Ship my bike to Europe, or rent one when I'm there?

[Rogero]

hi folks,

I'm planning a ~3 week road trip across Europe next summer - and the rentals are pretty steep (like 1500-3000 Euros depending on the bike), so I got wondering if I can ship my bike over there (and back) for less. I plan to have my bike for years and years, and it'd be pretty cool if it toured Europe and North America with me over those years.

I have no idea if it's a good idea to ship a bike across the sea twice though. Anybody have experiences with either shipping or renting? The rates seem to be wayyyyy lower in the poorer countries ... so far Poland is the best, and you can take the bikes across Europe too. I'm not good with a wrench though, so a bit worried about the bike sputtering out somewhere in the alps and being hosed.

Anyway - all comments are well appreciated.

thx
r

[RhadamYgg]

Well, I don't know about rates - a quick search of the web should turn something up, but I would check on the legality of running a US model on European roads. Unfortunately, the US and European standards do not match up and a bike that is legal to ride here may not be legal there - and the other way around.

If the laws matched up - there are a load of European bikes I'd love to ride here in the states.

[ceemes]

I looked into shipping my bike to the UK from Vancouver BC, cost around C$1000 each way, including the prep work, ie draining all the fluids and crating it up. Another cost you have to look at is insurance, your Ontario insurance most likely will not be valid in Europe and you will have to buy additional short term insurance for your bike. Although pricey, I found that if you were going for an extended trip of two or more weeks, it was cheaper then renting. Plus you have the additional benefit of having a bike you know under you rather then having to learning the handling of a new one.


The company I use to work for had car shipping division called SeaRail, give them a call and see what they have to say.

[RhadamYgg]

You know it must be easier than I am thinking. When I was in the military some of the guys got shipped overseas. If they brought a car with them (up to 2 cars) they could come back with up to 2 cars. Apparently, a lot of the guys would bring over junk and sell it, and then buy Mercedes (which apparently is cheaper in Germany - so this guy I was yakking to was going over to Germany) and bring them back to the US.

[paul246]

Companies such as Motorcyle Express will prep and crate your bike so that it can fly across on the same plane you fly on, enabling you to ride your bike out of the airport, same for the return flight. It isn't cheap, though.

Another possible option is purchasing a used bike when you get there. A cheap bike could be sold off quickly for next to nothing or surrendered to a wrecker when you're finished with it. Time to do some research to see if the country you are beginning your trip from allows such a scheme. I know Europeans do just such a thing when they come to Canada.

You could also arrange to have your bike disassembled into easily shippable components and have a shop overseas reassemble/disaassemble the bike for you. That way you could ship it across yourself in more manageable containers.

Personally, I would just rent something I know I would be happy with and eat the cost.

[ceemes]

Companies such as Motorcyle Express will prep and crate your bike so that it can fly across on the same plane you fly on, enabling you to ride your bike out of the airport, same for the return flight. It isn't cheap, though.

Another possible option is purchasing a used bike when you get there. A cheap bike could be sold off quickly for next to nothing or surrendered to a wrecker when you're finished with it. Time to do some research to see if the country you are beginning your trip from allows such a scheme. I know Europeans do just such a thing when they come to Canada.

You could also arrange to have your bike disassembled into easily shippable components and have a shop overseas reassemble/disaassemble the bike for you. That way you could ship it across yourself in more manageable containers.

Personally, I would just rent something I know I would be happy with and eat the cost.

Trouble with rentals, is you have no idea how well they have been maintained nor how badly beaten upon they have been by the previous renters. There is an old joke about rental cars, about how they need less engine oil, can run at higher revs, and can defile the laws of physics compared to the car you actually own. Can't help but wonder if the same mentality holds true with rental bikes. I know the bike I almost rented during my trip to the Philippines scared the hell out of me, and it was only a 125CC.

[paul246]

Another option. Ride your bike to Halifax and ask around the dockyards about getting you and your bike aboard a freighter. For a few bucks I'm sure one could get their bike secured to a bulkhead and you might even be able to work your way across.

[ceemes]

Another option. Ride your bike to Halifax and ask around the dockyards about getting you and your bike aboard a freighter. For a few bucks I'm sure one could get their bike secured to a bulkhead and you might even be able to work your way across.

Don't think that is really an option anymore these days what with heightened security and the like. The majority of general freight goes via containers these days and these are sealed at the point of shipping unless opened and inspected by Customs after which they are resealed. Bulk carriers carry exactly that, commodity's in bulk.

Also, all ships must list their cargo on their shipping manifest, which is also used by various maritime nations customs departments for taxation/duty purposes and to flag certain vessels or cargo's for detention/inspection. I had a container of home furnishing samples held by Canada Customs for inspection once. Took six weeks to get it off the dock, inspected, returned to the dock and finally released. In the meantime, we racked up container demurage charges and terminal storage charges, then to add insult to injury, Canada Customs charged a few grand for the inspection, cost my client a pretty penny in additional charges and a lot of lost sales because they missed the Expo the freight was earmarked for. Ships are no longer allowed to add additional cargo at the last minute, even if its your bike strapped down to a bulkhead or even out on deck, which is not a good idea for very obvious reasons.

As for working your passage, that is not even remotely possible given with legitimate shipping lines and cargo vessels. All ship bourne workers usually belong to the Maritimer's Union and are required to have some form of qualification before being allowed to ship out. Even the lowest deckhand from a 3rd world nation who is being paid what we would consider a pittance has to have minimal training and qualifications along with his papers. The days of a landsman simple walking aboard a ship in order to work his passage or to get some OJT are long gone. Even more so given our almost ana retentive fixation on "Security". In fact, try getting on to the docks of a major Port these days, it almost as hard as getting onto a runway of a major international airport. Security is the buzz word of the day.

About the only way this could work is if you luck out and find a deep sea trawler or fishing boat in harbour that is in for either resupply or repairs. They might just accept a nOOb as an unqualified hand and allow him to stick his bike on deck and work his passage. However, the odds are it will take a long time before you reach your destination and even then, you could well end up somewhere you dont want go, coz the catch had been sold to some other place.