How do you haul ?

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Yes i ride a torture rack R1 (not as bad as a Ducati) I haul my bike via truck/trailer anytime my bike's go out of town (bi-annual if not more) When in the bed of the truck i use a Canyon dancer across the clipons and and compression tie-down up front. I do this so i dont over crank a set of ratcheting tie downs, Although there exactly what i use on the rear of the bike once the front end is secured.

When on my trailer i use a set of Harbor freight front wheel chocks that have a bar that comes up behind the tire once you roll it in, at that point i go through the same steps as above. Ive been told that with the front wheel chock all i need to do is put a strap on each side of the rear of the bike and it will ride fine.. I still dont trust this advice..

Would love to have a set of the pitbull rear axle secure systems (no tie downs or canyon dancer needed.. but i have a little trouble dropping that much cash.. hopeing one day the price comes down a little.

Im intrested in hearing what you do when you do haul your bike, methods, tips, tricks, ect..

*note* the towing the bike on its sidestand down method is a VERY VERY BAD IDEA... seen this method FAIL and almost ruin one buddys trip..
 
I travel quite a bit as I track my bike.

I used the gen 2 canyon dancers for years but last year I steeped up to the pitbull restraint system and now I feel stupid for not doing it sooner.

The added ease and not having to check straps or crush down my suspension is so worth it. Not having the fear of opening the trailer door to see the bikes lying down is worth the money.

We have two trailer one if a 14 foot enclosed and the other is a cheap 4X8 one I use for local events. We use pitbulls in both.
 
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I'd rather be shot than drive my stupid F350. If I go anywhere I ride there. Come winter I'm forced to drive and I hate it. I'll never haul a motorcycle anywhere.
 
Myself and three friends have the same Harbor Freight stand as you. Used them on three Harleys and a chopper Labor day weekend from TX to TN/NC area. We drilled and installed two bolts to hold down the base plates, and ran two straps from front handlebars down to the eyebolts on the front bar. We ran a single strap from each side in the rear and crossed them in an "x" pattern to help hold them down. After first 20-25 miles stop and adjust straps. We have has no issues with these clamps and have been using them for over a year now...
 
The only time I trailered a bike was when I bought an old Goldwing. I used a landscape trailer with a front tire holder, and two "d" rings mounted on each side of the bike.1 strap thru the front wheel around the frame, and 2 on the crash bar, and 2 for each side of the swing arm. I nailed a block of wood behind the rear wheel so it wouldn't rock.I dragged it 360 miles and never had to tighten the straps. I left the kick stand down and it was fine in the end, still is.,,
 
Bigdreama: Yes the pitbull system is freaking sweet, ive seen it up close and personal.. ive just never pulled the trigger.

Ron: id love to ride everywhere, but i love sportbikes, and there not very fun on long roadtrips.. its not there focus, i will take my A/C leather,GPS.. BLA BLA BLA.. comfort of my cage, unload my rocket and do what i came to do (tracks, mountain roads).. if i had a cruiser id be with you..

Rraider, aint nothing like a track day
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I have a trailer in a bag with a Condor locking wheel chock and I absolutely love it! The trailer itself only weighs 140 lbs, and is incredibly easy to load. The only upgrade I would recommend is replacing the 8" wheels with 12 inchers. This thing is also built like a tank. It's rated to handle 2000 lbs, so it handles my 775 lb bike with ease.
 
I have a Kendon Stand up dual trailer...it is OVERKILL to haul my bikes but I can remove the bike rails and lash 2000lbs of stuff to it if I need to. It has come in handy!

I might add the pit bull to one side for my R1200R..it reall looks secure! And I might save a lot of time lashing my precious loved one to the trailer.

Sorry, that last part sounded a little "nasty"!
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
I have a trailer in a bag with a Condor locking wheel chock and I absolutely love it! The trailer itself only weighs 140 lbs, and is incredibly easy to load. The only upgrade I would recommend is replacing the 8" wheels with 12 inchers. This thing is also built like a tank. It's rated to handle 2000 lbs, so it handles my 775 lb bike with ease.


i always wondered if those were any good or just a joke. glad to hear there good !
 
I have two trailers that I use to tow sportbikes all over the southeast. I guess I should say from South Florida up to racetracks all over the place - Summit Point and VIR are the farthest I typically go. I also go to deal's gap twice a year.

One trailer is a galvanized steel magic tilt three rail trailer that was built specifically for late 80's sportbikes. Luckily it is overkill for todays sportbikes. The middle bike is forward of the other two so the clip-ons don't hit. It is an open trailer and works very well. I use two straps from the lower triple clamp down to the trailer about 32 inches apart in the front and two straps in the back as well. I pull them all down so tight that there is almost no suspension travel left. I have been doing this for years w/ no problems. The one time I didn't tighten the straps so tight I had a bike fall off after going over diagonal train tracks. This trailer is lighter and I use it with the G35. I have been using this trailer since '91 and have logged many tens or thousand of miles on it.

I also have a heavier trailer - basically a 6x8 utility trailer with pressure treated 2x6's for the bottom and a railing that runs around the perimeter at about 2ft high and 4ft high. It only carries two bikes, but offers them more protection than the three rail trailer. I have been considering getting a couple of the Harbor Freight wheel chocks for the front so I can move the bikes back about 4 inches from where they sit now. With two bikes right now the tongue weight is about 300lbs, moving the bikes back 5 inches will reduce it to under 200 - which would be nice. I don't use this trailer as often, but I think I am going to start. I have had this one since I got rid of the 8x16 enclosed trailer which was around 2004

Next week I will be doing a 2,000 mile trip into the mountains with the larger trailer and my CBR1000RR and a new Ducati Multistrada.

I never had much luck with the canyon dancers - I always deformed my throttle grip.
 
[I never had much luck with the canyon dancers - I always deformed my throttle grip. [/quote]


me too, but its never bothered me much.. so i keep doing it,
 
The only time my road bikes go on a trailer is when they break down,and that hasn't happened in the last 10 years. There was a time when as I set out for a ride my wife asked where the tie downs were.

I used a van for my trials bike for a few years,but have gone back to a trailer. I use what you would call a wheel chock,but it's much more robust - it drops into my 6x4 trailer. I just push the bike up the ramp and it locks in,then I use tie downs front and rear.
 
Originally Posted By: OtisBlkR1
[I never had much luck with the canyon dancers - I always deformed my throttle grip.



me too, but its never bothered me much.. so i keep doing it, [/quote]

The gen one had this issue but they resolved it with the gen 2 as it uses plastic cups on the grips instead on the nylon web.
 
Originally Posted By: rraiderr
Originally Posted By: OtisBlkR1
[I never had much luck with the canyon dancers - I always deformed my throttle grip.



me too, but its never bothered me much.. so i keep doing it,


The gen one had this issue but they resolved it with the gen 2 as it uses plastic cups on the grips instead on the nylon web. [/quote]

yeah, buddy uses the gen 2..

This past weekend we tested the front chalk, rear tie down method..WOW.. it works, if you have a front wheel chalk that when you roll your bike in a bar/cup.ect comes up and grabes the back of the tire, your pretty much set up.. we installed 6 chalks in a 20' trailer and put three bikes in it to test. a couple tie downs on the rear of your bike and its not going anywhere.. were leaving tomorrow and im completely sold on this method now.
 
Well thanks to you guys I am the proud new owner of a Pitbull trailer restraint system. I plan on hauling the bike to north Georgia over Thanksgiving so I will gave a review in a few weeks. Looks good so far:

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