Motorcycle Carriers | GTAMotorcycle.com

Motorcycle Carriers

neosis

Well-known member
Saw this motorcycle Carrier which goes on the hitch of your vehicle. Seems like its decently built. Comes with a ramp, recommended for sport and street bikes weighing up to 550 lbs and accepts a class three hitch. Has anyone used this product before?

Any feed back would be much appreciated.


LINK: http://amzn.to/2uLP6mo
 
Saw this motorcycle Carrier which goes on the hitch of your vehicle. Seems like its decently built. Comes with a ramp, recommended for sport and street bikes weighing up to 550 lbs and accepts a class three hitch. Has anyone used this product before?

Any feed back would be much appreciated.


LINK: http://amzn.to/2uLP6mo

What is the tongue weight your vehicle's hitch mount is rated for ?
It doesn't matter what the carrier can hold if the suspension/brakes/chassis aren't up to the task.
Be aware that you may run into problems if your tail lights or licence plate is obstructed.
You may need some kind of mirror extension too, if the ends of the bike you're carrying stick out past the sides of your vehicle.
As you might guess, I'm not a fan except maybe for carrying a small dirt bike - for that price just buy a small utility trailer.
 
@TK4 l have a new X5 with the tow package on it. Mirrors seem to be far enough out to see around as l have towed a couple boats as well a car with this vehicle. You are right though, l will have to get the additional rear lights when the bike is in tow so that other vehicles can see that l am braking, signalling, etc.

I thought about something like this carrier as l have limited space for which does not allow for storage of a utility trailer. Figured this would fit in the garage with out taking up too much space.

Thanks for your reply.
 
Doesn't seem like there's a whole lot holding a bike upright. I think you'd be better off with a folding trailer
 
@TK4 l have a new X5 with the tow package on it. Mirrors seem to be far enough out to see around as l have towed a couple boats as well a car with this vehicle. You are right though, l will have to get the additional rear lights when the bike is in tow so that other vehicles can see that l am braking, signalling, etc.

I thought about something like this carrier as l have limited space for which does not allow for storage of a utility trailer. Figured this would fit in the garage with out taking up too much space.

Thanks for your reply.

Tongue weight (as a rough rule) is 10% of your total towing weight - i.e. 500 lbs. on the tongue equals a 5,000 lb. trailer.

Something like this might be a better idea ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FREE-SHIPPI...ing-Motorcycle-Trailer-3806S084-/400989440994
 
If you have to hammer the brakes in a corner expect a lot more oversteer but the rear overhang on a typical SUV isn't as bad as a stretched van. Know your abilities.
 
I had the same one Hondo79 posted. Used it for 5 years or so and sold it on Kijiji. Carried lots of different bikes on it but I used it on a 1/2 and 3/4 ton ram pickup with no issues.

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Get air lift suspension put on the vehicle. I use a Versahaul with my pickup when not pulling the Stinger.
 
Get air lift suspension put on the vehicle. I use a Versahaul with my pickup when not pulling the Stinger.

Jacking up the suspension just makes the vehicle level again, it doesn't do anything else. The rear axle or the trailer hitch itself may be heavily overloaded as a result, and hanging that much weight directly off the back of a light vehicle will remove a significant amount of weight from the front axle as well.

I'd use one of these for a small dirtbike or something weighing a few hundred pounds, but anything over that UNLESS you have a vehicle capable of carrying the weight with a capable rear axle, forget it - it's just asking for trouble IMHO.

Take note you need at least a class 3 hitch to carry a 600# dead load. A class 2 hitch is only good for a 300# dead load, and a class 1 hitch is only good for 200#.
 
There are older threads on this (seach for hitch and you should get there quite quickly). The short version is they seem to be a terrible idea and they impose all sorts of forces into the hitch and vehicle that they are not designed to take (for example huge torque forces in the plane of the rear liftgate where a trailer imparts almost none, weight is ~2' back of hitch instead of 6" with a trailer etc) but nobody in those threads had ever seen one fail.

I am with the majority here, I would limit my usage to dirt bikes or pit bikes (~200 lb limit for me assuming a big tow vehicle).

If you can spring for a new X5, investigate a stinger trailer for the bike, they aren't cheap but they work well and fold up much smaller than a utility trailer.

EDIT:
In the amazon link you posted, someone had one fail with a 400 lb bike on a Range Rover and lost $7,500 to repairs.

"Sorry to Say, DANGEROUS. I bought a MotoTote that was rated for a 600 lb motorcycle. Well, you see what happened during transit. The wheel stop bolts from the factor kit broke and the bike fell from the MotoTote at 45mph on the road. The bike wiped out my Range Rover tailgate and window on the way to the street and then i drug the bike 50 feet before i could pull over safely. The truck was $4k to fix. The bike was $3.6k to fix. My insurance wouldn't cover it all because they characterized this as product failure. I contacted Marvin at Mototote. I showed him photos and repair estimates and he told me to pound sand and called me a liar. Hence, my honest and thorough review. Save yourself the headache and buy a real trailer. This is a pay now or pay more later scenario. My bike was only 400 lbs. Pics to come in a moment."
 
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Certainly appreciate all the feed back on the carrier, l may look into that folding trailer that @tk4 & @TwistedKestrel mentioned as that will not take up too much room in my garage. Certainly do want my bike falling off causing damage to the bike, suv or anyone else's vehicles.
 
The stinger is really quite awesome, but yes, they are not cheap.
 
I've got air suspension on a v8 body on frame.
Rated at 700lbs tongue weight with WD hitch
600 otherwise
Used it with a 450lbs bike no issues for a few times
Have yet to use it with my new bike

I would recommend them, assuming the truck is suited for the task.
Would also recommend installing a wheel chock like the one from Versahaul (I use a versahaul), and adding skateboard grip tape to the areas where the bike's tire will travel on.

Tied one down in the rain, and between the straps stretching and a bit of slippage, left a tiny dent from my handlebars on my tailgate.
 
I've got air suspension on a v8 body on frame.
Rated at 700lbs tongue weight with WD hitch
600 otherwise
Used it with a 450lbs bike no issues for a few times
Have yet to use it with my new bike

I would recommend them, assuming the truck is suited for the task.
Would also recommend installing a wheel chock like the one from Versahaul (I use a versahaul), and adding skateboard grip tape to the areas where the bike's tire will travel on.

Tied one down in the rain, and between the straps stretching and a bit of slippage, left a tiny dent from my handlebars on my tailgate.

see regrettably this is the problem, you have the right vehicle, get how level vehicles work, a hitch rated for what you are doing. MSRP has ticked all the right boxes.
Then comes Fred that has a class 0 hitch that works just awesome with three mtn bikes and a picnic cooler in the hatch. And we know the rest.

get a hitch installed to carry more than you ever considered, and pay attention to the capacity ratings the manufacture provides. Engineers figured that stuff out.

And as for towing capacity and tongue weight calculations by "rv salesguys" , yeah you can make anything work. Wait till it falls apart and your insurance provider says , "tell me again about the motorbike and how the pileup occured behind your SUV?"
 
I have one of these I bought second hand. I use it with my pick up truck when the beds full of tools... works great. I've used it to carry dirt bikes and sport bikes. I'm pretty sure you can pick one up from Princess auto for about $200, there's also a few on kijiji from time to time..https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41XlMV3Jb5L._SX300_.jpg

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Agreed - I didn't look too closely, but unless the OP's linked carrier is somehow drastically better than Princess Auto's, $800+ is a huge rip off.

I also got mine from Princess Auto on sale for $99:

https://www.princessauto.com/en/det...ount-motorcycle-dirt-bike-carrier/A-p8169781e
 
I have this exact brand. I've had mine for years now.. use it all the time. I've never had a single issue, but its because I am using a vehicle that can support that type of accessory.

I've used it to take my bikes to the US (or up north), no issues with 8+ hour drives. I use a canyon dancer on the handle bars, and straps on the rear foot pegs. I've heard stories of a failure but can't verify. Make sure your truck is capable of carrying this type of load before considering this type of thing. I have also used it to rescue stranded friends a few times. Very handy little thing that stores away in a small space in the garage.

b15f048616945c58320ae972b6af9ec9--thanks-sport-bikes.jpg
 
Not a super accurate comparison, but Princess Auto is 51lbs, the shipping weight of the Mototote is 70lbs, 74 for the versahaul.
Assuming the packaging during shipping isn't a whopping full 20lbs, you can assume one is a bit more robust than the other.
 
I have the Princess Auto one and use it with my Caravan to cart my Sachs MadAss around. It is a lot of weight to have on the back of your vehicle so make sure that your vehicle is rated to carry that much weight. Also, should a tie down fail, it will be catastrophic at most speeds. Either the bike will fall backwards first and you will most likely drag it with the tie strap that didn't fail until you can get your vehicle safely stopped or, it will fall into the backside of your vehicle first and damage the tailgate of your vehicle before it falls off and drags.

It can be done, just have to make sure you double and triple check everything is done right.
 

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