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How To Ship A Motorcycle

We get calls on this all the time, having an office in Hawaii. People want to ship their bikes here and then ship them back. Many people (air carriers) will reject the shipment unless the motorcycle is "brand new, and never contained any fuel".

That's silly. Even a brand new motorcycle has the possibility of containing fuel because at some point in its life it may have been started up as part of a quality control measure. Hey, if I'm buying a $20,000 touring bike, I'd want to make sure somebody made sure it worked before shipping it to me.

People also say "well, you have to be trained and certified in order to ship a motorcycle...". That's only partially true. So, here are the details:

Question: "If I am shipping a motorcycle (or a car or anything else that's hazmat) do I have to be trained and certified?"

Answer: Usually, but... if you are an individual, shipping a personal item, that is not part of any commercial transaction, and you are not operating in the capacity of an employee then no, you do not need to be trained and certified. You DO, however, have to comply fully with the regulations! Make no mistake about that, you are fully liable, whether you're an individual or an employee, if you do not prepare the shipment correctly. But in the case of a motorcycle, your responsibilities are pretty straightforward (see below).

Question: "Okay, so what do I have to do to ship a motorcycle correctly?"

Answer: You must follow the IATA regulations which are the airline rules for shipping hazardous materials (dangerous goods); these are based on international regulations from ICAO (part of the UN).

You must follow IATA packing instruction 900 which provides for the following:

No more than 1/4 tank of fuel
All electrical components protected against short circuit, battery terminal insulated and protected (does not have to be disconnected, however you may choose to do so)
Keys should not be in the ignition
Generally no other hazmat with the bike (i.e. no cans of fix-a-flat, etc)
If the bike is NOT going to be upright and has a spillable battery, then the battery must be removed (but few people are going to want to ship a bike other than upright).

Marking and Labeling the Bike

If the bike is UNcrated and everyone can see that it's a motorcycle, then you do not need to mark and label the bike (see IATA Special Provision A87).

Documentation for the Motorcycle

You need to fill out an IATA Dangerous Goods Declaration when shipping by air using a carrier who follows the IATA rules. If you are making the shipment as part of some commercial transaction, or you are doing so in the capacity of an employee YOU MUST BE TRAINED AND CERTIFIED BEFORE SIGNING THE FORM. So, if you're shipping this for your boss, or let's say you own the company and you're making this as a business deal or expense, stop right now and get training.

Here is a specimen of what the form might look like... fill in the [blanks] with the missing data.

Please remember you must inspect the motorcycle thoroughly each time you tender it to the carrier. This means on the way out, and on the way back! Enjoy your travels and ride safe. Jim Powell (e-mail)

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		Have a hazmat question? Give us a call, we're glad to help. Phone (800) 949-4834 or fax your Dangerous Goods Declaration to (800) 527-5121 and we will review it for you. Email: jim@dgtraining.com Do you want to hear a funny story about our free tech support?