How Would You Ship a Motorcycle that Weighs 1000 lb?

Is the thought of shipping your 1000lbs motorcycle wracking your nerves? You are not alone!

Transporting a precious cargo as heavy as 1000lbs will be more complicated than moving a typical bike. A motorcycle with that heavyweight would require much care while loading, unloading, and arranging a just-right vehicle that will take your bike from point A to point B. The rest of the movie will be different from transferring an average-weight bike.

This article intends to clarify the shipping method you may use to move your 1000lbs bike successfully. We’ll cover all the details from arranging your move to pick up, delivery, and everything in between.

3 Potential Methods to Move Your 1000lbs Motorcycle

Moving is not fun, especially with a 1000lbs motorcycle. But, when necessary, you’ll have three possible options to take your bike to places with you.

1. Ride Your Bike
2. Move the Motorcycle through a Pickup Truck/Trailer
3. Get Help from a Heavy Motorcycle Shipping Company

When you have to move your motorcycle miles across, option 1 is a NO-GO for many reasons. Time consumption, fatigue, weather conditions, extra expenses, and whatnot. Getting help from a logistics company is a great way, but it might cost a lot. So, our preferred method here is a mix-up of the other two methods – option 2!

The reasons?

Because it’s way more economical than hiring a logistics company, you’d get to travel along with your bike and stay calm that everything is fine with your precious.

However, there’s no right or wrong way to ship your heavy two-wheeler. Every method that ships your bike right and without any damage is the RIGHT WAY.

And, yes, it depends on your preferences too.

You have two other options for transporting your motorcycle to a new location. But shipping it through a pickup truck or trailer is the most favorable option for its affordability and peace of traveling on your bike.

Preparation is the Key to Shipping a 1000lbs Motorcycle

Preparing for your move beforehand can save you from the last-moment moving troubles you might encounter during the shifting. Therefore we recommend following an essential checklist to make your motorcycle ready for shipping and mitigate any possible issues that can get in the way of moving your bike.

Of course, getting in touch with a logistics company that would ship your heavy bike is the foremost thing.

Or maybe…

You’d like to rent a truck and ship your motorcycle without relying on a logistics company. The choice is yours.

But, once you are done with deciding the best hands to transport your motorcycle, you’ll need to get your bike ready.

Below is a handy list of some tasks to get done before you hand over your bike to a shipping company for transport or do it yourself:

1. Drain the fuel.
2. Evacuate the saddlebags and storage containers.
3. Place transmission in neutral. Neutral in a motorcycle is between the first and second gear. Most motorcycles feature an unbiased light on the gauge pod that lets you know that the bike is now neutral.
4. Remove the keys.
5. Unlock the forks.

NOTE: These preparatory steps aren’t applicable if you decide to ride your motorcycle to the following location.

Now when your bike is perfectly up for the move, let’s discuss shipping.

We’ll talk about our best shipping method of moving your motorcycle through a pickup truck or trailer.

5 Steps to Shipping a 1000lbs Motorcycle with Zero Issues

Here are the 5 steps that make the overall shipping process of a 1000lbs bike a breeze. We kid you not, all you need to do is take all the much-needed measures to ensure the safety of your bike, and you are good to go!

Step 1: Take Measurements First

Most logistics companies use a full-size truck, like F-150, to haul the bikes that weigh 1000lbs because they can keep your Precious two-wheeler in their bed during transit. Otherwise, multiple trailers are designed for carrying motorcycles and have a weight towing range of up to 2000lbs.

Whether you opt to move your motorcycle through a trailer or a full-sized truck, your bike should be compatible with the space it will be resting in during the move. So, taking measurements matters.

Here are what measurements you need to take into account:

Measurements of the Transporting Vehicle:

• Entire Distance of the Bed – from the front of the bed to the end of the tailgate
• The Width of the Bed – to know-how inside of the bed is going to affect the placement of your bike

Measurements of the Motorcycle:

• The overall length of the motorcycle – from the outer edge of the front tire to the approximate center of the rear axle
• The distance between the outer edge of the front tire to the contact patch (the area of the tire that stays in touch with the ground) of the rear tire

Now that you have both the measurements of the transporting vehicle’s bed and the motorcycle to-be-transported, you’ll have a pretty good analysis of how the two will fare during the move.

Step 2: Arrange Appropriate Equipment to Load Your Motorcycle

The next step is to gather essential equipment to load your motorcycle onto the transporting vehicle. Here’s an important list of a few things that you’ll need to pack your bike and secure:

• Aluminum folding ramp (arched with security straps)
• Handlebar harness with soft loops
• Tie-down straps
• Microfiber rags

Though you’ll have a plethora of ramp options to use while loading your truck, if you want to stay on the safe side and avoid any problems, an arched ramp with a good length will be the best bet for you.

Below are the two characteristics that a ramp should have for a no-fail loading:

• It should be arched (at the top where it attaches to the tailgate)
• It should have a weight rating that can easily handle a 1000lbs weight

Having an extra ramp while loading gives you more room to walk beside your bike and control it in a better way. Joining the two ramps is an excellent idea that gives you a more expansive space to work on and narrows down the room for failure.

Step 3: Load the Motorcycle

While loading your motorcycle, try locating a firm and level surface. Concrete or Blacktop textures are the ideal surfaces when loading your bike to the transporting vehicle.

Get the transporting vehicle on the firm surface, secure your ramp and push the ramp against the tailgate properly. You can use ratchet straps or extra tie downs to make the ramp snugly. Place one hook on the ramp and the other on some point of the vehicle.

After securing your ramp(s) the right way, you may or may not use the wheel chocks. It’s an optional step but highly recommended for heavier motorcycles. They prevent too much pressure from being placed on the tie-down straps.

However, if you decide to set the wheel chocks, put them at the front and back of the pickup bed and get the bike centered between them.

When it comes to pushing your bike up the ramp, you have some options again.

• Lift the motorcycle off the ground through the ramp by pushing it up. This method works the best for small-sized bikes.
• Use the bike power by clutching the bike up the ramp or riding it up. Clutching the bike up the ramp is considered the safest option by many and is ideal for heavy motorcycles.

The Alternate Way to Get Your Motorcycle Loaded Other Than Ramp

You might not be able to find a perfect angle to load your bike into the vehicle. Here are some alternate ideas to get the job done.

Contact a motorcycle dealership in your area and use their loading dock.

Don’t have any motorcycle dealerships around? You may also look forward to using the loading dock of some other business—for example, a grocery store or a trucking company.

Step 4: Secure the Motorcycle

Secure your motorcycle on the four points in the bed of the transporting vehicle using tie-down and rags.

Two contact points should be at the front of the pickup bed and two at its rear side.

After reading the two-contact points’ security suggestions online, you might want only two points to suffice with the securing thing. But, we are sure; you won’t like to cut corners on the safety of your bike, right?

Therefore, the security of a four-contact point will keep your motorcycle snuggly stable in its place. Believe it or not, your bike, when secured appropriately, won’t make a single budge regardless of its weight and how long the transit journey is.

Take a bit more time to inspect the tightness of your tie-downs. If all seems well, you are ready to move.

Don’t forget to secure your ramp(s) in the vehicle bed separately with a bungee cord so that it doesn’t harm the bike during transportation.

Step 5: Unload

So, you have reached the next destination, and it’s time to unload your bike.

Unloading is just the reverse process of loading.

Secure the ramp the way you did while unloading your motorcycle. Be watchful if the ramp is lined up with the back tire of your bike. Release the tie downs. Take your bike off using the reverse feature.

Voila! You just transported your big bike.

Tips and Tricks to Transporting Your 1000lbs Motorcycle Safely

Here are some additional tips that you can keep in mind to eliminate the chances of any shipping disaster.

1. The loading area and bed of the transporting vehicle should be free of debris or items that can cause you to trip over.
2. Make sure you have all the necessary gear to get the job done.
3. While placing the ram on the floor, make sure it rests evenly on the ground so that it doesn’t damage your motorcycle’s tires. Suppose it’s not placed evenly on the ground, besides hurting your bike’s tires. In that case, it can also move it in an unpredictable way that might lead to failed loading action.
4. Don’t stop halfway up the ramp.
5. The tie-down straps shouldn’t be on the sharp edges of the motorcycle or the truck. And also, don’t use the cheapest straps to secure your bike if you care for the safety of your bike. After all, the cost of repairing your bike will be much higher than you would save on buying those cheap straps.
6. Before departure, check the entire tie-downs and straps for tightness.
7. During transportation, once you have covered a couple of miles, take some time to inspect the security of your motorcycle.
8. Check your motorcycle every time you stop to refuel the transporting vehicle.
9. Watch for the weight distribution of your motorcycle in the transporting vehicle. Suppose the motorcycle’s weight is mostly on one side of the pickup bed or the other. This situation might put your motorbike at the risk of a rollover, even at a slower speed.
10. Be ready for the bike to lean while releasing the tie-downs during unloading.

Conclusion:

There you have it – your cherished 1000lbs two-wheeler transported worry-freely to the desired destination.

With the steps mentioned above, and safety tips, we have taken a big chunk of the hassle from the shipping procedure of a 1000lbs motorcycle.

Yes, there remains a lurking danger of getting your bike damaged. But, you can minimize the chances of damage and disaster by being geared up properly and following the accurate method.

We know you are a proud heavy bike owner. Believe it or not, you’ll be more proud transporting your bike with a little (okay, a bit more than that) effort and, of course, spending some money.

Wasn’t that easier than you speculated?