I had the pleasure of working for Victor Horsmans ( both car and bike depts ) in the 60's. I can confirm it was quite common for us to send bikes all round the world . Infact a family friend who worked for American Lines bought a Bonnie from me via them and took it back to the states on the deck of the" American builder " suitably secured ,it arrived safe and sound but I expect wasn't on the authorities radar.
Eric Lambert MD ran a driving school from the dealership and really involved in road safety ,the film unit was there own and there was a cinema in the building ,they designed and used a Trainer for young car drivers and also had a closed site in Liverpool 8 where they laid out roads ,jctions traffic lights etc to make the training safer .
Horsman were main retail BSA/Tri dealers ,plus velo Yamaha Lambretta and amc ,Eric Lambert the MD on those films took part in the Monty quite few times and the Manx GP winners bike was usually displayed in the showroom after it's return from the Island ..
I'm pretty sure I met Victor horsman when he visited the shop and as proof of that gentlemans engineering skill I was asked to open up the ground floor as a showroom this needed a lift and they budgeted for anew one Horsmans engineer/driving school boss spotted the lift Victor had made himself ,came in over the weekend and after a new motor and chains were fitted we had a marvelous car lift which never let us down.
Lambert had a big wedge in AMC and when they hit the fan he lost a large amount.
I started there when I was 17 and loved every single day I was there ,the building is still there but it really saddens me when I drive past these days !!