| Author | Message | ||
     Milesdt |
I have a quick question.... I have a buddy who is nice enough to transport two buells for me and my brother home about 800 miles. What is the best way to put the bikes in the truck and what is the best way to strap them down securely? the bikes are an '03 9r and a '98 S1. Thanks! By the way, I have a loading dock to load and unload the bikes. | ||
| J2blue |
I would use a crane to lower them into the bed. He may need to pump up the rear shocks, too. I can fit one XB canted sideways in the bed of my ranger and have the tailgate close. I believe there is about 39 inches between the wheel wells so I'm not confident that the two bikes would fit side by side with the tailgate down. If they do fit make sure to strap each bike down independently and compress the front ends completely. | ||
| Milesdt |
Yeah i was thinking about putting one in forwards and one backwards and strapping them that way. The tailgate will be down so that's not an issue at all... I'm going to measure the width of the bikes to see how close of a fit its going to be. | ||
| Thetable |
Best way to do it would be on a trailer. UHaul rents utility trailers at a reasonable price for local rentals at least. | ||
| Jeffroj |
+1 Uhaul. 14 bucks ...and compress the front ends completely. Isn't that what you are not supposed to do, blown seals, bike flipping into the cab, ect.? | ||
| Juniorkirk |
Jeffroj, would you rather have the bike bounce loose of the straps and have it fall out the back? i would think falling out the back would be more likely then there actually being enough force to lift and bring the back end up and over into the cab | ||
| Ourdee |
Get the trailer. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I have fit two full size bikes (a Honda VT500FT Ascot and a Honda RC-51) in the back of a Ranger and transported them ~450 miles without a problem. I had a 2x8 ramp and one person to help me. No, the tailgate won't close but if you have them properly secured that's not a problem. You have to take your time to get both bikes strapped down without the straps rubbing on the other bike, but it can be done. I don't see where two Buells would be a problem. | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
Yeah i was thinking about putting one in forwards and one backwards and strapping them that way that sounds like a good idea because each bike can be latched down it may be tricky getting the bike up there going backwards though.... :\ ====== what i've done with dirtbikes is out both of em in side-by-side, hook the nearest bike to the trucks latches (left bike gets the left loop, right bike gets right loop) then tandom the bikes together with a 3rd ratchet by the triple tree.... its easier to get the bikes on compared to the 1backwards way.. but the bad thing is that the bikes forks never get compressed, so the bikes sway like a tree in the wind with all that fork travel  } | ||
| F_skinner |
Yeah i was thinking about putting one in forwards and one backwards and strapping them that way That is the only way you will be able to get both in the truck and transport them without them bumping into each other. I would put the XB in first and back the S1 in but it may work the other way as well. Strap both the front and rear of the bikes tight so they don't dance over and hit each other. One other thing and you probably know this, do not have the either sidestand down and check the straps often to make sure they are tight. Frank | ||
| Milesdt |
Thank you for the helpful replies! i am on the way to put the bikes in right now, I'll let you know how it works. | ||
| Bombardier |
Why would the seals blow because of fully compressing the forks? I thought the spring is the only thing under pressure when static. | ||
| Milesdt |
Well I'm back from a successful strapping expedition! We put the xb in forwards and backed the s1 in. I strapped two straps on each side of the triple trees of both bikes and we secured the back tires down with a few extra straps we had. The tailgate has to stay down but the bikes fit great! Thanks to all for the helpful hints! | ||
| K3xb |
Bombardier, there is also fluid and air inside a fork. The fluid does not compress as easily as the air, so the air is what compresses along with the spring. In fact, suspension tuners refer to this as the "air spring" and use it as a tuning variable. By varying the fork oil level they can change the air gap at the top, making the overall spring rate a little harder or softer. | ||
| Punkid8888 |
Any pictures? | ||
| Jeffroj |
I was always told to leave a little bit of travel in the forks, never bottom them out. I was curious to learn the reasons why others were told differently. Step 2: Once both Ratchet straps are in place, tighten each snugly so that bike will sit in the upright position on its own. BE SURE TO NOT COMPRESS THE FRONT FORKS, SERIOUS DAMAGE MAY OCCUR TO SUSPENSION OF BIKE (see owners manual). | ||
| Ducxl |
I move one Buell in my Ranger(could do two?).I NEVER compress the forks...EVER | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
I think the fork damage is hearsay.... | ||
| Ducxl |
I think the fork damage is hearsay.... I recall being told differently from the GMD Computrack suspension specialist | ||
| Etennuly |
When I haul mine in a pickup or on one of my trailers I compress the forks about 3/4 of the way and hook the strap hooks in a way that they cannot come loose if there is a momentary compression of the suspension. With no load on the bike it would take a lot of effort to compress them further. In a pickup with two bikes the outside fork strap is hooked to the bed's forward outboard cargo loop. The inside strap goes over the front wall and around the frame rail on the opposite side. I always did my road bikes and dirt bikes the same way. | ||
| J2blue |
There is compressed, and then there is compressed. I only meant using body weight to compress the front fork to eliminate most motion and keep the straps tight. I suppose one could use ratcheting straps to completely compress the front fork, but I'm too lazy for that. Never a problem for me. I'd like to see pics of the two bikes loaded, that is an impressive feat! Roll on. | ||
| Froglosopher |
I had a friend who while hauling a dirt bike in the back of his truck, hit a bump, which caused the bike's suspension to compress even further, causing the straps to come loose of the bike, resulting in the bike falling over and breaking the rear window of his truck. ever since that incident, he and I and all our friends wedge a block of wood between the front tire and the fender to eliminate that from happening. I don't think that solution would work for most street bikes, but I would make sure that when you have it strapped down, even if the straps were to come a bit loose they would still hold the bikes | ||
| Ducxl |
My straps MERELY stabilize my bikes'. I strongly advocate the use of the Baxley branded "Sportchock".There are others,like the excellent Condor brand chock as well. | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
+1 Ducxl... Baxley and Condor make excellent chock/stands, but for the budget minded you might want to check this out: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem. taf?Itemnumber=97841 I have two- one for the XB and one for the RSV1000R... they ain't pretty, but they are hella strong and do the job very well- at a fraction of the cost. | ||
| Ducxl |
Wow,RBJ your link provides a similar part for less than $50. I have two of the Baxleys' Sportchocks(at $349.ea.) and highly value their manufacture by some fine folks in Dothan,Alabama.I leave them in the garage and coming in i pull into one and step off and walk away without considering kickstands. Strapping into a pickup without these can cause stresses against the front of the bed | ||
| Boltrider |
Compressing the forks seems like an unnecessary step as long as you don't drive like a mad man. I use Canyon Dancers when I haul my bike and they do fine on their own. But a chock looks like a good, cheap investment. I'll probably get one of those soon. (Message edited by boltrider on December 22, 2008) | ||
| Crackhead |
i usaly put all my weight on the front forks and pull the straps tight. With a 2wd ranger it is easy to pack the second bike on the truck, a slight hill does wounders and the truck sits low stock. | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
DO NOT COMPRESS YOUR FORKS ALL THE WAY DOWN!  | ||
| Xbrfirebolt |
Twice I have had a blown fork seal after having the front end pulled down fairly tight on 2 different occasions. Both times the bikes were just purchased. No signs of bad seals on either bike before the trip home in the back of my ranger. Believe when people tell you, you can ruin a fork seal when pulling the tie down straps too tight. The front forks were not bottomed, but about 3/4 of the way. They were not even ratchet style tie down straps. | ||
| Srwitt |
Won't really work with street bikes, but an old MX trick is to stick a length of 2X4 between the tire and front fender of the bike before strapping the front end down to give you a "solid" strapping point. Keeps the suspsension from cycling while strapped, and keeps your fork seals intact. |
