Recently we have finished the delivery of the 2010 Ducati 848 EVO motorcycle from Eagle Mountain, UT to Vallejo, CA. The distance between these two locations is 727 miles and was transported in enclosed trailer. Our online cost calculator showed the price $764.00 for this service while the coordinator working on that order reduced the price to $685.00, which is $79 less.
This difference is worth considering since it helps to clarify the following customers’ question. Is the rate shown on the site the final rate?
The route
The 1169-kilometer journey from Eagle Mountain to Vallejo traverses the Great Basin using one interstate only.
Eagle Mountain is located in Utah County, which is south-west of Salt Lake City. Travelers drive north along Interstate 15 and then take Interstate 80 westbound.
Interstate 80 goes all the way through the Bonneville Salt Flats until it reaches Wendover, passes all of Nevada from Elko and Battle Mountain and Winnemucca to Reno.
Once in Reno, the interstate goes up Donner Pass over the Sierra Nevada and enters California via Truckee and Auburn until reaching Sacramento. Then the interstate proceeds southwest to Vallejo, which is located at the northern part of San Francisco Bay.
What the website price is, and what it is not
This particular calculator will instantly give you a price on the basis of the route and the type of the vehicle and the trailer. This is a real quote and not a lead capture tool since many people make bookings using the exact same figures.
It is a snapshot without human intervention and here are some of the things that can be done by a coordinator that the form cannot.
Check out what exactly is happening on that route this week. The calculator quotes a price on the route. The coordinator can find out whether the same carrier is doing Salt Lake to Bay Area runs with extra space, which the algorithm could never predict.
Applying a discount for which you might be eligible. There are several discounts like military, returning customers, multi-vehicle discount and others which are not automatically applied for an anonymous online quote. You should let the coordinator know if you might be eligible for any such discount.
Using your flexibility. We discussed in our recent discussion on the west coast move that more the flexibility you have, more is the number of carriers you get to choose from. A form cannot ask you about the flexibility while the coordinator can.
Calculating the vehicle price accurately. A motorcycle requires much less space than a regular car. The calculators take care of it. However, the coordinator can ask you follow-up questions about a specific bike.
And what it does not mean. It does not mean that the web quote is higher so that you can bargain with it. It only means that the instant quote is conservative by nature and sometimes a conversation can yield something which the form couldn’t see. In this case, the conversation yielded $79.
What $0.94 per mile reflects
Two factors explain this rate.
First is the deck-share rate for motorcycles. As noted above, when we moved a Honda CBX, the motorcycle occupies a fraction of the deck share used by a car on a trailer, and this rate is based on that share, not on a full deck share. Comparing the rate per mile for a motorcycle with the rate for a sedan is meaningless.
Second, of course, is distance. This is not a short move at 727 miles, but it also is not a very long move that could reduce the cost even further by spreading out the pickup, loading, securing, and delivery fixed costs.
The lane helps here as well. The route through Salt Lake City and up I-80 to the Bay Area is a steady lane in either direction, which helped the coordinator find space in the lane.
Enclosed transport and a superbike
Every motorcycle we arrange is packaged, and the supersport is no exception.
The 848 has a fairing, which is easily broken and costly to replace on a motorcycle from that generation. No additional bodywork exists for the engine, exhaust, or controls as the fairing on that motorcycle is all there is.
There is only one difference between securing a supersport motorcycle and a regular bike, and that has to do with its clip-on handlebars. A motorcycle without a crossbar means that the straps must be attached to the fork tubes or triple clamp instead. Someone that has only ever tied down motorcycles with standard handlebars may have trouble with this.
It was loaded into a front wheel chock with its suspension fully compressed by the straps to prevent any rocking during the course of 727 miles.
Transport summary
- Origin: Eagle Mountain, UT 84005
- Destination: Vallejo, CA 94590
- Distance: 727 miles
- Website quote: $764.00
- Price paid: $685.00, a $79 discount
- Cost per mile: $0.94
- Vehicle: 2010 Ducati 848 EVO
- Trailer type: Enclosed
- Route: Eagle Mountain, UT → I-15 north to Salt Lake City → I-80 west across the Bonneville Salt Flats → Wendover and Elko, NV → Winnemucca → Reno → over Donner Pass → Sacramento, CA → Fairfield → Vallejo, CA
