towing bike suggestions

If you use standard S hooks, a bungee stretched between the 2 S hooks keeps tension on the ends to keep them from coming unhooked if you hit a big bump.

mitchntx said:

The tails will whip the crap out of your paint, too.

A good practice is after the ratchet in bailed over in the "locked" position, wrap the tail around the mechanism to keep the ratchet from releasing and slipping through the bail slot.

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gixxerjasen said:

One thing many neglect is the loose extra ends of the straps. I've been called paranoid but I fold them up and then use zip ties to fasten them to the main strap so they don't come loose. Make sure to bring something with you to carefully snip the zip ties with or you might not be doing much unloading.

I do this because I was riding in a friends truck with all our bikes on his utility trailer. All of a sudden we started hearing this banging noise behind us. I saw a horrified look on my friends face as he looked in the mirror so I turned around to see his bike slamming down into the side of the trailer. One end of the strap got loose and kept getting caught under the wheel of the trailer which would tighten up slamming the bike over before being ripped loose only to do it again. He managed to get pulled over before any real damage was done but I learned my lesson about loose straps. Not so much an issue in an enclosed trailer, but in the bed of a truck or an open trailer you need to pay attention to them.

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that's why you get retractable ratchet straps!
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200466851_200466851

VintageGW's said:

Using a Kendon single bike folding trailer with the wide ride up ramp for Wing and a receiver rack for dirt bikes up to 400#. Best of both worlds. Ride up ramps for truck didn't appeal to me.

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No issues with the Wing scraping underneath as it goes on? I have a single that I've used with my FJR, but have an F6B now as well, and don't want to find out the hard way...

There's lots of pricey solutions to this problem, but honestly a small little utility trailer gets my vote. Stick a decent cradle wheel chock in the front. Tilting ones would seem the way to go, but on shorter ones (8-10ft or so), you'll find that trying to drive a bike on doesn't work- the front axle gets past the pivot point before the rear wheel touches the deck, so the trailer slams down and bottoms out on the bike. A flip-up ramp on the rear is the way to go IMO. The angle is very shallow so 1 person load/unload isn't a problem and no need to find a ditch or wall.

I carried all sorts of bikes around in my truck for years using a standard tri-fold ATV ramp. It worked and was fine for dirt bikes, but a lot of road bikes would bottom out on the tailgate from the angle being too sharp- and that was on a stock Tundra with the "XL" length ramps from Cabelas- if your truck has a lift or big tires, problem will be even worse. Plus, unloading by yourself is pretty scary especially with taller/heavier bikes.

RWhitehouse said:

There's lots of pricey solutions to this problem, but honestly a small little utility trailer gets my vote. Stick a decent cradle wheel chock in the front. Tilting ones would seem the way to go, but on shorter ones (8-10ft or so), you'll find that trying to drive a bike on doesn't work- the front axle gets past the pivot point before the rear wheel touches the deck, so the trailer slams down and bottoms out on the bike.

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That's why I assembled my cheap 4x8 Harbor Freight Chinese trailer with a solid frame. Invest a little extra cash in 5.30-12 LRC tires, eye bolts in the corners where regular bolts are supposed to go, and 8-foot side boards with a means to secure to the trailer as ramps. You can carry any motorcycle except a Boss Hoss, no problem.

If you want to carry two smaller bikes, 1 1/5 inch angle 2 feet longer than the bed width under the front crossmember with holes drilled in the ends, and a third eyebolt between the chocks.

Doesn't seem my $199 kit with no wheels is available, but there is a $299 kit with 12-inch wheels that will get the job done, and a $379 kit with the 5.30-12 LRC tires with about 600 pounds more capacity if you feel you need it. Simple tire chocks save a lot of hassles, well worth the investment. Invest in ratchet straps just barely long enough to secure your load--excess tends to work loose and get under a tire at 70mph--yuck. The best straps have built in soft ties and spring loaded keepers over the hook openings. Cheap insurance. I found a pair at Lowe's that were so nice after the first trip I went and bought a 2nd pair.