Shipments done by Travellers

Reports that freighting a motorcycle from Bali to Australia would be an expensive exercise were true. We tried several avenues, sea freight and airfreight from a number of companies but as there is virtually only one air carrier ie. Qantas to Darwin the options were limited.

Sea freight takes time and we prefer to travel rather than sitting. Airfreight was the best option as the alternate was almost the same cost.

Originally we were quoted US$2.14 per kg but reducing the size of the bike ie. Wheels, fairing and top box removed thus dropping the volumetric weight below 300kg placed us in a more expensive bracket of US$2.49 per kg. Our agent FAILED to tell us this and we were very annoyed when the cost increased by almost US$100.

The bike was dismantled at the cargo terminal and lashed to a wooden pallet then placed on an aluminum transport plate. No crating was required and the bike was covered in plastic and taped. Petrol was removed, battery terminals taped. The bike was cleaned by us prior to departure as Australian quarantine laws are very tough.

Freight details:
Actual bike weight 225kg
Volumetric weight (V.M.)
L 199cm x H 96cm x W 83cm = 1,585,632 divided by 6,000 = 264kg
V.M. 264kg x US$2.49 = US$657.36
Custom clearance US$ 5.00
Air way bill US$ 1.00
Dangerous goods fee US$ 40.00
Handling fee US$0.10 per kg x 264kg = US$ 26.40
Packing US$ 10.00
TOTAL US$739.76

In Australia:
Australian air Express - Darwin Airport
Document fee AUS$24.90
Import delivery fees AUS$33.55
GST (tax) AUS$ 5.85
TOTAL AUS$64.30

Quarantine Inspection fee AUS$80.00

All officials in Indonesia and Australia were pleasant and helpful. The bike was required at the cargo terminal at Denpasar Airport the day before the flight. It flew from Bali via Singapore to Darwin and arrived the same morning as our flight. Waiting for the quarantine officer to arrive to inspect the bike took the longest (2pm) as they were short staffed on the day we arrived. Once that was completed we were able to put the bike back together and ride off by 4pm.

Hope this will be of some help to others. Ken and Carol Duval

We went to Aqua Travels and we were told the rate was about 50 INR/kg but he was not really sure about this price and additional costs. Asking around learned us that Air India was the cheapest at 35 INR/kg and we were told they charge per kg only.

When we delivered the 3 bikes on Saturday we were told they charge volumic kg as well but didn't need crates. We measured the bikes when the steers and front wheels would be removed and this volume came below the actual weight for all 3 bikes so they charged us finally per actual kg.

All the payments have to be made at the airport so I'll advise to skip the agent and go straight to the airport.

Air India fly on tuesday and friday to Bangkok.

The costs:Rate bikes:
Cargo 732kg x 35 INR/kg = INR 25620
Fuel surcharge 732kg x 1.5 INR/kg = INR 1098
Airwaybill = INR 150
Documentation fee = INR 300
Dangerous goods USD 75 (per shipment) = INR 3375
Total paid to Air India = INR 30543 (= USD 650)

Cust. handl. dang. goods 732kg x 1.22 INR/kg = INR 893 (= USD 19)

In Bangkok
> Delivery order fee 200 Baht
> Storage fee (dangerous import) 937 Baht
> Terminal charge (Dangerous import) 732 Baht
> Sub total 1869 Baht
> 7% VAT 131 Baht
> Total 2000 Baht (= USD 44)

Shipping all bikes on one AWB saves money as eg. the dangerous goods surcharge is charged per shipment. We only faced huge problems when picking up the bikes in Bangkok as the shipment was on 1 name and the carnets on 3 different names. (Others had no problem with this in Bangkok at all!) But this is easy to overcome when all names are mentioned on the Airway bill!

We flew with Indian Airlines a couple of hours after the bikes and walked straight to the cargo building after arrival (8am). Loads of paperwork (worse than India!!!) and we rolled the bikes out the depot at 4.15pm.

"I finally used South Africa Airlines Cargo, on the Cape Town number that you provided. It was easier and cheaper to use them that any other shipping company (and the bike was in London in two days).

They charged 23.78 (

I shipped my bike from Surabaya Indonesia, to Durban South Africa. I originally started organising it from Bali, but you should note that there are only two international sea shipping ports in Indonesia, Jakarta, and Surabaya. From anywhere else, you have to pay road shipping to these ports, and you will be dealing with a sub-agent who also takes a commission. My quote from Bali was about US$400, including crating and road freight. I ended up going direct to Surabaya, and paid US$270. It meant a bit of backtracking, so others may not consider it worthwhile. I had a few days to kill waiting for a flight, so I did it.

I rate them excellent. I had no trouble at all. Note too that they need 3 working days after it is crated to get the clearance from customs, so you can't get your carnet back straight away. They will post it on for you if you trust the Indonesian postal system.

On arrival in Durban, I had to pay another US$250 just to get the bike from the agent. There were an agent fee, clearance fees, and the most significant was a wharfage fee which is worked out by the value of the bike. I wasn't aware of this, and the value they used was what was on my carnet, which is it's new value. When talking to the clearance agent, make him aware that the value of the bike is now something significantly lower.

It may be worthwhile looking into flying the bike. Usually airport clearances are easier, you can clear them yourself, and there are no wharfage fees. It probably would have worked out cheaper for me to fly it.

I haven't actually shipped with Robbie, but was all set to buy a bike in LA, and have it shipped to me here in NZ (Registration/Carnet issues). Robbie even test road one bike for me in LA, and send me a full report with photos. I was about to buy the bike, but the owner flaked out (in the end, I got a
bike here in NZ). Robbie is a biker, and a really good guy.

Robbie lives in Dunedin, and imports cars/boats from the USA. Every 2-3 weeks, he imports a container. The bike is put in a corner of the container, and strapped down. You should be able to pick up the bike 3 weeks after boat leaves, but Robbie says there's always a chance it could take an extra week (sometimes the ships get delayed).

His price is NZ$600 (about US$270) for a normal size bike. He would charge NZ$800 for a bigger bike (K1200LT or Gold Wing). Price includes all charges at both ports.