Shipments done by Travellers

For those of you shipping from BA to Seattle or anywhere else...if you're shipping with Hellman they're Hell to deal with. I shipped my bike from BA
to Seattle in August of 2003 and it was a very complicated process.

We ended up arriving on a Thursday, haggling with them all day Friday with the help of a local Argentine friend who spent hours on the phone arguing with them over the shipping cost. Our flight left on Monday night and we ended up leaving the bike in one of the local garages, arranged a local company to ship it to the airport where it would arrive on tuesday (We couldn't ship the bike on Monday because it was a holiday). I would suggest that you beware of the following when dealing with Hellman.

-Get a PRINTED quote, not just an over the phone quote.

We received a quote from the seattle office for about $900 US max, got to the BA office and got a quote for $1200 max. They denied any prior notice/contact by the seattle office and all efforts to have them honor the "seattle phone quote" were fruitless.

Final price: $1800 upon arrival in Seattle. The BA office charges the Seattle office and by that time you can't do anything about it.

-The BA office lied to us (myself, Andrea(my BA friend), and Jim (who i was traveling with))

-The Seattle office also lied to us. They tried to play the hero but they too were up to their necks in empty efforts to "try" and resolve the issue.

-ARRIVE EARLY

-TRY AND SHIP WITH ANOTHER COMPANY

I have no idea what options are out there but if you have time and some connections (locals that can vehemently argue over the phone) do some research when you get to the city... you could save yourself $500-1000.

Good luck, you'll need all the help you can get.

Regards, Steve

The motorcycle was shipped by Uzbekistan Airways on Thursday, August 14 th 2003. They have two flights per week from Rome to Tashkent, Monday and Thursday, but only the Thursday flight could manage our BMW. The flight lasts about 6 hours from Rome.
Shipping was handled by New Transport in Rome Email , phone: 06 6501 0533), a small, efficient company that looked after crating, loading and all customs formalities. They need the bike at their office in the Fiumicino Airport in Rome some days before the shipment. I delivered our BMW three days before departure, having drained the tank, disconnected the battery, and deflated the tires to 50% pressure. Technically, all liquids (oils and brake fluids) should be drained, and I removed the rear mirrors and windshield.
I loaded the BMW, locking our possessions in the side bags, and securing our helmets with antitheft chains. We saved space traveling in our riding clothes and boots, with carry-on baggage only. It

After two days traveling in Turkmenistan (we stopped for the night in Mary and Ashgabat), we finally reached Turkmenbashi. The boat to Baku leaves from there for the crossing of the Caspian Sea, the only option we had, as the Iranian embassy in Italy couldn

This is a tough call. AAE get minus 5, Emirates and Skylink in Amsterdam get Plus 5. EMIRATES delivered the bike on time and exactly the same as it was sent. My concern lies with Australian Air Cargo. One week prior to leaving I was quoted 1650AUD to ship the bike without a crate, I rode the bike to the company to get the quote. Two days before leaving myself I rang to organise delivering the bike to them and was told it must be crated. This left me very little time to find and organise a crate. I was also told the quote was wrong and it would cost about 2500AUD. It was cheaper to buy 500kgs when the volumetric weight of a BMW Factory crate is 435Kgs. 400KG rate 5.50AUDper kilo. 500Kg rate 4.35AUD per Kilo. The cost of freighting was 2330AUD plus 115 Euro at Schipol in Amsterdam to collect the bike. Skylink the Emirates agents let me dispose of the crate in their bin, and assemble the bike outside of the warehouse.

Shipped two motorcycles (BMW R100GS and F650ST)

Air Canada Cargo personnel helped with filling out Dangerous Goods form (did not have to get a specialist to do it for a fee).

Only needed to disconnect battery on F650 because it was an ordinary battery. Dry cell on GS was OK. Quite concerned about fuel load (must be less than 1/4 tank) as we were asked this several times.

Upon pickup we had to go to Canada Customs (quite far removed from the airport) where we were told the bikes may need to be steam cleaned if Agriculture Canada required it. In the end it was not required but could have delayed pick up of the bikes by a week.

Note that this shipment was done more by volume than weight. We paid for an entire box. As opposed to the flight to Frankfurt which was by weight. Now we loaded everything onto the bikes and just flew home (after a year long trip) with just a carry-on back pack.