OK all happening. My bike was sent on the 22nd of May 2011. It is scheduled to arrive in LA via Sydney and New Zealand on the 17th of June 2011 - fingers crossed. There are a lot of factors which may cause a delay. If I would do it all over again I would give myself a bit more time.
I decided to send it by sea despite hearing a few bad stories, mainly due to delays. The economics won in the end. I already had some drama before my bike left Australia. The shipment was nearly caught up in maritime dispute in Sydney, Fortunately the crate was loaded the day before.
As far as I know it is not possible to deal directly with shipping company. I had to find a shipping agent. My agents's choice was Freight Care. So far Grant and Hery done pretty good job.
I was never left out of the circle. A lot of paperwork back and forward.
I was never left out of the circle. A lot of paperwork back and forward.
My bike had to be put in a crate first. My agent could do it but it would cost me around $400 extra. Instead I went to Kawasaki dealer where I bought my bike from and got an original metal crate for free - good start.
This crate is very compact. I had to take front wheel, handlebars and the windscreen off to be able to fit my bike in . I did it with help of my Hungarian friends Csaba and Arkos, Later on we put it on Csaba's Ute and took it Port of Brisbane. Thanks guys for help.
Unfortunately in all this excitement I forgot to take any pictures.
The total cost was $1450. The crate with the bike weighs 250Kg and it is only 1.6 cubic meters. Pretty compact. I had to work hard to be able to put all my gear together with the bike.
It is very important when negotiating the price, to make sure that the payment is for both agents shipping and the receiving. It is quite common they just appoint the receiving agent and you will be hit with large bill on arrival.
