Ship, Rent or Buy your Motorcycle
In my opinion there are usually three options available to the motorcycle adventure rider.
1) Ship your own motorbike to the destination start point.
2) Rent a motorbike at the destination start point.
3) Buy a motorbike at the destination start point.
All three options have their own advantages and disadvantages. Again, I think the option you take will be depended on your personal "do / pay ratio". I read a lot of information in books and motorcycle forums on this subject and I decided to buy a bike here, prepare it for the trip here, learn how to maintain it here, ship it to my destination start point and then ship it home again at the end of my trip. I was not confident in my ability to buy a reliable bike out there and prepare it for the trip.
1) Shipping your own Motorcycle to the Destination Start Point
Advantages
- You know the motorbike you're going to do your adventure on. You can get a feel of it and understand how it runs/rides.
- You can learn how to maintain that particular motorbike and improve areas or components that you don't like.
- You can prepare your bike for the trip with all the resources available to you at home and in your own language.
- You can check that all your equipment fits on the motorcycle and it still runs well when fully loaded.
- You are less likely to have problems crossing boarders with your own (temporarily imported motorbike) than one you bought in a neighbouring country out there.
- You know you are going to be getting a motorbike and when it arrives (Finding the one you want out there may take a while.)
Disadvantages
- Shipping a motorbike by sea or air costs quite a bit of money.
- It might be cheaper to buy and equip a motorbike for the trip at your destination start point than at home.
- You might have trouble getting your motorcycle through customs at your destination start point (costing time and money).
- You may have to buy a Carnet de Passage en Douane for your bike. This can run to thousands or pounds.
- It is unlikely that you will be able to insure the motorbike for your journey. This generally depends on how far you are going from your home country. (e.g. from the UK I could probably get motorcycle insurance for a tour of Europe but not for Central America.)
To ship by sea or air?
Sea freight is cheaper than air freight. In my experience it was about 40% cheaper for the route from the UK to USA (San Diego). However, I chose to ship my motorbike by air freight for two reasons.
1) Airfreight takes 7 days and they could guarantee the arrival date of the motorbike in San Diego. Seafreight takes between 4 and 8 weeks (depending on load and conditions at sea). The relative size (and therefore importance of it as cargo) of a motorbike compared to the carrier (plane / container ship) should also be taken into account. I read horror stories of ships being diverted to different continents to collect cargo on-route, resulting in a motorbike turning up 8 weeks late to the destination start point.
2) I also read that getting a motorbike (or anything for that matter) off a plane and through customs is generally easier and cheaper than getting it off a ship! This is anecdotal of course but I heard that things go missing and you may be more likely to pay bribes in docks (depending on the receiving country).
There are a lot of freight forwarders out there. I suggest going for one that specialises in shipping motorbikes. They can crate the bike for you and help with the paperwork at the other end. After searching on Google and Motorcycle Touring forums I asked the list below to quote for me.
2) Renting a Motorbike at your Destination Start Point
Advantages
- There is no shipping cost.
- You don't have to prepare the bike. Hopefully the rental company will have set the bike up for the intended purpose.
- The rental company may be able to sort out all your motorcycle insurance for you.
- The rental company may provide a recovery and maintenance service.
- You may be able to collect the rental motorbike in one place and drop it off in another. (e.g. Collect the motorbike in Washington and drop it off in Los Angeles.)
Disadvantages
- You don't know the bike you'll be riding.
- You may not have knowledge of maintenance of that particular motorbike.
- Estimating what you need to take and packing the motorcycle will be harder when it is not in front of you.
- You may be restricted on where you can take the bike and what you can do with it.
- Border crossing could be more difficult that if you were riding your own, as customs officials will want to see ownership documents, etc.
3) Buying a Motorbike at your Destination Start Point
This seems to be rather a popular option on the motorcycle touring forums I have read. If you know what you're doing and are confident in your ability to buy a good bike then this could be the most economical.
Advantages
- There is no shipping cost.
- There is no shipping hassle or risk of your motorbike being lost or delayed.
- It might be cheaper to buy and equip a motorbike for the trip at your destination start point than at home.
Disadvantages
- You can't be sure what sort of motorbike you're going to be able to find.
- You don't know how long it will take to find the motorcycle you want.
- Local sales processes for motorbikes at your destination start point may be unfamiliar to you.
- Language barriers might make the purchase difficult.
- Unscrupulous salespeople might be looking to rip-off the tourist looking for a local motorbike.
- You may not be allowed to purchase a motorbike because you are a temporary visitor.
- Crossing borders may be more difficult because customs are wondering you are trying to come into their country on a motorbike you bought in a neighbouring country. (e.g. I know that you can't buy a bike in Argentina and ride it over the border into Brazil).