i am riding from florida to alaska in june and then shipping my bike back like you as well. i am even flying my wife up like you too. Classic motion is who everyone is telling me to use, i have talked to her and she seems very nice. still waiting to get a quote b/c she had some family probs last week. i'll be going from tallahassee fl to mount rushmore to yellowstone to glacier national park, up to jasper np, then up the alcan. tryin to do it in two weeks, then my wife will join me in alaska. good luck.
I am looking for a solution to ship my bike from San Francisco to Anchorage this summer. Any suggestions or previous experience? Also my buddy might want to do the same out of Toronto. Thanks!
I would check out the companies listed in this thread. The 2 that gave me the best options were: Carlisle: 800-478-1853 ANC - you will need to have the bike crated to use these guys but they work closely with 2 companies and will even pick the bike up from them after its in a crate. Classic Motion at 907-272-6863
I am also thinkinking of shipping to Forest Lake area( actually Hugo ). Was there someone special you spoke to at Carlile? I don't have time for the round trip, so I will ride home after BMW Rally in West Bend, Wisconsin. I will make my own crate.
I think I was given a contact when I got the number but I just called and spoke to who answered the phone. They were easy to work with.
There is a trucking/bus company that runs between Minnesota and Alaska on a weekly (or maybe bi-weekly) basis that I have used to ship china and furniture. The pallet was in the $120 range and took several days depending on the trip schedual. Do not remember the company name, but they have been written up in the local fish wrapper (paper) for the bus trip they do during the summer.
I had classic motion ship my GS from Anchorage to Portland. The crate they used was an aluminum pallet with aluminum frame and cardboard sides and top......It said Harley-Davidson on the cardboard. Uhhhhhh a used box. So Big Bad Bob.....how do these guys get some of the shipping pallets that all the Harleys your selling come up to Alaska in? You could have Fighter build you a crate but it would have indoor plumbing, a full kitchen and would out weigh the truck that carried it.
Hey Kids.......quality don't come cheap and it ain't light. Oak crown mold, granite tops, and a full fireplace add up! F*#&'in homeowners! :huh :huh
Hey Wheeldog, do you have any other info on this company? I did a quick google and it didn't turn up anthing usefull. Thanks for the input!
Hey Flyin, Check out this crate I came across on craigslist tonight: http://anchorage.craigslist.org/mcy/324004880.html Might be just the thing... -Eric.
Thought I would give a quick update. I had some great news this spring...my wife is now 13 weeks pregnant with our 1st and due in November this year Unfortunately this means that she will not be joining me in AK for the trip but good news is I still get to go Now I just need to keep pressing my boss for some more time off to extend this trip. I have my return flight booked for Sunday August 5th and I'm still working on the final details for shipping. The only problem I have is getting the bike to the craters and shippers before my flight. I was planning on using International Wood Industries to crate and Carlise Trucking will pick up from them and ship it home. Problem is International Wood is not open Sat or Sun. I'm trying to work something out with them to drop the bike off on Saturday for them to crate on Monday. I still need to check with Classic Motion for a Saturday drop off. I guess worst case I might have to try and hire a local to drop my bike off for me on Monday
Classic only charged me $310 to crate my klr. I had a freind with a truck ship it free. The prices i got was around $1200. The crate they use is a Metal frame and is a heavy duty carboard box that i chose. If you want a real wood crate it is more.
I dropped my GS with Classic Motion a couple weeks ago and am awaiting it's receipt in California. Very nice people and impressive operation. about $1500 from Anchorage to Ventura. They seem to know their business
I would pay the extra couple of bucks and have Classic Motion do the crating and Carlile can pick it up from them. I don't have any experience with International Wood but I do with Classic and they know how to safely crate and ship your ride. They are specific to vehicles and the nice ones at that. The other outfit appears to just be a generic packing outfit. Wouldn't want to open a beat up wood crate and see nails and staples with a tipped over bike inside. Not saying they wouldn't do it right, I just don't know for sure. I would definitely want total faith in the crating job whoever does it. It can be a rough ride out by land or sea.
