Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech TRAILERING A BIKE?

Ok, how are you guys securing the wheels when hauling bikes in an emclosed trailer? Mine is a toyhauler that will haul two bikes... Had one being hauled jump right and down it went, darned near got the second bike... Lucky that the one that went down was not damaged. I think i need a rack of some sort for the front wheel to fit into to stabilize it and prevent the forks allowing the bike to bounce resulting in a nasty fall... When it happened we heard a loud noise pulled over and to our surprise one bike was down.... OUCH! Sure do need some help before hauling them again in the toyhauler....

Nail a 2x4 on each side of the front wheel so tyre can't slide sideways.Also get your tiedowns out away from the bike to triangulate so pull is out more than down.

When you tie handlebars down, fork tubes should be fully compressed.

I bought a pair of Condor Pit-Stop/Trailer Stops. Excellent product.



I also built up some 2x4's and put that blocking under the frame just behind the oil filter. That way, I brought it down on the frame instead of the suspension.

My anchors are these:



with 5/16" bolts and 2" fender washers underneath. Went to Sam's and got these tie-downs:




The bikes do not move, period.

Phil,

Got the same tie downs and anchors minus the CONDOR and 2X4 blocking for the frame... Think now when I get 2 each CONDORS and 2X4 blocks my problems are over. Many thanks for the good information from everybody.

Here is another little gadget that keeps the front suspension solid while keeping the forks extended. I had a buddy tell me once that bottoming out the forks for hauling was a not-so-good practice. Back then we were talking dirt bikes and I didn't bother ordering one of these.


Do you have any friends that ride Harley's? They should know how to secure a bike to a trailer?? HA HA!

EDIT: oops! I forgot that our feders travel with the forks so this would probably just mess-up the fender. I think the suggestion of putting a few boards under the frame would be a better idea! (Unless you are riding "fender-less").

Same thing as Bonnyusa up there, except the stands have mount in a little quick-release deal so I can pull them out in 5 seconds to haul other stuff in the trailer.

shouldn't this be moved to an appropriate forum ?

i.e. A HARLEY ONE !!!!!!!!

I use a simple Pingel chock in my trailer. I'm sure a websearch would find lots of sources, but I think I got mine at JCW a few years back.

Trailered my bike for the first time a few weeks ago. 600 mile trip down I-95 to NC. I found a lot of good tips on this thread over at the Rat.net forums:
Trailer-Tiedown thread at Rat.net

Our club has a single bike hauler available for a member to use. I was real nervous putting the bike on the back and my wife was CERTAIN something bad was going to happen.
The trailer had a Pingle bike chock, which worked fine. I have two, handlebar straps and wrapped one around each side of the handlebar next to the riser. Cinched her down real tight with literally no bounce left in the front end.
The last time the bike was strapped down was 5 years ago in a pick-up truck bed and I didn't have the permanent mount saddle bags. This time, with the bags there wasn't a good place to tie the rear. I took advice from the thread above and just ran a tie-down through the rear tire, wrapping around twice and getting the tie-down snug. My buddy checked it out before I left and said you just need to keep the rear wheel from bouncing.
The bike never moved, but I couldn't stop looking at it.
The hardest part was loading and unloading the bike. The trailer ramp was short and consequently steep. My buddy suggested a dip or swale to put the rear wheels into to give the ramp more of a flat approach. Loading at home was no problem, but I couldn't find such a thing at my destination. I was also terrible at backing up the single axle trailer so that limited my options. I was afraid of getting the truck/trailer somewhere where I couldn't back out of. Using the inclined driveway of an empty house, I finally got the bike off the back by literally having the wife pull the truck/trailer out from under the front wheel with the rear wheel on the ground on an incline. It was 90 degrees but I was sweating for more than the temp. Reloading went much smoother and I was able to ride up the ramp.
No problems on the way home, I checked each strap, trailer mount at every stop. I actually got somewhat comfortable backing up by the time we arrived home. With some practice, I'd get the hang of it.

I dont own a trailer....in fact locally in Az if you go to buy a trailer for your bike they will ask you.."Which model Harley Do You Own?"

Trailer a bike, what a strange idea, always thought they were for riding.

You only want to compress your forks half way. You only need fork supports if your fork travel is long. On the TBA/SM they're not needed. You can buy a simple steel bike rail for $50 from Northern Tool,etc. I welded up a custom fitted rail for my TBA(which I don't need anymore )

Thinking of buying a Harley are you?

If the trailer has a wood floor, it's a good idea to nail down 2X4's to help keep the wheels in place, or bolt down some large angle iron, especially of it is a metal floor. At any rate, tie down the bike high and low on the frame at both ends. Tying down at 4 points at both ends (2 on a side) will stop the bike from tipping and keep the wheels from slipping out from under it.

In spite of the references to Harleys here, I've had to trailer all four of my bikes this year...It's kinda hard to move 4 bikes, a Jeep, an RV and a house full of stuff with one person! <G>

I have the Pingle rack, the directions say to pull down and forward. You only need to compress the forks 1/2 way or a bit more... just till the straps feel nice and tight.
I have the same straps pictured in the post above, they work great and they're cheap.

Go to your local Harley dealer and buy a pair of the wide soft ties. Use them on your forks on the bottom triple tree, Those big rachets make them easy to tighten and loosen.
I just use the regular tie downs on the rear pegs, but have those pulling forward as well.

If you have help, have someone sit on the bike, up straight, in neutral, side stand up while you hook up and tighten the front tie downs. Don't rush. Try to get both sides even.
The front tire needs to either be in a rack or against something like a 2x4, otherwise it will slide forward.

You can always add a 2nd set of tie downs on the handlebars, or use a Canyondancer with a 2nd set of tiedowns.
The back tiedowns only keep the bike from hopping.

I've trailered a Harley Softail Deuce, a Speedmaster, a Suzuki Bandit and a Yamaha FJR1300... Nobody went anywhere, the rides were from Ohio to Texas/and or Cali and back to Texas.
My biggest problem is the short tailgate on my trailer. It's only 4' long, I have to crank up the front of the trailer so I don't scrape the trannys, and pray it ain't raining. The previous owner painted the wood floor to keep it from rotting, and it gets very slippery when wet.

A few times and you'll have it all down perfect!
mary