I have a general question. This June I'm going to return to Malaysia and probably ship my CBR1000 using cargo ship. One of my friends in Malaysia mentioned that a vehicle shipped using sea has higher probability to get corrosion all over the body, is that right? How can I prevent the corrosion from happening?

Thanks

 

Cars go by container and sit basically unprotected unless you pay extra for the sealed container (a lot extra). Check with the shipping company and see how it gets packed because motorcycles usually get boxed up or wrapped very differently than a car. A lot of times the bike will go via air because it doesn't make much sense to ship something that small and light in a container ship, not to mention the logistics are considerably more difficult than a car. They drive the cars in and chain them down, but the bike has to be held in place by ropes and be in wheel chocks if it's not in a crate. It's much easier and saves space to just put it in a crate or on a pallete so the shippers will do that instead. Much less liability moving it byforklift than by driving it around.

If your bike is going to be in an unsealed container, or if you ever ship a car, you are kind of at the mercy of the shipping company. They need to be able to drive your car (or move your bike) so it is impossible to seal it all the way up. You will want to seal or protect whatever you can whilst leaving the bike in a rolling (or maybe driving) state. Obviously, there are things that just can't be covered.

If you use a company that allows you to crate it prior to pickup (most), you can seal it up however you want. Duct tape and clear garbage bags should do the trick, but you may be able to caulk the container when it is sealed. You need to check with the shipper on that. They all have different guidelines and the receiving country may have special rules as well.

There are a few companies that specialize in motorcycle international shipping that would be able to put it in a special sealed container. JC has a little checklist there that you can look at. I would imagine the others are the same. Personally, I would not use anyone that didn't let me package my own bike or allow me to oversee the packaging process.

http://www.motorcycleshippers.com/s_..._checklist.htm