Hey guys, Been lurking for a while and am finally posting. I've searched without much luck and done a lot of google image searching, but not much better. Headed from Seattle/Tacoma to Alaska and back this summer and have to ship the bike up there to start the adventure due to time and buddy constraints. I have a crate--actually, it looks like portions of 2 or more crates--from a local BMW dealer that I scored for the price of showing up to haul it away. Can anyone tell me what's what and what goes where? A little effort on my part sure beats the $245-375 crating quotes I've gotten! I can see where the rear tire goes and the block that I assume is for the front axle if you take the wheel off. I don't intend to do that if I can help it. I'd rather chock it so I can ride off quickly. If I simply add an extra 2x4 across each of the bottom supports, it should be of easy height for fork-lifting, right? Would I need anything after that? Just the sides and the top? Is this a bottom so that the skid is more fork-liftable? Why would I need it if I do what I said with the skid above? What's the board with the giant bolt?? One of the 2 cardboard sides is behind it. OK, what's this for, as opposed to the skid above? Or is an extra from a different crate? Why would I need these? Other photos are here, but the ones above are the best.
Find a carpenter who would like a case of beer, and you'll be home free...:) He will understand what's needed.
I did. This one no longer receives bikes in crates--they have an agreement with another dealership to do that. This crate ended up there by accident at some point and had been sitting out back for a few months. Neither of the service guys who was around that day knew how it went together, it was raining like hell, my kids were in the truck, etc. Probably why I got it for free instead of paying $375 like their partner dealer wants, isn't it?
You are probably better off starting from scratch. That crate is for a dis-assembled bike and you don't want to take yours apart. Use the wood from this crate and build it to fit your need, thus saving the moola. Go through some international ride reports and look/search for the pics (Docking Pilot's rider reports usually have some skids in the first few pages). Most people ship their bikes on skids, not in crates (you pay by the pound). It is simpler than you are making it. If, after seeing pics of how it is done...you don't see how to cobble one for your bike then you will have to pay someone to help you out...usually cash or beer. If I was still in WA, I would have done it for beer...
Well, the idea was to use the power of the internet to save a half day and asking a dealer how I can take money out of their pockets. But I guess this way works too. ;-) Cool, I'll look again. Hopefully I'll get this thing banged together this weekend or the next and put the rest of that wood in the "project pile" for another day. I'm reasonably confident I can do this without much of a problem. Just figured I'd check to see if there was a widely-accepted, recommended format that I just failed to search out. No sense reinventing the wheel! Thanks!
With many shipping companies, you can save heaps of bucks by reducing the size of 'the package'. Removing the front and rear wheels, and the handle bars, makes the bike much smaller, and also much more stable/secure when locked onto the pallet. Wheels off/on r/r at destination can be done by one person. IIRC, they figure both weight and cubic feet.
There a bunch of links, I found by typing in the keywords on Google IMAGES using key words: "Crating BMW motorcycle" http://www.ultimatejourney.com/Chap2.html http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/284/1...-Frazier-Shipping-Motorcycles-Adventures.aspx Lots of good pictures to give you reference and insight. Have fun :)
I cannot be 100% sure about BMW in particular, but factory crates are usually made out of metal. I´ve used a Suzuki factory crate, specific for the bike model, to ship out of Australia, and there certainly was no wood material in that crate (using wood might bring some extra trouble in some countries, who require wood material be fumigated, get the certificates for that, etc). That kind of factory crate would be the best solution by far, not least because it is optimized in volume and weight. But if it has to be the wooden crate, I´d find out if the shipping company requires the crate to be closed, and if not, then I´d just simply take the front wheel & windscreen off, lower rear tyre pressure, and the use the bottom part (which was shown in top photo - just make sure it can be forklifted!), strap the bike into that, and use some cardboard and/or foil to cover the whole lot. You do need some strong tie-downs (and to use your head a little) to get a heavy bike properly supported on an ´open crate´, though, especially if the bottom is narrow.
ALSO Check with the company your shipping with and find out of height is an issue or on what dimensions they determine the cost. If it is jut length and width then you wont have to take tires off etc. If this is a one way shipment ask if they have skids available on which to load the bike for the trip. Some companies do this. Worth asking and if they do just go that route, the ones I have seen you just roll the bike onto their skid, strap it down and away it goes. I cant recall the company name though =(
I don't know if this will help, but you can look at my blog post and photos when I shipped my bike from Buenos Aires to Houston for clues as to what you might need to do. I simple rolled into the cargo carrier warehouse, rolled onto the pallet, took off my front wheel, took off my rear case. Then, they strapped it down with a strapping tool that had plastic straps. Then they wrapped it in plastic wrap. You will notice that they had one plain pallet, then brought out a larger pallet that seemed to be for a moto. Good luck. http://www.theadventurebegins.tv/2013/04/how-to-make-motorcycle-fly.html