How To Tie Down A Motorcycle In An Enclosed Trailer

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How To Tie Down A Motorcycle In An Enclosed Trailer – So you pick up a broken bike, take a dirt bike to the track, or whatever, and you have to fix it. Here is some advice on how to do that.

DO: Have proper ramps. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of videos on YouTube of people abandoning their motorbikes while loading them into trucks. To unload your bike, you first need to get it behind your truck or trailer, and you’ll need a ramp to do that. Keep an eye on your local hardware/car shop flyers; Cheap steel ramps can cost as little as $50. However aluminum is lighter and easier to handle. And walk the bike up the ramp, don’t try to ride it until your friend shoots one of those YouTube videos.

How To Tie Down A Motorcycle In An Enclosed Trailer

How To Tie Down A Motorcycle In An Enclosed Trailer

Do: Keep your kickstand up if possible. Everyone agrees that the best way to transport a motorcycle is to center the wheel in the bed of your truck or trailer and then hold the bike in an upright position with straps on each side to keep it in tension. This prevents your kickstand from digging a hole in your vehicle or buckling under stress. Kickstands are known to break under stress, and if they fall apart while you’re traveling at speed, you’re in trouble if you used them to support the bike. However, from time to time there are situations where you have to put the kickstand down for some reason: usually because the vehicle you use to transport the bike does not allow for a position central bearing. If this is the case, make sure the kickstand won’t punch a hole in your truck bed or trailer floor (if necessary, put a piece of wood under it), make sure it can’t tip over, and make sure you’ll have There are safety straps so if the worst happens and the kickstand fails, you won’t lose your bike off your back.

Trailer Tie Down Points

The kickstand is down here, but will be pushed back once the bike is properly strapped into place.

Don’t: Forget about Newton’s third law of motion. “For every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction.” When you strap the bike down, make sure it is protected from all the forces that can act on it – braking, acceleration, crosswinds, turns, etc.

Do: Use proper straps. Low-end ratchet straps also work well as tie-downs, but cheap cam buckles can be troublesome. Cam buckles can be a decent secondary or safety strap, but unless you’re using high quality cam buckles, don’t use them for critical straps. That said, some manufacturers use cam buckles for bike transport, but they are much better quality than the $5 specials at your local hardware store.

DO: Have plenty of straps. You can go with as few as two straps for work, but you should have at least four (two in front, two in back) for safety. A fifth or sixth is too much for some people for safety, but necessary for other, more careful motorists.

Amazon.com: Motorcycle Tie Down Straps (2 Pack)

The BMW Scrambler is held in place by bolting down the front forks, then securing the rear end with bolt-on rear pegs. Note the aluminum ramp, also tied down.

DO: Think about your tie points. On most bikes, you’ll want to use the handlebars to place the front tie-down lines and passenger pegs or the rear subframe as the rear tie-down points. But be careful, because latching too tightly onto things like the switch gear or throttle tube can break plastic pieces. A front fork or triple tree may be a better choice in the front in some cases. And if you want to run a safety belt or two, consider using foot pegs. They are very hard to scoop, and they are very firm.

Don’t: Trash your body. As you fasten everything, think about where the straps are pointing. Will they rub against the body of the bike while traveling? Maybe the wind will vibrate the straps against the fairing? If there is a possibility that the binding is somehow touching the plastic of your bike, you should try redirecting it. If that’s not an option, then wrap it up and use a soft fabric (think chamois etc.) to prevent any damage.

How To Tie Down A Motorcycle In An Enclosed Trailer

Do: Compress your suspension. Use the rebound of your suspension to hold the bike in place by compressing it and then tightening the straps.

Cruiser V Twin Motorcycle 16pc E Track Trailer Strap Tie Down Kit

You can’t build one side without building the other, and here the back end is firmly secured. The kickstand is still down but not actually touching the truck bed, and will be set before moving away.

Don’t: Tighten your straps. This is a good way to blow a fork seal by over-compressing the suspension. Remember, your bike will still spin when you overdrive. It may be enough to blow a seal if it is already weak. Additionally, if your straps are too tight, there is a risk of the tie-down point on the bike or truck/trailer coming loose. A small amount of flex should be left on the straps, but not much.

Ready to go! The scrambler (and ramp) is safe and secure in the back of the truck.

Do: Check everything once you’re done. Did you loosen one strap while you tightened the other? Is the bike now moved or is it strapped at every corner?

How To Safely Tie Down A Motorcycle

Do: Consider options to make the job easier. Products like the Canyon Dancer bar harness, or wheel chocks that fit in your truck, will make towing your bike much easier if you do this regularly. If they prevent a tipover, they will pay for themselves immediately.

DO: Prepare to change your technique on the ferry. If you’re traveling and have to take your bike to a ferry crossing that needs to be tied down, you’ll probably need to tie it down with a stand down, and of course, the tie-down points are ferries (usually fixed in the decking. ) . In these cases, it makes sense to run a strap from the front wheel to the kickstand to ensure that the bike cannot tip over the kickstand. Sometimes the ferry will insist on tying the bike down; If so, keep a close eye to make sure it’s done right. If you are unsure and there are other riders on the ferry, ask for help – there is no shame in needing help. Sometimes the ferries will tie properly, other times they will be dirty or soaked in grease or fish oil, and sometimes they will have ropes instead of straps, which requires a bit of knot knowledge. For this reason, it is best to carry at least two light straps of your own if you are going on a journey including a ferry. And, sometimes Ferries don’t use straps, but just a block of wood pressed under your bike’s engine case…

The Canadian Moto Guide is here to provide motorcycle news, reviews and features from a Canadian (and often somewhat offensive) perspective. There will come a time in every motorcyclist’s life when they need to dismount the motorcycle. Whether traveling to a track day, racing or just across town to drop it off at the local shop. So the big question is how does one strap down a motorcycle?!?! A google search shows a topic on how to strap down a bike. From Canyon Dancers to Pitbull trailer suspension systems, to ST stands, simple little ratchet straps that attach to the bike. One thing you’ll find common to all of these systems is keeping fork seals to a minimum. The Pitbull and ST stands eliminate this problem and are great systems to use, but are expensive compared to the Canyon Dancer and straps. Straps are a great, cheap way to secure a bike, but you can blow the seal or undo the strap.

How To Tie Down A Motorcycle In An Enclosed Trailer

Earlier in the year I was helping an experienced racer load his bike, and he unloaded his bike in a way I had never seen before. He explained how it worked which made perfect sense to me. Below he shows us how to strap on a bike.

Motorcycle Tie Down Strap Pack With Integrated Soft Loops W/ Ratchet

Basically the wheel is forced into the wheel chock which makes it one with the chock and the trailer. A belt on each side of the bike holds the wheel in place. By strapping it like this you can take all the weight off the fork seals and make it impossible for the bike to come out of the fork. One thing to keep in mind is that the anchor point for the strap should be in front of the fork. This keeps a constant forward pressure on the tire against the chock.

Again this is another way to beat the bike down. If Pitbulls or ST stand a little out of your price range give this one a shot. You will be surprised how it will work. Benjamin Franklin famously noted the trade-off between liberty and security. Motorcyclists

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