Shipping bike Canada to SE Asia or India / estimating crate dimensions for quote
 

Hi All.

Hoping for some help as I am planning for my first big global moto journey!!
I am in the planning stages, but have a loose route/timeline in my head, now need to start checking if the logistics are possible and if the costs match my estimates!

I'm American, but understand it may be easier/cheaper to ship out of Canada, and I can get the bike there if needed.
Desired route is to ship by air in November 2019 from US/Canada to SE Asia (Singapore or Kuala Lumpur seems like the best bet?) or India (if the Thailand situation is not possible?) and begin riding west from there on a two years journey.

I am familiar with the Air Canada "ship your bike program", but it doesn't include Asia and ends in Sept, and I am hoping to leave in November. I did get rough quotes with them for a basic dangerous goods shipment based on my desired date/cities. Could anyone recommend shipping companies to check with for quotes given the countries I am working with? It looked to me that James Cargo is only from shipments out of the UK, and that Motorcycle Express only covered Canada to Europe and variations.

Also, estimating dimensions/weight to get an accurate quote! I have read all about the crating process and how to reduce the total dimensions. However, I am wondering what people do when they are getting quotes during the planning stage?
The bike I plan to ship is a DR650. Do people do a trial in the garage like removing the F wheel and bars and see how small you can make it and then use this figure when getting quotes from shipping companies? Also how do you properly estimate the weight including racks and gear, as I am assuming this can go in the crate with the bike?

I appreciate any help or advice!!

Thanks!
Julia

Hi Julia,
As for weight and dimensions it really is an estimate. If you want your quote to be on the high end for budget reasons then use official specs of the bike knowing you can make it smaller. As for weight, add 50lbs to the wet weight of the bike and that will be close enough. Since the bike won't have the weight of fuel you are estimating more weight for luggage. In the end, the final crate will be measured and weighed for billing. This could be higher or lower than your quote.
As for shipping location, don't rule out Los Angeles. I am actually in the process of getting quotes to Australia and have some friends that shipped out of LA to Oz just a few months ago. I can share the company name with you once I get it.
Let me know if that helps and if you have any other questions let me know. I shipped my bike from Bogota, Colombia to Miami last year after riding to Ushuaia but that is my only experience with air freight.

Hi,
I did a quick search on Yelp for Freight Forwarders in LA and many companies come up that handle air and sea freight all over the world and some that even listed vehicles and motorcycles. The company below described themselves as specializing in freight to South East Asia. Might be worth an email for a quote.

JG International Freight Corp., Inc. (JGI) Freight Forwarding - Logistics. We are a licensed NVOCC, IATA, and TSA Certified Freight Forwarder.
We also have consolidations to the Philippines for Air shipments and specialize in routes to South East Asia.
https://jgintl.com/

A few other companies that looked good to me and I reached to for quotes were MBC Brokers, and Momentum Shipping

Good luck,
Josh

Hi Julia:

The above suggestion is quite valid, because unless your motorcycle is made out of lead, you will wind up paying "dimensional weight" to ship the crate, rather than actual weight (mass). So you can stuff your helmet, riding gear, etc. into the crannies & crevices of the crate before you close it up. The whole crate will get weighed when you drop it off at the cargo facility, you don't have to worry about precisely weighing it before you drop it off.

I have shipped my bike between Canada and Europe many times, but never in a crate - it just gets loaded into a ULD and stuffed in the aircraft. Shipping to Asia, and crating the bike, will be much more complex than that.

Be aware that depending on the destination country, you may need to have the crate constructed out of specially marked wood, this to ensure that no unwanted insects, fungi, etc. get inadvertently transported to your destination via the wood that the crate is made out of.

Michael

Vancouver to Kuala Lumpur KL shipping
 

Julia:

I think I can answer your question. In mid Jan we shipped the bike from Vancouver to Kuala Lumpur (KL). I’ll list some of the items to bear in mind and things that will help keep your costs down:

1. At the moment you have a fairly big advantage right off the top with the USD trading over 30% higher than the Canadian Dollar.
2. A bike with fuel and a battery in them are considered hazardous goods so you’ll be asked to drain the tank and remove the battery before it’s shipped. We shipped on Nippon Airways through Allcargo Express. It was a 2 leg trip for the bike which transferred in Tokyo then onto KL. In Laos, where we are currently, the airline and the shipping company want no oil in the case, no battery, no gas, and no air in the tires. That way, the bike can ship as regular goods so rates can be lower. The point is the airline can dictate what it considers hazardous or not and if it can go as non hazardous it’s to your advantage.
3. With dimensional weight, you will have a crate that simply put, is much larger than your bike and since your going to be paying for space that is empty then you can box up your bulky gear, boot, jackets, helmet, and other the heavy things you don’t want to lug through the airport(s) and stick them in the crate - your shipping cost won’t be going up.
4. The crate Allcargo built was beautiful with shims between the straps so my side cases didn’t get scuffed in transit, protection over the rims and tires where they slipped into the case etc.
5. KL was the preferred spot to enter because and numerous members on this forum talked about the hassles of clearing in Bangkok. That may be true but KL/Malaysia had it’s own challenges as well and I’ll be happy to advise you later on how to simply “avoid” those challenges.
6. Something to think about when you get to the other end KL is if you’ve taken apart your bike you’ve got to put it together and should you need a shop to help you out there is the added expense of trucking the bike there, finding the right shop etc. It can be easier just to fuel up, with your paperwork in hand and off you go. Delays which mean hotel costs, meals, etc add up even in KL.
7. My KTM 1290’s uncrated dimensions with the side bags off, and windshield removed is: weight 535 lbs, Length 83”, Width 36”, Height 55” (you’ll need to use cm & kg from here on in. The crated dimensions of the bike were: Charge Weight 659 Kgs (1452 Lbs), Length 94.5”, width 43.5, Height 58”
8. The final price to KL was around $3.5k Canadian about $700 higher than the original quote because they simply can’t give you an accurate price for your bikes dimensions until they build the crate.
9. Lots of interesting things can happen in the warehouses and loading docks of airports. The risk of damage to a badly packed or unprotected bike is high so think about the trade offs of saving money cus simply put, getting parts in SE Asia for anything over a 250 isn’t as quick and easy as it is in North America

That’s a bit of a long winded answer but I hope it helps. Let me know what you’ve been thinking about routing. I highly recommend you get a Carnet De Passage from Boomerang in the states. It may be a bit spendy up front (most of which you get back later), and even though it’s officially only recognized by Malaysia, it sure helped us breeze through the borders in Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos - useless in Vietnam though..... that’s another story.

Hi Josh.

Wow, thank you so much for this information!! I've just returned from work travel but will definitely contact those companies you mentioned. And thanks for the crating/estimate info.

Good point about checking LA. I'm going to be in NYC and Chicago before I take off so getting myself and the bike to LA in Nov/Dec would be actually easier than Vancouver. Have you sorted the shipping for your trip? I would like to know who you land with as they might be good option for SE Asia too.
Thanks!

Hi Michael.

Thanks so much for all that info. That all makes sense and gives me a good starting point. I guess the key too is to be generous with the measurements and then if you end up getting it lower in the end that is a bonus. That is an especially good point about the wood/crate material relative to the destination country; I will be sure to inquire about that.
Thanks!

Canuck!

This information is amazing, thank you so much for sharing!!! That is great to hear that you shipped to KL. Either there or Jakarta would be my ideal starting point. Did you travel in Indonesia or explore shipping there?

Regarding routing, I was planning to start in SE Asia in December (maybe a bit earlier, TBD). I'll hopefully have about 2 years, we will see how it shakes out. Planning through SE Asia-Nepal-India-Pakistan-Central Asia/Stans-Mongolia-back down and here it gets TBD depending on the situation at that time in the Middle East and whether I can pass through, so maybe Turkey/Mediterranean-length of Africa likely Egypt to SA on the East side.

My biggest routing question mark at the moment is the difficult situation of Thailand. From threads I read hear its sound like people are getting through (with some effort) currently, so I am hopeful that will be the case. Were you there before the new rules went into effect? So much can happen over the next 7 months so I am hopeful and planning with that in mind.

Yes, I am aware and planning to get the carnet from Boomerang, though I need to contact them soon to go through the details. I will need it for Nepal, India, Pakistan, much of Africa, amongst others anyway, and I understand it can make things easier even if not officially required.

Regarding the below.
1. Yes, thats great.
2. I will definitely contact Allcargo express for a quote. With your set up did you just have to drain most of gas and remove battery?
3/4. That is all really good to know.
5. Yes, that would be great! Did you need to arrange a broker or something to clear customs in KL or did Allcargo Express take care of this?
6. You are totally right about not making the logistics more complicated. If I were taking anything apart it would be stuff that I would have the tools and knowledge to put back together ie- F wheel, bars (though that might be a bit of a pain I'd have to test it to see if its worth it), mirrors, windshield.
7/8. Thanks for these details- it is helpful to see how the real life numbers translate to crated numbers. So are the uncrated dimensions of your bike (minus bags and windshield) what you provided to Allcargo Express to get the initial quote? Yes, I understand it is all just an estimate till you hand over the dollars- like everything!
And did the final price include them making the crate as well? Did you just drop the bike off and then they handled the crating process?
9. You are so right about this! I want to find a reasonable price while still ensuring a quality service. It seems like your experience was very good and final price was somewhat in line with what I was expecting.

Julia