How to ship your motorcycle overseas

Planning the overland motorcycle adventure of a lifetime?

Launching an epic overseas trip with your motorcycle involves not only charting your route, but also ensuring your bike arrives safely at your destination. Here’s a rundown on how to transport your bike overseas, covering all important aspects from shipping methods to necessary paperwork.

Living on the world’s biggest island, we have two choices for getting a motorcycle to any other part of the world: by sea or by air. Air freight is fast – usually only a few days from departure to arrival – but it can be very expensive from Australia due to the distances involved. Shipping by sea, usually in a container, is cheaper but slower. From Australia, allow about 8-10 weeks to Europe and the UK, and about 6-8 to west coast USA.

Freighting my Yamaha WR250R to Chile in 2022 took 15 weeks and three ships, with the bike travelling via Singapore, China (twice!), Korea and Mexico before reaching Valparaiso. Shipping back to Brisbane from Los Angeles a year later took eight weeks door to door. The Chile leg cost almost $7000, while the USA return was about $3000.

With sea freight not really a safe option, I air-freighted my bike from Bogota, Colombia to Panama City to get over the roadless Darien Gap. At $2000 it was expensive, but quick and easy. I was back on the bike in Panama two days after dropping it off at Bogota airport.

Technically, you could arrange overseas freight entirely by yourself, but why bother? Any cost savings would be overtaken by the time commitment, not to mention the headaches. Save yourself the hassle and go with a professional shipping agent, preferably one experienced with motorcycles such as local outfits Bikes Abroad and Get Routed.

A decent shipping agent will handle the logistics, advise on necessary paperwork and should bundle up most of the shipping and handling charges in the quoted price. They will also offer insurance for your bike while in transit and have a representative at the other end to help you unload and navigate the local bureaucracy.

Your shipping agent will give you a list of things to complete and supply, such as a letter of authority to freight the bike, your passport details, the bike’s registration documents, and photos of the bike including its VIN plate. You will need to provide a full list of everything that’s going with the bike, such as riding gear, camping equipment, tools and spares.

For sea freight, your bike will generally travel in a crate that’s forklifted into the shipping container. The cubic size of the crate determines the shipping charges, so taking a smaller bike or breaking a larger one down by removing wheels, etc can help to reduce cost. Some shippers re-use the crates that new motorcycles are freighted in from the factory, while others might have a crate custom-built to suit the bike.

Before crating, your bike will need to be squeaky clean from top to bottom, as will your gear and luggage. Don’t pack items like gas bottles, foodstuffs or animal products. Most shippers want the fuel tank empty and the battery disconnected with terminals taped. Don’t forget to have some fuel with you when you collect the bike at the other end.

The Carnet de Passage en Douane is an internationally recognised document that covers the temporary importation of touring vehicles without paying customs duties. Carnets are valid for 12 months and you pay a bond when obtaining one. If you don’t export your bike from a country, they can claim your security bond to cover any duties. The bond is refunded when you return home with the bike and discharge the carnet.

A carnet de passage costs $1609 from the Australian Automobile Association, comprising $1109 application fee and $500 refundable bond.

Carnets aren’t necessary in North America, South America and Europe, but some countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East insist upon them, as does Australia and New Zealand. Do your research thoroughly before leaving home.

Where a carnet isn’t required, you’ll need a temporary import permit (TIP) to enter a foreign country with your motorcycle. Customs officials at the border will usually issue the TIP, and they’ll want to see the bike’s registration documents to verify your ownership. Pro tip: carry multiple copies of your rego certificate as many places will retain a copy when processing the TIP.

Many nations give TIPs for free, others charge a small fee. TIPs generally last 30 to 60 days, although some countries may give you 90 days to match your visa. If you plan to stay longer, seek an extension in-country from the local customs authorities.

You may need to obtain other documents when entering a new country. The USA, for example, requires non-residents to get an EPA emissions exemption approval for their foreign vehicle. Check all the requirements well ahead of time to avoid unpleasant and potentially costly surprises.

Some countries will require you to buy third-party insurance before you can ride there – check the requirements before you reach the border. It’s similar to CTP insurance in Australia and covers other people involved in an incident – not you nor your bike.

Forget about insuring your own bike while on an overseas adventure – it’s not viable as no companies offer coverage. Insuring yourself is another matter. Many companies in Australia provide travel insurance to cover you for personal injury, theft of belongings such as cameras and phones, and even medical evacuation. Read the fine print carefully, though – some travel policies won’t cover motorcycle riding or other adventurous pursuits like skiing.