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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> trailer hitch /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1188485218 Message started by Jack_650 on 08/30/07 at 07:46:58 |
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Title: trailer hitch Post by Jack_650 on 08/30/07 at 07:46:58 So, has anybody tried to tackle the trailer hitch? I love mine so far and the pictures should make it obvious how easy it is to put together. Just curious 'cause it seemed there were so many folks interested and now lately there's not been a peep on the forum. I want to see a Savage group camping with trailers thing get started, sort of like the big Airstream or Teardrop get togethers/rallys that take place around the country. The little bike that could - can. So far the only thing wrong with it for me is is that I have to take of the right side and the ball mount to get the rear tire off. And let me tell you, I remember having much less trouble in the "old days" breaking down car tires than I had getting an oversized Dunlop off and on that Suzi rim two weeks ago. Jack |
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Title: Re: trailer hitch Post by SteveRocket on 08/30/07 at 08:42:00 I have been thinking about it again, But I have no way of making one myself. If you had a way of making a plan that someone could follow or if the man who made yours would make another (and I could afford it) I would buy one. Did you make your trailer? .The prices I have seen have been quite high for a ready made one. I was looking for your posts last night funny enough. Nice to see the subject brought up again Steve |
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Title: Re: trailer hitch Post by Paladin on 08/30/07 at 12:12:48 I've been thinking about it, with a slight variation. I have Leatherlyke saddlebags and they have a spacer on the mounts that I could replace with the trailer bracket, with the clamp to the shock post to take the fore/aft strain. Except rather than have the part going down, terminate each side with a socket to take a 5/8" square bar. This removable bar would then drop back and down and carry the actual hitch. |
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Title: Re: trailer hitch Post by Jack_650 on 08/30/07 at 21:06:44 First Steve, in reply to what trailer do I use, I bought on of the "Little Red Trailer" kits from Menards a couple years a go at a fall clearance sale for $80.00. It's a 40"X48" bed, has 8" tires and weighs in at just under a hundred lbs. with a 1/2" plywood floor and a 7' 2"X6" bolted on to put the bike on when I trailer it behind the car. They now are running around $180.00 or so regular price. If you go this route and want to use it behind the bike AND to trailer the bike, don't bother with the bike rail kit that you can buy for it. The rail is way too narrow for the back tire on the 650. It's more for dirt bikes I'm sure. I had to bend the sides out to get it in there. Ugly and not at all elegant, but it works. I've trailered the bike on it on a couple 600 mile trips and a few shorter around town things and it goes just fine. Pick up one of those shaped tube/pipe front wheel stops and bolt it to a 2"X8" and just tie the back tire down to the board itself after you strap it down. Behind the bike, you don't even know it's there when it's empty. I've yet to pull any real weight behind the bike on it. Soon though as I've got to haul a good couple hundred pounds on it for about 650 miles this fall. As to making a hitch yourself, I don't know why you don't think you could do it yourself or get it done without plans. I would bet last months paycheck that if you take the pix of the hitch to any competent welder he/she could whip one up for you no sweat. (Did I mention I didn't work last month? I did a 2.4k round trip to N. Carolina and 4k trip to Miami instead. On the 650) I've been giving it some thought in retrospect that you could do one without even having to do any welding. It wouldn't be quite as streamline or graceful but still would be strong and functional. The hardest part would be cutting the two side pieces from 1/4" stock sheet. Although I bet you could use off the shelf metal that was hefty enough and be strong. Paladin, my only concern with doing the square removable drop down idea would be strength and stability. I had considered a similar approach at first but ended up going for the rigidity of the one piece sides. The one piece 1/4" plate steel doesn't flex much. The whole hitch comes off in five minutes if needed and since I have the horizontal hitchplate bolted on to angle iron welded to the side pieces with four bolts, I can drop that off to get at removing the tire if need be. My intention was to only have the hitch on the bike when I was going to use it but I've not taken it off since it was put on. It looks pretty good, it's great to bungie things to and when there's bags on the back you hardly see it anyway. I now think that bolts through the rail and fender are probably enough and the U-bolt clamp to the shock mount could be eliminated for ease of construction. I suppose I would go with at least three bolts through the fender to feel safer though. That fender is pretty dang solid. I've had my 180# bouncing along down the highway on it and there wasn't any give to it at all. And, if you've gone the longer shock route, you would have the clearance to put the side pieces of the hitch under the fender instead. My $.02 worth on the issues. Jack |
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Title: Re: trailer hitch Post by SteveRocket on 08/31/07 at 06:34:43 Great reply thanks. I thought "last months paycheck" was hilarious. I personaly dont even have a garage of my own let alone the tools to make it. Could you give me a ball park figure on the price he charged you so I dont get the arse ripped out of me. (well this is LA) Thanks for you help Steve |
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Title: Re: trailer hitch Post by Jack_650 on 08/31/07 at 08:13:25 Keep in mind that the fella who did my hitch for me lives in western nowhere N. Dakota, is in his mid-70's and is as much artisan as tradesman anymore. He asked $75.00 for the whole job. I think that twice that much for the job he did would still have been a great deal. He cut the pieces from 1/4" sheet steel he had around with a torch, did all the welding (wirefeed), grinding, painting, etc over the course of four days in his "spare" time. I was there for a lot of the time and helped with what I could, but everytime I went away and came back there was a lot of the work done. I would guess there's at least 12-15+ hours of actual work time involved, and that's hours done by someone who knows what they're doing. Oh yeah, his wife makes a killer rhubarb custard pie with a real crust and everything. Jack |
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Title: Re: trailer hitch Post by SteveRocket on 08/31/07 at 08:43:43 lol, there are only two things that I can't eat and Rhubarb is one of them but I'll have the custard Steve |
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Title: Re: trailer hitch Post by Paladin on 08/31/07 at 16:13:36 Jack_650 wrote:
The Savage has to be one of the funnest bikes to work on. You can do so much with so little. |
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Title: Re: trailer hitch Post by Digger on 06/29/08 at 21:50:22 Hi Jack, I was one of the main ones interested in the trailer hitch, since I no longer own a cage of any type. I couldn't get anyone in my town interested in fabricating the trailer hitch for me. Everyone's too worried about liability, I guess. I do appreciate you posting the pics, that is a great job that old guy did for you. I wish I lived close enough to his place to get this done. Cheers! |
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Title: Re: trailer hitch Post by verslagen1 on 06/29/08 at 22:21:39 How about taking some good pict's side, rear and top. Throw a ruler in for scale. That and a list of materials and anybody can get it made. Did anybody reply to how a goose neck type hitch worked? (ball on top of fender rather than down low) |
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