Shipments done by Travellers

This was the best experience I could have imagined. I was shipping a Ural motorcycle sidecar so it was considered a small car for freight shipping and would have cost $2,000+ and a 5-12 week delivery timeline. Instead I shipped the bike on the same plane with me for even less with Air Transat. Carrie handled all the paperwork and details and sent me over final copies that I needed to print in color. Because the bike is a sidecar, the only route available for me was Montreal to Paris which worked great. I believe motorcycles have more options but in North America, you must use Canada instead of USA if you want to ship it easily as dangerous goods.

At the airport, I got there ~12 hours early to the cargo department and handed them my paperwork. Everything Carrie prepared was there and properly filled out. I was told beforehand I wouldn't be able to have any items on the bike so I brought cardboard boxes to ship my personal bags / gear in with the bike (this cost roughly an additional $150). However, the guys at the cargo drop off didn't seem to care that I left all 3 of my empty jerry cans and mounts on the bike even though the airline states they must be removed. All I had to do was have < 1 gallon of gas and disconnect my battery and tape the terminals. They wheeled the bike onto a pallet (more of a large sheet of plywood than a traditional wooden pallet) and we strapped the bike down secure. 

Upon arrival, the bike came to the cargo station a couple hours after I touched down. I paid the import taxes which were ~$120 for the bike and another ~$120 for my personal cargo. I was happy to see the bike seemed to be well taken care of and in good shape. I connected the battery, packed the bike and took off! I was nervous about the 1 gallon gas limit so I had about 1/10 of a gallon and sure enough ran out of gas a few miles from the airport haha. 

Veronica and the team at the Bogota end were great; prompt and clear responses at any time even the weekend, friendly service with hotel pick up and coffee. They knew the process well. She did everything possible to help with the problems detailed below and paid for the damage to the bike.

At the Lima end, Roberto from DPW logistics was unacceptable. He lied on timings, would not give clear explanations even when deviating from what he had previously stated, and seemed totally disinterested. It was like they had never done it before; the most entertaining example was not considering a method for getting the motorbike in its crate out of the truck!

When removing the bike from the crate there were a number of breakages, including indicators and pannier locks. The Lima agents couldn't care less and refused to talk about it, while Bogota were horrified and promptly paid for repairs.

Overall a painful, drawn out and expensive process. I would avoid this leg which was forced by the mental air borders but no land borders covid nonsense, but recommend Cargo rider for other movements.

This was the cheapest and fastest RORO service I found from US to Europe post Covid.  About $1200 with all the extra little fees and insurance.