Shipping a bike?

[Airplnmech]

My wife and I have started the initial planning for a two week tour. Because of the fact we only get two weeks off we are planning on shipping the Wee and the FZ to Vegas and riding back to south Georgia via every cool road we can find. My question is has anyone had any experience shipping bikes like this? I know I should ride out there and back but that will have to wait until we get more time off. Any advice will be well appreciated.

 

[deeptekkie]

Got a (rich) friend who ships his and his son's bike out west every year. They then fly out, collect their bikes and ride back nearly to the east coast. I think they ship by rail but I know another dude who ships by truck occasionally with good luck. Either way, I would have someone I knew and/or trusted on the recieveing end! Good luck and please let us know how it goes! (If you knew an independent trucker who was dead-heading that direction and wanted to pick up a little fuel money......)

 

[VEGASRIDER]

You're going to attempt doing this trip during the winter?

 

[Ssky0078]

I don't see why you couldn't just use one of the usual shippers like JC Motors, etc?

The other option is that you can go to a website called Shipping Companies in Canada | International Shipping to Canada - uShip (I don't know why this name popped up but the link is still good). If you post your shipping location/destination, dates desired, etc then that info gets sent out to all shippers in your area/destination area. You can also from that site when you are all set up, scan through all the listed shippers, and select a shipper you like and send your bid request to them. I thought that was pretty cool because you could tell there was a number of small vendors who did the shipping for the love of motorcycles.

Finally go to your dealer and ask who they use. You may be able to even get them to crate up your stuff and get a wholesale rate for sending it. It takes anywhere from 3-7 days depending on the location to get your bike to it's destination. So you have enough time to fly out, get ready, etc. I would give a plus or minus 1 day window because you never know when someone screws up or doesn't want to do their job. You may even get lucky and contact a dealer where you are planning to ship the bike to who will receive your bike for you. My dealership offered that for me.

 

[Ssky0078]

BTW you may want to post another thread about planning your route for your trip. I am also on the Fz1 forum and somebody else did that for a trip they were planning asking for suggestions. A number of good spots came up.

I live in AZ and know that if you take the main roads (I-10 and I-40) from vegas back east you will be bored out of your mind for much of it. Depending on the time of year there is a way to hit a lot of awesome spots and not miss too much time. I've driven through almost all of AZ, southern Utah, Southern CO, SoCal and parts of NM. There are some epic places to ride/drive through there.

Start the other thread and see who comes out of the woodwork

 

[PhotoAl]

A few years back drove back from LA with my son. In Raton NM we took the back roads (87 I think) over the Amarillo Texas. Beautiful country but lots of deer so would only ride in daylight hours. I know of some folks here that have shipped their bikes out west for a vacation.

Maybe me and one of my buds could ride them out for you!

 

[Ssky0078]

I just threw together the route I would say is the most epic, awe inspiring portions of the Southwest.

Key stops after Vegas
1. Zion-Bryce Canyon National Park (one of the best places I've ever been)
2. North Rim Grand Canyon (most people only do the south rim, north rim is more imposing)
3. Vermillion Cliffs outside Page, AZ (feels like on another planet)
4. Four Corners, AZ (neat monument)
5. Durango and Million Dollar Highway to Silverton to Montrose (one of the most amazing drives, I did it in my old jeep and had fun in the twisty's and amazing views, I couldn't imageine how great on a moto, but be careful).


Probably the most boring stretch is the I-40 through Oklahoma and TX, part of Arkansas. I remember I had to stop in Shawnee, Oklahoma because I was falling asleep at the wheel.

I would almost consider the extra miles down to Austin TX and then stay along the gulf

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=...SSyxQZhzHM3GTQfhsjiA&oq=Las+Ve&t=h&mra=pd&z=7

 

[Airplnmech]

Thanks for the help everyone. We are planning the ride for late May or early June so the weather will be warm enough. When we head out it will be with little or no planning other than getting to the bikes and having to be home 14 or 15 days later. Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone, Pikes Peak, Mt. Rushmore, are all possible stops. But when we get ready to go I will be posting it here.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Well if you're going to start in Vegas, might as well start by going down the Las Vegas Strip. Night is much better than the day, with all the lights and all. Don't forget Hoover Dam.

 

[Ssky0078]

Thanks for the help everyone. We are planning the ride for late May or early June so the weather will be warm enough. When we head out it will be with little or no planning other than getting to the bikes and having to be home 14 or 15 days later. Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone, Pikes Peak, Mt. Rushmore, are all possible stops. But when we get ready to go I will be posting it here.

It can still get chilly in late May up in the areas I posted for suggestions. I went to go on a camping trip near Page, AZ once in May and we got a snow flurry for half a second late in the day. The rest of the days were perfectly warm. Another year I was up at Zion and we got frosted over in our tents. It wasn't bad and it warmed up quickly but still a cold morning.