Whereabouts are you on the east coast? - Miami is 1,500 miles and even LA is only 2,500 miles away. :confused1:

Surely the whole idea of an international bike ride is to see and experience as much as you can, in which case a detour to Toronto is all part of the fun.

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Garry from Oz - powered by Burgman

Hi Extsieg:
We are preparing for departure for Europe in May 2011. My information gathering reflects CourtFisher's reply. I contacted the same carriers. Prices were generally $1900-2000USD, for a 1150GS-oneway. There were some that were higher. I also contacted James Cargo. I do have an email from Berklay (ShipMyBike) detailing out their services, cost, and document requirements-NY service. If you would like me to send it by PM, let me know. Regarding Knopf Tours, Stefan has been very helpful to me. In the end, I decided to go with Stefan. Just for your information, they have surface vessel space available leaving Florida at the begining of March. I need to drop my bike off with him before February 28th. He will take care of all the export and importation requirements (customs, green card, etc.). I will fly over in May and pick the bike up in Heidelberg. If you would like the details of that email, which includes costs and document requirements, I can also send that to you by PM. As CourtFisher said, he has a B&B, warehouse storage, and a small work shop.

A little embellishment on my part with the distance More like 1100 miles door to door.

Club Voyages Tourbec
This is who I booked my air thru. I also went with Motorcycle Express to arrange the shipping of the bike for me. I will have it on the same flight with me and will be flying into Paris. ( I want a photo with the Eiffel tower and my bike in the back ground Thats the only must do for me is get the photo after that I'll just let the wind take me around Europe for a bit.

It's going to cost me $1995 for the shipping. A little over $500 for the airfare and another $150 for a hotel at CDG. (I will need to get some sleep after the flight before I jump on a bike in Paris) Also looking at 4 nights in Toronto as I have to drop the bike off Saturday and was told they have to have two days to prep it. So there is another $300 easy just in hotel bills if I don't want to wait in a box. The nice part is that I grew up over on the US side near a town called Port Huron so I will have friends and family in Toronto for some company.

So Im already up to 3K and I have not even got out of the states yet. Turning into a nice little junket I also plan on staying in guest houses and hotels during my travels. I'm not up for the camping as I'll be with myself and want to be able to walk around towns with out worrying about all my crap on the bike.

So stay tuned this whole trip kicks off on 1 April with a 1100mile ride from Alabama up to Michigan....

Quick update on my trip. I got my shipment paper work in the mail today. Two copies of the Hazmat stickers and some how to info on where and when to have the bike. I do customs 3 days before fly day

I have shipped my bike to and from Europe many times with Motorcycle Express, and I have always been very satisfied with their service.

That company is quite closely associated with Motorcycle Express, and they have always done a good job of handling my passenger tickets. Here's a tip for you: If your air carrier is Air Transat (and my guess is that it will be Air Transat), be aware that they offer sort of a 'first class' section on many of their charter flights. You don't get fancy meals, but you do get larger seats that recline a bit more and allow you to get some sleep on the way over. Here's a link to the air carrier's website: Air Transat Club Class. It is well worth the money to pay a bit extra for the upgrade - it saves you paying for a hotel to sleep in the morning you arrive in Europe.

Uh, you mean, you hope to have the motorcycle on the same flight as you. Read the fine print in your contract - the motorcycle travels standby, not positive space. This is because if the winds are a bit worse than forecast on the day of your flight, the pilot will add extra fuel, and your motorcycle will be the first thing to get off-loaded if the aircraft is close to MTOW and the pilot wants more fuel. On the Toronto or Montréal to Paris route, it is unlikely that the moto will get bumped, but still, be aware of this possibility.

Uh, actually, I wouldn't do things that way. Your aircraft will arrive very early in the morning (probably sometime between 6AM and 8 AM local time). Pick up your checked baggage at the carousel, then get your butt over to the freight warehouse (on the other side of the runway) as fast as you can. The motorcycle will be in the warehouse within 2 hours of the plane landing - which will be faster than you can grab your bags and take a taxi.

Clear the motorcycle out of customs IMMEDIATELY, the same morning, otherwise, you will get hit with some pretty painful warehouse storage fees. The French warehouse operators take no prisoners - you will have to pay for a day of storage even if your bike is only in the building for 20 minutes. Under normal circumstances, it should not take you longer than a couple of hours at most to get the bike out of customs. The customs office at the freight area is only about a 5 minute walk from the warehouse. Bring your ownership, your passport, and (most important of all), proof of your European insurance coverage. The customs people have never bothered to inspect my motorcycle (their rationale being that they don't inspect cars coming over the land border to France), but they do take a very close look at your ownership, registration, and insurance.

Once you get the bike out of the warehouse and on the road, you can go to sleep then. You will be able to find all sorts of small hotels around CDG airport for a lot less than $150 a night, so, don't bother making a reservation.


Eh? That's the first I have ever heard of that. I used to live in Toronto, and I would just take the bike to the freight warehouse the day before the flight and drop it off. Two days of prep sounds kind of excessive - but maybe times have changed. Just make sure that you don't have any dirt or dead insects on the bike (so the European agricultural people don't get upset), and show up with a 1/4 of a tank of gas or less.

Be aware that there is no 'ramp' to let you get the bike from road level up to the loading dock at Toronto airport. Back in the good old days, the freight guys would just let me in through the airside gate, and I would ride the bike around (to the airplane side of the building) and then straight in the back door of the warehouse. But, I doubt if this can still be done in the present climate of fear, uncertainty and doubt. So, allow yourself enough time to mooch a 'lift' off of a airfreight truck driver who has a power liftgate on the back of his truck - and have a $20 in your pocket to express your appreciation with (not a US one, they ain't worth sh*t anymore).

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Send me an email (paneuropean *at* hotmail *dot* com) if you need more info about the process - I think I have done about 5 round trips to Europe now with the motorcycle, all via Air Transat and Motorcycle Express.

Below are some photos showing how the motorcycle fits into the freight can, and how it is tied down. The strap across the seat is the most important of all. Bring along something (e.g. an old blanket, a moving pad, or what I used - a very sturdy cardboard tube) to prevent the strap from blemishing your seat. Note also that the bike gets tied down with the sidestand deployed, not with the centerstand deployed. It is much more stable on the sidestand than it is on the centerstand.

The Air Transat freight guys in Toronto and Montréal handle dozens of motorcycles every year, you can trust them to do a good job. Be aware that they will do a much better job if you bring along a couple of boxes of Tim Horton's donuts when you drop the bike off.

Michael

PS: Just a postscript - it is NOT necessary to disconnect the battery on the motorcycle anymore, that requirement was dropped from the DGR (Dangerous Goods Regulations) back in 2006.

It is also no longer necessary to put a Dangerous Goods sticker on an uncrated motor vehicle, because it is obvious that the object is a motor vehicle. Dangerous Goods stickers are only required on vehicles that are boxed or crated such that it is not possible to determine at first glance that the thing is a motor vehicle. The ULD (uniform load device, which is the proper name for the aluminium freight can) is not considered to be a box or crate.

Not too many people are aware that the above changes have been made to the DGR, which is why you will sometimes still get requests to disconnect the battery and/or put a DG sticker on the bike.

Below is an extract from the DGR that specifically addresses motorcycles (otherwise known as a 'vehicle, flammable liquid powered'). This extract is a few years out of date, so, consult a current issue (2011 issue) of the DGR book for the latest rules.

Michael

DGR Extract from 2006 - Shipping Motorcycles by Air