Australia to France ?

[Kiru]

Hi everyone !

I spent the morning reading your posts etc to get more informations about these motorbike trips of yours !

Here's my story. I come from France, but I've been living in Australia for more than a year. I am going to buy a nice bike here, a Honda VF 1000F, quite cheap, good condition.

My plan is to drive it around Tasmania for a while, and I have this crazy idea of driving it back home afterwards.

Therefore, I need a lot of informations. Best path, what kind of parts do you have to take with you, what are the costs of sending the bike from Australia to India, Malaysia, or whatever is the easiest option. How much is a Carnet de Passage, and is it compulsory to get one ?

Every information will help me a lot to go on towards this crazy idea of mine !

Thanks !

Flo.

[Pecha72]

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=839265

[Kiru]

Yes, I read this post, but still can't find many answers to my questions in it !

[Pecha72]

Not everything, but there is, where you need carnet on that route.

The questions are so broad, that it's really hard to give good answers. Like route: well, how long do you plan to stay on the road?? Generally there's two really big stumbling blocks on your way: China would cost astronomical sums of money to do on your bike. And Burma remains practically impossible. Indonesia and India are do-able, but can simetimes give travellers a headache, especially when shipping the vehicle in.

BTW, are you sure you can get that VF registered in the EU? That's something to find out beforehand as well.

[Kiru]

Is it really important to know where the carnet is needed ? As long as you've got it, I think it doesn't really matter, does it ?

I'm planning to do this trip pretty quickly. I know it's not really the best thing to do, and I won't have enough time to enjoy every country, but I've got to be back before July next year, and I don't have unlimited money either :(

I got a quote from an Australian freight company, about 1300 AUD to ship the bike to Mumbai, India. And then the local taxes to get it from the customs, which I presume are huge..

Someone told me that it would be much easier for me to ship it to Dili, and take a few boats then to Malaysia, and start from here.. What do you think ?

I will do some research about the registration in Europe too, I didn't think about that. Although I can always sell the bike for spare parts only back home..

[Pecha72]

About the carnet, the most important thing to know is, what countries you plan to visit, and do any of them require it (note that you can use it in many other countries as well, if you have it, but the critical part is the countries, that will not let your vehicle in without it). For example, most routes from Europe to Russia, Mongolia, or the Central Asian Stans, you won´t need it. For India, you certainly will need it.

Shipping to Mumbai (by sea?) could be a nerve-wrecking experience, I think – but it´s been done. I saw you posted at horizonsunlimited.com, there you should find people with firsthand experience. I´ve shipped by air from Chennai, and that was laborous enough for me!

Dili to Indonesia is certainly a wonderful route, I would not miss it. But also look at the map, then you still need to deal with the China/Burma “roadblock”. If you ship to the Indian subcontinent (Kathmandu in Nepal seems to get better reports than India), then with carnet you should be able to ride all the way to Europe. But you´d miss the whole Southeast Asia in that case.

There´s plenty of trip planning info on horizonsunlimited.com site, spend time reading through them all, and also the relevant forums, won´t be a waste of time.

[Kiru]

Thanks for your answer, Pecha.

I am currently thinking about changing my plans, as I will probably not have enough money for the whole trip.

I am now thinking about sending the bike in Europe, and do a small Euro-trip instead. I'm thinking about Finland. I saw on previous threads that you had your bike shipped from Sydney to Helsinki.

Can you tell me a bit more about it ? Was your bike registered in Australia ? Is it a long process in Finland to clear customs ?

I am doing some research to know if my bike can be registered on my way back home, it seems that the Honda VF1000 F has been imported in France, so I might just have to do a few modifications on it to have it registered there, and pay a few taxes and all of course.

Thanks for your time, mate.

Cheers.

[Pecha72]

Originally Posted by Kiru

Thanks for your answer, Pecha.

I am currently thinking about changing my plans, as I will probably not have enough money for the whole trip.

I am now thinking about sending the bike in Europe, and do a small Euro-trip instead. I'm thinking about Finland. I saw on previous threads that you had your bike shipped from Sydney to Helsinki.

Can you tell me a bit more about it ? Was your bike registered in Australia ? Is it a long process in Finland to clear customs ?

I am doing some research to know if my bike can be registered on my way back home, it seems that the Honda VF1000 F has been imported in France, so I might just have to do a few modifications on it to have it registered there, and pay a few taxes and all of course.

Yes, I shipped my DL650 back home by sea after the trip from Finland to Australia. So the bike is Finnish-registered, I only imported it TEMPORARILY into Australia. That´s why bringing it home was very easy. It´s a whole different ballgame, if you bring your Oz-registered bike into the EU, especially if you intend to keep it there. But I´m sure that has been done, too, though unfortunately I am not the person to have the details on that one.

I used Tradelanes Global Solutions in Melbourne (google: Tradelanes Melbourne, and you will find them). My shipping was ex-Sydney, but they had an agent there, so that wasn´t a problem. Cost me roughly 500 euros at the sending end, plus around 170-180 port handling fees at the Helsinki end. Pretty cheap, I think – but note it was almost 5 years ago, and things always change. It took roughly 2 months to arrive.

I also got some quotes for airfreight, but they were all about 2-3 times more expensive. I´d say these days budget around 1000-1500 euros for seafreight, and double that for airfreight. Add a couple hundred, if you need to have a crate built for the shipment. Some airlines may allow to fly the bike uncrated, this might be worth checking out also. In general airfreight appears to be a more hassle-free option, possible delays are much shorter and airports do not handle such huge volumes of freight like seaports do. But if money is the problem, you´ll probably need to send by sea.

Finland is always expensive, and on shipping stuff it does not help, that almost all sea and air traffic goes thru the big ´hubs´ in Central Europe, so we´re on a sidetrack. Sending here will cost you more, because your shipment gets offloaded and reloaded at one of those hubs, and then finally offloaded again. That´s why if your plan is to get the bike into Europe, and it doesn´t really matter where in Europe, look at shipping by sea to big ports like Rotterdam or Hamburg, and by air, get quotes to the big airports like Frankfurt, Amsterdam or London.

I did many trips in Europe in the past, so if I can be of any assistance on that, just let me know. But note, that riding to Europe from India, for example, would be a much, much bigger experience, than just riding around Europe (Europe is easy – but expensive!), so if I were you, I´d still give a thought on that longer road trip. Shipping to India could be a big pain, but once you´ve done it, you´ve learnt a lot, and you can laugh about the whole operation afterwards (though maybe not right afterwards!! )

[Kiru]

Originally Posted by Pecha72

Yes, I shipped my DL650 back home by sea after the trip from Finland to Australia. So the bike is Finnish-registered, I only imported it TEMPORARILY into Australia. That´s why bringing it home was very easy. It´s a whole different ballgame, if you bring your Oz-registered bike into the EU, especially if you intend to keep it there. But I´m sure that has been done, too, though unfortunately I am not the person to have the details on that one.

I used Tradelanes Global Solutions in Melbourne (google: Tradelanes Melbourne, and you will find them). My shipping was ex-Sydney, but they had an agent there, so that wasn´t a problem. Cost me roughly 500 euros at the sending end, plus around 170-180 port handling fees at the Helsinki end. Pretty cheap, I think – but note it was almost 5 years ago, and things always change. It took roughly 2 months to arrive.

I also got some quotes for airfreight, but they were all about 2-3 times more expensive. I´d say these days budget around 1000-1500 euros for seafreight, and double that for airfreight. Add a couple hundred, if you need to have a crate built for the shipment. Some airlines may allow to fly the bike uncrated, this might be worth checking out also. In general airfreight appears to be a more hassle-free option, possible delays are much shorter and airports do not handle such huge volumes of freight like seaports do. But if money is the problem, you´ll probably need to send by sea.

Finland is always expensive, and on shipping stuff it does not help, that almost all sea and air traffic goes thru the big ´hubs´ in Central Europe, so we´re on a sidetrack. Sending here will cost you more, because your shipment gets offloaded and reloaded at one of those hubs, and then finally offloaded again. That´s why if your plan is to get the bike into Europe, and it doesn´t really matter where in Europe, look at shipping by sea to big ports like Rotterdam or Hamburg, and by air, get quotes to the big airports like Frankfurt, Amsterdam or London.

I did many trips in Europe in the past, so if I can be of any assistance on that, just let me know. But note, that riding to Europe from India, for example, would be a much, much bigger experience, than just riding around Europe (Europe is easy – but expensive!), so if I were you, I´d still give a thought on that longer road trip. Shipping to India could be a big pain, but once you´ve done it, you´ve learnt a lot, and you can laugh about the whole operation afterwards (though maybe not right afterwards!! )

Thanks again for all the informations.

I would definitely love to go from India, and I can handle the paperwork and all to ship my bike there, but it is only a matter of money. I won't have enough for this big trip, that's the only reason why I decided that it would be better to change my plans to Europe. I've done a few trips in Europe too already. The other thing about why choosing Helsinki and not one of the other big hubs (Rotterdam, Hamburg, etc), is because I've alreardy been there, and I really enjoyed it. And it is still a longer trip from there to France, than from Germany..

I mean, if I just wanted to take my bike home, I could ship it directly to France for almost the same price I reckon, but I would like to do one last road trip before heading back home, and driving 2500-3000 kms from Helsinki sounds more adventurous and exciting than from Hamburg.

I contacted Tradelanes a few days ago, asking for a quote to Mumbai, and the guy who answered me was really friendly, and it seemed to be cheap ! So I might ask them again for Helsinki (or somewhere else in Europe, haven't decided for sure yet).

Concerning the registration, I'm sure it's been done before, I just need to get some informations to check if there's any paperwork to do beforehand.

I appreciate your help !

[Kiru]

P.S : just did my research, I can drive in Europe with an OZ registered bike, all I need is some kind of AUS sticker next to the plate, and maybe an international driver licence (my full motorbike licence is from Australia, not France), but that shouldn't be a problem :)

[Pecha72]

Originally Posted by Kiru

P.S : just did my research, I can drive in Europe with an OZ registered bike, all I need is some kind of AUS sticker next to the plate, and maybe an international driver licence (my full motorbike licence is from Australia, not France), but that shouldn't be a problem :)

Ok. But just visiting, or permanently importing are two different things, so if you want to keep in the EU the bike you have bought from Oz, it could still be a bit more complicated than one sticker.

[Kiru]

Sure yeah, I already know the steps to get it registered once in France, but I just wanted to make sure that I won't be stuck in Helsinki because they won't let me drive with an Australian plate or something..

Everything should be fine.. Time to get some quotes hehe :)

[Willwilkins]

Originally Posted by Kiru

Sure yeah, I already know the steps to get it registered once in France, but I just wanted to make sure that I won't be stuck in Helsinki because they won't let me drive with an Australian plate or something..

Everything should be fine.. Time to get some quotes hehe :)

I can't recommend a trip like that enough

Go for it!

Cheers

[StartAdventures]

Im driving from Italy from 04/04/11
37 countries (included Iraq,Iran,Pakistan which are amazing and not dangerous as people think)
.......if u dont want miss Indonesia then again u need to ship to Malesya...make south east asia and again u need to ship to India or Nepal (nepal is easier paperworks) and then no need to ship anymore..

so total shipping 3

the other option is enter to China (possible also) getting out in pakistan or kyrgistan

if u dont want miss Indonesia u can buy and sell back easy. I did so just back it now after 4 months over there. I love Indonesia, is wild, extreme cheap and natural stuff is just amazing. And the end i didnt sell the vespa waiting for me for the next time.

but i can tell U ...my preferit countries are Indonesia, Pakistan,Iran , Central Asia and Georgia (and all caucasian) ,,,this pleace are real not fake as thailand (to my opinion)...wild and people is extreme hospitable..

Now im in KL found out how to ship to australia