Bike Shifting in Sadashivanagar

Houses in Sadashivanagar are genuinely large, and past a certain size, a move involves more than one crew, more than one vehicle and somebody coordinating it. The bikes are part of that. A big household often has two or three of its own, perhaps a son's motorcycle, a daughter's scooter and an old bike kept for errands. And the people who work in the house usually come by two wheeler too: the driver, the cook, the security staff, the gardener, sometimes a nurse or a tutor. On any given morning, the compound may hold eight or ten bikes, and only some of them are moving.

That's how mistakes happen. A crew told to "load the bikes" sees a row of them and starts at one end. A staff member's scooter goes on the truck, or the family's motorcycle is left behind because someone thought it was the driver's. Neither is a disaster, but both are a nuisance that's easy to avoid.

So write it down.

Make a simple list of every bike that is moving: the registration number, the make and colour, whose it is and where it is parked. If a bike is staying, because it belongs to staff or is being sold, note that too. Give the list to the person coordinating the move and to us when you book.

Tell the staff. Let them know the date and time the bikes will be loaded, and ask them to park their own two wheelers outside the compound that morning, or in a separate area, so the family's bikes are easy to reach. Most staff are glad to help when asked a day ahead. If staff are moving with the family, to the new house, decide whether their bikes travel on our truck too, and who pays for that.

Tag the moving bikes. A strip of masking tape on the seat with a number, matching the list, makes it obvious to the crew. Keys can go in a labelled envelope with the same number.

Decide the order. If several bikes are moving, the crew need to know which one goes on first and where each one ends up at the new house. A large new home may have a garage, a covered porch and an open area. Tell us which bike goes where, especially if one is for a family member living separately.

Check each bike's papers too. With several bikes, it's easy for an RC or an insurance copy to end up in the wrong envelope, or for one bike's policy to have lapsed without anyone noticing. Put each bike's papers in the envelope with its key, check the insurance dates, and keep the envelopes with the coordinator rather than in a packed box.

Think about bikes nobody rides any more. Large houses accumulate them: a motorcycle from a son's college days, a scooter that belonged to a grandparent. Before the trucks are booked, ask whether those bikes should come at all. Selling, donating or scrapping one through an authorised dealer before the move saves the cost of carrying it and the space at the new house.

Choose a single person to sign. With several family members and staff around, it can be unclear who should walk round each bike and sign the condition note. Name one person, usually the coordinator, to do it for all of them.

At the new house, check every bike off the list as it's unloaded.

Our Sadashivanagar packers page covers moves that need two crews, two vehicles and somebody coordinating them. This page is about the bikes on the coordinator's list.

Families here often have an electric scooter as an extra runabout, sometimes charged in the garage alongside staff vehicles. Put it on the list with its charger. When booking, tell us its manufacturer and how the battery is fitted.