Shipping to teh US from teh UK

drs · Dec 16, 2004

Planning a US tour next summer & want to get committed with the first step - getting the GS over there.

Any recommndations & advice on shipping agents, price & paperwork. Also, best place to ship to - I'm thinking New York or Florida somewhere.

All views welcome.

Cheers - Dave.

Tim Cullis · Dec 16, 2004

I know nothing (yet) about bike shipping, but if you are thinking of transport via ships rather than air, then the Wallenius Line will give you an idea of routes. They have a line of oceon-going roll-on-roll-off ships used for transporting up to 6000 cars at a time (the ill-fated Atlantic Conveyor borrowed by HM Gov was one of theirs).

On the Wallenius website, go to 'route maps' and select 'UK', then select 'outbound to North America East Coast'

I contacted Wallenius when I was considering shipping my car to the States and they were very helpful and passed me along to Tony White, at Southampton Euroterminal, tel 02380 637233 who explained the procedure and gave me estimated costs.

Tim

MikeO · Dec 16, 2004

I shipped to Miami and flew it back from NY. Flying was easier, quicker and cheaper. First stop is Horizons Unlimited.com - spend a few days reading. I used Frontier Forwarding as my UK shipping agent in both directions. I'm not at my own computer at the moment - I'll re-post a link when I am.

Mike

ps How long are you planning to go for? If it's less than about 6 weeks, it's probably cheaper to hire over there...

Steve B · Dec 17, 2004

Mike

Was it really cheaper to fly it than ship it? I'd intended to ship mine from Southampton to Halifax (Nova Scotia) as it appeared to be more than 50% cheaper with the above shipping line. I know it's quicker to fly but it only takes 12 days across the water and you could always arrange your flights to coincide.

Steve B

MikeO · Dec 17, 2004

Just speaking from experience Steve. I paid (roughly) £660 to ship the Adv to Miami (25 days), then had to pay $400 in handling fees at the other end (I'd been told to expect $100

). I flew it back from JFK,NY (4 days) for $1350 plus £110 handling fees at this end. Fees both ways included insurance - DON'T be tempted to ship without it...

The main advantage (advice from Greg at HU) of flying is that, if anything goes wrong (apparently I was quite fortunate not to have my bike delayed when travelling by sea), it can be resolved in a matter of days, rather than weeks. Customs clearance is also much swifter when transporting by air. Bike doesn't have to be crated etc - all of which leads to less cost.

Have a chat with Greg & co at the Horizons Unlimited site - they are vastly experienced in this area, but the perceived wisdom is to fly, rather than ship these days...

Mike

ps You'll probably find that shipping/flying to & from Canada is cheaper than to/from the USA...

drs · Dec 17, 2004

Shipping to US

Thanks for the advice.

Was planning a trip of 4 to 6 weeks so it maybe better to hire although when I looked at this option in previous years it looked expensive (for BMs anyway). I guess with the favourable exchange rate it might work- any ideas on companies & costs ?

Dave.

BossBob · Dec 17, 2004

options .........

Hi, new around here, was linked in to read about Mike O's wee trip, and a fine wee juant it was

Kudos mate.

So forgive me if this angle is covered already, I have also had a browse at HU with no joy.

So what are the pitfalls with Buying on arrival?
Seems to me reading the numbers it must be a viable option.
To ship, at Mikes prices was ~ £1600
To rent, more than 4 weeks > $3000

What about buying and taking the hit on resale, not forgetting it saves the wear and tear on your own bike, and resultant depreciation.

I'm thinking of USA/Canada

Rab

MikeO · Dec 17, 2004

Bob,

have a chat with Rushy - he did 3 months in the USA on a US registered bike he bought over there and sold (I think) before returning...

Mike

ps Lots of advantages to using a USA bike (bike insurance is about a tenth of the price, for example) - the disadvantage is that you have to accept a standard spec bike (or however the vendor has it set up)...

BossBob · Dec 17, 2004

Thanks Mike,
Nice trip BTW ........ and I've only read half !!

I had been swaying between buy/rent and never considered taking my own till I read your trip. The costs seem high and the hassles in shipping/customs obvious, I just can't see how you could drop the equivelant of rental at resale. And even if I did I could bear it in the knowledge it was the lesser of the evils

Standard would do me fine, I could pack whatever else I needed.

off to do more reading ..............

Rab

Dan Walsh · Dec 18, 2004

I flew the bike from Heathrow to Toronto with Mike Mandell's New York based Motorcycle Express. Very easy, very professional, quick and convenient. They arrange all the paperwork, plus insurance, all you do is ride the bike to Heathrow Cargo the day before (or the morning of, if you're really pushing it) flying, pick it up the next day on The Far Side. No crates, no nonsense. Post 9-11 they (I think) don't fly into US airports, but Toronto is only a day from the US border at Niagra Falls (and your insurance automatically covers you for Canada as well as the US).

Recommended.

Cheers, Dan Walsh

Mike Mandell's websites -
www.motorcycleexpress.com
http://www.motorcycleservices.com/Shipping/ShippingQuote/

Paul Narramore · Dec 22, 2004

In 2002 I flew my Pan to Vancouver, rode across Canada and the US, then flew back from Toronto. From memory the cost of flying the bike was £1700 with my air fare on top. Travelling by sea would have been half of that. As I wanted to ride from the West Coast to the East Coast, had I shipped the bike, it would have needed a lengthy sea journey though the Panama Canal and I would have been without it for six weeks or so. I could face the complication of arranging the flights, etc, so left everything in the hands of H-C Travel. Very efficient.

In 2006 I shall repeat the trip but this time shipping on the Southampton-based shipping line mentioned earlier. The costs are £432 single. I then fly out to NY five days later and pick the bike up.

For further information on my trip and the preparations for it see http://msnusers.com/USCoasttoCoastMotorcycleTrip2002

E-mail if you like on pn31146@fsmail.net

Shipping to teh US from teh UK

drs

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Tim Cullis

Scotland lover

MikeO

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Steve B

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MikeO

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drs

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BossBob

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MikeO

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BossBob

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Dan Walsh

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Paul Narramore

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