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What does it cost to ship a bike from the US (West Coast) to Europe ...

Doug 55

By Doug 55
in Bike Related Things

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Doug 55

Doug 55

Posted
Posted

and how do you go about it ?

 

Fingers crossed, lucky charm all shined up etc. it appears I may have a rare opportunity for a few months off to play spring thru summer '06 ...

 

Various plans afoot but it seems like a chance to ride around western Europe if I could just figure how to transport my bike (and of course me following close behind !) over yonder ...

 

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Springer

Springer

Posted
Posted

There are probably a number of companies that ship internationally. If memory serves me J.C. Motors does and I may be wrong but I think they are tied to North American Van lines. Also the BMW mag. should have some international shippers in the classifieds. All will probably give you a free quote and the in's and out's of shipping. I've used Federal several times but I don't think they ship bikes across the pond.

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Francois_Dumas

Francois_Dumas

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Yes, Marty is coming over for a few months too and has been looking into this..... I am sure he'll drop in here soon wink.gif

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Marty Hill

Marty Hill

Posted
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Hi Doug,

 

Matt's suggestion is well used. I am shipping by boat over from daytona after bike week. Flying back via luftansa. You should check with them. It is always less from canada, I believe arizona Al goes thru vancouver. Check with him. Go on the MOA web site and look up euro travel, Tons of info.

 

Let me know when you have some firm dates, I'll be there from 26 april to 28 june. Be fun to bump into each other. grin.gif

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DogGone

DogGone

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Posted

I just checked Motorcycle Express, $2,990.00 round trip Vancouver-Frankfurt. You might also look into knopftours. that price is by air, sea is cheaper, but takes longer and you are at the mercy of the shipping company if they need to re-route the ship.

 

You are talking about my dream vacation.

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UberXY

UberXY

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Posted

Doug: as an alternative, you can rent a bike from BMW in Munich. A friend of mine did that last summer, and with John Hermann's book, attacked the alps.

 

Steve

05 R1150RT

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DogGone

DogGone

Posted
Posted
Doug: as an alternative, you can rent a bike from BMW in Munich. A friend of mine did that last summer, and with John Hermann's book, attacked the alps.

 

Steve

 

05 R1150RT

 

 

The trouble with renting is the cost of roughly $100 a day. Fine if you want a bike for a week, but if you are going for a few months it gets expensive. I've also looked into buying and for a non-EU citizen it gets really hairy. Too many ways for it to go wrong, and you have to waste vacation time with the buying/selling/registering/insuring process.

 

If you will be going for more than a month, and you don't have contacts over there to do the legwork for you, then I think shipping your own bike over is the best alternative.

 

I mentioned Knopftours earlier, they will also sell you insurance, and roadside assistance if you want it. You will want to look into European requirements for equipmentetc. For instance, I beleive that you are required to carry a first aid/emergency kit as well as spare light bulbs for headlight and taillight.

 

The Horizon's Unlimited board has some good info available if you search.

 

Have a great trip,

Pete

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Marty Hill

Marty Hill

Posted
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What Pete said...I've been looking into the options for several months. If only they had a euro delivery plan...no they would just sell more bikes that way. dopeslap.gif

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KLC

KLC

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Hi Doug

 

Can't help with costs of transport but if you do manage to bring your own bike to Europe make sure you bring original registration documents as Various countries police /customs officers will insist on seeing them.

First aid kits are not a requirement for motorcycles but bulbs/lamps can be. France is now insisting on having a Hi visiblity jerkin in case of breakdowns on their autoroutes. If you are thinking of Eastern Europe BMW's are becoming highly prized by gangs of thieves, so try to find lodgings with garages etc.and try to lock your bike to lampposts / bollards as this will deter the 4/6 burly blokes in a van from lifting your bike and being gone in seconds.Having toured through Mainland Europe have never had problems finding lodgings but dont leave it too late in the afternoon, especially in July and August as these are the peak tourist months,have fun

regards

Kevin

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Knighthawk

Knighthawk

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From what I have discovered, there used to be a Euro-Delivery plan, but apparently liability and insurance was cost prohibative, and there were not alot of people seeking this option. Now if your associated with the Armed Forces in Germany, you have a couple of Tax free options.

 

Looking foward to meeting you Marty...The wife and I were thinking of a few days in the Netherlands/Amsterdamn too.

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BereIsland

BereIsland

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Posted

Please forgive me if this sounds ridiculous Buy a bike in the USA, a bike that can be bought easily in Europe. Removes the number plates and put them on one that you have bought in Europe. Then when its time to go home sell it for whatever you can get with the European plates on. Might work? Sorry for such a daft idea, must have been the 3 pints of lovely Guinness I have just had!!

 

Steve thumbsup.gif Carter

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Marty Hill

Marty Hill

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Steve,

 

They cost more in europe. I suspect you would lose $3-4000 in a resale after 2-3 months. Your leaving tomorrow and the bike has not sold???

 

Nice idea. Don't think it would work.

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Paul Mihalka

Paul Mihalka

Posted
Posted
Please forgive me if this sounds ridiculous Buy a bike in the USA, a bike that can be bought easily in Europe. Removes the number plates and put them on one that you have bought in Europe. Then when its time to go home sell it for whatever you can get with the European plates on. Might work? Sorry for such a daft idea, must have been the 3 pints of lovely Guinness I have just had!!

 

Steve thumbsup.gif Carter

It might work if nothing unplanned happens, but it still would be highly illegal, I'm sure. Documents don't match the VIN. any accident, theft, just a closer inspection by authority, deep poo-poo.

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Global_Rider

Global_Rider

Posted
Posted
and how do you go about it?

 

It ran me CA$1125 (about US$950) to ship my GS Adventure from Eastern Canada to London Heathrow. I took care of all the details myself, but then I've done it before.

 

If you are going for 2 months, then it is worth shipping your own bike over.

 

Probably the best person to talk to is Stefan Knopf of Knopf Motorradreisen.

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Dave_Armstrong

Dave_Armstrong

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Posted

Hi Doug,

Just a thought,,,I'll bet there are plenty of EU BMW riders that have a dream vacation of touring the USA!! Why not work a swap. Should be OK, Insurance to the max, etc. Might be cheaper than $2-3k shipping and related inspection and headaches getting started in Europe. Just a thought,,,,

 

Have fun,,,Dave

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SCOTTinNJ

SCOTTinNJ

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Posted

OK, How about this for an idea? Maybe you can contact one of the tour companies. Like an Eidelweiss or equivalent. They routinely rotate their bikes out every year or so. You have time to plan, so it's possible that you can catch them before they rotate an older bike. Maybe you can "rent" the bike for a little while without the rest of the tour included? Worth a shot. Sounds like a win/win to me. You get a bike fairly inexpensively and they get some extra $$ before selling it for what will likely be the same price they would have sold it for anyway. Just a thought.

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Traveler1

Traveler1

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Posted

A friend of mine is shipping his bike to Europe. The best price was from Knopftours. He's shipping from the West Coast to Orlando using Allied van lines 800-747-4100 ext222.

 

Out of Orlando it is Stefan Knopf E-mail Knopftours. He has a container set up for bikes going back to Europe after the Daytona races. He will have your bike ready and waiting and takes care of insurance etc. My understanding is that he has been doing this for several years.

 

My buddy is sending me specifics, so if you need more information let me know and I'll pass it on.

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Sputnik

Sputnik

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You got me daydreaming... According to Helge's Globeriders site there is one space open for the 2006 tour - Bejing to Munich, leaving in May.

 

The trip of a lifetime. How many time in your life do you think you will have this much time off before you retire?

 

Go for it! grin.gif

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Venturello

Venturello

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What Pete said...I've been looking into the options for several months. If only they had a euro delivery plan...no they would just sell more bikes that way. dopeslap.gif

 

An option a local rider used while helping a friend from the US is to buy one here locally (used one), ride it, and sell it when he left some 4 months afterwards. A few thousand kms are not going to lower the price a lot. A market like Germany is known for having very cheap second hand, low kms bikes - many people from Spain go through the trouble of buying bikes there and all the hassle/paperwork of bringing them into Spain because of the price difference. In Spain, used bikes dont go down with kms as fast as other wealthier countries, it seems.

 

I dont know what they did regarding insurance, bike registration, etc.

 

Regards,

 

Juan Miguel Venturello

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RussInParis

RussInParis

Posted
Posted

An option a local rider used while helping a friend from the US is to buy one here locally (used one), ride it, and sell it when he left some 4 months afterwards. A few thousand kms are not going to lower the price a lot.

 

A local BMW shop here in Paris will do something like this; you buy the bike from them and they agree to rebuy it back from you for a certain price. They also arrange insurance for you. Only thing you need is a local French address to put on the registration. I could help with that if you want...

 

In case you're thinking this is some shoddy little place, it's not, it's the biggest one in Paris; BMW Motorad Etoile.

 

I actually did something like this in 1990; bought a Honda CX500 in Berlin using a friend's address (all legal, don't worry!), drove it for a month through Europe, and dropped it off at his place. He sold it for $200 less than I paid! Got all the insurance back except for $50 too...

 

Russ

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