Air freight v shipping - transporting a motorcycle from Australia to South Africa
 

Hi All,

I'm currently weighing up the costs of transporting a 250cc motorcycle from Australia to South Africa, and trying to decide whether air or sea is best.

I'm tempted to try air freight, as I'm not keen to wait weeks for the bike to materialise at my destination - but worried it might be a lot more expensive. Does anyone know any good air freight companies that would safely transport a motorcycle from Australia to South Africa? I'm in Melbourne, but could get the bike to another location if need be (eg Perth/Sydney). Similarly, at the South Africa end, I'm open to Cape Town, Johannesburg or Durban if it helps logistically or costs-wise. Any indication of costs and timeframe would also be much appreciated!

Alternatively, if anyone's used a good and/or cheap shipping option from Aus to SA, I'd love to hear about that too!

Thanks, guys.
Jeanie :mchappy:

Jeanie,
We are flying 3 F800gs & 1 XT250 to Egypt with Qantas from Brisbane, Cost for the lot is $4800 (900kg) plus about $400 in charges. Who knows what it will cost to get them from customs in Egypt. When are you going over, why don't you buy one there they are quite cheap and you would save on bucks !
We will be in Capetown around Aug next year, my wife is talking of selling her bike there as we are going onto Sth America and she also has a F650gs that she wants to ride over there. However I think she just may keep the XT250 as she is only 5'2 and weighs only 48kg. Riding it down from Cairo she may be just hooked on it.
I would fly your bike rather than shipping just my opinion.:scooter:
Thanks
Paul

Hi Paul, thanks for your speedy reply!

Yeah, transporting bikes from Oz to SA seems to be an expensive business whichever way you do it!

I just rang FreightCare - they quoted around AUD $1,800 to transport a 250cc bike from Melbourne to Joburg by ship, PLUS customs and wharf charges (indeterminate, so who knows how much extra that really is?), or about $3,200 to do it air freight. Shipping would take 5 weeks and the bike would have to be crated.

You're the second person today who says I should maybe buy in South Africa (!). So I'm already starting to wonder if that really would be a cheaper/better plan. The attraction of buying at home is that I could then spend the coming weeks/months kitting it out at evenings and weekends (I work fulltime) and get used to riding it loaded up with gear before tackling the wilds of Africa. But money is a real issue (isn't it always?), so I'd happily truncate that prep process if it meant I could get out on the road in Africa cheaply AND quickly!

Just not sure at the moment...:confused1:

Jeanie :mchappy:

Hi Jeanie

If you want to buy a bike here, look at the following site.

Wild Dog Adventure Riding - Index

It's an excellent site, with good members. I'm sure someone will be able to help you on there. There is a 'for sale' section, and you'll get a good idea of current prices.

Cheers

Jeanie,

If you decide to Fly it, don't go near forwarding agents, we were quoted uo to $7000 for ours. All you have to do is get a dangerous goods cert. leave a 1/4 tank of fuel, then take it to Qantas and they even put it on a pallet rack for you. Should cost about $7-$8 a kilo for a sml bike. Plus fuel surcharge of about $1 and a couple of other charges. You will get out of it this end I would think around $1500. Qantas try to tell you to go thru an agent but don't you will save plenty. Send me an email and I will get a price for you off the Qantas bloke who is doing ours as he is really helpfull.
We are shipping ours for the same reason you are we set them up and did some trips to get used to them, as it will be many years before they return to OZ if ever.

Cheers
Paul:scooter:

There is a myth on this site, I think, about sea freight prices. So, just to sum up:
air freight:
- easier
- less charges
- what you pay is what you get: very little extra charges.
I've only done two shipments so far, but got great advices here and there. Both of them were by sea. And I discovered that: As long as you pay the destination charges before hand, and that you don't send your bike to a dodgy port, there is no worry to have. Port klang, Malaysia, to Vancouver, Canada = 750 euros by sea, for a 6 cubic meters crate (it's a side car). All included. Freight itself is around 75$ by cubic meter. The rest of the price is everything related to port handling, storage, fumigation, and all that sort of things. I can get you all the details if you want.
So, if you're curious how things work, if you have a bit of energy, and costs are a concern, you can ship by sea. You can MP me if you want details, no problem. If money is not your concern, don't bother. Plane is an option.

I've shipped bikes and cars into and out of Australia many times, including from Africa (Mombasa, Kenya) and have also flown bikes betwen countries.

I think it would be quite expensive to ship to South Africa as there is relatively little trade betwen the two countries (apart from BMW cars).

In all honesty, if I was going to ride up (have previously ridden down) I'd be looking to buy locally iin SA.

Paul,

Sounds like you don't have to crate them with Qantas. Are the bikes just secured to a pallet?
$1500 is a real good price for Europe, can you give me some details so i can get a price to Singapore or KL.

I´ve only sent once by sea, from Sydney to Helsinki in April 2008. Costs (for just over 2 cubic) meters in Sydney were 480 euros, and costs in Helsinki were 180 euros. The latter is a considerable percentage of the total amount, and I picked up the package the first day that it was possible, so there were no extra warehousing fees. I dont consider Helsinki a ´dodgy port´.

I also have no idea, whether it would have been possible to pay those Helsinki port fees in advance in Sydney, but the whole idea sounds a bit strange, and at least no-one mentioned anything about that. Not saying it´s impossible, but I was too busy to handle the sending to think about the receiving end.

It was estimated to take 42 days, but ended up taking just a bit over 2 months, the explanation was that the container had missed a boat in Singapore (after which it was re-routed to Europe, finally arrived from Sweden by truck). Not that it mattered so much to me, because the trip was already finished, but it did take some 3 weeks more than planned. With airfreight possible delays are usually only a few hours or days, but by sea, they can easily be very long.

For shorter distances, say, 2000-3000 kms I´d take the plane any time, because it´s just so much quicker and smoother, one bike in a container in a huge freight ship doesnt get handled so quickly. And even prices may be surprisingly close between air/sea (from India to Malaysia, 3 hour flight time, the prices were in fact just about the same). One traveller that I met, was offered almost the same price to ship the bike by sea from KL to Chennai, or to send it to Hamburg!! The boat has a real price advantage only, when you send very far.

Helsinki is definitely not a dodgy port (after all, it's not Hell Sinky). However, depending on the port, destination charges can be very different. And it does not solely depend on the country. There are huge differences, for instance, between Le Havre and Marseille in France.

It is, as a matter of fact possible, but not always easy. The company arranging your shipment has to find out about the handling charges with the agent they're dealing with in the destination country. Insisting is a good option, as they are not used to that.
When destination charges are paid - and you have a proof for that - then there is (normally) no surprise. I hope I'll be able to firmly confirm that assertion in about four days, when I go and pick up the side car in Vancouver...
For the rest of your post, I have to agree that sea freight schedules and reliability are two notions that do not ultimately get on well together... And for just a 250cc, for that distance, I'd go for air freight. But: it depends on what you got most: time or money!

Mate,
if you go by the dvd done by HU they advise fly as you can go at the same time as in the past, they have arrived in the country and found the boat is still en route or not sailed as still waiting to fill the containers up!
my own experience is fly cheaper better quicker.
have a look here James Cargo Services IATA, AATA, IPATA and DEFRA approved Cargo Agent

Hey thanks All for this very lively feedback - seems like air vs ship is quite a controversial issue amongst the biking fraternity, hahaha!

After all I've heard, I'm still veering towards air freight if poss - PaulD, I'll email you separately about getting a quote off that handy Qantas guy, as it sounds like you're onto something good there. As you advise, I always try avoiding agents/go-betweens anyway as I prefer to be more hands-on and save money: it's worth it for a little extra effort!

Buying a bike in South Africa is of course still a possibility (thanks again Pumbaa for that very useful link). But as a newbie rider I still feel like I'll want to be riding a bike I'm familiar with and am drawn to the idea of spending time kitting it up properly at home (and practising riding being loaded up) before I head off on my adventures...

Jeanie :mchappy:

Gary,

I was told by Qantas they they go on a pallet, and are not crated (that was after I had arranged for crating !) I have a friend in Townsville who flew his bike to Singapore but I just can't remember the airline (it was not Qantas) It was very reasonably priced and also not crated. I will try and get the details for you and pm them to you. It was this year also.

Thanks
Paul:scooter:

No probs - everyone on that forum is very nice and really HELPFUL, going out their way to help you if they can...there are a lot of lady riders too and also a lot of shorter people. They should all be able to give you some good advice.

If you know what you want and want to avoid the shipping costs etc, its definitely worthwile keeping an eye on the for sale section. Lots of guys wil be able to help you kit it out too if not already kitted out.

btw, my wife is going for her first lesson tomorrow, also vertically challenged and petite at 5ft2'...hope she enjoys it!!

Cheers

Sorry mate, I don't go by books or DVD's, I'm an empiricist, I go by experience. The inconveniences you mention are things you have to carefully check with you're agent (whom you have to choose with great caution).
Yes, I can agree with that
Yes, definitely
Definitely not. Or at least, it depends on the size of your motorcycle. Now, here is my last shipping bill:

Currency: USD
Ocean Freight Rates => 75$/CBM X 6CBM* => 450$
ACI (advanced commercial Information)----=> 25$ per bill of lading
Local Handling charges Vancouver -------- => 95$ per bill of lading
Local Security Charges Vancouver ---------=> 15$
Currency: Malaysian Ringgits
Terminal Handling Charges => 40 per round up CM = 240
Bill of lading------------------------------------ => 110 per set
SMK fee --------------------------------- ------=> 30 per set
Surrender fee---------------------------------- => 80 per bill of lading
Custom Examination ----------------------------=> 30 per 1st sets of declaration
Custom Documentation -------------------------=> 30 per Bill of lading
Electronic Data Interchange---------------------=> 30 per Bill of lading
Forwarding fees --------------------------------=> 100 per shipment
Handling and supervision fees -------------------=> 100 per shipment
5% government tax -----------------------------=> 14.50
Fumigation charges -----------------------------=> 175 per wooden crate
*CBM: Cubic Meter

Total = 2870 RM (malaysian ringgits)
= 900$

That's for a 6 Cubic meter crate! If you do a nice crate, and use your screwdriver a bit, you can get it to 2CBM for a rather small motorcycle (mine is a long K100 with a large Ural).
That gets you to

2 Cubic Meters = 550$

Malaysia to canada is a long distance. But it is a fairly common route (going to Singapore, Beijing and so on).
This I hope gives a rough estimation of shipping costs.

It is always preferable to ride a bike you know, in terms of road behaviour and in terms of mechanics. That is an advice that I think everyone on this forum will agree with ;-)

Agreed 100% - and that is one of the most important things, when we talk about inconveniences regarding freight. Doing your homework and taking your time to find the best contacts can really make a big difference.

On our 6-month trip from Europe to Australia, getting the bike to go to another location without actually riding it, and handling its customs clearances and other related stuff at other than land-borders, was probably the biggest pain_in_the_XXX on the whole trip. But we had never sent by sea or by air before, so if I´d go again, it´d probably be easier now.

Buy one instead
 

Hi, we were in South Africa last year as part of our RTW trip and If I was coming from OZ to ZA I would buy in ZA, we rode down from England so a differant ballgame
there are plenty of bikes for sale in South Africa, use the horizons comunity for more info, we met a lot of great people using the comunity.
If you fly into Durban contact Thomas at www.motozulutours.co.za, I am cetain he would have a bike for sale.
Hope this helps Pete N Brucella, currently in Ecuador and very wet!!!!

Thanks for the info
 

Thanks guys, this is all really useful info.

Summing up what I've heard here so far, I'm still thinking flying is the best option rather than shipping, and that if you can find the right person to talk to, it can be cost-effective as well.

Notwithstanding that, I think the advice to keep an eye out in South Africa for a bike is good too - thanks for the various SA website links, I'm keeping an eye out on all of them from now on!

Oh and hey Pumbaa...sending lots of good vibes your way for your wife's first lesson: I really hope she enjoys it, cos if she does - as I now well know - she'll be joining the best club in the world, eh...!?! :D

Jeanie :mchappy:

Qantas contact
 

Hi PaulD!

Not sure if you're still following this thread.... I did email you about a week or so ago, to see if I could follow up on your offer re your Qantas contact and getting an air freight quote. I think perhaps my email went astray??!

Still keen to get that quote - or indeed contact your contact directly! - if that's possible...

Jeanie :mchappy:

Jeanie
When you get this all figured out I would be most interested in what you have found out. I am shipping two bikes to Australia latter this year and have been toying with the idea of sending at least one on to South Africa some time before my 12 month temp import is up. So if you do all the hard work and come up with the ultimate answer to shipping to Africa I would gladly make use of your hard work and run with it.

Bob:scooter:

+1. My trip planning is in its absolute infancy.... but one of the first things I'm gonna have to know is cost and possibilities of flying a bike from Oz to RSA. Keep us posted please Jeanie :)

Qantas details
 

heya there Paul just wondering if i can get the details off those people you dealt with at Qantas cause i want to ship my KTM over to India early in the year , much appreciated
cheers
Pat

Hi again.... Anybody have an update on airfreight AUS > RSA please? Any contacts @ Qantas? I heard rumour that Qantas were no longer accepting bikes for air freight... please tell me its not true....

Hi Jeanie

i am a customs broker who works for a freight forwarder in Melbourne and have a bike myself

I would suggest you minimise the size of the crate (and thereby reduce the freight/port charges) by taking the front wheel off the bike

I may also be able to provide you with a crate at our depot

Happy to give you a quote (with air & sea comparison) if you like once i work out if you are prepared to take the front wheel off and whether you are prepared to take the time to reassemble at the destination

Please feel free to contact me on 0433 070 059 or on my private email address ismoljko@y7mail.com

Cheers
Ivan

Hey Jeannie,

It is funny but I am too in the process of getting quotes for sending a bike from Australia to South Africa for my tour in August. Living in Sydney I found that shipping a bike from Perth is a lot cheaper so I will do that and add another 4000km of great touring to the trip.
Shipping by air might be better for your finances if it means you can work during the time you would otherwise be sitting around somewhere, waiting for the bike to arrive. Airfreight from Australia seems to only go to Johannesburg though.
I contacted pretty much every single airline flying from Perth to South Africa with max. one in-between stop and none of them accepted the bike any other way than by a cargo forwarder, not a single airline would do it! Even Qantas said, they can't do it directly.

I narrowed down the options to two small cargo forwarding companies, qouting about AU$3500 for air freight sending my DR650 to Africa. Once I've got a more detailed quote I can let you know. I have not decided yet because of two open points: the need for crating and the option to leave panniers and equipment on the bike which both cargo forwarders are about to investigate right at the moment.

Which time around will you start in South Africa?

Cheers,

Marco

Hi Marco....

$3500 :surrender:.... at that price I'll be buying my DR in South Africa.... (not my preferred option.... I really would like to ride over to Perth and fly me and the bike from there).

$3500???

Fly - Qantas
 

Flying by Qantas is the way to go!

Go directly (in person) to the cargo desk at the airport from which you intend travelling a few days (2-3) before you leave, and speak with them, trying to sound as if you know what you are doing. Bluff works. It helps to already have a Dangerous Goods Certificate (available close by at most airports through DGM company). Do NOT phone Qantas, as the little desk jockeys will tell you to get an agent. This is incorrect.

Bikes are placed on a pallet and put into the aluminium containers then into the belly of the plane. All loading and strapping down is done by Qantas, using their tiedowns etc etc. Have less than a quarter tank of fuel (less is better) and the battery leads must be disconnected and taped. THAT IS ALL! All of your camping gear etc goes on the bike. My riding clothes (less helmet) go into a bag strapped over the seat, leaving almost nothing as carryon luggage.

I have now flown my bikes 5 times - 2 BMWs x BNE to LAX; 2 BMWs x LAX to BNE; and one WeeStrom from SYD to Frankfurt. It is really SOOOOO easy!! No dramas anywhere. Even in Frankfurt, where I spoke no German at all, it took only about an hour, most of which was spent waiting in queues or wandering off to get a coffee while waiting.

When the current leg ends in South Africa late September, I'll fly the bike home from JoBurg to SYD, a direct flight - with Qantas.

PM me if you need further info.

Thanks Margaret :thumbup1:.

BTW - I followed your South America trip with interest.....

$3500
 

I flew my F800gs Brisbane to Cairo and that cost $1620 My wifes XT 250 was about $1480 + the Egyptians wanted about $400 ea which at least 1/2 that was bribes to get them released. I agree with Margaret !!!!!!

Cheers
Paul

From memory, I paid $30 document fees each bike in LAX, and about 11 Euro (?) in Frankfurt. That's all. It cost more coming back into Oz! It cost me $2550 to FRA in the middle of the volcanic ash kerfuffle, so prices may have been a little exaggerated, I think. But then, I did actually use a Qantas subsidiary as " agent" to make sure the bike got on the plane I wanted, as cargo space was at a premium just then. Even so, it didn't go until the following day after I left, but I could track it, so knew it had arrived in FRA at 6am the next day, as expected.

Beemerbird
 

Margaret, I sent you an email !

Paul

It's been a while but I now have a better idea about airlifting a bike to South Africa and thought it might be of interest:
First of all - Freightforwarding companies drive you INSANE (not all but many)! I dont know how many of those do business - they cant answer a question, promise to come back to you and never do, it takes them 2 weeks to reply to an email etc.
However, got quotes for shipping the bike from Perth (Australia) to Johannesburg (South Africa) variing between $3500 and $6600 from freightforwarders. Cheapest and most helpful ones being the small WA companies.
I also checked with Qantas directly and was heaps impressed by them. Unfortunately they only fly Sydney-Joh'burg and not from Perth. The lovely Qantas lady really took her time to explain everything in detail. What it comes down to is, that Qantas can't guarantue a spot for the bike on a particular day in advance due to other larger freight reservations. You can only book a spot max. 7 days in advance. E.g. you call them today and they let you know which of their flights during the next 7 days have room for a bike and you can book your bike on that flight.

So the following applies for the daily Sydney-Joh'burg Qantas non-stop flight:
Bikes are bigger than they are heavy so the volumetric weight exceeds the actual weight. Volumetric weight is the length x height x width (all in cm) divided by 6000 and will be around 400(kg) for an average bike. Freight charge is AU$6.82 per (volumetric) kg, including fuel and security surcharges. On top of it comes AU$83 documentation fee + $62 surcharge for "dangerous goods'. So the Qantas charges are only around AU$2870. The bike does not need to be crated, if you want to, you can crate it which adds to the dimensions and therefore price.
It's also your responsibility to obtain a Dangerous Goods inspection cetrtificate which some companies near Sydney Airport can do for you for $150.
Johannesburg Airport will charge another handling fee which apparently is only $40-$50 when picking up the bike.

Excelent info. I'm looking to get it from Brisbane so will probably look at Qantas the most. When I was organising my flight to Buenos Aires talking to Qantas over the phone I was fobbed off a bit. But apparently according to others sending from Brisbane if you go to their office near the airport it's all good. (Just read on the previous page that this was mentioned already).

What is that 6000 factor all about? Is that the factor to work out which is larger, volume vs weight? Cause I was refused this info. Excelent price really. Pretty cheap in SA as well. In Argentina I was charged $430 for airport and handling charges. The plane stopped in Santiago and I was charged another USD96 as well.

Need to see if I can organise from Brisbane. Where did or are you shipping back from?

The factor 6000 is only used to convert volume (in qcm) into volumetric weight (kg). What ever gives you the higher number, either the actual weight or the volumetric weight, will apply to calculate the price.

I got all this info by calling their freight hotline 1300 373 444 and continue on menu points 5 then 2 then 2.

Not sure if Qantas flyes from Brisbane to where you are planning to fly to. I tried to get a quote from Perth to Joh'burg but couldn't get one from Qantas because they do a code sharing from Perth and the actual plane is provided by South African Airways. But it's only a day's ride for you to come down to Sydney anyway, right? :cool4:

To come back home to Australia I might ship the bike by seafreight from Hamburg / Germany. Doesn't matter for me then if it takes three months.

Qantas
 

Qantas is one of very few airlines who will fly bikes uncrated. I've not yet heard of anyone having to crate their bike when flying Qantas. Qantas do not charge on the volumetric weight when bikes are uncrated. They just charge the actual weight of the bikes and luggage. On each of my shipments/flights, the bikes have weighed roughly 285kg. It's generally cheaper to leave all your luggage on the bike rather than pay excess baggage then have to carry it around while you are organising to pick up the bike.

Delivery/paperwork costs were US$30, and about 11 Euro in Frankfurt - that is ALL that I paid, other than the actual freight charge. Oh, and DG certificates were about $130-140 each bike.

Freight costs were: 2 BMWs, each cost A$1840 to Los Angeles. WeeStrom cost $2500 to Frankfurt.

But the most important part of the whole thing: - go IN PERSON to the Qantas office. Don't ring! I found the staff at Brisbane cargo office to be most helpful. Sydney were OK, but a little more impersonal, unlike Brisbane, who got very involved and interested in my trips.

I've also flown Panama-Colombia and return, with Girag. Basically the same process (I think!). I don't speak Spanish, but managed OK by looking as if I knew what I was doing. I also left all my luggage (pac-safe meshed and locked) on the bike when flying over the Darien both ways, despite them saying I had to take it all off and carry it! No way, Jose! :clap:

I'll shortly be flying the WeeStrom from UK into Ethiopia, so that will be yet another interesting exercise!

Thanks Margaret. That's interesting about the crating and cost. So you just put it on a pallet and wrap the thing in plastic? This is how ours went to South America. Because of double handling in Santiago we did get some damage. But I reckon I can design something to mitigate this.

Qantas
 

Nope - I just leave them at the cargo area and the staff later put them on a pallet and tie them down with their tiedowns. I did wrap bubblewrap around the screen and HID lights the first time, but haven't bothered since, as there is never a mark on them. They've never appeared from the depths of the warehouse with plastic wrap on them, so I'm assuming no plastic wrap at all.

And I always book on direct flights so that there is little chance of problems with sectional flights and on/off loading.

Impressive. Do you get to watch the process and where do they tie it down on? I'm always a bit worried about people that don't ride handling bikes. Last thing you want is a clutch perch cracked or worse a brake one.

Hello, just to warm up this thread once again.

Hello from cold and rainy Tasmania... :freezing: (Awsome rides and people here though...)

We want to ship/fly our bike to anywhere in Europe maybe in June or July, most probably from Sydney. Tried to contact MASkargo, but were referred to a FF (which doesnt answer any mail or even gives a quote...)...

Just now i´ve read the posts from Margerete (you have a PM). Any suggestions, tips or who to contact. We are not quite sure yet what we do, maybe we even go back to Indonesia... but for now the rough plan is to go direction Europe again...

Have a good one ... I HATE SHIPPING! It´s always half a office job.... tssssss drives you :D

Hi there,

Finishing our ride from Spain to Sidney.

Now we are trying to know how to get the bike from Sidney to South Africa, at first I was thinking doing it by air but now we are thinking of maybe doing it by ship and spend a couple weeks in north new zealand while the bike goes to SA.

I searched on Google "Freight Care" and different businesses appear, which is the one that does the service??

Any idea how long it would take??

Any comments appreciated

Thanks a lot

Cheers from western australia

Jose and Pilar
https://www.facebook.com/AventurasEnMoto

M/C Air freight Europe to Australia
 

G'day,

I'm considering flying a bike from the most cost effective ports in Europe to Australia and wondered if you anyone has done so recently? I've emailed a bunch of companies and had zero response so far!

Cheers Dave

that's why the database is so important - getting answers is tough, so we have to do it ourselves! :mchappy:

Best of luck and keep us posted!
in the shipping database of course! :)