Motorcycle transport across Canada

[elementist]

Has anyone shipped their motorcycle across Canada by air or ground?

Looking at going out maybe next spring to visit family. Thinking of staying a few weeks, and debating the benefits of shipping my bike vs renting one while I'm there to do some riding with my dad and enjoy the mountains out west.

Looking for costs/experiences and company recommendations if anyone has them.

I would prefer to ride all the way but time wise I'd get there then have to turn around and head home pretty soon.

Halifax to Calgary or Halifax to Kelowna would be the jump I'm looking to make.

 

[rhbike]

Young'ns these days... I drove from Vancouver to Toronto door to door in 54hrs once. The operative word was "once". Ok, I was awarded 3 separate achievement awards in northern Ontario too, as I was having a tough time adjusting down to more regulated speed limits after flying across the Prairies. No need to have the drive across the country eat into all your vacation time, and as a bonus, there's ever so much to see along the Prairies.

At the same time, I also shipped a couple motorbikes by train as crated cargo from Vancouver to Toronto. I obtained motorbike crates for free from a local bike dealer that they would otherwise have disposed of. Some new bike crates are better/worse than others for reusability. At the time, I seem to recall Suzuki crates were the best as they bolted together like a Mechano kit. If you want to go this route, its best to scout out the crates well in advance, as dealers don't tend to hang onto the crates and the fixings for long, or may mangle the crates while de-crating. These days, some manufacturers recycle their crates, which won't do you any good either. It took me about a day to adapt the crates to each of the two bikes, mount them suitably in the crates and remove/stash things like mirrors, windshields, wide bars and cases to keep within the space of the crate. Pay close attention to your owners manual for correct lashing down points on the bike. Officially, there wasn't supposed to be anything other than motorbikes in the crates, but I filled every available nook and cranny with personal effects, as this was part of a relocation, and you could easily tuck-in the tools you need for reassembly. I had the crates picked up/dropped off at residential addresses and seem to recall it took something like a week door to door, with them arriving when they arrive. It took me only a couple hours to uncrate the bikes and have them ready to ride again. Not a stick of damage. At the time, it was the cheapest way I could find to transport the bikes and a bunch of personal effects across the country. It would have been even cheaper if the pickup/drop off locations were at commercial addresses or commercial address with loading docks. Times may have changed.

I guess another option would be to roll the dice with one of the vehicle or bike specific transport companies. I'm guessing they cost more, and probably take as long.

 

[skibum69]

I shipped my bike back and forth from St. John's to Whitehorse via Da and Ross for half reasonable $$ and no issues. My bike fit very nicely in a BMW shipping crate. Easy to deal with and makes happen.

 

[elementist]

I did the cross country ride in 2019. I didn't enjoy the prairies, and I tend not to ride more than 6-8 hours a day as a personal safety limit, I can but it's pushing as far as my attention span and not enjoyable anymore for me.

I'll price out Day and Ross. That sounds like a good way to go.

Air Canada has a service between hfx and Calgary but I haven't dared check on pricing yet. I imagine it'll be a lot more than ground.

 

[skibum69]

Let us know what you get from Air Canada, check on Westjet too I know they al least used to ship bikes.