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Thread: tie downs on a "B"

  1. #11
    Senior Member Radical Taz's Avatar
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    A19D14F2-5AEE-486C-9747-A2D2BA04737A.jpgC92D882C-1A60-47D5-879B-086A2BCC290E.jpg
    Mine are looped around the frame and I never remove them.

  2. #12
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    Remember, The B has an aluminum frame. So don't ratchet it down like you do lighter bikes. It can ride on its own suspension. Just strap it with side to side tension. You want to keep it straight up. Let it bounce on the shocks. It won't move much like your on the road. The trailer suspension will take up some of the road shock. Strap the tires at the bottom and as high as you can without hitting anything. Hard to do on the back tire.
    It scared me to haul it without pulling it down hard but worked good. You can strap it downward slightly, to help keep it in the trailer in case of an emergency. Main thing is let it ride on its own.
    A good wheel chock is a must.
    ITS ALL GOOD

  3. #13
    Senior Member Travelor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Radical Taz View Post
    A19D14F2-5AEE-486C-9747-A2D2BA04737A.jpgC92D882C-1A60-47D5-879B-086A2BCC290E.jpg
    Mine are looped around the frame and I never remove them.
    Yes, ditto for me. With the side covers on they are pretty much out of sight. The primary reason for tying down the rear of the rear of the bike is to keep it from swinging sideways during a hard turn or hard breaking with bumps that would allow the rear of the bike to lift off the trailer and swing. As such, the straps don't need to pull down real hard on the suspension, just keep the bike centered and prevent it from swinging sideways.

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Travelor View Post
    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.
    Travelor, you obviously didn't have any issues with the Kendon and the B, which is great news! I have a Kendon single, and have used it to haul my FJR, but have never put the B on it. I've been thinking of trailering to Cortez, because Texas is pretty damn boring and hot in August, but wondered about getting the big B(east) on the Kendon. Any tips/tricks? I did have to cut the chock down slightly, so it wouldn't whack the front fender on the FJR, was wonderign if there was anything else I needed to look out for... TIA!

  5. #15
    Senior Member Radical Taz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Travelor View Post
    Yes, ditto for me. With the side covers on they are pretty much out of sight. The primary reason for tying down the rear of the rear of the bike is to keep it from swinging sideways during a hard turn or hard breaking with bumps that would allow the rear of the bike to lift off the trailer and swing. As such, the straps don't need to pull down real hard on the suspension, just keep the bike centered and prevent it from swinging sideways.
    Exactly how and why I use them!!!!

  6. #16
    Senior Member Travelor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jmdaniel View Post
    Travelor, you obviously didn't have any issues with the Kendon and the B, which is great news! I have a Kendon single, and have used it to haul my FJR, but have never put the B on it. I've been thinking of trailering to Cortez, because Texas is pretty damn boring and hot in August, but wondered about getting the big B(east) on the Kendon. Any tips/tricks? I did have to cut the chock down slightly, so it wouldn't whack the front fender on the FJR, was wonderign if there was anything else I needed to look out for... TIA!
    I did upgrade my Kendon single to the ride up version. Upgrade is available for 2003 and later trailers if yours is not already a "ride up" model. No way I was trying to load the B on that narrow standard ramp and trailer tail piece. Cost of that upgrade was about $500 from Kendon. Now I just ride it on and off. The chock guide rails on older trailers are also a little close together for the width of the B front tire, so tire rides up on the guides rather than just fitting between them. As a result you really have to hold the front wheel straight as it rides on the guide bars. I didn't like this so I also upgraded the chock and guide bar assemble to the newer style where the front tire bits between the bars, and there is no twisting effect. The chock is also much lower and adjustable for tire diameter which make for much easier loading and unloading. This upgrade was $200 from Kendon a couple of years ago. Wore out two tires in 5,000 miles because of too HIGH tire pressure after listening to all the idiots on the web who say to always run trailer tires at the maximum pressure. That is only valid if you are also at the maximum load. Tires on the Kendon are rated at about 1,300 pounds each (at least mine were) but the B on the trailer is only a 1,200 - 1,300 pound total load. I put new radials on, loaded the B and took it on some test runs for 50 miles at 65 mph. Settled on 38 pounds which yielded only a 3 pound pressure increase and a 12 - 15 degree temperature rise of the tire (well within limits). Got a much, much smoother ride. Then I happened to look at the FAQ's on the Kendon website and lo and behold their recommendation is 36 - 38 pounds!
    I DO NOT keep the spare on the trailer when trailering the B because the weight of the B makes the trailer ride too low and the spare will rub on the road over bumps. Hope this helps.

  7. #17
    Senior Member olegoat345's Avatar
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    My G/F owns a "Ramp Free." It worked okay with less weight or one bike. For our 2600 mile round trip, I did a load / tie down test with it. While cranking it up & it was hard to crank, it was loaded w/ my "B" & her Indian Scout, the damn nylon strap broke & the 1350-1400# load (both bikes) went crashing to the shop floor. The frame flew up, hit my L side, knocked the wind out of me also chipped a bone in my L. elbow, left a sizeable bruise on my side & elbow. 2 days later, I went out & brought a new 12' dove tail flat bed & rigged it w/ wheel chocks & tie downs to haul bikes. It has a higher weight rating, no nylon lifting straps or locking pins to worry about. Cost about 1/2 what her "Ramp Free" cost. I feel much safer loading, unloading & tying down our bikes. == still nervous about hauling our bikes 2600 miles round trip. For side tie downs, I removed the rider foot pegs, cut a 2' piece of angle (made it pretty) to fit in the ft. peg holes. Will hook the tie down straps in them. I can not access the side frame w/o removing the custom seat.

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Travelor View Post
    I did upgrade my Kendon single to the ride up version. Upgrade is available for 2003 and later trailers if yours is not already a "ride up" model. No way I was trying to load the B on that narrow standard ramp and trailer tail piece. Cost of that upgrade was about $500 from Kendon. Now I just ride it on and off. The chock guide rails on older trailers are also a little close together for the width of the B front tire, so tire rides up on the guides rather than just fitting between them. As a result you really have to hold the front wheel straight as it rides on the guide bars. I didn't like this so I also upgraded the chock and guide bar assemble to the newer style where the front tire bits between the bars, and there is no twisting effect. The chock is also much lower and adjustable for tire diameter which make for much easier loading and unloading. This upgrade was $200 from Kendon a couple of years ago. Wore out two tires in 5,000 miles because of too HIGH tire pressure after listening to all the idiots on the web who say to always run trailer tires at the maximum pressure. That is only valid if you are also at the maximum load. Tires on the Kendon are rated at about 1,300 pounds each (at least mine were) but the B on the trailer is only a 1,200 - 1,300 pound total load. I put new radials on, loaded the B and took it on some test runs for 50 miles at 65 mph. Settled on 38 pounds which yielded only a 3 pound pressure increase and a 12 - 15 degree temperature rise of the tire (well within limits). Got a much, much smoother ride. Then I happened to look at the FAQ's on the Kendon website and lo and behold their recommendation is 36 - 38 pounds!
    I DO NOT keep the spare on the trailer when trailering the B because the weight of the B makes the trailer ride too low and the spare will rub on the road over bumps. Hope this helps.
    It does! I'm going to shoot you a PM with another q or 2, but gotta run, packing for a vaykay...

  9. #19
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    Retro kit installed! Travelor, do you have any pics of your B on the Kendon?


  10. #20
    Member Youngw1500's Avatar
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    That's how I tie down mine go to Florida 2400 miles round trip no problem at all.

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