Shipping bike to Cuba

[larrysimpson]

Does anyone have recent experience shipping a bike to Cuba? I see Jack Snow shipped from Colombia in 2004 but couldn't contact him. Also I know the Steel Rat is doing some visits to Cuba but for shorter periods and usually packaged with other destinations such as Jamaica.
Also I am wondering if anyone has done it from Canada, Mexico (Yucutan?), or perhaps Panama?
I would love to spend at least a month touring Cuba by motorcycle. Have bicycled there a few times but a motor would add another dimension for sure.

Cheers
Larry

Been

[gypsyprincess]

If you find something let us know. We looked into it and ended up renting a scooter for our time in Cuba instead. If you already biked around with your two feet and a heart beat you know how amazing Cuba is, but getting it in can be a problem. Do let us know if you find success!

[PanEuropean]

There is a tremendous amount of charter aircraft traffic (using wide body aircraft) between Canada and Cuba every winter.

Motorcycles fit quite nicely into the belly of a wide-body aircraft, and Air Transat (a Canadian charter carrier that I have used in the past to ship my ST1100 to and from Europe) is one of the carriers that flies to Cuba on a very regular basis every winter.

Motorcycle Express handles shipping of motorcycles to and from Europe using Air Transat. Whether or not they would be able to handle a moto going to Cuba I don't know - the potential problem is that Motorcycle Express is an American company (based in New York state), and the Americans still have various forms of embargos and resentments in force against Cuba. This might preclude an American company from facilitating this type of shipment.

Anyway - try contacting Motorcycle Express, see what they say. If they can't handle it due to US legislation, perhaps try contacting Air Transat Cargo directly.

Michael

[larrysimpson]

Thanks guys. I tried Motorcycle Express as suggested but they said they do not do Cuba, maybe embargo residue. Will talk to Air Transat directly to see if any possibilities there. I talked to Air Canada and they said the planes they use to Cuba (from Halifax anyway) cannot handle "larger" cargo such as motorcycles.

Regards,
Larry

[PanEuropean]

Originally Posted by larrysimpson

I talked to Air Canada and they said the planes they use to Cuba (from Halifax anyway) cannot handle "larger" cargo such as motorcycles.

Hi Larry:

This is correct, because AC uses narrowbodies (A320s) for their services to Cuba.

To ship a motorcycle on an aircraft, you need to have a widebody (L-1011, MD-11, B-767, A-330 or 340, etc.) because the moto gets put into a fairly large container, and the container then gets loaded into the underfloor area. The narrowbodies can't accept a container large enough to hold a fully assembled motorcycle.

The real question that needs to be answered is how the heck you are going to get the moto out of Frobisher Bay...

Michael

Example of a container used in wide body aircraft

[Kananaskis]

I am reading a book by a guy who traveled through Cuba by bike in the 90's. He ended up getting passage with his bike on a private boat from Key West, Florida. I seem to remember him saying that people make the passage to Havana frequently, albeit illegally in the view of one government. Once in Havana, he got all the paperwork taken care of and was able to hit the road. He mentioned looking at shipping from Mexico and few other options, but nothing panned out. I haven't finished the book, so I don't know how he got the bike off the island!

It sounds like a really interesting place to tour. If you are interested, the book is called Mi Moto Fidel by Christopher P. Baker.

Best of luck,

Robert

[farqhuar]

Originally Posted by PanEuropean

Hi Larry:

This is correct, because AC uses narrowbodies (A320s) for their services to Cuba.

To ship a motorcycle on an aircraft, you need to have a widebody (L-1011, MD-11, B-767, A-330 or 340, etc.) because the moto gets put into a fairly large container, and the container then gets loaded into the underfloor area. The narrowbodies can't accept a container large enough to hold a fully assembled motorcycle.

Not so, I have flown motorcycles before on a narrow body 707, 737 and DC8. Besides motorcycles do not have to be fully assembled - they can be crated with front wheel and handlebars removed to reduce the size of the crate.

When I travelled through Cuba (years back when I lived in Toronto and flew into Cienfuegos) I simply rented a local moped - by far the easiest way to get around and very, very cheap.

[CourtFisher]

Originally Posted by Kananaskis

I am reading a book by a guy who traveled through Cuba by bike in the 90's. He ended up getting passage with his bike on a private boat from Key West, Florida. I seem to remember him saying that people make the passage to Havana frequently, albeit illegally in the view of one government. Once in Havana, he got all the paperwork taken care of and was able to hit the road. He mentioned looking at shipping from Mexico and few other options, but nothing panned out. I haven't finished the book, so I don't know how he got the bike off the island!

It sounds like a really interesting place to tour. If you are interested, the book is called Mi Moto Fidel by Christopher P. Baker.

Best of luck,

/


Robert

You can get an autographed copy of this very good book, and follow Christopher Baker's further adventures in Cuba and elsewhere here:
ChristopherBaker.com