Motorcycle Transport Companies

[asfltdncr]

Have any of you used any particular company to transport your bike within the U.S.?
Likes,dislikes,warnings,recommendations---all would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Tx Bohemian]

Never used any but I called once to find out how much they would charge to transport a Moped I was looking at on ebay from Walled lake, MI down to Victoria, TX and almost to fell over when they said $1800 per bike, and since there was two bikes it doubled!! $3600.  I think the starting bid for both together was $600. And nobody bid at all.

If I would've got these I'd just a soon take off from work a day or so and go pick them up myself, I think it would've been much cheaper even with gas and hotel stays!

[Slvrvalk1]

Flying to a location and riding the bike back may be cheaper.  I used JC Motors (motorcycleshippers.com) and had good results.  I shipped an Interstate from Colorado to California a few years back and it cost $700 because of the additional weight.  You can go to their web site and get an idea of the cost because hey show zones in the U.S and you can tell from looking at the zones what the cost will be.

Dave

[sandy]

www.shippingmasters.com is a booking agent. They'll find the best price for you. I shipped an I/S from AZ to Spokane for $550.

[eric in md]

go to uship .com  .. they will bid a cheaper price

[Disco]

Haulbikes brought my Valkyrie to my driveway in north Texas from Crystal Lake, IL for about $600 in August of '07.  It took 2 weeks instead of the 1 week quoted and I'm pretty sure the scratch on the windshield happened somewhere along the way. 

[Valker]

I've also used Haulbikes.com, but my experience was great. I would use them again in a heartbeat.

[big d]

used jc motors this july getting the two bikes home from i/z 9. not exactly happy with the company. they said five days for p/u and , not exactly. sat around for three days waiting. had to pay to have a flat bed take the wifes bike into denver. i had to ride mine {not bad}. they said that they have a fleet of trucks, not exactly. they contract other trucking companies to ship the bikes. the bikes saw more of the country being shipped back than on the trip out to colorado. would not recomend. 

[Madmike]

I bought my Valk from a fellow in Beaumont Texas and had it shipped to Everett Washington by JC Motors and then picked it up from a warehouse there and imported it into Canada myself.

JC Motors did exactly what they said they would, the bike arrived on time and with no damage.  They included insurance with zero deductible in their rate.  They wanted no paperwork for the sale, loose parts or keys to be shipped with the bike so there could be no question of missing goods or chance of the bike being run and damaged.  They specify that the bike has to be free rolling.

They picked the bike up from th PO's place of business with no problems.  It had to be available during business hours at JC Motors request and they gave a give a date range of about 3 or so days but they say that they will phone ahead 3-5 hours to arrange time for the pickup.  I think that they actually communicated with the PO and set the pickup a few days ahead.  

I picked the bike up from a movers warehouse in Everett at 9 in the morning on the day I had told them I would be there.  I had confirmed by e-mail that it was in fact there as I had just got back from Mexico the night before and had to cross from Canada into the States to get the bike.  The bike was secured to a purpose designed shipping pallet when I picked it up, I took my endgate off and got them to set the pallet on the back bumper then rolled the bike into the pickup and tied it down  - took about 10 minutes paperwork and all.  They even let me keep the nice heavy duty loop straps that they use for tie down.

The cost of the service was basically the same as the cost shown zone to zone on their site.  They did indicate a window of a few days for both delivery and pickup so if things have to be done on a specific day then it may be a problem.  They contract the shipping out to haulers - most frequently tailgate loads on furniture movers I believe and use their warehouse space to consolidate loads etc which somewhat accounts for the need to be date flexible.  I gave myself lots of time and picked the bike up 3 days after the end of their window and they actually stored it for about a week at no cost to me.  It was important to me that the pickup went smoothly as I had to pick the bike up in Everett on Friday morning, be back in Canada and go to a wedding on Vancouver Island on Saturday and then drive home about 1000 miles before Tuesday so that I could drive 200 miles on Wednesday AM and catch a plane and go to work.

I know a guy that moves furniture in Canada and he gave me a number for a guy with one of the VAn line companies and I asked him for a quote thinking that I could save a few bucks by cutting out the middle man - his quote was more than JC and the insurance wasn't as good.  

My  total cost was $653 USD with $10 K of no deductible insurance - I looked back on my bill and they charged $21 for the insurance and gave me a $25 discount to cover it.  I dealt with a guy named Harry Leonard and would deal with him again if he is still with them.  He returned calls promptly when I had questions and was making arrangements, he communicated the quote and final billing by e-mail and followed up when I asked status of the shipment by e-mail while I was in Mexico so that everything would go smoothly once I got back to Canada.  

[fudgie]

I will ride it there for you cheaper!