Question on shipping a Tenere

[mkuszek]

Hey newbie here.
I bought a new bike from eBay in Wisconsin and I live in Ma.
I need to get the best safe responsible insured transport of the bike from them to me.
I am trying Uship but I am getting high bids.
Any advice on a another solution?
I don't want to do a fly and ride.
Thanks

 

[stomp347]

I used Haulbikes from Oregon to Ct. they had a great deal at the time through the dealer. I would definitely use them again.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Before using Uship, REALLY go through the reviews. There are a large number of disaster stories among the successes.

 

[trikepilot]

Be very WARY of Uship as explained by ChecksWrecks. You are investing in a nice motorcycle, don't risk your investment with a crappy fly-by-night shipper.

I shipped my Tenere from OR to VA for $715 with Federal Motorcycle transport - http://www.funtransport.com/

They had impeccable service from dropoff at a secure location, to the tracking while shipping, to the dropoff at my local dealer with a loading dock. As a extra plug for them... they do not just strap your Tenere to some wooden pallet. They use a steel dolly custom built for motorcycle transport. Here is my post-TAT Tenere getting unloaded in VA on that dolly.

 

[bnschroder]

Don't ship it, ride it. What an opportunity!

 

[baisleyde]

I recently shipped my Tenere using motorcycleshippers.com From Utah to NY , $574

It was strapped to a pallet and delivered to my home in the same condition I left it 10 days after I dropped it off.

 

[Chump]

Where in Wisconsin is the bike? I could do a ride and fly for you if you cover the gas, hotel, and drop me off at the airport.

 

[Wallkeeper]

Don't ship it, ride it. What an opportunity!

I also would ride. I have shipped two bikes and both suffered for it. They were older, smaller bore 2-strokes not suitable for a blind long distance ride. The saddle time from Milwaukee to Boston is about 16 hours with the only really sucky part being Chicago.

Make the ride and break it in. A definite two-fer

Wally

 

[Wallkeeper]

Where in Wisconsin is the bike? I could do a ride and fly for you if you cover the gas, hotel, and drop me off at the airport.

seriously cool offer

 

[DenCoADV]

Don't Use Federal. Here's what happened to my Harley this past December:

They paid for the fender and the bent wheel though.

 

[mkuszek]

Thanks for the advice.
I may use Haulbikes. They have a 600.00 price
So much cheaper than Uship so far.
I may even take a few days off and do a road trip with my truck and get it.
We will see

 

[mkuszek]

Well it's looking like a road trip is coming!
Lowell to Manotowoc Wisconsin.
It's by way of Niagara falls by 1 option. So my wife got interested.......Thru Canada( we have valid passports). This avoids Chicago and 400(both ways) miles. Plus more fun.
We would be taking my Chevy Avalanche truck to Ludington Michigan and park it
and take the ferry to Manotowoc. Take possession of the bike and ferry it back to the truck to load it on back.
Yes it seems like the long way around but the best way. Total cost may be around $800.00
I will get the bike registered here before I take the trip and have a plate for it. Just no sticker. I wonder if that could be an issue?
This is all kinda getting exciting!

 

[lacofdfireman]

I used Uship to ship my $80k surf boat from Tenesee. Found the highest rated shipper with experience in delivering boats. He was almost $1000 more than the next closest bid. I chose him anyways because of all the positive feedback this shipper had. I think it was all made up. I don't want to go into details but it was a horrible experience and I would NEVER use that service again. EVER

 

[Don in Lodi]

Well it's looking like a road trip is coming!
Lowell to Manotowoc Wisconsin.
It's by way of Niagara falls by 1 option. So my wife got interested.......Thru Canada( we have valid passports). This avoids Chicago and 400(both ways) miles. Plus more fun.
We would be taking my Chevy Avalanche truck to Ludington Michigan and park it
and take the ferry to Manotowoc. Take possession of the bike and ferry it back to the truck to load it on back.
Yes it seems like the long way around but the best way. Total cost may be around $800.00
I will get the bike registered here before I take the trip and have a plate for it. Just no sticker. I wonder if that could be an issue?
This is all kinda getting exciting!

Is the bed of an Avalanche long enough for the Ténéré? Never have liked tucking a big bike into a corner. The tiedown geometry is always problematic.
Having the bill of sale on you should be enough.

 

[markbxr400]

Is the bed of an Avalanche long enough for the Ténéré? Never have liked tucking a big bike into a corner. The tiedown geometry is always problematic.
Having the bill of sale on you should be enough.

Looks like the bed of a newer model Avalance is 63.6". My F150 Screw is 66". I haul mine pretty regularly. I did get the DG tailgate supports to take the load off the cables.

http://www.discountramps.com/tailgate-support/p/TAILGATE-SUPPORT/?gclid=CKb24onBw9UCFUQ9gQodFiEH2Q

Also also purchased the Black Widow drive up ramps while I was at it from Discount Ramps - much easier to load and unload.

I do have big dents on the inside of the tailgate from the back wheel bouncing into it when hitting bumps. You might be able to put a piece of plywood or something on the tailgate to reduce the risk of damage to your tailgate.

 

[mkuszek]

That comment about the dents in the tailgate got me thinking.
I plan to go to a Home Depot and have them cut me a 3/4 piece of plywood to cover the bed and tailgate exactly and I was going to screw a 2x4 on both sides on the chock for like a runway to the large locking chock system.
That should stiffen and distribute some of the rear wheel weight off the tailgate.
I was also thinking of the DG weight bearing tailgate solid reinforcements but I am not sure if I could get them in time for a next weekends trip launch. I will call the co. tomorrow.
My Uship auction ends in an hour and I got some misfits with a small van bidding......My bike will not fit in a standard van!. Too tall.
I think the uship was a waist of time or maybe you just have to be lucky anyway I don't trust the drivers or their rigs.
If I don't go and get the bike myself I may go with the haulbikes guys.

 

[EricV]

So, just out of curiosity, why don't you want to do a fly and ride? I realize it might not be a day ride to you, (it is for me), but I've done fly and ride twice in the last few years and ridden back over 1k miles each time in a day. Flights are cheaper than transport service and it's a reliable bike, not some museum piece. I shipped my gear to the seller one time, just walked on with my gear and stuffed it in the overhead bin the other time.

It's not winter...

 

[mkuszek]

Fair question.
The nearest airport is 40 miles away from the dealership.
Dealership will not pick me up. I would have to pay a cab.
My nearest airport is a 30 mile drive. I would need a ride.
It's just a series of hassles and little extra costs + the cost of the airplane ticket.
I don't know if my back can handle that ride especially on a new unfamiliar bike. I ride but I am 62 and have some back issues. I really don't do long distance riding. I know my limits.
My truck is all power luxury and better suited for a long drive for comfort and safety than anything I have ever owned.
Plus I like the company of my wife even after 40 years of marriage and she wants to be included in the adventure too.
She can't handle more than a few hours of motorcycling with her hip problem.

It was not always like this in my younger days with my Hayabusa and my other crazy speed machines.
It's just the way it is now for us.

 

[Don in Lodi]

Looks like the bed of a newer model Avalance is 63.6". My F150 Screw is 66". I haul mine pretty regularly. I did get the DG tailgate supports to take the load off the cables.

http://www.discountramps.com/tailgate-support/p/TAILGATE-SUPPORT/?gclid=CKb24onBw9UCFUQ9gQodFiEH2Q

Also also purchased the Black Widow drive up ramps while I was at it from Discount Ramps - much easier to load and unload.

I do have big dents on the inside of the tailgate from the back wheel bouncing into it when hitting bumps. You might be able to put a piece of plywood or something on the tailgate to reduce the risk of damage to your tailgate.

Love those Black Widow ramps. If I hadn't bought a cheapy SnowBear garden trailer years ago I'd have me a nice ramp more than the 2x10 I use now. ::008::

 

[mkuszek]

I already have 3 good aluminum ramps. 1 is rated for 1200lbs and the other 2 are rated 600.00.
I would use all three and the stronger ramp I will put the bike on and the others for my feet.
I should be able to walk it up on power with a person on either side or ride it up alone.

Can someone get back to me with a measurement?
I need to know exactly the length from the leading most forward edge of the front wheel to the rear wheel contact patch behind the rear tire.
With that I can determine where the rear wheel weight will be on my tailgate.
I have an idea but need these dimensions first to know if it's possible to work.