Had a terrible day transporting my bike, need suggestions

[rosscopeeko]

Today was the first day i got to take out my new to me 03 cr250. It is a very low hour bike which was like new. Just finished going throught the whole bike griesing everything and headed out today. Loaded the bike into my dad's utility trailer and used 2 tie-downs, one on each side of the bars just before the grips. I start heading down the road about 3 miles from home and notice the bars starting to turn a bit. Hit a small bump and wham, my bike goes down and hits the side of the trailer. I stop and look at the damage. Gouged the hell out of my rad shroud pipe side, chewed rear fend and the side a bit, and looks like it pushed my right side radiator in some. I was pissed and a little confused. Hooked everything up again and went down the road again. Wham, happened a second time. I hook it up a third time, this time really tightening down the suspension and i made it to my riding spot. Road for a couple hours then start heading home. Really tighten it down tight again with the 2 tie downs and push my ramp under the bike's frame from the ride side, bracing it against the side of the trailer. Start going down the road, hit a cattle guard and the fricken tailgate flies off the trailer onto the road. What a day. Riding was fun, but the drive there and back was a nitemare. Bike is no longer mint, but i knew it wouldn't take long. Ok, so sorry for the long read, but i need to know if you guys who use tie downs use more than 2? I know it's not good to tighten them down ultra tight. I was thinking of getting a piece of channel iron for the front tire to sit in which would stop the turning. This trailer has ultra stiff suspension and it bounces a bit. Should i somehow tie it off at the rear of the bike too? Don't want my bike to get damage from transporting it, would rather it be from actual use. Thanks for the read from a frustrated rider.

 

[crazy4nitro]

Alright,
This is what I do....I cut an 10" 2X4 and wedge it under the front fender/tire.....SMOKE -it down till your happy.....now..Game over..Till your riding.................

 

[FruDaddy]

Get some soft ties, and hook it up on the fork legs between the triple clamps. If the ties are too close to vertical, they do very little to keep the bike up. Bringing the mount point down and in brings them closer to flat, but you don't want to tie down too low on the bike either. Also, I bungee the back tire down so is doesn't bounce around. I only use two ties and the bungee, and I don't crank the ties down much at all. For peace of mind, It couldn't hurt to use 4 ties, assuming you can access some of the framework. Also, you could raise the tie down points on the trailer a little.

 

[crazy4nitro]

Get some soft ties, and hook it up on the fork legs between the triple clamps. If the ties are too close to vertical, they do very little to keep the bike up. Bringing the mount point down and in brings them closer to flat, but you don't want to tie down too low on the bike either. Also, I bungee the back tire down so is doesn't bounce around. I only use two ties and the bungee, and I don't crank the ties down much at all. For peace of mind, It couldn't hurt to use 4 ties, assuming you can access some of the framework. Also, you could raise the tie down points on the trailer a little.

I left out the fact that I use 2 tie-downs horizontly to keep the rear tire.. from "walking" left and right, which helps the front tire to "not slip"...Good catch Fru..+1

Crazy

 

[JST122]

Do you use a wheel chock for the front wheel on your trailer? If not get one of those, since trailers tend to bounce more than the back of a pick up the handlebars are more likely to turn causing the problem you had, if you get a wheel chock for the front tire it will not allow the tire to turn when tied down and will help prevent this problem. I use wheel chocks in my enclosed trailer with only two tie downs and it works good, for long trips I will sometimes put a tie down over the back tire to prevent the back end from shifting to the side.

 

[supr_fly_tnt]

ive always used only 2 tie downs, but you have to have the front wheel pushed agianst the front of the trailer. the bike cant be just tied down in the middle of the trailer because the front tire is free to turn and that will allow slack into your ties. you either need to move the bike forward and push against the front or create some kind of a wheel stop for the front wheel to push against, like a 2x10 across the width of the trailer. and like Fru said, you dont want the ties too close in on the bike or it will still fall.

 

[KDX CRAZY]

I use 4 tie downs and make sure the front is pulled down tight or the bumping of the trailer will cause the suspension to move down and loosen the tie downs . 2 on the back just stop the back wheel jumping around .

 

[DLHamblin]

Do you use a wheel chock for the front wheel on your trailer? If not get one of those, since trailers tend to bounce more than the back of a pick up the handlebars are more likely to turn causing the problem you had, if you get a wheel chock for the front tire it will not allow the tire to turn when tied down and will help prevent this problem. I use wheel chocks in my enclosed trailer with only two tie downs and it works good, for long trips I will sometimes put a tie down over the back tire to prevent the back end from shifting to the side.

I agree that a chock is a great investment with a trailer. My trailer is enclosed so the bike couldn't fall out but the chock keeps the wheel straight so it can't twist and fall into the trailer (or my son's bike).

 

[FruDaddy]

Do you use a wheel chock for the front wheel on your trailer? If not get one of those, since trailers tend to bounce more than the back of a pick up the handlebars are more likely to turn causing the problem you had.

This I why I bungee the rear down, I don't chock the front.

 

[robwbright]

I sometimes angle the bikes and put the front wheel in the front corner of the trailer/truck. Works well with 2 tie downs if you have hooks in the right place on the trailer.

 

[Masterphil]

Here are 5 simple steps to ensure that your bike will stay in your truck, no matter how you drive. (I drive like a total jackass)
Step 1: Place front tire squarely against bet of truck making sure tire is in a "groove" of the bed.
Step 2: Take a proper legnth (every bike is different) 4x4 and wedge it between the tire and the bottom tripple clamp.
Step 3: Get a good set of ratchet straps.
Step 4: Place the straps just to the outside of the tripple clamps on the bars. Right where the bars start to turn up.
Step 5: Sinch the straps down until you can jump on the bike and it moves as though it is part of the truck.
Step 6: Find the nastiest jumping hill/RR track crossing and hit it like you've never hit it before, because you bike ain't going anywhere. Don't worry about the rear of the bike, it's got 12ish inches of suspension travel, It can take care of itself.

Never has the bike even slipped using this method, and I don't take rough sections of road (or off-road) very easily.

 

[TimberPig]

The main reason for tying down the rear isn't even to hold the bike in place while driving, but in case of having to brake hard, in which case the bike can flip up and land on the cab of the truck. This is especially true if you don't place a block between the tire and lower triple clamp, as the front suspension will compress and allow the bike to pivot about the front axle more easily.

 

[JST122]

Come on. :laugh: If you tie the bike down in the back of a pickup with two tie downs up front and tie the bike down against the front wall of the bed of your truck you dont have to worry about the rear at all. The most that will happen is the rear end may pivot to one side or the other if you hit a rough road and break hard but the bike is not going to end up doing a front flip and land on the cab of the truck because you didnt tie down the back wheel. The only way the bike is going to do a front flip is if the truck does one too. Now if you tie the bike down in the middle of the truck or trailer without the wall to push up against or a wheel chock and no block in between the front tire and fender sure then it can move to the front and rear and would be very unstable.

 

[TemeculaTim]

A terrible day is when your hitch mounted hauler breaks off because of a crappy weld and your bike cartwheels behind your truck at 70 mph. I'll take scratches in the plastic anyday.

 

[TimberPig]

Come on. :laugh: If you tie the bike down in the back of a pickup with two tie downs up front and tie the bike down against the front wall of the bed of your truck you dont have to worry about the rear at all. The most that will happen is the rear end may pivot to one side or the other if you hit a rough road and break hard but the bike is not going to end up doing a front flip and land on the cab of the truck because you didnt tie down the back wheel. The only way the bike is going to do a front flip is if the truck does one too. Now if you tie the bike down in the middle of the truck or trailer without the wall to push up against or a wheel chock and no block in between the front tire and fender sure then it can move to the front and rear and would be very unstable.

Have you seen it happen before? I have. It also happens with quads. When you have to brake hard and suddenly, the nose of the truck dives and the rear lifts, then enough force is acting upwards at an angle, that the bike pivots about the axle.

In some jurisdictions, failing to tie it down at the rear is considered to be an unsecured load, and your insurance won't cover the damages if it does happen.

It isn't a frequent occurrence, as you normally don't brake that hard, and the bike only lifts slightly and the suspension extends. But in more extreme cases, where you hammer the brakes, it can and does happen.

 

[Ryone]

Park the front tire of the bike into the front passenger side corner of the trailer so that it can't move laterally (since you don't have any chocks, and probably don't want to mess with your dad's utility trailer)

Use a tie-down from the left handlebar to the front driver's side corner of the trailer, and another tie-down from the right handlebar to the rear passenger side of the trailer. The lateral distance from your handlebars to the opposite corners of the trailer make the bike far more stable without having to compression the suspension as much.

It doesn't matter too much how hard you pull on the tie-downs. It matters how far away the tie-down point is from the bike. The further the better.

I always use a backup strap on each front strap, just in case.

Ryan

 

[JST122]

No I have not ever seen that happen or ever heard of anyone talking about such a thing. This is the first I have ever heard someone say the bike could land on the top of the cab. The law issue is a whole different issue and if that is the case then you should tie the rear end down based off of the laws in your area. But If you tie the bike down against the front wall with a block or fork saver in place you cant even lift the back end if you wanted to, at that point it moves with the truck. It would have to be an incredible force to overcome the force tieing the bike down and into the front of the truck and with the block in place the front suspension has no where to move to even allow the bike to pivot about the front axel in an upward motion. I am not saying if you stop hard the rear end wont lighten and possibly raise up, but to overcome the other forces do a front flip and land on the cab....

Just ask Masterphil he jumps railroad tracks with his bike in the back tied down this way

 

[TimberPig]

Like I said, not a common occurrence.

The force that is exerted by you is far less than will be exerted under hard braking. It is unlikely that you will ever experience it happening, but it is possible, even more so if you don't place a block between the wheel and the triple clamp.

Tieing it down in the manner you describe normally holds the bike secure under normal conditions and you don't have any problems. But when you encounter that rare situation, where it does happen that the bike moves, if its not strapped down in the rear it can and does happen that it flips forward. Each situation is different, and you may never encounter a problem. The peace of mind of putting a couple extra straps on the rear, easily outweighs the difficulty of an extra minute to tie it down in greater load security.

 

[JST122]

No doubt that if that is a concern, it is far easier to just put a strap over the rear end and then you wont have to think twice about it. There is certainly no harm in additional tie down points and if it gives you the peace of mind, by all means.

 

[rosscopeeko]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm going to invest in a couple more tie downs and a wood wedge. A guy at work offered to make me a metal channel iron that the tire sits in that i'll bolt to the front of the trailer. He even mentioned he could do it in an L shape to cover the bottom and front of the front wheel. I had the bike planted against the front wall of the trailer with the straps attached just before the grips on the bars and then attached to the front top corners of the trailer which are approx. 3.5ft high. This trailer hops like a bitch so i'll play around to come up with a better system. Can't afford a broken rad or more gouges in my plastic and front forks. Thanks again.

 

[Lokair]

I just wheel my bike into the trailer and push it over on its side , then I know that it is already knocked down and I never have to worry about it falling over, J/K. hehehe

 

[Matt Fisher]

I drilled some 1/2" holes in the leading edge of the trailer bar that where the front tire touches. Wrap a bungie around the front tire (hooked into a hole), which keeps it from turning, then one tie-down to each side of the bars, and one more tie-down going from the back of the bike (sprocket usually), straight back to keep the rear end in line.

I had the front tire slip right out on a wet morning before using the bungie on the front tire. Crushed radiator, won't let that happen again.

 

[Masterphil]

Just ask Masterphil he jumps railroad tracks with his bike in the back tied down this way

Come on now! I've done much more stupid things than than with the bike in the back of the truck.

Timberpig:
I'd have to vote "not possible" on what you are saying. If you place the wood block in there, you have effectively removed any bounce that the suspension has as well as the ability of the tire to rotate. Here's a littledrawing of what this looks like from the side. I'd definitely have to say, "no way in hell are my tires(truck) going to grip hard enough as to force my bike to do a evil-kenievel-jumping-the-grand-canyon-front-flip-onto-my-hood move.

(I got a little carried away with this one...)

 

[TimberPig]

Come on now! I've done much more stupid things than than with the bike in the back of the truck.

Timberpig:
I'd have to vote "not possible" on what you are saying. If you place the wood block in there, you have effectively removed any bounce that the suspension has as well as the ability of the tire to rotate. Here's a littledrawing of what this looks like from the side. I'd definitely have to say, "no way in hell are my tires(truck) going to grip hard enough as to force my bike to do a evil-kenievel-jumping-the-grand-canyon-front-flip-onto-my-hood move.

(I got a little carried away with this one...)

Doubt me all you want, but I've seen it happen.

In a hard stop, that block can pop out, the bed can flex, giving slack in the tiedowns, and the bike begins to rotate.

If you haven't seen it happen, you're going to doubt it, so since i don't have a picture and you all seem to think you are engineering geniuses on the mechanics of this, I'm not going to waste anymore time trying to explain it to you.

 

[JST122]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm going to invest in a couple more tie downs and a wood wedge. A guy at work offered to make me a metal channel iron that the tire sits in that i'll bolt to the front of the trailer. He even mentioned he could do it in an L shape to cover the bottom and front of the front wheel. I had the bike planted against the front wall of the trailer with the straps attached just before the grips on the bars and then attached to the front top corners of the trailer which are approx. 3.5ft high. This trailer hops like a bitch so i'll play around to come up with a better system. Can't afford a broken rad or more gouges in my plastic and front forks. Thanks again.

You should definitely tie the bike down to the bottom two corners of the trailer rather than attaching the straps to the top corners of the trailer. If I am picturing what you are describing correctly it sounds like you are attaching the straps to the handlebars and the other end up to the top corners so it is almost straight out. If you do this you really cant compress the suspension at all to assist in tieing it down. The block inbetween the front fender and wheel will only work if you pull the bike down when you tie it down to squeeze it in place. That way the straps keep the bike from rising up and the block keeps the suspension from wanting to compress further and therefore loosening your straps. The metal channel iron you are talking about sounds like it should work to keep the front wheel from turning kind of a homemade wheel chock but I would definitely move your tie down points to the floor of the trailer rather than the top. You will have better luck that way.