Trailering and tying down bikes

[DaveK]

Jesus H >>

 

[tomek]

45 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

 

Don't be irritable because Ukraine is losing the war.

Please continue. I'm positive we have not seen yet your absolutely the best in this particular area. 

 Please continue this Festival Of Absurd in Physics. Kinda like anti Noble Prize and Special Olympics of Motorcycle Towing. 

Edited September 19, 2023 by tomek

[Zero Knievel]

1 hour ago, DaveK said:

Jesus H >>

 

This is what I was getting from doing it “properly.”  Just so you have perspective.

 

[SwampNut]

8 hours ago, Zero Knievel said:

And [sarcasm] I’d like to thank him for shitting on a perfectly good thread rather than making his point in another thread or by PM.

 

It's like playing chess with a pigeon, which is probably why he's the most blocked person on the forum.

 

But your tying method is crazy, and I can tell you from experience that I simply don't have the problems you do, since I refined the method to be more simple, not more complex/more straps.  All of my issues were long ago using a lot of straps in complex configurations like what you did.  Once I stopped, the problems stopped.  Simple fact.

 

These do not have one bit of damage on them, years of use.  For the Zero they were mated with a Canyon Dancer.  For others they've been naked or with those short loop strap things, which are good to have for a lot of reasons too.  If you had those, even your crazy method would have been better.

 

 

 

 

Loops:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09FLJSFSL?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[SwampNut]

58 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

This is what I was getting from doing it “properly.”  Just so you have perspective.

 

 

No, by definition, that was not "proper."  But end fraying happens if you leave an end flailing.  Tying a knot near the end will stop it, if it happens.  Tucking those ends securely will prevent it, or mostly prevent it.

 

[Zero Knievel]

1 hour ago, SwampNut said:

No, by definition, that was not "proper."  But end fraying happens if you leave an end flailing.  Tying a knot near the end will stop it, if it happens.  Tucking those ends securely will prevent it, or mostly prevent it.

No.  That was a brand new strap…first use.  I don’t want to load up the bike to show how it was done, but I can say this…

 

Most straps have too much material between the hook and the ratchet unit.  I’m talking 6 or more inches.  You want as little length as possible if working within a narrow space.  These straps placed the ratchet portion on top of the rear foot peg.  Straps rubbing together against the mount point plus the ratchet unit tightly in place and moving back and forth.  Never had this situation before, so I didn’t anticipate the ratchet cutting through the strap.

 

Before this, my straps always led away from the bike, never alongside it.  The short trip I took to Kentucky didn’t have serious mishaps, but it was a much shorter trip.  Examining the straps I used on that trip, I see similar damage starting on the straps.  I have to go through all my straps and throw out the ones with damage.

[OrganDonor]

6 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

Most straps have too much material between the hook and the ratchet unit.  I’m talking 6 or more inches.  You want as little length as possible if working within a narrow space.  These straps placed the ratchet portion on top of the rear foot peg.  Straps rubbing together against the mount point plus the ratchet unit tightly in place and moving back and forth.  Never had this situation before, so I didn’t anticipate the ratchet cutting through the strap.

 

Which is why you buy the tie downs specifically for motorcycles if this is an issue with your setup. I had a set that was Kevlar reinforced and the buckle was super close to the hook. Worked like a charm. 

[SwampNut]

7 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

Most straps have too much material between the hook and the ratchet unit.

 

Yeah no.

 

7 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

These straps placed the ratchet portion on top of the rear foot peg.

 

Don't tie to the rear peg, or any other suspended body part.  Tie the rear to unsuspended parts.

 

Again, experience not opinion.

 

 

[Zero Knievel]

7 minutes ago, OrganDonor said:

Which is why you buy the tie downs specifically for motorcycles if this is an issue with your setup. I had a set that was Kevlar reinforced and the buckle was super close to the hook. Worked like a charm. 

You should take a good look at what’s on the market.  Many are claiming fit for use on motorcycles, but they have the excessive length between hook and ratchet.

 

6 minutes ago, SwampNut said:

Yeah no.

 

Don't tie to the rear peg, or any other suspended body part.  Tie the rear to unsuspended parts.

 

Again, experience not opinion.

Again, that’s what BMW calls for, and I never had any issues when taking the bike in the bed of the truck.  Oh, well, it’s a learning experience.

 

First trip, I learned “snug” wasn’t enough for this trailer.  This time, I learned the recommend anchor points don’t work with this trailer.  
 

Because someone mentioned it, I experimented with the front wheel chock.  The prior owner had a bike with the same size front wheel.  He supposedly didn’t have any issues, but I was trusting it was correct for my bike (yeah…never assume something is set correctly).  So, I decided to adjust one notch at a time and see what happened.  First notch didn’t have a noticeable difference.  Second notch holds the bike upright and steady and is easier to pull back out without assistance.  Between this and a rear strap designed to keep the rear tire firmly in place, I hope to have the problem properly settled.

 

And, yes, I have a wheel chock, but because it’s not bolted down, I removed the part that cups the back side of the tire and use it to keep the front wheel facing forward when strapped in the back of the truck.  I expected the same performance from the trailer and thought the lateral movement was the product of a single, narrow rail supporting the bike.  After all, if the front straps pull the tire firmly into the chock, it always worked in the past.  I had no idea the rear portion of the wheel chock adds so much stability.

[SwampNut]

7 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

that’s what BMW calls for

 

So it's irrelevant then.

 

[Zero Knievel]

2 minutes ago, SwampNut said:

So it's irrelevant then.

No, but one tends to trust the manufacturer’s specifications.  The Prius has dedicated jack points in the front and rear for a floor jack.  I have to make sure inspectors and mechanics do no use a floor jack elsewhere as it will damage the underside of the car.  For jack stands, I use a floor jack properly and then position the jack stands with rubber pads as usual.

[SwampNut]

There's nothing about a BMW that's different for trailering.  Whatever they say is irrelevant.

 

[SwampNut]

600 miles, two straps, didn't consult the service manual (well it says nothing about trailering).  The only difference for you is keeping the back tire from bouncing off the shallow rail.  Done.

 

 

 

 

[SierraKLR]

32 minutes ago, SwampNut said:

600 miles, two straps, didn't consult the service manual (well it says nothing about trailering).  The only difference for you is keeping the back tire from bouncing off the shallow rail.  Done.

 

 

 

 

Agreed.  Two straps either via a Canyon Dancer or soft looks to the bottom Triple.   

Bonus points for the Uhaul Trailer.  Those the best and most cost effective solution for motorcycle trailering.  Low, light and the nose bump with great tie down locations.  

I have my own ramp trailer with bolt in chock set up.....but still prefer the Uhaul.

[SwampNut]

6 minutes ago, SierraKLR said:

Those the best and most cost effective solution for motorcycle trailering.  Low, light and the nose bump with great tie down locations.  

 

A hidden gem, and ridiculously cheap at $15/day.  Another thing it has is a super long tongue.  So it's more stable, easier to back up by far.

 

[SwampNut]

Oh, and if you get the Uhaul app and reserve online and do your online documents/license, the pickup is under five minutes and drop off is two.

 

[DaveK]

5 hours ago, Zero Knievel said:

This is what I was getting from doing it “properly.”  Just so you have perspective.

 

Those looks like shitty, thin, cheap and econo straps. Not surprised. Now, attach them incorrectly and you’ve got double fuckery. 

[DaveK]

4 hours ago, SwampNut said:

and I can tell you from experience that I simply don't have the problems you do,

you solve 

 

he creates

[tomek]

 Waiting anxiously for season 3 of his bike towing soup opera. 

[Furbird]

My setup is a 4X8 open with tie downs welded to the outside rails.  Think that U-haul setup but on the floor level and back about 8 inches.

In the enclosed, it's the same thing but with fold-downs and a chock.  One is a slide in for the bird, the other is a bolt-down for the Victory (because it's longer, so it has to sit farther forward so the door doesn't hit it.)

My old 3 rail (which I quit running after I retired the FIRST drag bike) was the last time I tied down a rear tire.  Now I run 4 straps to the front.  Two pulling downwards and slightly forward on a Canyon Dancer (or directly on the bars in the case of the Victory since the Canyon Dancer doesn't fit it) and two pulling forward from the rear keeping it in the chock which also doubles as centering the rear wheel.

[SwampNut]

BTW, if anyone cares about fuel economy, I saw a huge change with my bike plastic wrapped versus unwrapped.  It was pretty easy to do, shit's cheap, and protects the bike.  The yellow strap is just to keep the plastic from flapping, not tight on the bike.

 

[superhawk996]

9 hours ago, Zero Knievel said:

This is what I was getting from doing it “properly.”  Just so you have perspective.

 

It clearly wasn't done properly or the strap would't be destroyed.  Any normal person would look at that and realize that something was done wrong, even if he thought it was right at the moment of strapping down.  I've driven several thousand miles with strapped stuff and have made some mistakes, but when I saw the evidence I corrected my mistakes rather than assert that I did it right.

[XXitanium]

10 minutes ago, superhawk996 said:

Any normal person...

... Would realize there's a learning curve and not blame the equipment immediately.

[superhawk996]

I can't imagine owning a dedicated trailer for my only bike and dealing with it not having tie down points in the right places.

[blackhawkxx]

3 hours ago, SwampNut said:

I saw a huge change with my bike plastic wrapped versus unwrapped.  It was pretty easy to do, shit's cheap, and protects the bike.  

You should have wrapped the front flat face of the car also as I bet it gets sand blasted over time.