air freight Heathrow to Windhoek
 

I am looking to airfreight my BMW GSA LC to and from Namibia for a three week tour from the UK. Has anyone done this from the UK recently who can give me some advice on freighters? I note there are a few posts from around 2010 from Germany.

Presently I have a quote from James Cargo at £1,500 for one leg :(

Personally I would not airfreight my own MC anywhere and back for just 3 weeks of touring. You could probably rent a similar bike from Namibia or South Africa for less money than you pay for 2-way freight, and associated costs like insurance. Freighting is a hassle even in the best case scenario, and can easily turn into a time-consuming nightmare. Renting on the other hand, is pretty simple.

I did a few really great trips around some southern African countries on bikes rented from Johannesburg, but this was back in 2001-2002, and that rental business no longer exists. The whole region was, and probably still is, a fantastic place to ride. If I absolutely had to pick just 1 country, Namibia could be the place.. but it´s not desperately far from South Africa. I once rode there from Jo´burg in just 1 very long day.

Thanks for the advice, to which you are most probally right. The only issue I have is finding a tour that fits in with my work rota ( I work a 3 week on 3 week off). Tours that I have seen are either fully booked up or not enough riders to make a group. BMW's offering is nearly £6,000.

I live a few miles from Heathrow so one advantage regarding dropping a bike off for air freight. I may also check out Cape Town and ride north.

I went to school in Namibia a long time ago and covered Namibia, Botwana and the Victoria Falls. just fancied reliving some of my youth ;)

£6,000??? Is that an all inclusive guided tour in 5-star hotels or what?? Still damn expensive!

I dunno how much you´d have to spend these days to rent a big GS or similar in South Africa for example, but I do think £6,000 is just way, way off.... Just try to find a normal ("self-guided") rental, not a tour package with a guide.

Give Kathy at International Motorcycle Shipping and Transport - Moto Freight a shout. They are just a couple of miles south of Heathrow and she originally hails from SA.

I used Moto Freight to get my bike to Cape Town last November and they are shipping it home from CT end of April . It was hassle free and a pleasure to deal with them , I can thoroughly recommend them .

Gareth

Pan Without A Plan

We did a 6 week tour in 2012 starting/finishing in Cape Town and going through Namibia, to Zambia, & Botswana. We rented 2x Yam XT660 from Dual sport South Africa but I think he does BMW now. Nice guy to deal with and the bikes we had were like new. He encourages multi country trips and does guided trips too. Cape town to Windhoek and back with a few diversions to visit the main sights should be do able in 3 weeks.

Adventure Motorcycle Routes in Southern Africa - Dualsport Adventures - a guide to The Best Adventure Biking Routes in South Africa, Maps, GPS data, Travel Info.

https://www.facebook.com/messages/du...southernafrica

Have a great trip - we did - South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Botswana.

Thanks guys I will contact Moto Freight and see what they can come up with.

Regarding Dual Sport, I contacted them a year ago. I received a very slow response and a chap called Craig who did not really read my e-mail and did not reply to my question. This did not inspire me with much confidence. However pleased it worked out for you Austin.