Shipping a motorcycle/car from Singapore->USA

[pressman_g]

Hi,

My tour of duty in Singapore looks to be coming to a close and I am thinking about shipping my motorcycle back to the United States (because the offers to buy the bike are ridiculously low). Does anyone have experience with a auto freight forwarder here in Singapore?

thank you for your help,

wei

[Strong Eagle]

What are you trying to sell/ship?

If I recall it will by in the US$ 2,000 range to ship.

[pressman_g]

Hi Strong Eagle. Thanks for your reply. Im trying to ship my new Honda Shadow Motorcycle. Its a 750cc about 500 lbs. Shipping it is a last resort... but making no progress trying to sell it.

[Strong Eagle]

I presume you have been to Singapore Bike Forums Classifieds (http://www.singaporebikes.com/classifieds/) and Adpost (http://www.adpost.com/sg/?db=sg_vehicle ... ery=browse)

or http://www.adpost.com/sg/vehicles/ if that doesn't work? I've not seen your bike there (I'm looking for a 250 cc Nighthawk or Rebel).

It will take a while to sell a 750 cc bike, mainly because there are few class 2 license holders. You might also post a note or two in the Cruisers forum in Singapore Bike Forums (http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/). That is where all the big bike riders tend to hang out.

The way I see it you end up in the same place if you ship or fire sale it... which means it will go fast. Either way you lose a couple of grand.

[sierra2469alpha]

Pressman - possibly another option for you is to backload it on a container that's already going. I haven't done this from SIN, but have mates who did the same thing in other countries when they relocated. They contacted local shipping companies to ask for capacity to the ports, and didn't seem to have too much trouble.

HTH, P

[Strong Eagle]

Pressman - possibly another option for you is to backload it on a container that's already going. I haven't done this from SIN, but have mates who did the same thing in other countries when they relocated. They contacted local shipping companies to ask for capacity to the ports, and didn't seem to have too much trouble.

HTH, P

I suppose this is an option but from listening to the first hand experiences of others, this route is truly a pain.

You can't just drop off a motorcycle, roll it into a container, put it on its kickstand, and ride it off on the other end. Instead:

a) All liquids must be drained from the bike and the petrol tank must be dried... may or may not take an official permit that the bike is no fire threat.

b) Bike must be crated... can't just toss it in next to the bicycles and old mattresses.

c) Import permits must be obtained before it can pass customs in the importing country.

This is one reason why it costs out the wazoo to ship a bike... fuel, crating, and import permits.

[sierra2469alpha]

I did say "possibly" and that I didn't have first hand knowledge, only what friends of ours had done.

[durain]

motorcycle crate is like no other. the motorcycle frame need to be secure on the metal frame and then into the crate. i dont think the metal frame is universal. i had 2 new motorcycles (R1 and TL1000R) in crates before and it was a bummer to remove them with household tools.

but that's only half the problem. SE reply pretty much says it all.

[pressman_g]

Thanks guys. I did post the bike on adpost, craigslist, redad, and this website too. Wow... shipping it myself does sound like a real pain in the butt. It is very frustrating. The few offers I've gotten are about 45% less than what I paid six month ago. I know things depreciate the second you drive off the lot... but what a bummer. I think se is right that shipping seems to be too much.. thank you for your advice.