Motorcycle Transport information

This article discusses what to know about motorcycle transport.

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If it is time for you to transport a motorcycle you have come to the right place. Shipping a motorcycles can be a complex endeavor and our goal is to make it as simple as possible for you by providing many options and having very detailed information about each option that is available.

Let’s take the shipping process and dissected into the various components of the process. The first thing you need to know is only ship your motorcycle with a fully US Department of Transportation (DOT) compliant motorcycle specific shipper who carries an adequate amount of cargo insurance. Ask any transporter you are considering for their DOT license number, their Motor Carrier license number and get a copy of their cargo insurance certificate. This is the most important step of the process. There are many unlicensed, uninsured, illegal transporters in the industry and you need to do your homework to make sure you are dealing with a legitimate company. As a DOT licensed and bonded Motor Carrier broker, we perform monthly checks on all of the transport companies we refer our motorcycle shipping customers to to make sure they are DOT compliant.

The unlicensed, uninsured, illegal transporters might be good at transporting motorcycles but if they get caught by DOT officials operating illegally, you will have a very unpleasant experience. Most of the unlicensed, uninsured, illegal motorcycle shippers are operating with very limited funds and in many cases worn-out equipment. If they get caught transporting your bike across state lines for hire by a DOT official their truck and your motorcycle will likely be impounded by the DOT. It is a difficult process to get your bike out of DOT impound. The storage fees at a DOT impound lot usually add up to about $30 a day per vehicle. It usually takes at least a month to get the vehicles out of impound so you can see those storage fees will add up quickly. Most of the illegal transporters won’t have the funds on hand to pay your storage fees and will probably ask you to pay your storage fees. Additionally, the illegal transporters probably won’t have the funds to pay their DOT fines either and they may ask you to contribute to paying their fines so they can get their truck out of impound so you can get your bike off of their truck.

We have had customers contact us in the past who have had to pay thousands of dollars in storage fees and fines for the shipper in order to get their bike out of impound. Then they have contacted us to ship their bike the rest of the way with one of our DOT licensed and insured transporters. Many of these customers have regretted trying to save a few dollars with an illegal, unlicensed transporter in the past.

We take the guesswork out of the process of transporting a motorcycle. You can be assured when we refer you to one of our motorcycle specific transporter that we have worked with them for many years and they are fully DOT compliant. Additionally, they will have the right equipment needed to handle your shipment safely. Damage claims do occur from time to time but they are very rare with the shippers we work with. That is why we continue to work with the same transporters year in and year out and most of them we have worked with for over 15 years each and have booked thousands of bike shipments with them as well.

We are available 7 days a week to help with all of your motorcycle and powersport vehicle shipping needs.