After the bikes are bought at the auction, shop or from a rider, they are taken to the warehouse. We drain all the gasoline from the tank and try to have as little left in the tank as possible. This is done to prevent gasoline fumes inside the container.
The side steps are folded or removed so that they can not touch the engine case of the bike standing next to it.
We remove some of the levers if we think they might touch another bike and if needed we also"fold" or remove the handle bars. Depending on the number and models of bikes in the load, we sometimes remove plastic panels, turn signals and mufflers. Nose fairings are removed if there is a danger that it will be rubbing agaist the second floor or the ceiling of the container.
When loading, we use old tires and Japanese blankets and matresses to prevent friction between bikes. In order to ensure the bikes do not move inside the container, we use tire blocks and tie downs.
We take pictures of each bike before we start working on it, from both sides. Each picture also shows the frame number so that you know what bike it is in case you have a few bikes of the same model. These pictures are sent with the shipping documents and we hope they will help in making sales before the container arrives or for advertisment purposes.
