Shipping a motorcycle can be of some difficulty to someone who does not own a pickup truck, or has a sedan with no option to hook a trailer on the back. Maybe the distance the bike needs to travel requires a couple of days and lodging and gas expenses that cannot be afforded by the customer, or simply they don’t want to go through the hassle of transporting and traveling. It is in moments like these that motorcycle transporters come in very handy.
Nowadays you may realize that agendas are busier than before and finding a free spot from car pooling the kids from school to extracurricular activities and back, driving to work, business meetings and so many other activities is almost impossible unless planned in advance for at least 3-4 months. Sometimes the need to ship something occurs from one day to another and some items cannot be placed in your mailbox for the mailman to pickup and deliver; besides they don’t even fit in it. Cargo companies such as FedEx, UPS or DHL can probably offer you more possibilities as far as bigger packages, however when it comes to vehicles, these companies don’t offer the service. You may rent a U-Haul trailer and mount the motorcycle on it, however, again you would need to find the time to haul the trailer from point to point. In this case you would be paying for the trailer, gas and lodging expenses.
There are many ways you can attempt to ship your motorcycle, however one of the most common, secure and cost effective ways will be using a motorcycle transporter. Most customers don’t even consider this option as some are not familiar with the service and think it will cost more than other arrangements, and some because they believe their expenses of transporting it themselves will be less expensive. In the following article we will explain how the price to ship a motorcycle is calculated and show you the perks this service offers when handling a tight schedule.
In order to calculate the price to ship a motorcycle, before you start calling around for quotes and getting pushy salesmen at your service, you must determine what are the dates you are looking to ship in, the more flexible you are the better prices you can find, so it’s important you start planning for your transportation at least 1-2 weeks in advance. We understand some transportations occur on last minute notice, however if you have time on your hand, please use it wisely. Last minute bookings will have a higher fee as prices need to be attractively higher to the driver in order to consider taking a last minute job. If you are working with a limited budget, timing is the most important factor in order to get a good price.
Once the dates are determined, you must check on weather conditions as this factor influences greatly on the price, especially if you’re shipping in high peaks of the season. The most expensive times to ship a bike are during summer and high peaks of snowbird season, usually during the end of fall and beginning of spring before the heavy snowfalls. The traffic flow during winter usually goes from north to south and cost to ship south are higher than to ship north as the demand is greater. Coast to coast transportation is a expensive yearlong, however during winter, especially in northern routes, prices can be significantly higher and sometimes if even impossible due to road blocks and bad weather conditions.
Another factor that affects the price greatly is whether you want to ship your bike via enclosed or open carrier. Both carriers offer the possibility of transporting your bike; however the most common, no matter what time of year is via enclosed. Motorcycles are small vehicles that are open to any hit from the environment, weather it goes through a major hail storm or a small bump from an opening car door that is parked next to it. No matter how small the inconvenient, it will have a greater effect on the bike than on the chassis of a car. Due to this, most bike owners ship via enclosed to avoid these little great mishaps. There is a different price for open carriers, it can be about $50 – $100 less expensive, however some carriers will refuse to take a motorcycle on an open carrier as they don’t want to risk the safety of the bike during transit.
Lastly a factor that changes price ranges, are special requirements or custom needs to transport. The same way a custom bike costs more than a factory bike, custom needs to transport will cost more than standard shipping requirements. Some carriers offer special cradles where the bike is mounted on and strapped on safely to transport. This way it avoids movement to the minimum during transport and it avoids getting bumped by other bikes during turns or wholes on the road. If the carrier you use does not offer this service and you request, extra charges may incur, make sure you specify what you need and want for your transportation as standard procedures for one carrier may not be for another and at the time of shipping the least you want is surprises.
Now that you know what factors affect your transportation, start putting all the details together and start planning your transport, remember the most important factor in order to get the best prices is time flexibility. Special requirements, season and type of carrier also affect your price, however, if planned with time, you will be able to get the most out of this service for the best price.
Ready to ship your motorcycle? call Mary-Lou: (800) 615-3011 or fill out or online motorcycle shipping quote.