
“The reason this appealed to me is my youngest daughter — she’s 6 — she’s severely autistic and because I’m a cyclist, I never intend on driv- ing or buying a car,” Leslie said. “I needed something to get her around and the bike trailer I was using was getting small for her and her sister.”
James Suttar, a chef, also counts himself among the quad owners.
“I commute everywhere by bike, so I’ve always wanted a fun bike,” he said. “When I saw (the bike rental company) was selling off their stuff, I thought, ‘That’s gonna be my fun bike.’ ”
Suttar estimates he’s put 150 to 200 hours of labour into refurbishing his quadricycle, adding he’s not done yet, but is looking forward to riding it around.
The first time he rode it was when he bought it, along with about 20 other people, he said. After a ride around the island, they took the quads back to the city in a ferry and then took the waterfront trail heading east.
“It was kind of nice because there were so many of us, so there was kind of a convoy of us heading down the waterfront. It was surreal, it was fun.”
The group has kept in touch since on a Facebook group, where they share ideas, source parts and discuss what they’re doing to their quads.
“Everyone’s really open about what they’re doing, how they’re doing it,” Suttar said. “Everyone’s really nice about it, everyone wants to share their ideas and everyone wants to see them restored.”
Leslie’s also upgraded his quad since he bought it, but he’s been riding it since the day he got it. Along the way, he’s added gears on the rear wheels so there are three speeds on each side, expanded the canopy, waterproofed it and placed a pride flag on it.
“It’s probably one of the best $500 I spent,” said Leslie, adding he’s spent money on top of that to refurbish it.
“I’m not a car person. I’ve never liked cars, I never want a car, but this has allowed me to have kind of the functionality of a car in my neighbourhood,” he said. “I get so many smiles and people waving at me as I ride around. It brings joy to people to see it on the street.”