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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
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Message started by Oldfeller on 06/17/13 at 07:57:46

Title: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by Oldfeller on 06/17/13 at 07:57:46

I am a newbie at trailering, and I bumped into some items that may or may not be commonly seen when trailering on these relatively stiff sprung bike trailers that we are using.

#1 REMEMBER TO CUT YOUR PETCOCK "OFF" Every interstate slab tilt bump and bridge start bump can jar your float valve off the seat for a microsecond and allow some extra fuel to flow into the bowl. This results (mild case) into a flooded "won't start" condition when you first try to start the bike upon attempting to de-trailer it at your destination. A bad case is gas in your oil and gas in your air filter box.

By cutting the petcock off before putting the straps on you make sure there is no path for that extra "bump" gas to get into your carburetor's float bowl.

#2 DO NOT FILL YOUR GAS TANK UP 100% WHEN TRAILERING This one is pretty straight forward, your bike may be stiffly held upright but your gasoline in the tank sees "G" forces in every interstate mountain turn. The slosh makes a mess out of the top of your gas tank and only a paper towel wetted with gasoline can clean it up correctly.

#3 CHECK YOUR STRAPS AT EVERY STOP They get loose over time as the nylon stretches due to tension. If you get a mist rain, check them again as nylon picks up moisture and expands very slightly (a hygroscopic material in other words).

#4 USE TWICE AS MANY STRAPS AS YOU "REALLY" NEED Straps carry a 300 pound working load rating, but they begin to stretch well below that rating. I started out with 4 straps and stopped and bought some more because I had one get loose on me --- it was likely my own operator error not clinching the buckle back down good, but by having a "backup" strap I am safe from operator error like that. Plus, extra straps mean the tension level per strap goes down, which helps eliminate the stretch thing.

#5 DO NOT TAKE OUT ALL THE SHOCK TRAVEL AT EITHER FRONT OR BACK, just take out a little more than half of it. This keeps the bike under non-strap stretching tension and allows a little shock action to keep the bike from getting pounded quite so badly on the interstate. A really really bad bump will momentarily loosen up your straps so make sure your hook up methods cannot "unhook" themselves at all easily .....

#6 CHECK YOUR TRAILER HITCH BALL "CLOSED" TENSION BEFORE STARTING BACK. OK, it was adjusted right when you started but I bet it has gotten loose when your check it as you start to go back.

NOTE: Canton NC routes all traffic through a rail road yard and that rail crossing after rail crossing raises hell with a bike trailer at any speed above a crawl. Your trailer will see some NEED FOR ATTENTION after an event like that, so stop and do it.

Trailer bearings apparently leak some if you put the recommended amount and weight of grease inside them. When the leaking stops after 4-5 trips it is time to shoot in some more grease.

(a heavier grease of course ;) )

What else have some of you guys seen in your trailering efforts ??

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by verslagen1 on 06/17/13 at 09:13:26

Note that he said to sinch it down in the upright position.
Do not sinch it down on the kickstand... you will bend it.

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by Dave on 06/17/13 at 12:43:48

I learned a lesson for the second time yesterday. When you attach the hook from your tie down straps to a metal anchor (loop or eye) take some tape and close off the open end. When you hit a big bump and the bike suspension compresses.....the hook can disconnect from the loop on the trailer. Luckily my trailer is enclosed and the bike had a trailer wall to lean on and nothing was hurt. This same thing happened once when I was trailering my trials motorcycle.

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by WD on 06/17/13 at 15:10:01

Use compression straps, not ratchet straps. Far too easy to go crazy with a ratchet strap and at minimum blow out a fork seal (or bend a handlebar).

Take the mirrors off if using an open trailer, rocks from your tow rig rear tires can hit the mirror heads and dent/break them.

If it can get scratched, it likely will. Terry towels and zip ties over any paint or soft chrome you intend to keep as is...

Strap it down in 1st gear, never in neutral.

Have a sissy bar, straps hook to it. No sissy bar, strap it around the swingarm. Then run an extra one over the seat (preferably use all 5 at the rear).

Stop when you've gone 25 miles from your starting point and tighten the straps. Then it is every 120 miles or 2 hours, whichever comes first. No different than flatbedding.

DO NOT tarp your bike unless you already planned on repainting it...

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by gizzo on 06/17/13 at 16:49:09

I trailered mine home 350 miles when I bought it last year. Took the front mudguard off and stuffed an oil container filled with water between the wheel and triple clamp. Tighten the straps til the oil container is being compressed and you're good to go. That's normal practice when you trailer dirt bikes, stops them bouncing around and works just as well with a Savage. a camlock on each handlebar and one round the front wheel for good luck is all you need then, the bike is held rigidly on the trailer and nothing moves. Didn't come loose at all on some pretty rough outback roads.
My 2c, YMMV, IMO etc
simon

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by engineer on 06/17/13 at 18:13:55

Thanks for providing all the trailering tips, I might try doing that some day and it is good to have some advice on how to do it right. Gizzo when you say an oil container are you referring to a plastic one gallon jug or something else. I never saw anyone do that.

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by Charon on 06/17/13 at 18:28:35

I'd say most of the same tips apply when carrying the bike in the bed of a pickup, too. When I carry my bike in a pickup I also use a couple of straps through the front wheel to keep the bars from turning, since there are no tracks and nothing in the bed of the truck to keep the front wheel from moving to one side or other.

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by Jiggyfly on 06/17/13 at 18:38:55

after racing for so many years I've developed a tried & true technique that's significantly simpler.
Strap it down, don't worry about "1/2 way compressing your suspension".....to technical.
Grab a handle bar and shake the crap out of the bike.....does it feel like it would fall? Tighten it up some more. If it feels ok, tie your strap ends up & roll. Also, straps with the carribeener type closing ends prevent straps from bouncing out of being hooked.
99% of the time I use the loop type & go over the bottom triple, then hook to that......literally cannot come off.
Oh.....& dont use "canyon dancers".....not only do they suck, but they can tear up grips, break throttles, & controls.

My experience of hauling over 100 different motorcycles, as well as loading up a race bike by myself 50 times a year, without ever having an accident proves my approach works.

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by gizzo on 06/17/13 at 22:32:00

707279727B727E64170 wrote:

Yep. Our oil comes in litres, so it's a 4-5 litre container, so about a gallon I guess. The more organised of us use a made up fork block like this.
http://www.mcas.com.au/motocross-accessories-mx-tie-downs-fork-blocks/oneal-fork-block
I needed to take off the front guard to use in on the savage, or it would squash the guard. I've done the same when I had my old Pantah on the trailer once too. I only use this and the 3 cam lock straps and never lost a bike yet. They don't come loose or bounce around and you don't trash your fork seals by overcompressing the fork. You can do the straps up as tight as you like. Those Canyon Dancers look like a really bad idea. Never seen them before.

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by ahusain on 06/27/14 at 06:58:02

This is very useful info, sorry for reviving an old thread....

Got a question: Do you think it's absolutely necessary to have a chock when trailering?

I'm taking my s40 about 500 miles next week. Using one of the UHaul 5x9 utility trailers. They can't guarantee it will be one of the new ones that has a chock built in.... and they can't give me the bike-specific trailer because it's a one way rental ::)

Any ideas? Thanks --

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by Srotag on 06/27/14 at 09:25:27

If you don't get the new style trailer angle the front wheel into a corner and follow all the tips above. 1st gear, straps etc.

I just hauled my new baby from Salt Lake City to West Yellowstone with the old style trailer. You will need long straps due to floor rings only being in the corners.

Checked it even more than normal...new toy syndrome, but all went well. :)

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by Oldfeller on 06/27/14 at 10:50:07

I do not chock the front wheel, having found out the hard way that it knocks the front wheel out of true to use it as a stressed member of a clamp up arrangement.

Instead I use 8 straps, tying off a pair (one going forwards and one going backwards to each side at the triple clamps and at the top shock mount.

This "floats" the bike in the wheel rail, but allows no forward or backwards motion AND it means if I lost a strap for whatever reason the bike would remain in place just fine.

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by Dave on 06/27/14 at 11:13:34

Well......I use a chock, one strap on each side of the forks. If there is not any channel to hold the rear wheel....then a couple of straps just to keep it from bouncing too far left or right.

This photo has the front of the ramp as the chock. In a pickup bed the front of the bed works well for a chock. If the trailer has a vertical rail that the front of the tire can but up against, and is high enough the bike doesn't just roll over it - that would work. Notice the wheel chocks only go up about 1/3rd the tire height.

Dave

Title: Re: Things to do when TRAILERING your bike
Post by gizzo on 06/28/14 at 01:05:42

I saw something new to me a couple weeks ago. I sent and Aprilia RSV Mille to a friend interstate via a commercial motorcycle carrier. They put the tie downs (big ratchet straps in this case) around the fork down by the axle, front and back. Their comment was that it stops blowing the seals out. I'd have imagined there would be too much leverage on them down so low but the carriers said they'd never had one go down on them.