to ship or not to ship......

[haleyohdo]

Hey Valkyrie Nation!  this is my first post, so be gentle...    I am an owner of a 98 Valkyrie Tour, love it, owned it for 11 years, will keep it forever.. but I am looking at purchasing,  ok i am going to purchase a Valkyrie Interstate out of state ( i live in warm Minnesota)  wondering if anyone has any good, bad, ugly stories related to shipping a big bike across country?...and yes, I could ride it home like in June when the snow goes away, but would like to get it home before that to "customize" it.. you' all know what I mean...

[Trynt]

A couple of years ago I bought an 1800 Vtx from a dealer in Mississippi and had it shipped to So. Mn.  It wasn't cheap and it wasn't speedy, but they seemed very professional.  If I remember correctly the company was Federal, a branch of Allied.

[valk2128]

When I purchased my 1998 Valkyrie, I had it shipped from Kansas.  
I used ID Transport (954-946-3366).
They do door to door transports, in enclosed trailers.
It cost me around  $500.00

They did a good job.

[Momz]

I am from MI and two years ago I bought a 97 Valk from a dealer in S. Dakota.
I drove there and trailered it back to MI. I spent more in gas, food, and motels than if I had it shipped by Federal Transport.

[highcountry]

I bought a Valkyrie from PA and had it shipped to me in Denver last month.  It cost me about $650 and it came in an 18-wheeler designed for bikes.  The outfit specializes in bike shipping and are currently offering a 10% discount.

http://www.haulbikes.com/

[Clark]

Hey Valkyrie Nation!  this is my first post, so be gentle...    I am an owner of a 98 Valkyrie Tour, love it, owned it for 11 years, will keep it forever.. but I am looking at purchasing,  ok i am going to purchase a Valkyrie Interstate out of state ( i live in warm Minnesota)  wondering if anyone has any good, bad, ugly stories related to shipping a big bike across country?...and yes, I could ride it home like in June when the snow goes away, but would like to get it home before that to "customize" it.. you' all know what I mean...

AAAAAAAAW YA PANZY...JUST kiddn.. 99% of legitimate bike shippers do a fantastic job.. no worries

[sandy]

www.shippingmasters.com This company is a shipping agent for many companies. I shipped an IS from AZ to Idaho. Reasonable price and the buyer was happy.

[Oss]

i used the same shipping broker to get the bmw from LA Calif to Ossining Ny

It was under 600 door to door which is less than what it would cost to fly there ride it home and 4 nites at motels and food

Of course if you have friends on the way just substitute buying them dinner and drinks for the hotel

Would I do it again  Only if I was in no hurry.  Insured no deductible carrier

[X Ring]

Welcome to the party haleyohdo.

Marty

[Sherrill]

We have been using Keyboard Carriers at our dealerships exclusively for over 6 years and have had excellent results. We shipped over 200 trikes and app. 80 bikes all over the country to our customers last year alone with no accidents or claims. You can get a quote from them too. Any shipper on average will be cheaper than your cost of travel/pickup/return on long haul destinations.

http://www.keyboardmotorcycleshipping.com/

[RoadKill]

Hey Valkyrie Nation!  this is my first post, so be gentle...    I am an owner of a 98 Valkyrie Tour, love it, owned it for 11 years, will keep it forever.. but I am looking at purchasing,  ok i am going to purchase a Valkyrie Interstate out of state ( i live in warm Minnesota)  wondering if anyone has any good, bad, ugly stories related to shipping a big bike across country?...and yes, I could ride it home like in June when the snow goes away, but would like to get it home before that to "customize" it.. you' all know what I mean...

How much snow? anybody want to ride it to him? Once you have a Valk...the weather don't seem so bad, as long as you can RIDE ! !

[Mike M in ohio]

     I just purchased a 2000 Interstate in December. Due to a wedding and a death in the family, we ended up shipping the rig from Florida to New York. The trickiest part was CONFIRMING everything, by faxing title, shipping documents, etc. Then, I had to check on the transporter via Better Business Beaureau etc. With LOTS of checking and a local Florida contact to inspect the bike...all things went foward, for $600, which the seller and I split.
     The only NEGATIVE was that the transporter shipped the Valk on an OPEN new-car carrier. So the bike arrived filthy and weather worn, AND I had to ride it up and over the narrow steel tire ramp (about 16 inches wide) to get it unloaded. (No where to put a foot down on either side!) So, be sure you get a carrier that uses enclosed rigs with hydrolic lifts to unload. Good Luck    Mike.

[RoadKill]

     I just purchased a 2000 Interstate in December. Due to a wedding and a death in the family, we ended up shipping the rig from Florida to New York. The trickiest part was CONFIRMING everything, by faxing title, shipping documents, etc. Then, I had to check on the transporter via Better Business Beaureau etc. With LOTS of checking and a local Florida contact to inspect the bike...all things went foward, for $600, which the seller and I split.
     The only NEGATIVE was that the transporter shipped the Valk on an OPEN new-car carrier. So the bike arrived filthy and weather worn, AND I had to ride it up and over the narrow steel tire ramp (about 16 inches wide) to get it unloaded. (No where to put a foot down on either side!) So, be sure you get a carrier that uses enclosed rigs with hydrolic lifts to unload. Good Luck    Mike.

Tell us this spring if it was worth the effort!

[haleyohdo]

Thanks everyone,  very cool how many of you replied.. thank you.. I am going to try a company called Freight Center,  https://www.freightcenter.com  they ship about anything..  The bike is secured on a pallet made for motorcycles and covered and then shipped from door to door?  or from a shipping dock location to another shipping dock location.. so the buyer will bring the bike to the PHX shipping dock.. then ship it to the Mpls shipping dock location, and I will pick it up.. $450... door to door was around $600... so we will give this a try...
Very excited to be able to join the IS group/ club!.. I have owned a Tourer for 11 years so going to give this a try for 12 more or so... or until Honda decides to make the Valk again..   wouldnt that be nice..

Thanks again... cya on the road!.. if your going to be passing through Minnesota,  send me a message.. I am always up for a ride... even more so now... 

[John Schmidt]

Thanks again... cya on the road!.. if your going to be passing through Minnesota,  send me a message.. I am always up for a ride... even more so now...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If all goes as planned after InZane this summer, I'll be visiting family in the Austin area.

[NEHI]

   I had my I/S shipped last year from Florida to Las Vegas, and then back to Fla. after it broke a camshaft 8mi into my trip!!!!!!! I used Haulbikes, very professional. All their trucks are inclosed and made just to carry motorcycles and their drivers all own bikes. Talk to Sarah.