Any advice on crating a bike?

[Warthog]

The last time a bike of mine travelled anywhere without me was back in 2006 when a GS was crated up and put on a plane to BA.

Nothing so extravagant this time.

Time and life's demands mean that I'm getting about 2 weeks to go on a bike tour this summer.

Being in Estonia, it means I have about 1200km SW to ride before reaching anything that has bumps in its terrain. That also means at least 2 heavy days riding.

Instead, I'm opting for shipping the bike elsewhere, flying to join it and riding back.

This means putting my bike in the back of a goods trailer to Milan.

And to do that, I need to crate it.

So, after all the preamble, my question:

Can anyone point me toward any advice on how to effectively crate my bike so that it can travel according to required regs, and in a way that will minimise risk to it?

Also, do I still have to disconnect the battery, empty the petrol tank etc?

Thanks for any advice.

[*Touring Ted*]

The smaller the crate the cheaper it is. Usually.

So people often remove the front wheel, panniers etc and strap the bike down on its forks or sump-guard etc.

I'm sure the rules for road transport are quite different than air/sea.

You should always contact the shipper directly for advice as they may all have different rules.


For the sake of 1200km, it does seem like a lot of work and effort.

Could you find a "Man with van" to do the same thing. Or let someone else ride it there for you.

[Warthog]

Good ideas, Ted.

When I crated the GS all those years ago, I did most of what you describe but I didn't build the crate and that is the big black hole in my experience on this issue.

However, I will ask the shipper for some pointers. Perhaps even go down there and see them.

The "man with a van" would have to be a recommendation otherwise I may never see my bike again!

As for the hassle, in a sense yes. but those 1200km are essentially dead miles and, more importantly, dead days.

I really want to show my girlfriend central Europe and, as neither of us has bags of days off, the idea of losing 4 days riding to just heavy motorway mile munching instead of just the 2 for the return just sticks in my throat.

And when we add the hotel and fuel costs, the cargo cost is not as bad, albeit still more expensive.

Doing it this way means we can do Florence, Ljubljana, Prague and Vienna, together with some fabulous views in between.

Doing it all on the bike would mean missing out on the first two for sure.

[Grant Johnson]

Also see your local dealer - they often have crates that they have to pay to get taken away to the dump!

[Sam Rutherford]

Just crated a CRF230 and a KTM Freeride, for shipping from Cape Town to Antwerp.

I confirm that (for bikes) the volume cost exceeds the weight cost. That being said, I figured the 'faff' of removing the front wheel and creating a 'new' support at the front was not worth the 'pennies' I would save in volume. I did though detach the handlebars sufficiently that they could be aligned parallel with the bikes.

I agree that for your requirement, a crate seems excessive - though if you build a 'cage' yourself then could be good. Make sure you add two blocks beneath so that it can be lifted/moved by pallet truck or fork lift.

[PanEuropean]

Here is a picture of a simple pallet that was used to hold my motorcycle when it was shipped by air many years ago.

Depending on the carrier that you use, this might be sufficient for truck transport. If you elect to use a pallet like this, I suggest you ensure that the side-to-side dimensions are wide enough to extend just beyond the width of your handlebars and/or mirrors (whichever are the widest point of your bike). This will provide a bit of insurance against these parts getting banged up when the pallet is moved into and out of the truck. I also suggest that you ensure that the end-to-end dimensions of the pallet extend slightly beyond the front and rear of the motorcycle (that's not the case with the pallet in the picture below, because it was being placed inside an air freight ULD).

The picture shows the moto on the pallet before it was strapped down to the pallet.

Note that the design of this pallet allows a forklift to pick the bike up from either side - but not from either end. The tines on a forklift are not long enough to allow a motorcycle on a pallet to be picked up from the end. Again, this is something you would need to review with your shipper.

Michael

[Warthog]

Good pointers, folks.

However, this summer I'm going to have to knock the idea on the head.

I've realised that even with shipping, riding back from Central Italy to Tallinn in 10 days will feel like we are almost always in the saddle.

I don't mind some heavy days but riding more than 3-400km in a day and still trying to explore the destination is less fun.

So, it's back to plan A: Tallinn-Prague-Vienna-Tatras-Tallinn.

However, now that this option is known to me, I will definitely plan a trip to Italy and/or France next year using the bike delivered to destination service. More expensive, but makes seeing more or Europe possible despite tight vacation times.