Shipments done by Travellers

Advantage : no crate!

Just a ride to the airport and deliver your bike.

My motorbike was weighted and I put it together with them in a metal 'can'. You have to insist to have your bike transported WITHOUT crate. I contacted several freighters/airlines and they were the only one whom wanted to do this without crate. (QANTAS : not helpful and very unfriendly)

They used THAI AIRWAYS Intl. (pictures available if necessary)

Weight : 236 kg
Price : 2,00 NZ$/kg
=> 472 NZ$+145NZ$ documentation = 617NZ$ (+-300 euro)

Had my motorbike flown 1 day before I was flying (Qantas, was included in my year ticket). Arrived in Sydney in the morning, 8 o'clock, at 14h I had my motorbike and papers customs were arranged and bike was cleaned.

Costs at arrival in Sydney :

1) freighter Patrick Air Services: 79,42 AU$(+-45 euro)
2) AQIS (quarantane and inspection service!!)
these were assholes!! so ALWAYS count on a cleaning and re-inspection, if not you are VERY LUCKY!

-normal inspection(you always pay):85 AU$(45 euro)
-re-inspection : 35 AU$

in case of cleaning : (I payed but variable)
- transport to the cleaning center: 50 AU$
- cleaning itself: 165 AU$

cleaning company: Smith Bros but DON't USE THEM! The cleaning is ridiculous, bike was more dirty then it arrived! Unfortunatly didn't have videocamera to tape this

3)to be able to get an insurance you need to have your motorbike inspected by an official garage which can deliver you a 'pink inspection document' that your motorbike is roadworthy. Price don't know anymore. With that pink document you need to go to the RTA (Road Traffic Authority) to get your RTA-permit, which costed me for 4 months : 175 AU$ (that is your third party insurance you officialy have to have to be able to ride your bike in Australia).

4)with that document you can get a 'Third Party Property insurance', not many companies, almost none, will insurance foreign vehicles. After long search I found one, via Kings Cross Car Park Pty Ltd whom are the 'representers'. You can't contact them directly but I give them anyway and you can give it a try.

Insurance company Lumly General, Lumley House, 309 Kent Street, level 9, Sydney NSW 2000. Tel. (09)9248 1111, fax (09) 9248 1122. I payed 240 AU$ for 4 months.

As soon as you have all this...you can start driving.

The contact person speaks very good english and as a matter of fact half english. He was recommnedded to me by the staff of turkish embassy and i wasnt displeased by his services except my motorcycle arrived almost 20 days late then he stated.

The price was inclusive of box, his fee and all the other expenses. It was the turn-key price and we also didnt disconnect the battery, discharge the anti freeze or the oil.

We contacted Graham and he managed to get the price down from 2.53 NZD/kg (500++) to 2.05 NZD/kg.

No crating, no bike stripping. Bikes rolled on pallet and disconnect battery

The costs: For 2 motorcycles

Paid in Auckland:
Air freight 588kg x 2.05 NZD/kg = NZD 1205.00
Documentation fee = NZD 90.00
Dangerous goods = NZD 85.00
TOTAL costs paid at Green Freight = NZD 1380.00 (~USD 690.00)

Paid in Brisbane: Patrick Air Services (agent for Thai & Cathay) Chloris Street (between Domestic & Inter. terminal) Tel: +61-7-36244408 GPS: S27.23.533 E153.06.944

Document fee = AUD 25.00
Terminal fees 588 kg x 0.20 AUD/kg = AUD 117.60
SUB-TOTAL = AUD 142.60 GST (10%) = AUD 14.26
TOTAL = AUD 156.86 (~USD 90.00)

The Customs building is about half hour walking from Patrick Air Services each way! We were really surprised that we didn't have any Quarantine Inspection nor Road Safety Test. We didn't ask about this either! Quarantine probably isn't necessary because we were coming from New Zealand. Even at Patrick Air Services they were surprised about this.

When I first looked at shipping my bike from Quito to Panama I went in search of El Porvenir as recommend by previous contributors. However their address is now occupied by a company called Eldorado Air Cargo, and they were not at all interested in shipping a bike to Panama.

A couple of hours of asking around the cargo companies in the area, eventually unearthed Panavia at the above address. They quoted a rate of US 456 and said the bike would fly Saturday (first contact was Thursday) and arrive Panama the same evening.

I dropped the bike off the following day and we took it over to the Air France Cargo bay, where it was loaded on a steel Pallet. I had to disconnect the battery, let the tires down to about 15 psi and swear that the fuel was empty, (there was maybe a litre left). Nobody in the office spoke English and my Spanish is really poor, but everything still got done with a minimum of hassle.

There was a fairly farcical hour or two early on Saturday morning spent with a drunken customs agent as we went and woke up sleeping customs officials in order to get the Carnet stamped, but it all added to the fun. I did not get to see them tie the bike down but it arrived intact at the far end the only thing missing was an empty 5 litre petrol can that I had left tied to the bike.

The bike did fly Saturday but it was Tuesday night before it arrived in Panama, having been delayed in Bogota, which was frustrating, particularly as no one on the Panama end seemed all that sure when it would actually arrive.

Clearing the bike with a carnet took less than an hour and cost US 25. There is a petrol station about half a mile from the cargo area where you can get fuel and Air, it is the last one for about 20km. The Cargo terminals are about 8km from the main terminal around the perimeter of the airport.

The Panavia office is number 8 in the Copadesa building at the cargo terminal to the left of the customs building. Apart from the 2 day delay in getting the bike everything went surprisingly smoothly.

It was a very simple job, we just told him when we wanted to go and his carpenter measured up the bike and on the day had it ready. It took about 2.5 hours to do everything. 4-5 days for everything.

Front wheel was removed also handlebars and front screen. fuel drained, battery disconnected and tyre deflated

under 500kg 1.37$ per kg over 1.07$ 0.07 $ per kg ins
airway bill $2
dangerous goods $20
box l 77'* b 26' * h 46' = 92092 divide by 366 (6000 for cms)= 251.6 for volume weight. actual weight =280 so larger weight used so 280 * 1.37+.07 = 403 $ +2+20 =425 $ the rest was his and the carpenters fees.

All in all it went smooth until Bangkok when it took eight hours to get the bike, moving from office to office and no one having a clue, I was wondering if it was ever done before. happy shipping, Seamus