Prepare your Motorcycle for Air Freight

Air freight is the quickest and nearly always the most reliable way to transport your motorcycle. Transit time are in days and not weeks or months and any delays are also much shorter. At the other end, generally speaking, airports are easier to clear Customs, cost less in warehousing and timing is more guaranteed. Customs are much more used to having to deal quickly with shipments – thing of all the perishable items that have to go through.

However, you pay for this speed and convenience, as it is normally more expensive than sea freight and they are much fussier about requirements for the motorcycle, although this can vary depending on destination.

We prepared some guidelines for freighting by air. The first two steps are a minimum 'must' and are required by dangerous goods regulations – your motorcycle is classed as dangerous goods being powered by highly flammable liquid-fuel. The guidelines will work for sea freight too, although sea freight tends to be significantly less rigorous and obviously what you do will depend on if your motor is crated for sea freight or simply strapped down to a container.

To make sure you keep to the rules, most developed countries now perform an X-ray of the motorcycle prior to shipment.

• Fuel must be drained to less than two liters; some airlines insist it all has to come out and some do check
• The motorcycle's battery must be disconnected. We recommend that you seal the connections seriously with some official electronic isolation tape.
• Remove the screen and mirrors. This is to prevent them being damaged and reduces the height of the motorcycle. Cover the screen in bubble wrap and strap to the seat using a cargo net and bungee cords to secure it.
• Side panniers can normally be kept on the motorcycle; a top box should be removed and placed on the floor of the crate.
• Deflect the tires to around 25psi and slacken off the suspension for when the motorcycle is strapped down to the crate or pallet.
• To get your motorcycle as small as possible, we often, but not always, remove the front wheel as out motorcycles lose about 30cm of height this way. It may not seem much but can save a huge amount on shipping cost.
• Ensure that the motorcycle is generally clean and free from any leaks. Australia and New Zealand are the most zealous countries for shipments and if you are going there make sure your motorcycle is absolutely immaculate everything, or else it may fall foul of their very rigorous Quarantine and Inspection Service.
• Remove any items from your toolkit that are pressurized containers of air or liquid and anything that contains lubricants and flammables.