PanEuropean, yes you are 100% correct, the DG Section on AC site does say battery just needs to be safely and securely tied down in battery tray, I think where I got this misinformation was from talking to AC rep who told me that battery needed to be disconnected. When I mentioned this fact to the DGR dangerous goods rep he told me what you stated, battery just needed to be secure in tray without any possibility of a electrical short.

I glade you corrected me, this one less problem to deal with when picking up the bike over in Dublin. And for those who owned or have owned a BMW 1150 GS you know what an irritant it is to access the battery on the bike.

From reading this thread I see others have claimed that they were able to store their personal gear on the bike for shipment.

AC seemed pretty emphatic that I could not store any personal gear on the bike.

Brian

Hi Brian:

My experience - shipping my motorcycle by air many times during the past 15 years - is that no air carrier will officially permit personal effects to be shipped with the bike (for example, in the saddlebags, or attached to the bike). That's the airline's official position on the matter.

I suspect that all airlines take this position because they want to minimize the risk of unacceptable goods (camp stoves, etc.) being shipped with the bike. It may also be a result of a conservative interpretation of the DGRs, which state that when a DG is shipped, it must be packed in accordance with the applicable packing instruction and not combined with any other materials (DG or not) which fall into a different UN classification.

However....

The reality is much more accommodating than the official position. Every single time I have shipped my motorcycle by air, I have showed up at the freight shed (where I drop the bike off) and asked the cargo acceptance agent if it is OK for me to put my helmet, riding leathers, boots, tankbag, maps, GPS, rainsuit, sunglasses, granola bars, etc. in the saddlebags, and every single time, the cargo acceptance agent has said "sure, no problem". Air Canada even alludes to this level of tolerance in their PDF (link provided two posts above) when they state that you can't ship personal effects with the bike, but you can ship "equipment and parts" as long as you provide an itemized list.

So, my suggestion to you is that you carefully inventory and document everything that you have that could reasonably be considered "equipment & parts", put all that stuff in the saddlebags, and after you drop the bike at the freight shed, stuff your riding gear and helmet in the saddlebags as well. I'm pretty sure that the cargo acceptance agent will permit you to do that, as long as he or she has a chance to visually inspect what is in the saddlebags.

Some air carriers are more relaxed than others, as you can see from the massively overstuffed rear cargo bag on the back of my motorcycle in the picture below, which was taken after the cargo acceptance agent and myself loaded the moto into the ULD for the flight to Europe. But, I don't think you could get away with that quantity of additional stuff these days.

Michael

Note the luggage on the back of the moto, and the tankbag...

PanEuropean

Well it can't hurt to see if AC Cargo will allow me to leave my riding gear
packed on the bike.

What is more innocuous than motorcycle riding gear.

Hopefully, AC personnel in Montreal will be accommodating when I drop off the bike.

Brian

Hi Brian:

I will be extremely surprised if you encounter any difficulties at all shipping your protective clothing in the saddlebags of the motorcycle.

Michael

Michael, thanks for all the information you have provided here. My question, since all my riding gear will not fit in the panniers, is it possible to strap a bag of riding gear onto the rear seat?