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Shipping Vincent Motorcycles
(Please send your info/experiences
!!)
I have personal experience as my bike was shipped
from Sydney to London when I bought it, I made all the arrangements
myself remote through Brian Moxham at CH Robinson,
C H Robinson
(UK) Ltd
Egham, Surrey
Tel : (0) 1784 228550
Fax : (0) 1784 228555
They are UK based but operate through a network
of contacts worldwide - they arranged to have the bike collected from an
address in Sydney and crated and freighted by ship. Stuart Metcalf
12/14/09
I just shipped a Comet from Californina to WV
with www.haulbikes.com
after a couple not-so-fun experiences with discount shippers. Steve
Allen, a Ducati man at Bevelheaven, has arranged some sort of "favorable
terms" contract with them...so my recommendation is to call to check
rates and arrange shipping through him. Phone: (925) 798-2385
or E-mail: http://www.bevelheaven.com/ Since motorcycle
shipping is HB's specialty, your bike is never transported with any other
type of freight. Your bike goes on its own custom form with soft ties and
6 tie-downs....no crating is necessary. My last "discount shipper"
brought my Vincent shoved against a couple mattresses and a refrigerator
in a ratty high cube van. HB also can handle custom trips/ tours
and shipping from auction houses. Their rates depend on whether picked
up or delivered to a business or residence. Mine was billed from
a business to a personal residence, although I like to meet them to pick
up a bike at either a big truck stop or local Wal-Mart parking lot.
HB uses 53' tractor trailers....not handy in a small touristy town with
many No Truck Turns signs. My no discount price was $638 coast to
coast. Jim 8/3/09
Update 12/14/09: Although Haul-Bikes is an excellent shipper,
my latest experiences have not been so pleasant. 4 times they delayed
pick-up.. Now scheduled for almost 6 weks later than originally promised
when I paid their dues. Seems once Any contractor gets your credit
card number, they forget about you. Their work is done. I sense
an opportunity here for someone with a large truck and trailer that would
carry say...10 bikes to haul Vincents and other high dollar Classics around
the USA for $1000 or so and pick up and deliver on-time with regular phone
calls to keep customers up to date where they are in the process..
Jim 12/14/09 After
6 delays in pickup date....Haul Bikes just wrote: " As far
as the delays, it states clearly in our contract on page 2 that we are
not responsible and that the timeframes we give are estimates."
In other words, pay no attention to their description of when the bike
will be picked up and delivered. My take: Not good enough.
Freight Center: A
person wrote a harsh review of Freight Center which I posted and the company
wrote back 2 letters of policies and explanations. Make your own
judgement on that company.
I just got my two Vincent
engines shipped by Berklay
and they did a great job. Dennis Klainberg handled it and it came
from Mike White’s house near Toranto Canada to Texas. Mike wanted
it shipped one day after he had them crated and ready. After we got
shipping arranged, Mike said they made contact with him, and they were
there when he wanted them, had them loaded up and gone exactly when he
wanted it. They shipped them to NYC for customs, then to me where
I picked them up at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport. No problems, no
damage, easy to deal with, very reasonable prices (cheaper than I could
have driven there!). The crates looked like they didn’t have a mark
on them. No damage to anything, and a great, quick job. Charlie
7/24/06
UK to USA:
I had the Comet shipped from north of London to New York City last month.
The shipper arranged pick-up at the residence, crating, customs and all
paperwork and I picked it up at the Port of Elizabeth in New Jersey. Total
cost was $2170 plus an additional $50 for lift loading at the depot. I
was hoping to spend less, but would have had to be more involved with US
Customs, DEP, NHTSA, and the various other Homeland Security issues regarding
importation.
Berkley Carrier
800-254-4422
Denis
www.shipmybike.com
He's a fast talking New Yorker, and tough to pin
down, but he did take care of everything. Which is what I was paying for.
It took 5 weeks from start to pick-up.
John 5/17/05
UK to USA: If the motorcycle was
499cc or less, there is no customs duty. I shipped my Comet from
UK to USA last year by air myself for 700 pounds sterling or about $1300
US. It took 10 minutes in Customs in Denver - filled in a form, showed
some paper work and then went to the airline and picked it up. Peter
5/17/05
Importing to the US:
I've imported a couple of bikes, one from Australia and another from the
UK. I did all the paper work, customs, etc. myself when they arrived
and found it no problem. The biggest hurdle is the EPA junk but that
only applies if the bike was built after those regulations went into effect
(I think 1975).
My experience has been that arranging with a shipper at the departure
end is less expensive than working with someone in the US who in turn must
work with someone in the departure country. Everyone has to make
a dime and in that case and the price increases. Larry Carlson
5/17/05
I am having a Comet shipped
from London area to NYC as we speak. It
is a complete machine, and the shipping
broker is arranging all of the pick-up,
crating, and documents for it to clear the UK and arrive, ready to pick
up at the Port of Entry (in this case, Elizabeth, NJ).
Berklay Cargo Services
1-800-254 4422
www.Berklay.com
This is not the cheap way, if fact it is bloody
expensive. But between the customs, and MOT in the UK and all of the other
paperwork, it probably is a wash with doing it myself. John
3/12/05
Shipping a Petrol tank or other item to Australia:
You can not use wood unless it's of the type approved by the Australian
customs, which has been chemically treated to prevent any types of insects
parasites plant life etc from hitching a ride. Even if you find a sheet
of this stuff, then cut it up to size to build a box, they wont accept
it because the freshly cut ends have not been chemically treated.
Your options are then to have the whole box fumigated and quarantined.
I would strongly recommend an oversize plastic or Rubbermaid/Tupperware
'tote' container of some type. I know this because I went through most
of these steps when shipping my Norton/Norvin chassis off to Aussie. No
wood or wood product materials are accepted, unless it bears an manufacturers
stamps saying it meets or exceeds the Aussie shipping requirements.
In the end the plastic totes are about as much as building a proper crate
from scratch. Marc 2/16/04
http://www.popupcrate.com/freight_pop-up_crate_standard.htm
10/24/03
Federal Allied:
800-747-4100
ask for Jackie x210. Federal ships all around the USA and now into
Canada. Vincent Twin, uncrated, door-to-door, private parties at
each end, about $700 for 2800 miles. Bike is tied down onto a special pallet.
Good personalized tracking system with 24 hour advance warning of delivery.
In Canada, you may want to get another estimate from a second local
associated Federal Allied agent as I have been quoted different rates even
though same parent company. jim 11/17/02.
Interesting option to building a shipping
crate. http://www.popupcrate.com
Bruce 11/17/02
forwardair.com
is the website for Forward Air. They basically are a biker friendly trucking
company that will ship a crated Vincent and parts USA coast-to-coast
in less than a week for approximately $100 per 100 pounds (about $500 for
crated Vincent). They have 75 terminals in the US and Canada near
major airports with good US coverage except for Montana, Nebraska, the
Dakotas, and Idaho. Local Harley dealers seem a good source of suitable
crates. You can start with a basic large crate from any bike dealer
and reinforce it with plywood sides and top. If you are sending just
an engine or a large crate of parts, it is a good idea to start with a
strong shipping pallet and build your crate attached to the top...fork-lift
friendly and a strong non-twisting base. Also the pallet base is a standard
shipping size. jim 4/16/02 ( updated 8/2009)
MotoTrans:
is a door-to-door shipper of uncrated motorcycles. Rates are
posted online at www.mototrans.com . Boston to Florida looks like about
$400. jim 6/23/02
December of 2001 I had my Norvin
with a spare engine and various other parts sent from Manchester, England
to San Francisco. Initially I had called several companies from California
trying to arrange shipping, but it was futile. For example,
Delta would have handled the job for a few hundred
dollars, but their nearest agent is in London--not Manchester--even though
they have "partner" airlines and daily passenger service into Manchester.
Likewise, Emery (theoretically) would have flown into Sacramento for a
few hundred dollars--but could not be located at the Manchester end at
all by Glyn .
Glyn finally used a freight
forwarder, EGL (Eagle Global Logistics),
from Manchester via London Heathrow directly to SFO, arriving on a Virgin
cargo carrier. The bike was on a pallet with a separate crate containing
an engine and other bits for a combined weight of some 355Kg. Glyn
prepaid £537 and I had to pay an additional $35(?), which was 1/2
of the $70(?) due because they had lost the waybill. For comparison
sake, Air Transat, which I had a really cheap rate from sending the bike
from Vancouver, BC to Manchester two years ago, wanted US$1100 back to
Vancouver and an additional US$800 to San Francisco.
My research established that most freight carriers
have NO interest in non-commercial traffic--and as noted above, can be
very
elusive even if you 'qualify' for their services
(I have a company, and the bike was picked up at a commercial site).
After my
experience, I suggest going through a freight
forwarder. In the future I know I shall. John 2/19/02
Hi there, I just noticed your web
page and thought I should update and give you new information on the
intra-Canada and Canada to USA/USA to Canada uncrated shipping service.
We at Allied Mont Bruno/Lakeshore are the company that has this specialized
service. We are affiliated to Allied, as is Federal, except that they service
within the USA only. Heidi Stewart is our Canadian Operations manager.
We are the official carrier of the HOG group, among many others. Dave Urman.
Local Phone: 514-336-1212 and toll free Phone: 877-336-1212. E-mail:
www.brunolake.com/moto.htm 8/23/01
Crating:
When I shipped my bike to England for the International, I used Air Canada
out of Toronto. They shipped it in and out of Heathrow. They strapped they
bike onto a pallet going over to England. Coming back, they put it in a
small container just large enough for the bike. I found their service excellent.
Maybe Air Canada can arrange flying in and out of Heathrow also for you
Limey guys in 2003! Their charge was about $550 American. Tom
8/23/01
It has been my experience in shipping
from the US to the UK and back that a "crate"
has different definitions. The shipping companies I have dealt with accept
a pallet, as it can be easily lifted by a fork truck. In the US I found
Harley dealers willingly give you pallets, while in the UK they told me,
"Oh, they're quite difficult to build matey, so we'll have to sell it to
you." The Harley dealers also have, literally, hundreds of tie-downs
on hand they have received from the factory. After putting the bike
on a pallet it is not a bad idea to wrap it in clear plastic, cheap and
effective. Carl 8/22/01
None of the companies I have spoken with would consider
that a "crate".
Some (not all) will ship on a pallet as you described, but it is considerably
more expensive (and risky) owing to the much-increased possibility of damage.
When you are told (as I have been more than once) that the crate must enclose
the motorcycle and that it not be visible, a pallet and plastic wrap is
NOT satisfactory. I can tell you that my bike would NOT have been
allowed to leave the UK as you described. Furthermore, when I shipped
my bike to Oregon and back for the National this year I was explicitly
told that it had to be crated and the crate had to be either metal or plywood
covered, top, bottom, and sides. Along with that, it cost me a total
of $440 round trip - a much better price than the $700 or so to ship it
uncrated ("palletized") one way. David 8/22/01
Try Geologisitics
they are accustomed to "particular" shipping requirements. I manage
the logisitcs of touring productions which add up to about a quantity 43-
53' tractor trailers. They've moved time sensitive, delicate goods for
our company numerous times from the UK, Europe, Asia, to and from the U.S
and Canada. They also provide brokerage services and they can deal with
crating should it be required. You can ship by plane, or boat and you can
trust your Vincent to them. www.geologistics.com Marc
8/22/01
I have some experience in
international Vincent shipping: twice
round trip to the UK from the US (1983, 1999), twice one way from the UK
to the US (1983, 2000). Most recent RT was for the International
in the IOM. It has been my experience that it WILL be expensive,
but it is quite possible to do what you wish. I don't know about
other airlines, but Lufthansa will ship uncrated bikes to and from London
to the US East Coast. I think they probably have a flight from LA
to London over the
Pole that would do for you. You can check
their schedule and see. There are aslo several US firms that advertise
uncrated international shipping, and you can check www.the vincent.com
(go to shipping) for some of them.
What you will also need is a customs broker at
each end to handle all the details. It can be done without one, but
(especially for foreigner) it would be easier and a wise investment to
hire one. Get your freight forwarder in the UK to recommend one in
both your ports of entry and departure. I can provide a recommendation
for a shipper at Heathrow whom I used with very satisfactory results to
send my Norvin from London to Maryland. It is better to use a crate,
but that would be very difficult on the return unless you shipped your
crqate to your port of exit and then paid to have it stored. Your
Customs Broker can figure
it out and tell you the costs and options.
You can get a crate in the UK for very little from your local Suzuki shop
(my last one cost two pints) and then discard it on your arrival by paying
for disposal (about $20).
My experience with Canadian imports is old and
may be outdated - but the authorities required a substantial refundable
cash bond to bring a bike in by ship or air. They wanted to guarantee
that it would not be sold. When I left the country I applied to get the
money back, and did. To my knowledge the US requires no such bond,
but I think does require EPA and DOT certifications even though you
will be exempt from them.
For the international round trip from Dulles (Virginia)
to London and then by truck to Manchester it cost me about $1800 round
trip. But the bike had to be crated to go from London to Manchester
and back. It did not need to be crated for the trip to London.
David 8/22/01
Hi Jim:
We're www.motoship.com and www.motorcycleshipping.com,
specializing in international shipments
of motorcycles ,
since 1965. We ship a Vincent here and
there every so often; we move a few this summer to the Isle of Mann
for some folks,
and we've shipped for the Guggenheim Museum's
"Art of the Motorcycle" exhibit. Hoping we can help your constituents,
esp. to and from Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, etc.
At your service,
Dennis Berklay
www.shipmybike.com
www.motoship.com 8/13/01
http://www.micapeak.com/~marcl/pages/shipbike.html
Good
info on experiences
For International Shipping: AG
Logistics Joel Kebuti
is John Ulver's contact and can be reached via email at: joel@aglogistics.ca
Motorcycle Express
International Uncrated Airfreight to Europe,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
1-800-245-8726
516-682-9220
E-Mail: info@motorcycleexpress.com
Firstly there is a Motorcycle Yellow Pages at www.micapeak.com
that mentions some shipping outfits. I have shipped bikes using a
company called Federal Allied
with great success. This within the US, uncrated. Shipping is broken
into two prices, one 750cc and over, one under that. A Spokane to
Atlanta movement of my Guzzi 1100Sport was somewhere in the range of $500.
Very reasonable, I thought, especially as it included $5000. in insurance.
I know for a fact that they move 10-15K bikes during the weeks of bikeweek
in Daytona, most of these owned by prickly HD types, so they are
used to the complaints and therefore very careful. The specifics are as
follows: Federal/Allied 800- 747- 4100 (ask
for Jackie x210 - updated contact 11/17/02)
Glenn 02/02/01
Hi Jim:
Noticed your desire to do a shipping page for
bikes. I have shipped bikes four times: twice round trip from US
to UK, twice one way from the UK to US. Never within the US.
The round trips were in 1983 and 1999, both by air. The first was to carry
the bike as excess baggage out of Vancouver BC to Manchester. It
worked very well, but the airline that did it (CPAir) is now out of business.
The second was by Lufthansa
out of Dulles to London and then by truck in bond to Manchester.
In neither case was there a problem. However, it was very expensive
in 1999 ($1800US) partly because I used a customs broker at each end.
It can be done without a broker's help, but I did not and do not feel comfortable
without one. The paper work is pretty complicated. The bottom line
is that you can use any airline that will carry the bike, but the freight
forwarder knows all kinds of information that will make things go more
smoothly. There are lots of requirements, some of them not so obvious -
for instance, a motorcycle, even with the gas tank drained and the battery
disconnected, is a hazardous shipment.
The two bikes shipped one-way were both imported
to the US, so they were more complicated than the round trip ones, because
they had to satisfy the EPA/DOT requirements plus customs duties etc.
Within the US should be easier but not necessarily
less expensive. You may still have crating problems. A Suzuki
(large displacement) steel-frame crate fits a Vincent perfectly, and can
be obtained for practically nothing from your local m/c dealer who will
be happy to get get rid of it. David 02/01/01
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