I made some measurements and figured the bike would fit in 3 cubic metres or less. I then got a local carpentry place to cut all the bits of wood needed to make the box (from my cut-list).
Then yesterday morning I rode the bike over to the carpentry place, drained the last of the fuel out, disconnected the battery, dropped the bike down on the front suspension to its lowest, and spent the next three hours ding the box...
Its all screwed together pine with thin ply outer panels. I ended up being able to make the box lower than I had initially planned so it is now 2.5 cubic metres... which is a good thing since it costs me many hundreds of dollars per cubic metre to ship it.
So, once the bike was in the box I organized a truck to come collect it the next morning. At 6:30 am the truck arrived and with the help of a couple of the carpenter guys we managed to manhandle the crate onto a fork-lift trolley in the street and from there onto the truck.
Then I accompanied the crate to the bonded warehouse where it was inspected and the last side panel screwed on... and a fork-lift came and took it away into the warehouse.
... and now I have to make do with public transport! :(
So, all that is left to do here in Haifa is to wait till the shipping broker gets the bike through customs for export, and then I have to pay for the shipment (which is the big bucks!)... Then Ill be free to head off to Tel Aviv... I will wait to see when I actually get to Tel Aviv but I may try to change one of my flights to go earlier and then Ill be able to stop for a few days in Istanbul rather than just hanging around for yet another week here in Israel... we shall see.
But the bike is now dealt with... at least till it gets to Canada.
Bike crated with the two side cases.
Loading it onto the truck
Last side panel screwed on after customs inspection.
And off it goes into the bonded warehouse... I wonder if Ill ever see it again :)
