This article discusses the equipment used for motorcycle transport.
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If you are new to motorcycle shipping you will be surprised to learn how many different types of equipment are used to transport motorcycles throughout the United States and abroad. Most motorcycle shipping companies use trucks and trailers as the primary equipment that they use to move motorcycles from one location to the other. These trucks and trailers are specialized for the transport of motorcycles, because having the right motorcycle transport equipment is essential to keeping their cargo in perfect condition.
Most motorcycle movers configure their trailers with equipment needed to haul various sized powersport vehicles such as motorcycles, trikes, scooters, ATV’s, UTV’s, etc. The majority of motorcycle shipping specialty companies equip their trailers with a system called E-Trac that is secured to the floor and the walls of their trailers. Motorcycles are positioned in such a way that the driver can secure the motorcycle to the trailer with soft tie down straps that they hook into the E-Trac system in the floor and walls of their trailers.
Some motorcycle transporters will also add wheel chocks on the floor of their trailer. Some shippers even have adjustable wheel chocks so they can be moved to accommodate the various size motorcycles that they will be transporting. This allows for much greater flexibility in how they arrange the bikes within their trailers. They might put a large bike on both sides of the trailer and a smaller bike in between the 2 larger bikes and adjust the wheel chocks and the tie down straps so they don’t interfere with the bikes positioned next to them.
Additionally, the shipper will have either a liftgate or a ramp gate in most cases, that they use to load and unload the motorcycle or other powersport vehicle on and off of their trailer. Some motorcycle shippers have double decker trailers and if so, they usually have a liftgate that will raise and lower to either deck. These shippers have height restrictions so you want to make sure your vehicle will fit on their trailer before the shipper arrives to pick it up. The shipper will usually let you know their height restrictions prior to arriving at the origin location.
Some shippers use either wooden or metal pallets to position the bikes on while they are in transit. The metal pallets usually have casters on them so they can be rolled around with the bike attached to the pallet. This allows for flexibility when loading and unloading and makes the process much easier since the bike can be rolled around on the pallet and positioned where necessary by the driver. More and more companies are transitioning to this metal pallet design for bike shipping and phasing out the wooden pallets. If the shipper uses wooden pallets to secure your bike to while in transit, they will usually have a lift gate and pallet jack that they use to move the palletize bike from one position in the trailer to the other.
Shippers that specialize in moving motorcycles have the right transport equipment to handle motorcycle shipments. They use soft tie down straps to secure the bike to their trailer or to a pallet if they use pallets to ship motorcycles. They take care in putting the right amount of tension on the tie down straps to make sure the bike is secured properly but not too tight to damage the bike.