Send bike to Australia ——- And tips about other places, too

[Steve11115]

Hi guys, just wondering if anyone had sent a bike to Australia, and any recommendations for companies that sort it out?
Thanks Steve

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[EKIMYRF]

Sending to ride then bringing back or just sending so it stays there ?

 

[Steve11115]

Sending to ride then bringing back or just sending so it stays there ?

Staying there, from what I understand if it's over 25 years you can import it

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[sparkplug]

Have a chat with the guys from Motofreight. Great people, bikers, and a friend who runs a touring company has used them for years to ship bikes all over the world without a single issue. Must have shipped hundreds of bikes for them in that time.

 

[andysdad]

Big difference between temporary (tours) and permanent import.

Haven't looked at it for a while, but in 2011 it was an 84 page form to import my bike (2005 so then only 6 years old), so I didn't bother. Paid twice as much in Oz for the same bike, although got twice as much as the UK used price when I sold it 3 years later.

Bike must have been yours in UK for minimum 12 months; there were lower/no duties for older bikes.

Nightmare stories of cars sitting on the docks for years because the paperwork was wrong (Fremantle Docks had 2 Range Rovers IIRC - covered in inches of bird poo).

Make sure it so clean that you can eat your dinner off it - a speck of dirt and $100's in cleaning charges. They usually charge you anyway! Paranoia about importing bio-hazards (weeds, bugs) is off the scale in Oz.

Presume you are emigrating - lucky b*gger!

 

[OnHellas]

Plus 1 for MotoFreight. They arranged shipping of our two bikes from UK to Sydney. Excellent. They also arranged homeward shipping from the USA at the end of the trip. Again, Excellent. That was 2018/19

I’d already used them for UK to New York and back from Argentina on a previous trip in 2016/17.

As cleaning has been mentioned above. MotoFreight recommended a bike cleaner for us and they did the job very well. No problems at inspection at all.

 

[John RTW]

I used these UK guys to ship my GSA from Aus to UK (doorstep to doorstep) back in 2013. If they are still in business I fully recommend these. Just remember as others have said you should be able to run a white glove over it without a spec of dirt coming off. A few years ago there was an uproar about Aussie Customs going mental on asbestos, including brake discs that would have to go through full scale hazchem procedures for removal costing the earth.

Bob Feltham
Managing Director

RSJ International Freight Services ltd
Unit 16 Londonderry Farm
Keynsham Road
Willsbridge
BS30 6EL, UK
Tel +44 (0) 1179 321160
Fax +44 (0) 1179 326572
Mobile +44 (0) 7789 201735

=======

Their website is still very much live, if nothing else.

Home - RSJ International

Richard

 

[Steve11115]

I used these UK guys to ship my GSA from Aus to UK (doorstep to doorstep) back in 2013. If they are still in business I fully recommend these. Just remember as others have said you should be able to run a white glove over it without a spec of dirt coming off. A few years ago there was an uproar about Aussie Customs going mental on asbestos, including brake discs that would have to go through full scale hazchem procedures for removal costing the earth.

Bob Feltham
Managing Director

RSJ International Freight Services ltd
Unit 16 Londonderry Farm
Keynsham Road
Willsbridge
BS30 6EL, UK
Tel +44 (0) 1179 321160
Fax +44 (0) 1179 326572
Mobile +44 (0) 7789 201735

Thanks will have a look

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[Steve11115]

Big difference between temporary (tours) and permanent import.

Haven't looked at it for a while, but in 2011 it was an 84 page form to import my bike (2005 so then only 6 years old), so I didn't bother. Paid twice as much in Oz for the same bike, although got twice as much as the UK used price when I sold it 3 years later.

Bike must have been yours in UK for minimum 12 months; there were lower/no duties for older bikes.

Nightmare stories of cars sitting on the docks for years because the paperwork was wrong (Fremantle Docks had 2 Range Rovers IIRC - covered in inches of bird poo).

Make sure it so clean that you can eat your dinner off it - a speck of dirt and $100's in cleaning charges. They usually charge you anyway! Paranoia about importing bio-hazards (weeds, bugs) is off the scale in Oz.

Presume you are emigrating - lucky b*gger!

It appears not simple, and it quite hard to find a company that sorts it all out for you. May end up selling it if too much hassle but don't want to.
Yes leaving in January, can't wait

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[squibb34]

Shipping is the easy bit - the hassle starts on arrival & then, as others have mentioned, biking is an expensive hobby in OZ, pretty much double the UK cost.

An old buddy of mine emigrated a few years back & decided it was best to shelve biking for a while until the family re-established. It was enough hassle shipping his beloved classic Mercedes, so he decided to sell the bikes here & start afresh when economically viable.

Each to there own - it's a life changing experience which I hope works out well for you, whatever you decide.

 

[Steve11115]

Shipping is the easy bit - the hassle starts on arrival & then, as others have mentioned, biking is an expensive hobby in OZ, pretty much double the UK cost.

An old buddy of mine emigrated a few years back & decided it was best to shelve biking for a while until the family re-established. It was enough hassle shipping his beloved classic Mercedes, so he decided to sell the bikes here & start afresh when economically viable.

Each to there own - it's a life changing experience which I hope works out well for you, whatever you decide.

Thanks for the reply. The only notable difference between running cost is that their road tax is 350 a year, but then fuel is a quid a litre. All evens out, can't wait to get another bike. Was thinking about shipping my r1100gs but probably not worth the hassle of 2 bikes

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[Loiq]

kathy at Mototfreight...... is mustard...!

 

[John RTW]

Thanks Richard, I think they must have expanded their company, as it seemed like a small family business back then, and by far the cheapest compared to any of the Australian companies.

 

[gbags]

I would dearly like to ride to Oz from the UK but the world seems to be going a bit wonky.
Iran, Pakistan, China, Myanmar. How do we get past these countries if travelling solo?

 

[Wapping]

I would dearly like to ride to Oz from the UK but….. How do we get past these countries if travelling solo?

Look at a map?

 

[gbags]

And you’re a moderator?
Thanks, Captain Dimwit.
When I want advice on the first country past Spain, I’ll rattle your cage.
In the meantime, we were discussing the difficulties of getting past…let’s say problematic countries.

 

[OnHellas]

He

And you’re a moderator?
Thanks, Captain Dimwit.
When I want advice on the first country past Spain, I’ll rattle your cage.
In the meantime, we were discussing the difficulties of getting past…let’s say problematic countries.

He probably doesn’t know just how much of the globe you’ve covered on a bike…so far.

 

[gbags]

Hi Hellas,

I may ship the bike to Oz for two or three months. What were the high spots of your trip there?
I always like people’s recommendations.

 

[OnHellas]

Hi Hellas,

I may ship the bike to Oz for two or three months. What were the high spots of your trip there?
I always like people’s recommendations.

Hi gbags.

Glad to hear that your still planning on heading to far flung lands.

I think that we enjoyed the west more than the built up east. North of Perth around and up into the Nothern Territory. Although we went around the other way.
The big emptiness of the place was stunning.
We enjoyed the trip to The Horizontal Waterfall.
Camping at road houses.
Kings Canyon just down the road from Ularu was a high light too.
A visit to a V8 Supercar race was up there, if that’s your thing. And Bathurst race track is a public road so you can ride the legendary circuit for free. The adjoining museum was brilliant..again, if that your thing.
Tasmania was fantastic. A 12 hour ferry ride from Melbourne.
Most of the people we met were friendly and laid back (obvious stereotype I know).

You probably know that you’ll need a carnet. I found it a painful process to get road insurance for the bikes. Each state has a different approach to foreign vehicles. New South Wales gave the compulsory third party cover free of charge if you enter there but I never actually found out if that was valid in the other states and territories.
The comprehensive element was easy to purchase from a broker as they just go on the make and model of the bike and its value.
Luckily we never needed to claim so all was good.
The bike will need to be spotless on entry, MotoFreight helped out with that and we had no problems. Sea freight was a good price but we paid the same again in fees on arrival so airfreight would have been about the same price. That was in 2018 though.

New Zealand was much easier if you fancy going there as well while you’re down there. We used GT Logistics in Auckland who were superb.

Sorry, I’m rambling. Australia was brilliant. I don’t think that it’d be possible to not enjoy it.
Be sure to post pictures if, sorry, when you go.

All the best.

 

[ahebron]

A bit more info on Australia and asbestos

https://www.abf.gov.au/prohibited-goods-subsite/files/ABF_detections_of_asbestos.pdf