bike shipping from states to uk?

[psionick]

Hi there.
Could anyone please tell me the best place to enquire about bringing over a bike?
A friend is coming to stay for a few months, and wishes to bring his bike with him.
He may leave it here for approx 6 months, before he returns again.
Really, i just need to know how easy or difficult it can be, and a pointer in the right direction would be helpfull.
Many thanks,
Nick.

[MikeS]

I flew mine from Vancouver to Munich for $1700 and it was ridiculously easy compared to shipping and not much more expensive. I used Motorcycle Express (theres a link on this site in the shipping section). It would have been the same price to fly it to Glasgow. I did a write up on the 'Getting there' section.

[Keith1954]

If you're friend is looking to ship by sea then he might care to investigate what Wallenius Wilhelmsen can offer. I used their services earlier this summer (June) to ship from Southampton UK to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I intend to use them again at the end of next May ['08] to ship back from Newark NJ to Soton.

I can't speak about the schedules from the US, as I have yet to determine this - but to give you an idea: going the other way (UK to America), there is a weekly roll on-roll off ferry service from Southampton to the US. As mentioned, the ferry is run by Wallenius Wilhelmsen and the weekly service visits New Jersey, Baltimore, Charleston and Brunswick. Another ferry leaves every ten days for Halifax in Canada - the one I used; then Port Hueneme on the West Coast, and Tacoma every twenty days. A third ferry travels every two weeks from Southampton to Galveston.

For the weekly service, it appears to cost the same to ship a bike, to whatever East Coast port. The UK-based man to speak to at WW is Tony White in Soton on +44 (0)2380-637-233. Tony will, no doubt, be able to give you the contact details of his N American-based counterpart colleague(s). Tony's a TOP bloke BTW - a real friendly chap & very helpful indeed.

The cost to ship the bike, which is lashed down onto an internal deck throughout the voyage, is about £540 (approx. USD $1,080) single, at any time of the year. There will most likely be a further disembarkation 'handling' fee at the port of arrival, e.g. at Southampton. I re-call paying the Halifax port authorities around CAD $170 (GBP £83) back in June.

Journey time for me was 7-8 days, although this could be considerably longer going the other way - maybe a whole month in total time, as the ferry might have other ports to visit (drop-off & pick-up) before finally leaving the US seaboard.

Hope this helps.

KEITH

[JMo (& piglet)]

Hi Psionick -

I'm flying my XR650 from the US (Las Vegas) to Manchester UK with Express Air Freight Unlimited Inc. (The Express Group.) - they have various offices all over the US, and I used them based on a recommendation from Virgin Atlantic.

Cost varies depending on the size/weight of course, my own crate is costing just under $1500 all in - that's picked up from my address here in the US, and delivered to Manchester Airport. Give them a call/email - they are very helpful and will explain all the paperwork etc. you'll need.

Right, have to go - they should be here any minute to pick it up!

Hope that helps,

JennyMo xxx

[JMo (& piglet)]

Further to what Keith has said above, a friend of mine used WW to ship his Land Rover over to the west coast of the US earlier this year. It's a pretty painless proceedure, although the return journey is not only 3 weeks, but was also delayed - it took him around 6 weeks before the vehicle was ready to collect at Southampton. Also, a few items he'd left in the cab of the vehicle seemed to have dissappeared by the time it arrived back in the UK. He suggests locking anything of value (sentimental or otherwise) away, and leaving only the keys so they can move the vehicle on and off the ship.

When I called the UK agent for Wallinus for a quote, it was around £700 for shipping a bike from the UK to US (LA - Port Huneme), although I understand it is around 20% cheaper going US to UK.

Personally speaking, based on the current exchange rates, it is not much more to ship by air, and other than the albeit minor inconvience of crating the machine, it is far simpler and quicker, with less risk of damage or delay...

You pays your money etc.

JennyMo xxx