Advice on shipping to AFRICA
 

I’ve been researching a shipment to South Africa from the US for my trip Jan 07. I’m getting outrageous quotes for AIR shipments from anyone I talk too and I was wondering if I’m doing something wrong. It’s all in and around $3k if anyone will even talk to me. Apparently, air shipments now must go on cargo plains and are considered hazardous goods. I guess that there are also no direct flights (cargo) to SA. I did get a sub $1k quote for ocean shipping and before I go ahead and book that, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with air shipments to SA? Thanks and Enjoy!

I know of 2 Brits who shipped their bikes from London to Alaska on FedEx for around $1100usd. Try them, it can't hurt. Also, try South African Airways and Lufthansa, they will transport motorcycles. See you in Africa! H.

Thanks for the pointer Dave(I guess).
 

I called Fedex and they quoted $1700. That's at least half of any other quote I got. That's amazing. However, they do require that you professionally drain the bike (what ever that means). If I do that or rather if I find out what that means first, they are the 1st ones to ship it as non hazardous. I’ll call again tomorrow to see if I get the same price. Maybe professionally draining is the missing 1.5 grand :).

To achieve the classification as non-hazardous good I was told that draining the bike means you not only have to drain the fuel, but also ALL oils. Engine, gearbox, fork - the whole lot. This of course makes it difficult to pick up the bike at arrival. How are you going to service it at the freight terminal? Usually there's not service station within reasonable distance :-(

Also try DHL. I was told they're not too expensive.

Hans

Draining all oils is pretty hard, it will be a PITA to refill your rear-shock at the airport...
What about grease, do you have to remove the grease from your wheel-bearings?

In reality: the guys who receive the bike have the final say. I've shipped the bike twice by air and haven't had a problem. I'm on an F-650 Dakar. When shipping from Argentina to South Africa, I was told to disconnect the battery; I explained (lied) I didn't have the wrenches to remove the fairing. The boys soon produced a set of allen wrenches- so sorry boys- I need torx! They were more than happy when I removed the seat and pulled out the fuses- telling them the bike was now dead. Be polite and do what is easy and obvious. Some carriers will ask you deflate your tires to prevent them from bursting should the cargo area become de-pressurized. If they ask if the fork oil has been drained, say "yes." The main concern with shipping DG (dangerous goods) is fuel, just be sure your tank is very low. Good luck with your trip.

Ok. So the Fedex price for today is $12,000. Not kidding. I called twice. Today they don’t pallet anything over 150 pounds. Any bets on tomorrow’s price? DHL +4k. I think that not being completely honest about fluids works in Argentina, but I don’t want to try to full around with it here in the US. I’ve heard Guantanamo is pretty bad. I’m tired of this game. The misses is taking a cruise to SA. I’ll update the shipping page once all is over with.

For the record, the guys in Argentina only cared about fuel and the battery- they didn't care about the rest. Did you check with SAA and Lufthansa? What did UPS say? I assume the $12,000 FedEx quote must be for priority-overnight shipment! By the way, South African even lists motorcycle shipping costs on their website. Don't get frustrated, just keep working the problem. Be steady, H.

I already called SAA in SA and they referred me to an agent here and they are the ones who quoted $3k. I think that the biggest difference from other air transports is that these are not non stop flights. Ocean is not such a big deal. Thanks for the cheerios.

Try from Canada?
 

Chicago isn't too far south. You might try contacting agencies in Toronto to see if the prices are any less. We shipped bikes on Air Canada Cargo and only had to disconnect the battery and have the fuel at a very low level.

Hook: Do you have your shipping information for Argentina to South Africa on the "Shipping" section of this website? We're flying from Buenos Aires to (hopefully) Cape Town after riding to Tierra del Fuego next year and any information would be helpful. (Cost, carrier, shipping agent, special requirements, etc.) Thanks!

Ekke, I did put the BA-Capetown shipping info on the shipping pages. The bike and I flew (on the same aircraft) on Malaysian Airlines, an airline I would gladly fly with again, just great service. Good luck to you, H.

Sending Bike by Air
 

Hope this may help.Im in Australia dealing with Toll International ,sending my bike to Joburg in South Africa.The first price i got was $2900 for a crate size of 120cm x 232cm x 80cm,on further chatting and re measuring bike with wheels/forks etc off to be more compact,i got the size to 90cm x 180cm x 55cm and the dollar to $950.What im saying is ask more questions.The formula they use in Australia is LXBXD/6000X$.Wish u well.

Cool
 

Thanks Dave, I haven't been to the shipping pages in a while.

Checked out your website, looks great! :thumbup1:

Thanks for the advice. I'll try SAA with smaller dimensions. I called Air Canada yesterday on Ekke's advice and got $4k. Their shortest routing is Toronto-Amsterdam-Dubai-SA. I'll try some more in Toronto with these smaller dimensions. Thanks all.

This is for shipping out of the US by air only and apologies for the length...

Short version:
Ride your bike to Canada and have somebody in Canada ship it for you! The US is a pain in the ass to deal with for air cargo.

Longer version:
I just shipped my bike air frieght with Royal Air Maroc(RAM), from Philadelphia to Casablanca and it ran about 2300USD. Quotes I got were all in that range.
Part of the cost of that quote is a Dangerous Goods Declaration that is filled out by a trained certifier.
In the US, Dangerous goods, depending on their nature AND if the shipper is a KNOWN shipper, can be placed on a passenger plane and doesn't have to go on cargo only planes.
Since individuals like us, don't ship often enough, we're considered UNKNOWN shippers and that is the toughest thing to overcome. As a result, dangerous goods shipped by unknown shippers are very often required to be professionally prepared and certified, specifically draining the fliuids on the bike.
Flying your bike out of the US, you will be asked to drain all fluids, and then refill them at destination to comply with current US regulations.
What I did, was disconnect my battery, drain my gas tank and stick it in a standard BMW crate...available free from dealers.
RAM filled out the Dangerous Goods Declaration and then trucked the bike from JFK to Montreal, where it was placed on a RAM passenger flight and shipped to Casablanca...took about two weeks time.
Post 9-11, laws enacted by the US gov't have made it very tough to export or ship anything out of the US by air.

If you choose to ship by air in the US and if I were you, contact RAM, SHIPMYBIKE.com, Hellmans, or Motorcycle Express. Otherwise try convincing your frieght forwarder to truck it to Canada, once its passed US Customs inspection...to avoid having all the fluids drained. Hell ride it to Canada and have a local freight forwarder or Air Canada deal with it!
Whatever you decide, at the end of the day, the last thing you want happening is to arrive and your bike not to...for weeks on end...4 weeks to be exact.
HTH

edde