Many customers contact Shippingmasters to ask how to transport a motorcycle. Like most things in life, the more you plan ahead the better your results will be. The same is true when shipping a motorcycle. Shipping motorcycles to another location is not as simple as calling a transportation company and having the motorcycle picked up one day and delivered the next.
After selecting a motorcycle shipper the next step is to provide the the motorcycle shipping company with the origin and destination points of contact, phone numbers and the addresses of both locations. Additional required shipment details include the year, make, model and vehicle identification number of the motorcycle. Some transporters will transport motorcycle parts so be sure to inform the shipper if you have any spare items to ship with the motorcycle. After the bike shipping company has this information they will set up a preliminary shipping schedule for your motorcycle transport.
The scheduling involves many factors. Bike shippers try to combine as many motorcycle shipments together as possible. The more motorcycles they have on each load the lower their per unit cost will be and the lower their rates will likely be. The distance of the shipment, the size of the truck, the origin and destination locations and the quantity of motorcycles on the truck all have a bearing on the overall time frame of any given shipment. Delivery time frames on most motorcycle shipments range from one to four weeks. Remote locations and long distance shipments can take significantly longer.
Please keep in mind that a shippers schedule is not guaranteed. There are many factors that can influence the amount of time it takes the transporter to pick up your bike at the origin location and to deliver it to the destination location. Many of the transporters that we work with use tractor trailer 18 wheelers to transport motorcycles from point A to point B. In most cases, they can fit somewhere between 25 and 35 motorcycles on their truck. They will likely have a significant number of pick ups and drop-offs on their way to pick up your bike. Additionally, they will likely have a significant number of pick ups and drop-offs between picking up your bike and delivering your bike. Potentially, there could be 70 or more stops their truck makes from the time you schedule your shipment until the time your bike is delivered. When you take into account making that many stops between scheduling and delivery it should help you understand why in some cases, shipments take an extended period of time for both pick up and delivery.
The motorcycle movers do their best to keep you informed and provide as accurate of a pick up and delivery schedule as possible. With so many factors that come into play with the pick up and delivery schedule please plan to be flexible with your time frames. The shippers we work with have been very good in the past with keeping you informed about their schedule. If you ever have a question you can always give the shipper a call to get a current schedule status. We recommend limiting your calls to the shipper as much as possible so they can concentrate on providing timely service on your shipment and the other shipments they have in flow.