Air freight EU > south America - Oct 2022
 

Hello everyone.. i am looking into shipping a motorcycle from europe to Argentina possibly around late September/October this year but so far i haven't found many companies doing so.. any help or tips..? Thanks

James Cargo, the sponsor of this forum, can do that for you, as well as Motofreight, also a supporter of HU.
For more info see https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ge...pping-the-bike

I am pretty sure that Itchy Boots shipped two bikes to South America using James Cargo. The first, pre- pandemic was her Himalayan and the second, earlier this year, was her CRF. She looked happy with the service both times.

Thanks to both of you.. i have already contacted James cargo but sadly they have an out of the world price right now..

That's not entirely unexpected.

The quantity of passenger flights between Europe and South America has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels. This has caused a significant reduction in belly freight capacity along those same routes, resulting in much higher prices for shipping.

Hopefully, once flight schedules recover to pre-pandemic levels, the prices will decrease to close to pre-pandemic levels.

As Michael has said - currently the number of flights going across the Atlantic is lower than pre-pandemic so the price for cargo is higher. If you can push your trip back later than the autumn this year then you are likely to see lower prices, if you can’t then you are going to have to make a choice between the higher price, abandoning the trip or buying a bike out there. Has Itchy Boots sold her Himalayan that was left behind in Peru - might be worth asking the question?

Thanks again and yes, i understand..! My trip is actually planned for early October and I do think i mentioned it in the email i sent.. but i guess they don't know either the future lol so yeah i keep an eye open and see how it goes in the next months.. i am still opened to the possibility of hitchhiking or try to buy there a motorbike there so..

Have you investigated the possibility of using a household goods moving company (in the UK, called a 'removals' company) that provides international service to transport your motorcycle?

You have a lot of time remaining between now and the start of your planned trip, so a moving company that consolidates shipments into containerloads for sea freight might be able to look after you.

You would probably have to do a bit more prep work (crating, thoroughly draining gasoline from it), but that might be a less expensive way of shipping the bike.

Michael

There's a forum user here, Olaf J., whose company does container shipments from Hamburg to South America. Try contacting him to see if he can give you a better quote for space in a container?

Thx for the tip but unfortunately i will hopefully sort everything i need out in September and not before.. i am actually not even sure i will make it in time, also because i don't want to start later than mid October / November.. like itchyboots did from Buenos Aires..
Everybody saying buying in Chile is a good option, the only thing is I wanted to travel with an old vespa which i won't find there.. (but also many people telling me a vespa ain't no good for such a trip, although few have done it lol)

If the Vespa is the bike you love then it is probably the right bike for you. Don't forget about the people that travel around the world on a Honda Gold Wing, H-D Electraglide or Triumph Rocket 3 - none of those are exactly the first choice for most people, but then you aren't most people, you are you so go with what you have a passion for. If it all gets too bad then buy another bike and ship the Vespa home. Enjoy the trip.

Thanks..! Well a vespa is just a funny motorcycle, which forces you to slow down, take it easy, it makes people smile, simple 2 strokes engine (although finding spare parts might be complicated) and last but not least small and light, considering i am barely 50kg..

But again i won't ship it at the current James cargo price sooo i will might be forced to buy local in Chile or something.. let's see, the only other one i can see myself riding is the Honda 250 CRF L / rally.. in SEA i rode for few months a Honda CLG which also might be good..

good morning
we have a regular container service to Chile during the fall / winter. this is the most economic and simplest way to South America. But we offer airfreight as well as other countries. feel free to email me

best regards
Olaf

This is a very good instinct. Fortunately in South America it is easy to get a bike that meets most of these criteria, but is also very familiar to local mechanics and has great parts availability. ;) I'd look at the Honda XR190 - the slightly more powerful and fuel-injected (=reliable and easier to manage) version of a bike I rode in Vietnam. I am much heavier than you ;) but for a slow rural trip, that 15-horsepower bike with big wheels was an excellent option.