We recently concluded the transportation of a 2022 Honda Grom 125 motorcycle from Upper Marlboro, MD to Irvine, CA. The motorcycle was transported over a distance of 2,687 miles in an enclosed trailer for the sum of $1,200.00 or $0.45 per mile.
This is the most cost-efficient per-mile transportation that we have featured so far in any of our blog posts. This is an example of a job where the per-mile fee really doesn’t mean much at all and the pertinent question would be whether the transportation itself makes sense from a financial perspective?
The route
It takes 2,687 miles to travel from Upper Marlboro to Irvine from one side of the country to another, moving from the Chesapeake part of the DC metro area to Orange County.
Upper Marlboro is located in Prince George’s County to the south of Washington. Travellers get around the Beltway and travel west along I-66 to Front Royal, then south along I-81 in the Shenandoah Valley.
In Knoxville, the way meets I-40 and goes west all along the way through Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, then Oklahoma City, Amarillo, and Albuquerque all the way to Flagstaff in Arizona.
From Barstow the cargo travels south along I-15 in the Cajon Pass into the Inland Empire, then west along CA-91 to Irvine.
When the shipping cost is large next to the vehicle
Grom is our smallest vehicle and it is not very expensive either. And these two features create a question, which deserves an honest answer.
This per-mile cost is excellent and not very relevant. 45 cents per mile is the lowest single-vehicle cost that we have ever offered, as we said while moving Honda CBX. Small bike occupies a small part of one deck place. It is so but does not alter anything else.
Compare the total cost to the vehicle instead of other shipments. Used Grom sells for just a few thousands of dollars. Moving it across the country costs $1,200.00. And that amount is significant part of the value of the vehicle and one who moves it should have considered this ratio consciously, not accidentally.
Sometimes selling and buying again is the best solution. While moving common, produced, non-customized, inexpensive vehicle without any historical value selling it at the place of origin and buying it again in the destination place can be more beneficial. We will tell you about this.
This isn’t always the case, however. A bike which has been customized or no longer made or available in the desired colour or configuration or purchased at an unbeatable price or simply one’s own is not replaceable by a comparable listing on the other side. Emotion comes into play, as does the inconvenience of a private transaction on both sides.
This is even more critical in relation to the price of the vehicle. At $60,000 for the automobile $1,200 for the shipping becomes two percent of the value and no one thinks twice. For a smaller bike it may be a third or even more. Same service, completely different decision.
Distance is what makes it economical. A Grom transported 500 miles would be significantly less than this amount. Transporting a small vehicle across the country becomes competitive.
What $0.45 per mile reflects
Two key factors are responsible for this number, and both lead to the same conclusion.
The first is deck space allocation. The Grom weighs about 225 pounds and is light enough for several to occupy the space needed for one vehicle. In a recent trip, three motorcycles were shipped on one load, one of which was a Grom, and this particular vehicle requires less space than any other.
The second factor is distance. At 2,687 miles, the fixed cost of pickup, loading, securing, and delivery is distributed over a very long distance. The short haul over the same motorcycle will cost many times as much per mile.
The corridor also works in our favor. Interstate-40 is a major east-west route, and the DC metro area as well as Southern California represent large markets.
Enclosed transport
Each of our motorcycles that is booked will go in covered; even the smaller ones. We don’t have an open section for motorcycles, and the Grom motorcycle is as vulnerable as any motorcycle since the engine and controls and the painted parts will all be exposed to the road.
To secure a small motorcycle requires the use of the appropriate chock instead of more straps. A front wheel chock which is built around a large tire will not always provide enough security for a small wheel motorcycle. That is a lesson one has learned as a person who moves motorcycles.
The motorcycle was loaded in with the front wheel secured using a good chock and soft straps on the bars, with the suspension being compressed due to the load.
Transport summary
- Origin: Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
- Destination: Irvine, CA 92614
- Distance: 2,687 miles
- Service cost: $1,200.00
- Cost per mile: $0.45
- Vehicle: 2022 Honda Grom 125
- Trailer type: Enclosed
- Route: Upper Marlboro, MD → I-66 west to Front Royal → I-81 south through the Shenandoah Valley → Knoxville, TN → I-40 west through Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Amarillo and Albuquerque → Flagstaff, AZ → Barstow, CA → I-15 south through the Cajon Pass → CA-91 west → Irvine, CA
