How does one ship a motorcycle to Europe for a nice vacation?

Carl Bauer · Carl Bauer's Garage

I've got a friend here in Houston that is interested in shipping his motorcycle to the Isle of Man for a few weeks to a month in 2009 or 2010. He hasn't really gotten past the idea stage yet but last night we talked about the possible hurdles involved. I'm sure there's a special short-term license to apply for, duties to be paid and of course a shipping carrier to be found.

Has anyone here shipped a motorcycle to GB or Europe for a short term vacation? Can anyone recommend a carrier or at least some potential pitfalls to avoid?

Thanks.

creaturecat · 03-24-2008, 02:58 PM

i rented while in Europe. Approx 100/day.

Drdogface · Drdogface's Garage

Cheaper and safer IMHO to rent one there or buy and ship it home. Possible exception would be if you had a Harley and sold it when you left to come home. Might make some serious coin that way.

Carl Bauer · Carl Bauer's Garage

Renting does make sense but the bike is a special one to him (I believe it's an Yamaha RZ350) and he wants to take it around the Isle of Man.

How many of us would like to take our personal Porsches to the 'ring? The Megane and Audi TT I've had there were OK but the 911 would have made it that much more special. I'll be bringing it next time I go!

creaturecat · 03-24-2008, 03:26 PM

here you go, instant quotes on line: http://www.shipping-worldwide.com/

Hugh R · 03-24-2008, 08:24 PM

Ok, gotta brag here. You say Isle of Man and I say this bike of mine actually raced in the 1930 world cup at the IOM in fact, in 1930 Rudge finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd and my bike finished 6th. I inherited it from my Dad who bought it in Vancouver, BC Canada from the guy who raced it at the IOM in 1930. I rode it a few months ago and it fired up first kick. Actually, it doesn't have a kick starter, you push and dump the compression release. In 1930, factory guarantee of 100 MPH. Check out the Shaun 84 Targa Thread on the t-Shirts he made based on the bike.

71T Targa · 03-25-2008, 06:25 AM

Hugh, that is a great story. How cool would it be to take the bike back there and have a run yourself?

speeder · speeder's Garage

I'll start a separate thread, but does anyone on the continent know the current prices for a particular used Harley Davidson in their location? Are they in demand? TIA.

Paco Anton · Paco Anton's Garage

You can check the local 2nd had advertisement sites for each country. Here in Spain you can go to:

http://motos.coches.net/ocasion/listado.cfm

Under "Marca" (Brand) select "Harley Davidson"

Then press the "Buscar" (Search) button

You will get a listing of all H-Ds for sale in Spain. Here H-Ds are quite expensive and the market is small (more or less like old Prosches)

LakeCleElum · 03-25-2008, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeder

I'll start a separate thread, but does anyone on the continent know the current prices for a particular used Harley Davidson in their location? Are they in demand? TIA.

I knew guys that shipped Harleys to Europe on a regualr basis in the mid-90's, rode for a few weeks and sold them for enough to pay for their trip.....At least 7 or 8 years ago, the market changed for them, no buyers and they ended up shipping back home.

You can't compare the price of an HD here vs. what one cost there. There are huge costs involved: Shipping - Registration - Duty - Changing lights, maybe exhaust depending on the country, etc. Many European countries have very strict vehicle inspections and catch all this stuff.

Hugh R · 03-25-2008, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phred68

Hugh, that is a great story. How cool would it be to take the bike back there and have a run yourself?

It would be cool, but I can't justify the dinero for that. What I may do is take the bike one day to El Mirage dry lake bed (California( where they run the land speed record mile runs. I could run at any speed and I'm pretty sure that I'd have the land speed record for a Rudge. They've never run one at Bonneville Dry Salt Lake or at El Mirage. Imagine, I could do the mile at 30 mph and I'd own the record! I'd probably go balls out though, you know maybe 60 or 70 if I got jazzed.

Bikeadventures · 11-20-2014, 12:29 PM

You are correct in that there will be required paperwork and import taxes. Basically, it just comes down to finding a company that ships internationally, which quite a few of them do. Make sure they are actually an experienced overseas transporter though--just putting "international" on a website isn't enough. It can be a complicated and time-consuming process and you want to make sure you're dealing with an expert. I've heard good things about A-1 Auto Transport, both in terms of price and service, if anyone needs a recommendation.