Trailering my bike cross country, any tips? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Trailering my bike cross country, any tips?

C

Centralblues

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I'm moving west from Toronto, rented a 5 by 9 cargo trailer from uhaul, $175, instead of shipping my bike for $900, plus I have to drive out anyways. Any tips or advice, what type of tie down straps should I buy? How do I properly secure it and tie it down to avoid it falling and damage, should I trailer it on wheel chocks?

Any advice would be helpful, even if you're writing to say, I've done it, it's a nightmare, pay the $900 instead, I'd like to hear why.

Cheers, CB.
 
4 straps, 2 front and 2 rear. Make sure you're strapping to the trailer floor and no the walls, you get a better angle on the straps that way imo.

The fronts loop around the handlebars a few times and then strap to hooks in the trailer floor. The idea is to pull the bike down to compress the forks and also pull it forward so that the wheel is being pulled into the trailer wall. This means the bike won't slide backwards or jump up and down. The rears are nice to do around the passenger pegs. You want these pulling to the side and downwards, to prevent the back end from sliding sideways or hopping.

Periodically check on the straps to make sure nothing is loose and you're good to go. It's really no big deal.

Wheel chocks are nice but not necessary. These are also nice but not necessary: http://www.canyondancer.com/Products.aspx
 
+1

Like he said it.. spend $40 at canadian tire and get the Reese heavy straps.. they're good quality with solid ratchets that won't jam. 2 on either side of the handle bars, compress the forks most of the way, but don't bottom the 100% out. Strap off the side downwards. if ur unsure, grab the bike by the frame and give it a shake.. if you move the whole trailer but not the bike, you're good. If you're going to be stopping at hotels through the night, get yourself some chain/padlocks for the bike and trailer.. i mean, they wont be 100% theft proof, but they may deterr a joy rider or petty theif. Make sure you just give the straps a quick tug whenever you stop to make sure they arent loosening, and if they have, give the ratchet another click and off you go. Should be a breeze. Good way to save yourself a few hundered bucks!
 
You're going a long way? You might want to go a bit easier on having your springs heavily compressed during all that time, and also build in a bit more bike stability at the same time.

Do yourself a favour and pick up four 8-foot lengths of 2x4 from Home Depot. Cut two of them to the 5-foot interior width (measure first) of the trailer. Put the bike in the trailer and place one of the two cut pieces across the width of the trailer right in front of and butted against your front tire, and one butted against and behind your front tire. The two remaining uncut 2x4s go against your tires, one on each side of the bike running front to back. Use screws to hold the 2x4s to each other.

Now your bike's tires are firmly placed inside a "track" made of 2x4s that will keep the tires from doing any unwanted side-to-side sliding, and the two 5-foot crossways 2x4s will also help restrict front and back movement of the bike. If you want to add some more front-back movement insurance, take the two left-over cut-off pieces and place them on top of the "track" 2x4s in front of your front and behind your rear tires, and then screw them to the "track" of 2x4s. In effect you'll have constructed wooden chocks/wheel-stops for both front and rear.

The whole exercise will cost you under $10 and about 10 minutes work. Once in place, use a couple of straps in the front as suggested, but you won't have to compress your springs nearly as much to keep the bike from moving. A single strap on the back through the wheel will help prevent the rear bouncing.

The 2x4 "track" and wheel-stops will be able to keep the bike contained on even on the bumpiest road and even if the straps should loosen up along the way, and you won't have to compress the hell out of your springs.
 
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Although I'm sure that is a secure way to tie down a bike, it is not how I tie mine down.

I use soft ties over the lower triple tree both left and right front and also a soft tie over frame piece that is under the rear passenger seat (left and rear) to make up the four straps. I compress the suspension about 50%, maybe a slight bit more. The handle bars are fine but I am just not comfortable with that except on a dirt bike or a really light bike with the appropriate harness (ie canyon dancer)
 
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royal has no name "canyon dancer"s for $12, that will help protect your bodywork if you have any.. On bikes that have no bodywork i feed the strap through the forks. At the bike end I make a loop by feeding the strap through the eye of the hook so it can not unhook it's self on a nasty bump.

Here is how I strapped down a project bike on a flat bed trailer.

IMAG0199.jpg


The blue straps pull forward, the red straps pull back. the bike is kept stationary.
 
Bungy the tie-down strap midway to prevent any slack forming from a large bump or otherwise - in rare cases the bottom hook can detach from its anchor point and come loose.
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