Shipping to Rome (my research + top 3 options = plz help me?)

[Lightcycle]

Italy and Switzerland are on my list, in not too distant future... (Austria too).

I am just starting with my planning and options. I plan to leave my bike there, outside Schengen zone, and use it when I visit (already have connections for storage, which helps a lot).

You don't have to leave your bike outside the Schengen Zone. There is no realistic way the authorities can determine how long your bike is in the SZ. My friend has kept his Ontario-registered bike in Germany for almost a decade. We kept our bike in Croatia for over five years.

I also wonder how our Ontario plates would do overseas... With no sticker renewals, I hope I won't have to bribe every cop I encounter...

Just peel off your expired sticker. They won't check what they can't see.

 

[guzzirider]

I renewed my plate registration on-line but after looking at the receipt you get I decided that ownership document was more important.
I went to Service Ontario and had them issue me a new registration document that looks more official. It states it is valid until 2025.
There was no charge. A policman has to be very close to read that sticker and not all provinces & countries us the same colour scheme.
I will be removing the expired stickes from my plates. If I recall correctly you need proof of ownership to get Green Card Insurance.

 

[adv_round]

I spent 100s of hours on research and mapping that now is never going to get used and I am willing to pass along accommodation info and maps in .GPK and/or .KLM format.

I could definitely use some of these... I usually do route planning in GPX...

Did anyone find a decent alternative to shipping by air - any luck with ocean lines? For me, timing is flexible - if it saves me some $ I can wait a month or two for shipping...

You don't have to leave your bike outside the Schengen Zone. There is no realistic way the authorities can determine how long your bike is in the SZ. My friend has kept his Ontario-registered bike in Germany for almost a decade. We kept our bike in Croatia for over five years.

Good to know. I got lucky and scored storage outside SZ, not far from it too...

 

[guzzirider]

I shipped a vintage bike to Hungary from Edmonton by truck-train-ship-truck.
It was not that much cheaper than by plane once you added the cost of the certified wood export crate.
There was a shipping company out of Toronto that offered to ship my Suzuki GW250 to Rotterdam for CDN$450.00 (2019) because they had an opening they wanted to fill. The logistics of getting from Paris to Rotterdam plus having to look after customs/dangerous goods & port fees made it almost as expensive as flying the bike. With ships there is no guarantee of delivery date. I liked the one stop shopping you get with Motorcycle Express. When you book with them your spot on the plane for the bike is arranged and usually on the same flight. With West Jet I could drop off the bike in the morning of departure at thier frieght terminal. All you had to do was disconnect the battery terminal and say there was less than 1 gallon of gas in the tank. They would load it on a special pallet, process & attach documentasion. I was supposed to be able to pick it up at thier frieght terminal within 6 hours of the plane landing. By being able put clothing & heavy riding gear in my bags I saved the cost of luggage on the flight for myself. I have the maps for a 89 day 23,000km trip. Mostly twisty secondary paved roads thru France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein. Lots of moutain passes. Most days where around 250km except when on major highways then they would be more. I had built in rest days for douing touristy things.
If you want more details contact me at waywardson(at)zoho(dot)com.
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