JusRide blog

Overseas Motorcycle Shipments

Many overseas riders are taking advantage of the weak US Dollar and buying US based bikes.  This is a win/win for everyone.  Private sellers and dealers in the US are moving units, and bike lovers around the globe are realizing great discounts.  However, purchasing the bike is simply the initial step. The next step is finding a good/affordable way to ship the bike overseas.  To maintain a seamless process, it is critical that a diligent and experienced facilitator be used.  The facilitator will do the following: 1.) help seller ready the bike for international travel, 2.) take care of ground transportation to a US port, 3.) take care of all necessary payments and paperwork with the overseas freight forwarder, 4.) and keep the buyer in the loop on all activity, as well as help them understand how to get the bike through customs (obtain broker) at the destination country.

Unless there is extreme urgency in receiving the bike, ocean freight is the easiest and most cost effective way to move the bike overseas.  The only downside is transit time.  Shipping by plane takes 1-2 days.  Shipping by boat could take 3-4 weeks. Regarding cost, you will typically save over $1,000 USD choosing a boat instead of a plane.

While it is mandatory to crate the bike for air travel, a bike can ship by boat either loose or crated.  Because of travel time and excessive handling, it is recommended that the bike be crated when traveling by boat.  To save money, most motorcycle dealers will crate the bike for a nominal fee. If buying from a private seller, you will have to pay the ground carrier or international freight forwarder $400 - $500 to crate the bike. Before crating the bike, it must be prepped for overseas travel – this means draining the hazardous fluids to an acceptable level and disconnecting the battery.

To calculate the ocean freight rate, which is based on weight and volume, the freight forwarder will need the following: total crate weight and crate dimensions (LxWxH). Another cost is marine insurance. Standard coverage (no extra charge) is $500/package. Extra marine insurance is based on the value of the bike. The multiplier depends on the shipping lines insurance coverage and will be 1-2% of the bike’s declared value. There is no deductible.

Important Note on insurance (depends on carrier’s coverage): Marine insurance for partial and total loss can be obtained for bikes < 12 years old. For bikes > 12 years old you can only purchase FPA (free of particular average) coverage. This coverage only covers total loss, and a deductible ($250 - $500) will apply.

All paperwork must be received by the freight forwarder at least 7 days prior to the vessels launch date, and all freight payments must be made at least 72 hours prior to the vessels launch date.

Once the bike has been successfully booked on a vessel, the paperwork will be sent to a broker in the destination country. It will be up to the buyer to obtain a broker. The broker will get the bike through customs. Duty and admin/handling fees will apply. Fees typically range from $150 - $200 USD.

Breakdown of shipping fees incurred by bike buyer:

ü      Job Facilitator/Broker admin

ü      Ground Transport

ü      Freight Forwarder admin

ü      Air/Ocean Freight

ü      Added Insurance

ü      Broker/Duty of destination country

ü      Package Handling of destination port

Tatoo Bike

Joe Leroy loves his parents, running, and his bike.  He shows this through body art.  He is covered from neck to ankles with tatoos.  In February of this year, Joe appeared on the portrait episode of Miami Ink.  Portraits of his mother and father are located on his pectoralis major region.  Joe recently had a very talented artist - Latisha Wood (www.flamesofsteel.com) - replicate his body work on his Harley Softail.  Latisha surprised Joe with the newly painted bike on the set of Miami Ink.  The bike turned out great!  Because of the delicate paint job, Joe used JusRide to transport the bike to/from Latisha's shop near Atlanta, GA.

Siren of TI Bike Dedication

Earlier this month we transported another Metropolitan Chopper masterpiece.  The Siren Bike.  The bike was created for Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The bike was unveiled at a gala event involving over 300 special guests.  The night was a huge success!  The bike is on display in the casino lobby.  For more information on the bike, go to www.metropolitanchoppers.com.

Ducati MH900evoluzione

We were fortunate enough to be asked to transport a Ducati MH900e from the Philadelphia area to the Lower Atlantic Region.  There are only 2,000 of these bikes in the world (2,000 units produced for the new Millennium).  For those of you who are not familiar with this machine, it is basically a concept bike designed by Pierre Terblanche.  It is a true work of art!  In essence, it brings together the past and present by coupling a renaissance period motorcycle design (Italian and English) with state-of-the-art engine and chasis technology.  The power plant for this machine is the Desmo Twin, an engine design that has defined Ducati since the 1970's.  Framing the heart of this bike is the legendary Ducati Trellis frame.  Painted in red, and formed in Chrome Moly steel, it has specifications similar to those of the Ducati flagship 996 Superbike - "the undisputed king of curves!"  The curvaceous body takes styling cues from the original #12 Ducati 900 on display at the Ducati museum in Bologna, Italy.  This beautiful bike is a nice departure from the standards of mass production and homogenized offerings we have been programmed to accept.

Dance with the Jersey Devil

Friday (Oct 6) was a long day.  It started by me wishing my bro happy birthday.  While his age is still well below his triglyceride count (sorry bro - I couldn't resist), the top of his birthday cake is starting to look like a raging wild fire!  Looking at the upside of things, he is still an incredible doctor/husband/father with a low golf handicap.  After the birthday call, I pointed the JusRide truck in the direction of Death Row Motorcycles (Sugarloaf, PA).  On the way to the custom bike shop, I made a quick stop at a truck wash.  As a high-end motorcycle carrier, we not only strive for excellent service, but also to have the best looking fleet on the road.  The truck I was driving had been to hell and back - it was filthy!!!  It just came back from a trip to the west coast. Over 6,000 miles of pavement and some of the worst enviornmental conditions possible - rain, dust, and smog.  While we typically rely on Blue Beacon to clean our vehicles, on this day I had to make do with a family run business.  For $45, I was promised a thorough wash and first class wax job.  I settled for a bug or two hand picked off of the windshield and a plethora of dry spots.  Lesson learned - you don't always get what you pay for!!!  Next stop - Frank Stancato and Death Row Motorcycles.  At DRM, I picked up two bikes - Ace of Spades, and Black Death 3.    Equipped with fat tanks and beefy engines, the bobbers created by Frank simply represented raw power!  It was obvious to me that the bikes we made chew up and spit out any kind of pavement in their path.  And that better be the case, because the custom bobbers would eventually end up in South Africa.  By day's end, the bikes would be dropped off at the Newark International Airport (Newark, NJ).  There they would be crated and put on a wide-bodied jet bound for Johannesburg.  Once the bobbers were safely secured in the JusRide truck, I headed for Nescopeck, PA to pickup a vintage '72 Triumph Bonneville.  In case your are interested, Nescopeck is Algonquian (select Native American Indian tribes) for black river.  From Nescopeck I made my way to Wayne, NJ to drop off a Harley just coming back from a tour that started/finished in Phoenix, AZ, and included indelible sites like: Navajo and Sedona Indian Ruins, Bryce Canyon, Glen Canyon, and the Grand Canyon.  The Harley customer was part of a group that chartered a JusRide truck for a 10 day motorcycle run.  Starting in 2007, JusRide will be running several motorcycle tours to some of the best riding areas of the U.S.  Running low on gas, I headed for Lebanon, NJ to drop off the vintage Triumph.  The needle hit "E" faster than expected.  I nearly ran out of gas as I searched for fuel just off of I-78.  Luckily, I was saved the embarrassment of running out of fuel by the down hill stretch to the service station (coast mode), coupled with the rubbing of the St. Jude medallion that dangled from my neck.  With the fuel tank topped off, I followed the Raritan River to the '72 Bonneville's new home.  What I thought was going to be an easy last delivery turned out to be a nightmarish journey.  In pitch black, it was no easy task navigating the twists and turns of the road adjacent to the historic Jersey river.  As a full moon emerged from behind the cloud ridden sky, so did a very nimble and hairy creature.  Because of its movement and appearance, I am convinced it was an ethereal being - or maybe the Jersey Devil!  Then again, it was dark and I was tired, so what crossed my path could have been just about anything.  With Halloween closing in on us and because I have small children, I will stick to the Jersey Devil tale for now.  Soon after my Jersey Devil sighting, I delived the Triumph.  The day was over.  All bikes had been handled with extreme care and safely delivered.  Time to start the Columbus Day weekend.

Delmarva/Chopper Xpo

The 2006 bike season is coming to a close and we just finished our two biggest shows of the year - Delmarva Bike Week and the Chopper Xpo.  The two events attract some of the best bike builders in the world - Frank Stancato Death Row Motorcycles; Jeff Nicklus Desperado Motorcycles; and Rick Hill/Dan Kessinger Metropolitan Choppers.  While I enjoyed the beer and crab soup at Delmarva, the event was nearly a complete wash out!  It rained cats and dogs - I mean elephants and hippos - 75% of the time.  Taking refuge in the back of the JusRide truck, I felt just like Noah - less the directive from God and all of the animals.  Looking at the upside of things, I didn't have to move a muscle to see the works of art created by our custom bike customers.  The intensity of the rain resulted in severe flooding, which caused many custom choppers to float right by the JusRide truck - two-by-two of course!!!  The sun finally revealed itself on the last day of the rally.  Our new JusRide exhibit looked much better in the sunlight versus the Armegedon type environment that ruled one day prior.  The warmth of the sun also brought the best out of the girls (on a fund raising mission) adjacent to our exhibit space.  For two days staight I saw nothing but pamphlets and fur parkas.  But as the sun revealed itself, so did the young lasses across the way.  While their bods were top notch, their dance skills were far from perfect!  I mean they were so bad that the only dollar they received from me was one attached to a string - enabling me to yank it back out of their shorts as they skipped out of beat to the next poor sole heading their way.  Once the Delmarva show ended, we went direclty to Metropolitan Choppers to pickup bikes (Fear Factor, Spit Fire, and Messerschmitt) for the upcoming Chopper Xpo in AC.  With the two fighter plane  theme bikes made for G. Gordon Liddy (Liddy Show) on the truck, we headed for home.  Trundling down the PA turnpike we came across a massive Chopper Xpo advertisement (i.e., billboard) containing pictures of the Met Chopper Liddy bikes.  The very bikes that were currently on the JusRide rig.  A sign that would portend clear skies and Fred Astaire type dance skills lie ahead!

Introductions

Hello, and welcome to JusRide's blog. This is new for all of us - but we're confident that as we get rolling, you'll enjoy hearing about the adventures that we encounter each day. Our main business is transporting motorcycles around the country for individuals, dealerships, and custom bike builders as well as some high-profile names in the entertainment biz.

JusRide's motto is "Don't Wait. Don't Worry. JusRide." - which means just what it says - JusRide will take care of your bike, get it to you wherever you are, in the shortest possible timeframe. Learn more about us at www.jusride.com.

We've covered a lot of miles in the four years that we've been in business - and had some incredible adventures! In these blogs you'll meet Glenn Liacouras - owner and founder of JusRide; Brian B. - driver extraordinaire and a wealth of hilarious stories! There will be others as we twist their arms to blog-in.