I've recently been on Motorcycle Express website, as we are considering how to ship our own bike from London to Vancouver. They are featuring special prices on air shipments to CANADA.

For example, to ship our (uncrated) 350kg BMW R80 G/S from London to Toronto is US$1,020, whereas to go from London to New York is US$1,677.

Similarly, London to Vancouver is US$1,070, which is US$700 LESS than London to Los Angeles! (I don't know why it's only $50 more to go all the way to Vancouver than to go to Toronto, but the west coast is much more scenic anyway).

These are one-way fares, but they are advertising round-trip packages to Canada for $1,790.00 USD, and Group discounts available (4 or more).

We have used their service before to fly from San Francisco to Frankfurt. They don't require crating of the bike, they just put it on a pallet. Their site is http://www.motorcycleexpress.com. Please tell them where you heard about it.

Hope this info helps any Europeans planning North American trips this summer or fall. Start the trip in Canada!

Cheers


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Susan Johnson
Share the Dream at <A HREF="http://www.HorizonsUnlimited.com/index.shtml" TARGET=_blank>www.HorizonsUnlimited.com
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Susan Johnson

Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

To continue the Canadian theme of shipping, I have some info on going from Montreal or Toronto to South Africa. So, the basics for all you lanning on visiting Canada from SA! Or vice versa. And hey, Toronto has some scenery, too. Somewhere, I just havn't found it yet.

There are three companies out of toronto (with branch offices in MTL) which will crate a bike and send it off to wherever you want to go. Basically, there is one boat a week from TO, departs Thursday. Show up at the shipping warehouse 10 days before departure, located at the airport. Just drive up, turn off the engine, fill out the forms, and the bike is gone. Away. They'll take care of the packing. You can pay for a crate - $250 - or make your own. The shipper will even come to your house and pick it up! So, the bike leaves on a Thursday for MTL. It then transfers to another boat, where it sails for Cape Town, Durban and Jo'burg! Jo'burg, you ask? Isn't that inland? Quite. They'll take it off the boat in Durban and put it on a truck and drop it off in Jo'burg.

Shipping times, TO - Durbs, 10 days to weeks, take a couple off for Cape Town, add a couple for Jo'burg. Price, TO - durban, one KLR 650, crated, by them, was $550. Cape Town was a few bucks cheaper, but not much.

Hope all this helps for those clamouring on coming to Canada from Africa. It's better than NYC! for sure!

p.s. all quoted in CDN $ which makes it even cheaper.

Don

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www.donaldweber.com

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Just to add to Susan's post (above), I shipped from Canada to Europe and back this past summer (2001) with Motorcycle Express, and I was very happy with the service. The price, round trip, was US$ 1,800 for a ST1100 that weighed 350 kg.

I posted a report and some photos at another site, rather than repeat it all here, I'll just give you the link:
http://www.micapeak.com/~marcl/pages/shipbike.html

I just contacted Lufthansa Cargo in Vancouver, and the price quote I got from them was 3.36 EURO per kilo. Seems reasonable. What paperwork do I need for Canadian customs when I want to ship a bike from Germany? If a bike comes in from the US, Canadian customs wants to see a stamp from US customs. What do they need from German customs?

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http://www.nohorizons.net

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Hi Kevin

Not sure from your post whether the bike you are shipping is registered in Germany. Assuming it is, and you are not planning to leave it in Canada, I think all you will need are ownership and registration docs, and proof of insurance. Motorcycle Express can provide US and Canadian liability and other insurance for foreign vehicles.

If you plan to import the bike and register it in Canada, that's a different story, involving customs duty, sales taxes and the provincial motor vehicle branch - vehicle inspection, insurance, etc, etc.

Hope that helps.

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Good luck and safe travels!

Susan Johnson
Share the Dream at <A HREF="http://www.HorizonsUnlimited.com


" TARGET=_blank>www.HorizonsUnlimited.com


</A>

__________________
Susan Johnson

Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com