Although you may dream of riding your motorcycle everywhere, unfortunately, that’s not always the reality of a situation. If you want to go for that dream ride overseas, or just simply don’t have the vacation time to drive it across the country, you will need to hire a transport company. Before you pick up the phone to call the first one you find online, there are some important factors you should consider first.
Cheaper Isn’t Always Better
You’re talking about your prized ride. You don’t want to leave it in the hands of a worker who is frantically overworked. You want to ensure the person you are hiring has the care you do when it comes to your bike.
When you opt for the cheaper companies they typically will switch transport trucks along the way. This means your bike will be loaded and unloaded, creating more of a chance for damage to occur. Secondly, another driver will be taking over the load that you have never met.
Prepare Your Bike Correctly
When a shipment company gets the order to pick up your bike, they will require that you drain the fluids from it. This will ensure that your bike doesn’t leak any fluid on the carrier’s equipment during transportation.
In addition, you will want to deflate a little bit of air out of the tires so the transport company can better stabilize the bike during the shipping process. You should secure all saddle bags that are not able to be removed. Fold in your mirrors and any other parts to ensure they don’t get hung up or damaged during the shipping process.
Do An Inventory
Most reputable companies will require that an inventory is filled out when you ship your motorcycle. This will take place when the company comes to your home to pick up the bike and when the company meets you at your destination to unload the bike.
This inventory sheet should be filled out by you and the transport driver. It will include a walk around of the current damages to the bike, a description of the make and model, as well as any extra components on the bike.
You will typically be required to sign the paper along with the transport driver stating that you both agreed on the current inventory sheet that was done. You should be given a copy of the inventory sheet for your records. You’ll complete another inventory when your bike arrives so you can see if there has been any additional damage to the bike during the transportation process.
Understand What Shipping Method Will Be Used
Will your bike be shipped via crate in an enclosed truck? Or, will be it strapped down onto a rollback or other truck that will leave it open to the environmental conditions? Depending on the quality of your bike, you may want to ensure it gets shipped via a certain way to decrease the possibility of potential damage during transport.