Shipped my new Spyder from Mo to California...

[Spyder Tony]

I recently bought a 2nd Spyder and had it shipped from Missouri (Where it resided with it's former owner) to California. Prior to shipping, I inquired on this site about a good bike shipper. I went with the recommended Haulbikes.com (Daily Direct). The Spyder was due to be picked up from the former owner Oct 7-9 but was delayed until Oct 11th, where it was picked up and sent to a warehouse in Wisconsin to be routed on a truck for California. It arrived in Wisconsin on October 14th and sat in the warehouse until October 30th (which was the day it was supposed to arrive at my house in California). The day it was due to arrive to me, I get an e-mail saying the delivery was delayed until November 9-11th. Like any guy/gal who get's a new toy, I was excited to have my Spyder delivered, but this shipping experience has me wanting to NEVER buy a big-ticket item out of state ever again!!! Throughout the whole ordeal, I had to call for updates and progress checks, even though I kept being reassured with words like "I will let you know as soon as the status changes". Each time I got "I was about to call you and let you know..."
I will be the 1st to admit that my experience may not be the average one...but I struck a deal to buy a bike on September 12th...and here on October 31st I still don't have my 2nd Spyder (And am a thousand dollars lighter to boot). Had I known the pickup was going to be delayed, then the bike would sit in a warehouse for 2 weeks, THEN the agreed delivery date of 10/30/ would be pushed back to 11/9-11/11, I might've just drained the fluids and gone with one of the other shippers. At the time, draining all the fluids from the Spyder to ship her seemed like a pain, but in retrospect maybe I should've gone that route.

One of the members on this forum offered to go get the bike & drive it back to be for a fee. In retrospect, I wish I had taken him up on the offer!
The only reason I didn't drive down myself was because there were severe storms in the Midwest at the time and I didn't want to be caught on the Spyder in a torrential downpour.

I have a feeling all of these sour grapes will be forgotten fairly quickly once Charlotte is finally delivered...but in the meantime, i'm a slightly bitter owner of 2 Spyders who is only in physical possession of one of them

[cuznjohn]

a friend of mine bought a bike out of state and had it shipped, when the bike got here it had a dented front fender and bent front rotor, and he had a friend go and take a look at the bike and take it for a ride so he knew it was good when it went on the truck. but on the good side it was delivered on time.

[Spyder Tony]

a friend of mine bought a bike out of state and had it shipped, when the bike got here it had a dented front fender and bent front rotor, and he had a friend go and take a look at the bike and take it for a ride so he knew it was good when it went on the truck. but on the good side it was delivered on time.

Not exactly what I was looking to hear...LOL. Let's hope mine arrives in much better condition. The seller took pix of it loaded on the truck, so I know it was pristine when it left his house. It is insured, but I sincerely hope I don't have to use it.

[ARtraveler]

Once you finally get the Spyder, hopefully all will go well. So many things today turn out to be not as advertised. Once they get your money--its "tough luck" and you are left to fend for yourself.

[lwrydr]

I used the same hauler about 3 years ago. Four of us shipped our bikes from Olympia, Wa to Miami Fl. Everything went smooth as silk. We flew to FL., rode to Key West and then back home the southern route. We ended up riding aroung 5300 miles and it was a great trip. Might have to do it on my spyder next.

PS I have a 1959 Harley Panhead for sale $15000

[Fire Joe]

Hey Tony. Sorry again to hear about this shipping fiasco. A full month from pick up to delivery really seems excessive to me even if it had to go halfway across the country. I am sure they have done it in the past but I know based on this situation I would be leary to ship a bike with them for a rally or an event. They advertise that on their site but who would want to have to ship their bike out a month ahead of a rally.

Had I known it would've taken this long for you to get Charlotte heck I would've taken vacation and rode it out to you and you could've just paid me a small fee along with a plane ticket home. You definitely would've had her by now that's for sure.

Let's just hope that she arrives there in the same condition she was in when she left here. Please keep me updated if you hear anything else. Oh BTW, I looked on their website since you said you left a review. Go figure, I can't find it

[Boriken]

I had a similar experience with the same company. In 2009 I purchased a new GS spyder from a dealer in MI it was picked up on schedule, taken to the warehouse and stored for a month. I was then told it was shipped and for the next three weeks I kept receiving messages that the arrival date had been postponed on account that the driver had become ill while enroute. The spyder finally arrived two months later. Will not use that company ever again.

[dancote]

Sorry to hear about your less-than-stellar shipping experience. Hopefully, all will be forgiven/forgotten when the new spyder finally arrives in good shape.

I have had 2 cross-country motorsport purchase experiences. One ended badly, the other ended well. Neither went smoothly.

I bought a used Roadhawk VW trike from a senior member of Brothers of the Third Wheel forum. I was in WA. The trike was in NH. My plan was to fly out to NH, pick up the trike, and do the 4 Corners tour (northern ME, southern FL, southern CA, northern WA). What could go wrong? I found out on my second day out when the engine seized in rural ME. Fast forward many months and many dollars later. The trike has been shipped to WA. Turns out the VW engine was a frankenmotor cobbled together from at least 6 different donors. Once it was rebuilt, I learned a few more expensive lessons. Won't go any further here other than to state the obvious: Do more due diligence than I did. Admittedly, more difficult when dealing with this type of vehicle. What should I have done? I should have contacted the "OEM" to learn everything I could have about this trike as it came from the "factory". Upside? It was gorgeous and drew welcome attention everywhere it went. Downside? It failed to accomplish its intended purpose.

The next purchase was for a Polaris Sportsman 500. I'm still in WA. The ATV is in AR. The eBay seller has a high rating. I contract with a shipper on uship.com and, despite communication problems and a few days delay in delivery, I take delivery of the ATV that has served us well for the past 4 years.

Would I go this route again? Probably. But I would certainly do more due diligence than Ive done in the past.

Regards,

Dan

[hackett43]

I recently bought a 2nd Spyder and had it shipped from Missouri (Where it resided with it's former owner) to California. Prior to shipping, I inquired on this site about a good bike shipper. I went with the recommended Haulbikes.com (Daily Direct). The Spyder was due to be picked up from the former owner Oct 7-9 but was delayed until Oct 11th, where it was picked up and sent to a warehouse in Wisconsin to be routed on a truck for California. It arrived in Wisconsin on October 14th and sat in the warehouse until October 30th (which was the day it was supposed to arrive at my house in California). The day it was due to arrive to me, I get an e-mail saying the delivery was delayed until November 9-11th. Like any guy/gal who get's a new toy, I was excited to have my Spyder delivered, but this shipping experience has me wanting to NEVER buy a big-ticket item out of state ever again!!! Throughout the whole ordeal, I had to call for updates and progress checks, even though I kept being reassured with words like "I will let you know as soon as the status changes". Each time I got "I was about to call you and let you know..."
I will be the 1st to admit that my experience may not be the average one...but I struck a deal to buy a bike on September 12th...and here on October 31st I still don't have my 2nd Spyder (And am a thousand dollars lighter to boot). Had I known the pickup was going to be delayed, then the bike would sit in a warehouse for 2 weeks, THEN the agreed delivery date of 10/30/ would be pushed back to 11/9-11/11, I might've just drained the fluids and gone with one of the other shippers. At the time, draining all the fluids from the Spyder to ship her seemed like a pain, but in retrospect maybe I should've gone that route.

One of the members on this forum offered to go get the bike & drive it back to be for a fee. In retrospect, I wish I had taken him up on the offer!
The only reason I didn't drive down myself was because there were severe storms in the Midwest at the time and I didn't want to be caught on the Spyder in a torrential downpour.

I have a feeling all of these sour grapes will be forgotten fairly quickly once Charlotte is finally delivered...but in the meantime, i'm a slightly bitter owner of 2 Spyders who is only in physical possession of one of them

Wow, I shipped my spyder with them from California to South Carolina. No updates as promised and my bike arrived 3 weeks later than
it was suppose to. I will never use them again. Since they broke agreed contract i felt like they should have refund some of my money back
but they didn't, All they did was kept apologizing . I definitely feel your pain bro !

[Chupaca]

they don't move till they have a full load going and coming back. Have moved a lot and always the same story. The last three moves I did it my self. Sorry for your delay and hope you get her soon..!!

[Spyder4Tess]

I think it's obvious that some shipper's take your cash and make promisses.
Meanwhile they are working out logistics that work for THEM and not the customer.

[SpyderAnn01]

I hope your Spyder gets there soon and in good condition. Did they crate it? The loaner I have from BRP was shipped by a dealer in WI who it seems has never crated a Spyder before. It arrived with the crate sitting on top of the Spyder and it did a bunch of damage to the plastic and the seat.

[Fire Joe]

I hope your Spyder gets there soon and in good condition. Did they crate it? The loaner I have from BRP was shipped by a dealer in WI who it seems has never crated a Spyder before. It arrived with the crate sitting on top of the Spyder and it did a bunch of damage to the plastic and the seat.

No it wasn't crated, just strapped down really good. I only know and am answering for Tony because I watched them load it and strap it down

[SpyderAnn01]

No it wasn't crated, just strapped down really good. I only know and am answering for Tony because I watched them load it and strap it down

That is probably a good thing.

[Spyder Tony]

No it wasn't crated, just strapped down really good. I only know and am answering for Tony because I watched them load it and strap it down

Thanks for stepping in for me

As Joe said, he watched them strap it down and sent me pix of the bike loaded from different angles. I have several pix Joe has sent over the last month +, as well as other MoGang members and Cowtown USA who will attest to the condition of the bike...so it "should" arrive in the same great condition as when she left. Now, just waiting...Tick tock, tick, tock...