If properly boxed or crated you can ship motorcycles, ATV, and even UTV’s/ snowmobiles using traditional common freight carriers. The most common packaging method we generally see with our motorcycle clients is to begin with some sort of small pallet under the motorcycle. This allows for common LTL freight carriers to pick up and transfer the motorcycle with a forklift or pallet jack to transfer and drop off the motorcycle cargo.
The motorcycles are then banded to the pallet and usually covered over and around by a crate or other heavy-duty cardboard boxing material to protect the motorcycle during the freight shipping process. By having the motorcycle on a small pallet with a crate around it, you can move motorcycles with lower-cost LTL freight carriers. Versus motorcycle-specific carriers, who might have a much higher cost per motorcycle shipped because of the specialized equipment they need to handle and not damage non-crated motorcycles..