How to Crate a Bike for Air Transport

By Roddy Warriner, James Cargo

Preparation

The bike must be clean and free from leaks.
Some countries require that the bike be steam cleaned with disinfectants prior to arrival.
If fitted, Scottoiler valves must be turned to the Off position.
The tank must not contain more than ¼ tank of petrol.
Sealed batteries need not be disconnected; older refillable batteries must be disconnected.
Alarms should be deactivated so as not to really piss off the passengers trying to sleep.
If a Tracker device is fitted then check with Tracker and advise them that the bike is going abroad.
As with mobile phones in the cabin, any digital devices on the bike must be switched off.
The tyres must be deflated to roughly 80% of the manufacturer's specifications. Usually 2bar is sufficient to ride the bike to the nearest filling station.
No spare fuels or lubricants may accompany the bike.
Compressed gas canisters usually found in puncture repair kits are strictly PROHIBITED. They are equally banned from your luggage. They become volatile at altitude and will explode on even a slight loss of pressure in the aircraft. This applies to all compressed canisters.

Crating

The crate for your bike can be made from any of the usual packing materials such as metal, cardboard and wood. The considerations are that the crate should protect your beloved from potential damage and prying eyes.

Consideration must be taken that the crate will be lifted by forklifts so provide for this when making the base.

All wood content must be fumigated and stamped accordingly for international transport.

Crating for air and sea is much the same. There are options by sea that don’t require crating at all. If groups of say 5 or 10 travel together they can be transported in a dedicated container. We are working on that option for the bigger rallies such as Sturgis and Daytona Beach.

Most countries will allow "bike / travel" related equipment to be packed in with the bike, such as Helmet, Boots and tent. Customs may ask for a separate clearance to be done for any non related items and these will not be covered by the same insurance premium as the bike.

Breaking bikes down

To reduce cost a little, the crate can be made smaller by removing handlebars, screens, even front wheels - and stashing them alongside the bike in the crate. But, overall, we do very little other than possibly remove a mirror or 2 and or the screen. Most people would prefer not to have to put the bike back together and our objective is that the person ride in with the bike and on the other side just rides out again. We find that the saving made by reducing the size of the crate is not significant enough (as an overall part of the holiday cost) to warrant the hassle.

The BMW 1200GS Adventure is just about the biggest 2 wheeler, and that we have found a way of packing that just involves removing the right hand mirror. We designed a mod for bikes with tall screens when we shipped a Triumph Tiger. The screen on that one didn’t have screws but had plastic poppers that had to be cut off and then a dealer would have had to refit it on the other side. So instead we designed a modification which seems to work quite well. The bikes that we have found to be the trickiest are Harleys with the very high Ape Hanger bars.

If a person is mechanically minded we invite them to reduce the size of the bike themselves if they want to save a bit of money but if they aren’t then it’s not really worth it.

Riding a bike onto a crate base

Your bike is securely strapped to the base

Even tall bikes can be accomodated, the screen on this Tiger could not be removed

The crate is built up around your bike, there is plenty room alongside for tent, sleeping bag, panniers, and so on.

Documentation

Documentation requirements will vary between countries and on the reason for transporting the bike. If the bike is being sent out permanently then we recommend that you discuss this with professionals (such as ourselves) prior to shipment.

When taking the bike out to tour, most countries will allow it to remain for up to 12 months before they consider it a permanent import.

Before entering a country you must make sure that you have motor insurance to ride on the roads in that country. While some countries will not allow entry without motor insurance there are others that will sell you a policy at the border.

You should always carry the original V5 with you. It is possible that you may be asked to prove title to the vehicle. A V5 is not proof of ownership but merely of the registered keeper. If the vehicle is still under finance then the financing company is the legal owner and you may be asked to produce a letter from them permitting you to take the bike abroad.

Each country has their own Customs Entry document with will have to be completed prior to departure or on arrival at the border/airport.

What is a Carnet?

Most countries will allow entry without any payment of duty or tax and without any guarantee. There is still a long list though that require either duties to be paid, either outright or in the form of a refundable deposit. This can become costly and a nuisance if you intend travelling through a number of different countries such as travelling through Africa.

When entering these countries it is better to use a Carnet. To obtain a Carnet you cover the duties with a form of guarantee and then you only need to present the carnet itself when entering and leaving the various countries. There are two types of Carnet.

The most common one when touring is a Carnet de Passage. This is issued by the RAC to the rider of the bike and is usually for touring.

The other is an A.T.A. Carnet which is issued by a Chamber of Commerce and is used for commercial purposes such as when a bike owned by a museum or company and is sent out for show or other commercial use.

What a good Agent will do

When Crating a bike at home, bear in mind that you now have a crate and potentially no means of lifting onto a truck. The agent would collect bikes and pack at their depot or to keep the price down you can drive to one of their depots. They would prepare the bike for transport and provide a cost effective re-usable approved crate.

Transport of your bike to the airport / seaport most suitable for your trip and advice and assistance with the customs formalities at destination.

If you are travelling alone they would be your "key buddy" should you lose yours they can courier your spare to you.

They provide a key fob or some other tag with a 24 hour number so if you leave copies of your travel documents with them, they can advise the authorities of your insurance and other details in the event of an accident.

Courier spares / tyres to people when they cannot source them on their travels.

Transport your bike to each country as you go around the world.

Bring your bike home again (optional).

Roddy Warriner is part of the Bike Shipping team at James Cargo. They are:

Roddy - Will ride anything with 2 wheels but spends most time on a 1200GS.
Steve G - Sports 600 - Arse permanently glued to the seat.
Mark - Off road nutter.
Danny - Ducati 748 - Need I say more.
Simon - GSXR 600 - A new rear wheel every month.
Sue - Yamaha with L plates - Wobble wobble but soon vroom vroom.
Steve P - Harley Softail - spends more on polish than petrol, but …. It Shines…!!!