California to Louisiana Motorcycle Shipping

California to Louisiana Motorcycle Shipping Rates by Bike Type

A standard cruiser or sport bike from Los Angeles to New Orleans runs about $700 to $950 on an open carrier, and about $975 to $1,325 enclosed. A San Diego pickup is a little closer at about $675 to $925, and a San Francisco pickup runs higher at about $775 to $1,050.

Baton Rouge costs about the same as New Orleans from Los Angeles, near $675 to $925 open. Shreveport, up on I-20, is the shortest of the group at about $625 to $875.

Dressers and Gold Wings often add $50 to $100, trikes and sidecars add $150 to $300, and non-runners need a winch. Tell carriers before pickup. Tell the dispatcher so the truck has one.

Hurricane season shapes the calendar. A storm heading for the coast can fill evacuation routes and delay trailers for days, so book coastal pickups with room to spare. Outside peak weeks, prices are often lower in fall and winter. See our money-saving tips for more.

Bridges, Bayous and the Atchafalaya

Look at a map before you pick a drop-off. Louisiana is cut by water, and a delivery that looks close on paper can mean a long drive around a river or bayou. New Orleans sits south of Lake Pontchartrain, and the Twin Span carries I-10 across the lake's eastern end between the city and Slidell. Hurricane Katrina broke the old spans in 2005, and new ones opened in 2009 and 2010.

The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge is the one every driver knows. It runs about 18 miles over swamp between Lafayette and Baton Rouge. Trucks have a lower speed limit than cars on it, and the two river crossings are narrow with no shoulders, so a crash can close it. When I-10 shuts, US-190 is the alternate. Ask for a delivery window, not an exact hour.

Baton Rouge and Lafayette are the simpler drops. Both sit on I-10, with I-12 starting in Baton Rouge toward Hammond and Slidell and I-49 starting near Lafayette and heading north. In the north, I-20 crosses from the Texas line at Waskom through Shreveport and Bossier City.

Rural addresses take more planning. Some sit down narrow levee or parish roads where a tractor-trailer cannot turn around. Offer a gas station or a big parking lot and the driver will take it from there.

How Your Motorcycle Is Loaded and Secured for the Trip

A good driver loads a motorcycle upright. The front wheel goes into a chock so it can't move, and soft straps go around solid points like the frame or the lower triple clamp. The straps are tightened enough to hold the bike but not so much that they bottom out the forks. Hooks stay off your bars, levers and paint.

Summers are long, hot and humid, and a bike on an open trailer sits in it for days. Enclosed trailers add a roof and walls, which helps with the sun, the rain and the salt air near the coast. Walk around the bike with the driver at pickup and read the condition report closely. Your dated photos and that report are what you check when the bike arrives in Louisiana.