Steel Create for sale in Vancouver
 

Hello Riders,

I am awaiting my bike to reach Vancouver in Canada.
I shipped by sea-freight, so as per shipment it had to be caged on a crate, I was able to find a steel stillage from a local dealer, the crate consist on a base and the relevant beams on corners to connect the top, its sizes are 80x125x226 cm my bike weigh circa 250 kg with the three full panniers.

When It arrive at destination I will have to get rid of it or most probability I will have to pay for the disposal as I wont be allowed to leave it at the port.

If any one of you is interested I am happy to sell for 50$ negotiable.

If interested I can send a picture

Cheers

Diego Chiarot
chiarotd@yahoo.it

Hi Diego:

It certainly is a nice looking crate.

I hope you enjoy your time here in Canada. Here is a little bit of information that might help you adapt to riding in Canada:

1) Very few people who have lived all their lives in Canada have ever ridden a motorcycle - my guess would be less than 3% of the 'born in Canada' drivers have ever ridden a motorcycle. This is very different than in Italy, where probably half the adult population drove a Vespa when they were young and poor.

Because of this, Canadian drivers are not particularly alert when it comes to watching out for motorcyclists. You will also find many car drivers who are very intolerant of lane-splitting, and drivers will become very hostile if you move up to the front of the line at a red light.

2) Except for the province of Quebec, there is no law in Canada that says you should keep to the right except when passing, and only pass on the left.

It is normal to find very slow-moving vehicles in the left lane, if you flash your lights at them to indicate you want to overtake, they think you are being rude and aggressive, and they will often slow down instead of moving over.

Passing on the right is normal practice everywhere in Canada except in Quebec.

3) In theory, the 'priority to the right' law exists in Canada. In theory only. More commonly, whoever gets to an intersection first expects to have priority. Do not rely on the other driver following the 'priority to the right' rule, or you will be roadkill.

4) We have no such thing as priority roads (yellow diamond signs) in Canada.

5) Speed limits in Canada are artificially low. Hence, everyone drives a little bit faster than the speed limit. Except in rare locations such as passing by a school, driving 10 km/h over the posted limit is normal and expected. If you respect the speed limit signs, you will annoy other drivers and hold up traffic.

6) If you are annoyed at another driver and wish to express your contempt for them, you can give them an 'Italian Salute' (L'Ombrello). That particular gesture (palm of one hand applied downwards over upraised forearm of other hand) is well understood here. :biggrin: But do not do that if you visit the USA, or they will pull out their gun and shoot you.

Enjoy your trip...

Michael

hahahaaa, L'ombrello!! I now it very well, I am original Italian.

Thanks for the nice introduction, after this I think I will easily feel like driving at home then.

The facts that I will have to wait few days before actually collecting the bike will give a taste of the driving culture, even from the pedestrian side.

About the rule of keeping right, I read somewhere that recently they have opt to keep left in stead on motorway, don't remember but I will notice when will see it.

Hi Diego:

Another little bit of information that you might be interested in:

Air Canada is offering air transport of motorcycles from Canada to Europe in the belly of their aircraft at very low prices. This is a 'summer only' offer, it ends at the end of September each year.

So, if you want to go back to Europe with the bike at the end of this summer (or perhaps the beginning of next summer), have a look at this discussion here on the HUBB, it explains things pretty well:

Air Canada Cargo Killer Deal.

Here is a link to Air Canada's website that describes their offer in more detail: FLY YOUR BIKE.

The nice thing about moving a motorcycle around via aircraft is that you don't have to disassemble it or crate it or drain the fuel or anything like that. Just show up at the cargo drop-off point with less than 1/4 of a tank of gas, that's all. When you pick it up at the other end (same day), you just ride it away.

Michael