Costs to Ship a Motorcycle: How to Get the Best Prices

Relocating to a new place isn’t easy. Moving costs time and a lot of money. If you need to ship your motorcycle to your new home, it’s understandable that you’d have a lot of questions regarding how much it will cost. If you want to transfer ownership of a bike and ship it to someone, knowing how much the cost of transporting the bike will be is a crucial thing to consider. Here at Cheap Motorcycle Shipping, one of our primary goals is to offer the most affordable and competitive prices for our valued customers. So, what will it cost to ship your bike? That depends on many factors. Armed with information, you’ll be able to make an informed decision and get the best prices for your motorcycle shipping needs.

Costs to Ship a Motorcycle: How to Get the Best Prices

Motorcycle Shipping Prices: The Basics

The quickest and easiest way to get an idea of what your transportation costs will be is to use an online shipping calculator. On our website, we offer a quote for both domestic and international shipping prices. When you call us, we can walk you through the process of scheduling pick up and drop off times and locations for more accurate, detailed quoting.

Getting a price range for motorcycle shipping can make your relocation process easier and give you room to budget with a reasonable degree of accuracy. The average costs to ship a motorcycle are:

Many factors are at play when it comes to calculating shipping costs. But on average, a shorter trip will cost about 200 to 300 dollars and are typically billed at a flat rate. Moves that are 1000 miles are more can run anywhere from 350 to 700 dollars, and are usually calculated on a per-mile basis. A general rule of thumb when it comes to motorcycle shipping prices is that trips of around 1000 miles will cost fifty cents a mile to ship a bike. For example, it’s roughly 1000 miles from New York to Florida. When you ship outside the lower 48 states, it will cost you more. So if you wanted to send a motorcycle to Hawaii or Alaska, you might pay over 1000 dollars.

Motorcycle Shipping Costs: Additional Factors

Size and Weight

The size and weight of your bike will be considered when you call us for a quote. On average, you can expect to pay fifty cents per pound. The reason why size and weight factor into the final price of transporting a bike is because many insurance costs are calculated by weight. A lightweight motorcycle won’t cost as much to carry or insure as a heavier, Harley-Davidson motorcycle. If you have a bulkier bike, be prepared to pay higher shipping costs.

A larger bike requires several things, not just insurance. They require more ties when secured inside a tractor-trailer or crate. When crated, a bigger bike will need a larger shipping container, which will cost more. Specialized packing materials are necessary for bulkier bikes are also required for shipping.

Distance

The distance you’ll be shipping your motorcycle is probably the most significant factor when it comes to price calculation. The closer the distance to the shipping company, the cheaper your price will be. The opposite is also true. Another thing you’ll want to consider when it comes to distance is how close the pick-up and drop-off locations are to major highways. If you have to ship your bike to a remote area that’s far from a major road, your costs will be higher. Hard-to-reach rendezvous points may also result in additional charges.

When you contact a shipping company for a quote, you’ll want to ask about their rates for remote pick-up and drop-off specifically. Knowing this information beforehand can help you stay within budget.

Size and Weight

A good rule-of-thumb to remember for shipping motorcycles is that the more urban, the cheaper the rates. For door-to-door services, remote pick-ups and drop-offs will cost you more.

Seasonal Patterns

The time of year you want to ship your motorcycle will impact the final cost of the shipment. However, this is probably one of the least impactful components on the list. If you want to ship your bike during the winter long-distance in enclosed shipping, then it’s going to cost more than if you’d shipped the motorcycle in the summer. Winter weather patterns increase the demand for closed shipping, even for short distances. You may end up paying as much as 100 dollars more to ship your bike based on seasonal patterns and demands.

Type of Delivery

Door-to-door services tend to be less expensive than other pick-up and drop-off services. Customers who can have their bike loaded and unloaded in a spacious area that is free from obstructions will pay less for door-to-door service. If the place you’ve scheduled for pick-up and drop-off is obstructed with cable lines, you may have to pay an extra fee when the transportation company has to go a farther distance to load or unload the bike safely.

Open or Closed Transportation

The way your bike is shipped will also factor into the final price of the job. Here at Cheap Motorcycle Shipping, we offer open, crate, and container shipping options. Open shipping options mean your bike will be secured in an open crate, and it will be exposed to the elements. This is a viable option for shorter distance travel. Open containers are also less costly because you simply won’t need to use as many shipping materials.

Shipping your bike in a crate is better for longer distances, where changes in weather patterns and road conditions are a factor. However, needing a closed wooden or metal crate will increase your overall shipping costs. You’ll also need more packing materials for the crate shipment to keep your bike safe from scratches, dings, and other damages. When shipping in a container, your costs will also be more than in an open shipment.

For most of our customers, open shipment works best because they aren’t shipping coast-to-coast or internationally. But if you’re shipping long distances, or you want to send a luxury or vintage model, we highly recommended one of our closed shipping services. An enclosed carrier will keep your luxury or vintage bike from getting damaged and will protect its condition from the elements.

Your Motorcycle Shipping Quote

At Cheap Motorcycle Shipping, we aim to give our customers accurate and detailed quotes. When you contact us, our quotes will cover all of these factors. You’ll have a precise picture of what you’ll be paying when you ship your bike with Cheap Motorcycle Shipping. Our quotes include:

Exact locations for pick-up and drop off

Precise dates for loading and unloading

How the bike will be transported (open or enclosed)

Costs of insurance

Costs of transit

Taxes where applicable

We offer some of the most competitive rates in the industry. Ready to ship your bike? Contact us today, and let’s start the conversation.