Hitch carrier for dirt bikes

[deckard]

I use the DK2 one that was sold locally in Burlington
See Google for more info
As stated above observe the weight limits
I use it on my 2002 Toyota 4Runner
It has a 5000 lb towing capacity therefore 500 lb tongue weight
Yamaha WR250X, 300 lb wet weight full of gas
Also use magnetic lighting system as shown above
Tailights are obscured by the motorcycle
Distracted drivers need to know where and what you are doing

from there online spec

Hitch / Vehicle Tongue Weight Limit (use lowest figure)	Max. Carrying Capacity of K2 Carrier
300 lb. (136 kg)	180 lb. (82 kg)
350 lb. (159 kg)	225 lb. (102 kg)
500 lb. (227 kg)	350 lb. (159 kg)
750 lb. (340 kg)	450 lb. (204 kg)

Observe those limits!
It keeps you and other road users safe from catastrophic failure
I see some sketchy setups on the road and give them lots of room

 

[timtune]

Is anybody actually doing the math? Tongue weight is at the ball. The weight 12-16 inches beyond (CG of the bike) has to be much less. That said somewhere on this forum is a pic of my 2000 Echo with a 1980 TS125 hung on the back BUT I built my rack to bolt on the rear sub frame (that's a bit of a stretch). Only used it once. Seemed like a lot of strain the car was not meant to take.

I keep thinking of a "non trailer" trailer. The front wheel would be mounted in a reciever mounted front wheel chock and then the rear wheel fits into a two wheeled dolly strapped to the rear tire. Once at the trail head you throw the dolly in the car and off you go. Very little tongue weight and no large trailer to store. Can we get the boys in the lab working on this?

 

[Trials]

The front wheel would be mounted in a reciever mounted front wheel chock and then the rear wheel fits into a two wheeled dolly strapped to the rear tire. Once at the trail head you throw the dolly in the car and off you go. Very little tongue weight and no large trailer to store. Can we get the boys in the lab working on this?

That's a mighty short trailer, it will ride highly reactive.

explanation: your bike will be airborne on occasion and impossible to back up.

 

[GreyGhost]

Is anybody actually doing the math? Tongue weight is at the ball. The weight 12-16 inches beyond (CG of the bike) has to be much less. That said somewhere on this forum is a pic of my 2000 Echo with a 1980 TS125 hung on the back BUT I built my rack to bolt on the rear sub frame (that's a bit of a stretch). Only used it once. Seemed like a lot of strain the car was not meant to take.

I keep thinking of a "non trailer" trailer. The front wheel would be mounted in a reciever mounted front wheel chock and then the rear wheel fits into a two wheeled dolly strapped to the rear tire. Once at the trail head you throw the dolly in the car and off you go. Very little tongue weight and no large trailer to store. Can we get the boys in the lab working on this?

And force at the ball is straight down with no torsion in any axis. Don't start looking at the math, they stay up by blind luck.

Your non-trailer, trailer is cool, but I suspect by the time you had something functional, you would be similar to a stinger. As trials said, you can't back up something that short.

 

[Trials]

Personally I would add safety support straps to the roof racks,
? that's what we did with the ones that clamped onto your heavy chrome car bumpers in the iron age

 

[Priller]

I keep thinking of a "non trailer" trailer. The front wheel would be mounted in a reciever mounted front wheel chock and then the rear wheel fits into a two wheeled dolly strapped to the rear tire. Once at the trail head you throw the dolly in the car and off you go. Very little tongue weight and no large trailer to store. Can we get the boys in the lab working on this?

I assume you're thinking of something like this:

Home - MOTOW

It takes a different approach, but minimizes load by using the wheels you've already got.. I'm not sure how much tongue weight it would generate, but it can handle up to 600 lbs. Most cars only have a Class I hitch receiver, which can do 200 lbs, but Class II and up would be fine. Even Class I would likely be fine for most dirt bikes, especially considering the tilt would push more of the load onto the front wheel.

The guy from Asphalt & Rubber used one to tow his Kramer race bike recently, and said it was great. Far less trouble than a trailer.

Reversing would still definitely be an issue, especially with the handlebars strapped. I guess you avoid doing it, and remove the bike if it becomes necessary...

 

[GreyGhost]

I assume you're thinking of something like this:

Home - MOTOW

It takes a different approach, but minimizes load by using the wheels you've already got.. I'm not sure how much tongue weight it would generate, but it can handle up to 600 lbs. Most cars only have a Class I hitch receiver, which can do 200 lbs, but Class II and up would be fine. Even Class I would likely be fine for most dirt bikes, especially considering the tilt would push more of the load onto the front wheel.

The guy from Asphalt & Rubber used one to tow his Kramer race bike recently, and said it was great. Far less trouble than a trailer.

Reversing would still definitely be an issue, especially with the handlebars strapped. I guess you avoid doing it, and remove the bike if it becomes necessary...

You've got the same problem with that that you have with the sideways dirtbike racks. Tongue weight is normally ~6" out from end of receiver, with motow, load is ~24" out from receiver. Tons of extra torsion that you are supporting with luck not engineering. Even in their promotional shots, it looks like things are twisted/bending in a concerning manner.

Edit:
This guy built is own and did a pretty good job (not a bad project for those looking to practice welding as you have a lot of material and weld length to work with). Link to video at time he is cranking up the bike/down the car.

To see why most of them pick up the back wheel, not the front, watch a few seconds of video. Very concerning looking.

Hahahaha. After building it, he was so sketched out that he won't use it and rented a trailer to move his bike..

 

[Priller]

You've got the same problem with that that you have with the sideways dirtbike racks. Tongue weight is normally ~6" out from end of receiver, with motow, load is ~24" out from receiver. Tons of extra torsion that you are supporting with luck not engineering. Even in their promotional shots, it looks like things are twisted/bending in a concerning manner.

Agreed except that it's at least cutting the tongue weight in half, unlike the sideways racks. Tradeoff is less maneuverability, I suppose.

I suspect there's more engineering here than reliance on luck, but the receiver is the limiting factor with all these options. I wouldn't use one with a Class I hitch, for sure. Class II (350 lbs) would work for a light dirt bike, and Class III (800 lbs) and up I think would be fine. 40% of a small dirt bike would be less than 100 lbs. on the mount, which I'd be comfortable with, even with the added leverage.

Under the right circumstances (light bike, appropriate hitch), I think it could make sense. In the situation I listed above, the guy was towing a light Kramer with a RAV4. He was going through mountains and snow, and wanted the minimum overall weight to help with the climbs and descents, and was going a long way, so mileage was a concern. Apparently it worked well enough to convince him to buy one. Storage is also much simpler.

That said, I'm not putting my utility trailer on Kijiji anytime soon. Getting this thing loaded is just as much of a job, the trailer is more secure, I can reverse with it (badly, anyway), and it does other things...

 

[GreyGhost]

Agreed except that it's at least cutting the tongue weight in half, unlike the sideways racks. Tradeoff is less maneuverability, I suppose.

I suspect there's more engineering here than reliance on luck, but the receiver is the limiting factor with all these options. I wouldn't use one with a Class I hitch, for sure. Class II (350 lbs) would work for a light dirt bike, and Class III (800 lbs) and up I think would be fine. 40% of a small dirt bike would be less than 100 lbs. on the mount, which I'd be comfortable with, even with the added leverage.

Under the right circumstances (light bike, appropriate hitch), I think it could make sense. In the situation I listed above, the guy was towing a light Kramer with a RAV4. He was going through mountains and snow, and wanted the minimum overall weight to help with the climbs and descents, and was going a long way, so mileage was a concern. Apparently it worked well enough to convince him to buy one. Storage is also much simpler.

That said, I'm not putting my utility trailer on Kijiji anytime soon. Getting this thing loaded is just as much of a job, the trailer is more secure, I can reverse with it (badly, anyway), and it does other things...

Yes, it is probably lower forces than the platform.

My discussion on luck vs engineering was for the hitch. The manufacturer assumes and designs to a load of xxx lbs at x" from the end of the receiver and a straight pull of xxxx lbs trying to pull the bar out of the receiver. Obviously they put a factor of safety onto whatever they come up with. You are also forcing ugly moments back up into the vehicle (200 lbs at 24" is four times the moment of a conventional ball loading with 200lbs at 6"). If you got really unluckly, you end up with the picture below. Apparently 350 lb tongue weight plus a big bump in the trail. The frame bent in front of the axle. More pics on the internet but most are locked in Zuck land.

 

[Priller]

Yes, it is probably lower forces than the platform.

My discussion on luck vs engineering was for the hitch. The manufacturer assumes and designs to a load of xxx lbs at x" from the end of the receiver and a straight pull of xxxx lbs trying to pull the bar out of the receiver. Obviously they put a factor of safety onto whatever they come up with. You are also forcing ugly moments back up into the vehicle (200 lbs at 24" is four times the moment of a conventional ball loading with 200lbs at 6"). If you got really unluckly, you end up with the picture below. Apparently 350 lb tongue weight plus a big bump in the trail. The frame bent in front of the axle. More pics on the internet but most are locked in Zuck land.

Fair point. I'd also be concerned about rust, as a lot of the aftermarket hitch receivers can promote underbody corrosion like crazy. Still, with some checks and avoiding dirt roads, there's some margin for error...

 

[timtune]

Fair point. I'd also be concerned about rust, as a lot of the aftermarket hitch receivers can promote underbody corrosion like crazy. Still, with some checks and avoiding dirt roads, there's some margin for error...

How would they promote corrosion? Certainly couldn't be any worse than parking your car in a garage at night in the winter - that's a sure fire route to rust

 

[timtune]

You've got the same problem with that that you have with the sideways dirtbike racks. Tongue weight is normally ~6" out from end of receiver, with motow, load is ~24" out from receiver. Tons of extra torsion that you are supporting with luck not engineering. Even in their promotional shots, it looks like things are twisted/bending in a concerning manner.

Edit:
This guy built is own and did a pretty good job (not a bad project for those looking to practice welding as you have a lot of material and weld length to work with). Link to video at time he is cranking up the bike/down the car.

To see why most of them pick up the back wheel, not the front, watch a few seconds of video. Very concerning looking.

Hahahaha. After building it, he was so sketched out that he won't use it and rented a trailer to move his bike..

His homemade version is lifting the wrong end in my opinion. Rear tire and tranny wear.

Also I would not trust his roof racks.