Researching the Best Motorcycle Shipping Companies? Here’s How to Find the Right Option!

You’re preparing for a long journey. In your mind’s eye, you can see yourself on your bike careening down the open road. But unfortunately, that approach may not be practical. You may be moving to a different state, meaning you must worry about shipping your entire life across the country and your motorcycle. Or, you may be getting ready for a big motorcycle show and want to ensure your pride and joy, so look the part on the big day. Getting it covered in dust and dirt during a long ride will only create more work for you later.

In these situations, you need a motorcycle hauling company.

These companies specialize in getting your bike from Point A to Point B in good condition and with minimal fuss.

However, you have a lot of options available to you. How do you pick the best motorbike shippers when there are so many to choose from?

This article will help as we look at how to find the best motorcycle transport services for your needs.

Tip No. 1 – Start With the Trailer

How do you want your bike transported?

It’s a simple question with two potential answers – open or enclosed.

With open shipping, your bike is loaded onto a trailer and secured with tie-down cables or ropes. It’s a cost-effective and straightforward service. Unfortunately, it also leaves your bike exposed to the elements. That may become a problem if you’re shipping the bike over a long distance and want to ensure as little wear and tear occurs as possible. Open transport may also be a poor choice if you ship the bike to a show.

Enclosed trailers offer far more robust protection. Your bike is loaded into a protective box-like trailer, where it’s tied down and shielded from weather and debris. This service is more personalized, with many shippers offering door-to-door delivery as part of their enclosed trailer service. But this heightened level of service comes at a cost. You’ll pay more for an enclosed trailer than an open trailer.

Start by deciding between open and enclosed.

Once you choose, you’ll know what to ask for when speaking to motorcycle shippers. The best motorbike haulers tend to offer both services, though some may focus on one or the other. Eliminate a company from your list if it doesn’t provide the type of trailer you need.

Tip No. 2 – Check the License

Every motorcycle haulage company uses commercial vehicles to transport cargo. It’s illegal for a firm to operate these vehicles without registering with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Upon registration, the company receives a USDOT number, which denotes that it can legally use commercial vehicles for business purposes.

Ask for the USDOT number.

The best motorcycle conveyance services will offer it freely because they want you to see they’re legitimate. They have nothing to hide, meaning you can quickly assuage any fears by entering the provided USDOT number into the FMCSA’s Company Snapshot portal. Your results show the company’s status and confirm it’s operating legitimately.

Don’t work with any carrier that can’t provide proof of its licensing status. Also, note that these rules don’t apply to forwarders and brokers, who both offer indirect services that don’t require them to operate commercial vehicles.

Tip No. 3 – Reputation Is Everything

Searching for cheap motorcycle shipping companies could lead you to attractive prices. Those prices may prove so alluring that you overlook that the company offering them doesn’t have much of a reputation for shipping bikes.

That’s usually a mistake.

Reputation is critical in motorcycle hauling. You need to know that the firm you trust with your two-wheeled pride and joy has the tools and experience to do the job correctly. Going with a business that doesn’t have a stellar track record creates a risk that could cost you down the line.

The average cost of shipping a motorbike in an open trailer is $915 for a 1,500-mile trip, which is approximately $0.61 per mile. The average price for enclosed transport is $1,140, which is $0.76 per mile.

Be wary of any company that offers rates substantially lower than these averages in an attempt to distract you from its lack of reputation. The best motorcycle hauling companies either have years in the industry or employ people with solid reputations for good work.

Tip No. 4 – Ask About the Company’s Hardware

Beyond considering the type of trailer you want to use, you also need to ensure that your chosen company uses appropriate hardware.

Does the firm use special skids to keep your bike secure? What type of straps do they use? Do they implement a safety zone around your bike or pack multiple bikes into the same transport without any concern for vehicle contact?

Any good motorbike hauler will expect you to ask these questions. They’ll also happily provide the answers, often with demonstrations. If the company tries to avoid telling you how they ship bikes, it’s a sign that they may not take as much care as you need them to.

Tip No. 5 – Look for Experienced Staff

Bike ownership is a more niche pursuit than car ownership. Motorcycles come with specific maintenance concerns that your hauler needs to understand. Ideally, your chosen company will have people on staff who ride themselves. Hence, they’ll understand how much your bike means to you and, more importantly, how to properly take care of it during transit.

This isn’t a hard and fast requirement for every company staff member. For example, the person who schedules your shipping doesn’t necessarily need direct experience with bikes. But the people who load, unload, and transport the bike do. After all, they may need to ride it up a ramp briefly or guide it into position, which requires some motorcycle knowledge to do correctly.

Tip No. 6 – Check for Liability and Cargo Insurance

Even the best motorbike haulers make mistakes. Furthermore, carriers can’t account for issues caused by the weather or other people, such as crashes. The point is that things may go wrong with your delivery. If that happens, you must know that the motorbike hauler has the appropriate insurance coverage.

Ideally, your chosen firm will have liability and cargo insurance. Liability insurance covers any costs a carrier has to cover if it’s found legally liable for damaging your bike through negligence or mistakes. Cargo insurance offers direct coverage for the bike being transported, meaning you should receive compensation up to the bike’s value if it gets damaged during shipping.

Ask for written proof that your carrier has both types of insurance. Please read the policies carefully to ensure they cover the total value of your vehicle and to check there are no clauses that could leave you dealing with the aftermath of an accident.

Tip No. 7 – Customer Service Is Crucial

Let’s assume you’re sending your motorcycle coast-to-coast. That’s a journey of several thousand miles, which will take a motorcycle haulage company a few days to complete.

Now, imagine the company doesn't give you a way of tracking the shipping vehicle and doesn’t give you a means of contacting them during the journey.

That’s not a good situation because it forces you to trust that the firm is doing what it’s supposed to do while you wait for updates.

The best motorbike haulers don’t leave their clients hanging like this. They’ll provide you with a tracking system that allows you to see where your bike is always. You should also receive a phone number or email address for somebody in the carrier’s customer service department who can answer any questions you have during shipping.

These measures demonstrate that the carrier cares about its customers.

Think about it like this:

If a motorcycle haulage company doesn’t appear to care about you, how can you trust it to care about your bike?

Avoid any carrier that doesn’t make customer service a priority.

Tip No. 8 – Gather Reviews and Recommendations

Business websites don’t tell you what you really need to know about motorbike hauling companies. Reviews do.

Carriers will always put their best foot forward on their own websites. They’ll highlight all of their service’s benefits without focusing on past negative experiences customers may have had with them. They’ll also emphasize motorcycle hauling companies' recommendations from happy clients in testimonials without telling you about any clients who had a poor experience.

You don’t get a balanced perspective of a company’s service from its own website.

Reviews provide you with a more accurate depiction of the carrier’s service. Search for reviews on social media, forums, and any feedback lodged with organizations like the Better Business Bureau. It’s also a good idea to check the carrier’s Google Business profile to read reviews placed by customers. These reviews give you third-party accounts of what it’s like to work with the shipping company.

In a perfect world, you’ll see nothing but glowing five-star reviews.

However, even the best motorcycle shippers have off days. You can often learn more from how the business responds to negative reviews than from the positive feedback it receives. If the carrier quickly accepts responsibility and suggests ways to fix issues raised in reviews, this shows that the company cares about making customers happy. In these cases, the occasional bad review should not eliminate a company from consideration. Of course, any business with many poor reviews should not be on your shortlist.

Tip No. 9 – Ask About Pick-Up and Delivery Procedures

Some companies offer door-to-door services, which means they come directly to you, load your bike, and take it to your specified destination. Others offer terminal-based delivery, which requires you to take your bike to a designated location for the carrier to load it. Your bike is shipped to the terminal closest to your desired destination, where you must pick it up again.

You need to know which procedure your motorbike hauler uses so you can prepare adequately.

Terminal-based shipping tends to cost less, though it also places the added burden of getting your bike to designated locations on your shoulders. Door-to-door delivery is more costly but is also much more convenient.

Tip No. 10 – Don’t Go With the First Offer

You may find that the first shipping company you research gives you an attractive quote and seems to have the reputation you want. Nevertheless, it’s rarely a good idea to go with the first offer you receive without checking other companies first.

Collect three to five quotes from hauling companies to get a good idea of the price you should pay. You may find that the firm you would choose right off the bat actually charges more than it should for the service provided. Alternatively, this additional research may help you confirm that the first company is actually your best option, making you feel more confident in your selection.

Work With One of the Best Motorcycle Haulers

Finding a good motorcycle transport business requires you to do more than type “top 10 motorbike haulers” into Google and then choose from a list. You must research to determine if a company offers the type and quality of service you require.

The tips in this article help you do that research. By following them, you’ll learn more about the carrier’s service, its licenses and insurance, and what other customers think about them.

Now, it’s time to start your search for a motorbike carrier.

At A-1 A-T, we believe we’re the best choice for your needs. We’ve completed over two million vehicle deliveries across 190 countries. And perhaps most importantly, 97% of our customers recommend us to others.

Our motorbike shipping services are affordable, and we offer you the choice between open and enclosed shipping. A-1’s experts will also help you to prepare your bike so it’s ready for transport. If you’d like to learn more about what we do and how we can help you, get your free quote from the A-1 team today.