How does shiping very large objects work?

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I googled this, but most of the results weren't very helpful.

Basically, I've been entertaining the idea of buying a motorcycle. The only problem is that it's a pretty specific dirt bike (a 1981 Yamaha Yz80 for those of you who care) that isn't for sale anywhere reasonably close to me. The likelyhood that I'll ever actually get the bike is pretty slim because I'm a person of pretty limited means who really can't spare the money at any point in the forseeable future, but I may very well want to do something like this at some point and then this information would be quite handy.

So, my question to you is this: If somebody wanted to arrange for a large item (such as a motorcycle) to be shipped to them, how would they go about doing that?

Thanks in advance for any advice offered.

Oh, geez----I dunno..... The only thing I can think-of is paying a professional hauler, or mover, or something, that could load it on the back of a truck, or tow it, to you. I'm thinking it would be rather costly, though----you might even pay more to ship it, than the bike cost, itself!!

Ohhh, a very nice choice of machine - a runner of that size and vintage won't be on the blocks for very long. I would want to see the bike in person before handing any money over. Plan A would be to visit the seller - a serious buyer who shows up at the door with cash in hand may go a long way in persuading the seller to deliver it as long as the drive is less than 2 hours and you offer an extra $50. This is totally assuming it's a Craigslist ad and in that case no questions should be asked other than is the bike still available, where are they located and when can they meet. Trying to negotiate price before meeting is a BIG turnoff to sellers.

Ebay listings: will have shipping details in the post but on these kind of transactions usually specify 'local pickup only' - if the distance isn't something like completely across the state it couldn't hurt to send a message before bidding to see if some kind of delivery on the seller's end can be arranged.

Outside of that and closer to the original topic there are tons of logistics companies such as UPS, FedEx, Schneider, ConWay, Yellow, Oak Harbor and many other lesser-known outfits such as the types who advertise in motorcycle magazines. I suppose you could even call a towing company (I know someone who did a tuneup on a moped and its owner called AAA, and they brought in the moped on a huge flatbed tow truck!) So as you can tell, there is quite a bit of research to be done on your part. Hope it goes well

You're going to have to either contact a bunch of shipping companies and ask about rates, or use uShip.