Trailer restraints are like religions. Everyone else's way of doing it is wrong. 
How would you strap down a Suzuki Burgman on a trailer?
- Thread starter timtune
- Start date
Green strap through front wheel appears to be relying entirely on tire friction to stay tight. It is attempting to rotate the wheel in reverse and only friction is resisting that force.
OK.... Your front green strap is doing nothing. Your front blue strap is trying to pick the bike up, not hold it down.
The rear Red strap to the rear tire is doing nothing.
All of your retention is coming from the green straps attached to the grab handles which I guess is fine as I do not know their strength. The front blue strap is actively fighting this tiedown point though.
Sikter
Active member
Every setup that results in a bike delivered to the destination in the same position and without a scratch is a good one. Mine has been proven rock solid for Burgman 650, which is a theme of this thread. Your mileage with your particular bike and your particular trailer may and will vary.Trailer restraints are like religions. Everyone else's way of doing it is wrong.
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Sikter
Active member
My front green strap pulls the front wheel towards the front, but it's just a redundancy. The setup would be fine without it.
My front blue strap is pulling the fork forward and slightly down. It can be anchored lower, but that wheel isn't going anywhere.
The rear red strap is another redundancy. It's wrapped around the wheel to prevent it from sliding sideways, but it won't anyway.
The two bolts that are holding the grab handle are in one of the pictures, and so is a couple of examples where to attach the straps.
About 70% of the whole setup is in the rear two straps. They hold the bike well anchored by pulling it both down and towards the front. All in all, the bike can be held more than well enough with three ratchet straps - two in the back attached to the grab handles and one in the front pulling the front wheel into the chock. Lowering the tie-down points for the front one its the only thing I might adjust next time (the pictures were taken the first time I trailered the Burgman 1,000Km to Pennsylvania and back - with no issues whatsoever).
Sikter
Active member
That would be correct if the blue one wasn't holding the spokes from the other side
. The green strap was proven to be redundant and I didn't use it again. Note that even the blue one is not a heavy duty ratchet strap. Not because I didn't have one but because it wasn't necessary. That wheel is pushed down and forward more than hard enough to resist rotation.
Redundancy means, if the primary fails, the back up will take the load. None of your 'redundancies will do that. Try just running your 'redundancy' points and tell me how it goes.
The blue strap anchor points on the bike are below the anchor points on the trailer. This means they are pulling up.
You don't have to believe me.... physics is on my side.
Yeah, sorry man. I also use four straps for redundancy, but that means that each strap has to do the same job as another strap. You have multiple straps but they're doing different things, going in all different directions, and most aren't even applying much down pressure because your anchor points are so high up...
Alright, I didn't want to have to do this, but I showed you guys how to do it right and you didn't want to listen so now I have to keep going lol
If you don't want to trust soulcatcher cause he's a random on the internet, and you don't want to trust me, because I have a youtube channel so I must be a fuckin weirdo (that's fair tbh), then will you at least trust BMW Motorrad if they had something official that they put out?
Here's a bulletin BMW Motorrad Aftersales Group put out on how to tow a motorcycle:
BMW wrote this, note me, deal with it. Click here.
You will notice a few things:
1) BMW says, in full capitals no less, "NEVER USE STRAPS THAT TIE-DOWN FROM THE HANDLEBARS."
Yes, I know, this is going to be very triggering for some people. Like I said, BMW wrote this, not me, deal with it.
2) BMW says strap around the front suspension down tubes (while paying careful attention to avoid hoses, wires, and other braking system components, obviously).
3) BMW NEVER, EVER, says to have straps going across the motorcycle (or scooter in this case) in all directions (because why tf would they?) - in fact, on the back, they specifically say, "one per side" - not some kind of cross trailer messy ass rat's nest.
Recap:
4 straps, 2 in the front (one per side) pulling the bike forward, 2 in the back (one per side) pulling the bike backward. SIMPLE!
And for the love of God and good aesthetics, don't put your straps over anything that isn't hard thick metal, like your Burgman's plastic covered grab bars.
I've reached out to tim privately - check your inbox
Alright, I didn't want to have to do this, but I showed you guys how to do it right and you didn't want to listen so now I have to keep going lol
If you don't want to trust soulcatcher cause he's a random on the internet, and you don't want to trust me, because I have a youtube channel so I must be a fuckin weirdo (that's fair tbh), then will you at least trust BMW Motorrad if they had something official that they put out?
Here's a bulletin BMW Motorrad Aftersales Group put out on how to tow a motorcycle:
BMW wrote this, note me, deal with it. Click here.
You will notice a few things:
1) BMW says, in full capitals no less, "NEVER USE STRAPS THAT TIE-DOWN FROM THE HANDLEBARS."
Yes, I know, this is going to be very triggering for some people. Like I said, BMW wrote this, not me, deal with it.
2) BMW says strap around the front suspension down tubes (while paying careful attention to avoid hoses, wires, and other braking system components, obviously).
3) BMW NEVER, EVER, says to have straps going across the motorcycle (or scooter in this case) in all directions (because why tf would they?) - in fact, on the back, they specifically say, "one per side" - not some kind of cross trailer messy ass rat's nest.
Recap:
4 straps, 2 in the front (one per side) pulling the bike forward, 2 in the back (one per side) pulling the bike backward. SIMPLE!
And for the love of God and good aesthetics, don't put your straps over anything that isn't hard thick metal, like your Burgman's plastic covered grab bars.
I've reached out to tim privately - check your inbox
Hmm.... there is some saying about pictures and words.... can't put my finger on it though.
Xhumeka
Well-known member
Soooooooooooo? Did you go look at it, or did the complexity of tying it down change your mind???
Sikter
Active member
You are right. I used the term "redundancy" wrong - I should have written "redundant" instead. English is not my first language so feel free to sue me. As for where what was tied to, I don't need you to tell me because I was the one who tied it. I don't have to believe you because I have real life testing to rely on. When did you trailer a Burgman and how did you tie it up?
OK, so now you are saying a bunch of your stuff is useless, but still saying it is the way to do it?
Just give it up man.
KLR style restraint is mean to the scooter.
Sikter
Active member
When did you say you trailered a Burgman again?
