I've tied down dozens of bikes, hauled them thousands of miles but the "B" has got me scratching my head. Front forks and / or front engine guards, got that figured out. I can't figure out the rear tie downs. The rear engine guards are so low that I can't "ratchet" the strap tight / can't get enough slack out to tighten it down.
We're tight on space so I don't want to take the bike apart.
We're using our Ramp-Free trailer & we have my G/F's Scout beside my B. Heading to Canada for a month, 1300+ miles one way. We don't need any tie down issues on the interstate.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
I agree. One strap from tie down on trailer then through and around the rear wheel and then to other tie down point and ratchet it tight. I have done it dozens of times with no issues
Thanks, I've done the wheel deal on other bikes. I'll give it a try on the B. I wanted to do a "practice run" long before we go, so I'll have all the tie down points figured out.
Found out I've got to ad some tongue weight, that's a first.
I run two straps with loop extenders on the front between the triple tree and the tie down and then two looped thru the rear tire pulling opposite directions to keep her centered. One caveat tho, I've had no luck with "fancy" straps and use plain simple ones. The supposedly better ones kept loosening up regardless of how I used them.
They were supposed to be specifically for tying down bikes. I found them to long and they tended to loosen up for no reason. My cheap old standby straps work perfectly every time. The loop extenders are awesome thou, loop them around your triple tree and thru themselves and you have an instant tie down for the bike. Funny how I've only found them at HD places....
I've trailered (Kendon ride-up) my B to Sedona, AZ from northern IL three times, once to Wrightsville Beach, NC, once to Franklin, NC and twice to Philadelphia, PA with no problems. All told over 17,000 miles. I do a 12" soft loop at each fork leg and triple tree clamp and then a ratchet strap from there to the trailer. In the rear I use soft loops around the frame under the side cover and then down to the axle of the trailer. The angle is such that I don't even have to remove the covers once the soft loop is in placed, so I just leave them there when riding. BTW, using the rear protector bars is a no-no -- several folks have done it and had the bolts break off. Designed for upward loads if the bike goes over, not downward loads.
Thanks for the info. Going to check out the frame tie downs that sounds like the way to go. Already doing the triple tree deal. At first I was going to use the F & R crash bars but read it's not a good idea. With 2 bikes on the trailer, it's pretty tight between them. We have one of the first ramp-free trailers, I'm sure they're better now.
Thanks !