One of the mishaps I witnessed, the guy had the ditch you described at home, well that same ditch did not exist where he wanted to unload it. Watched a beautiful Valkyrie Interstate tip off the ramp halfway down, only by the grace of GOD did the guy not get crushed underneath it. Very significant damage occurred to the bike.Originally Posted by xman
Lake City Honda
Warsaw, IN
If you load a bike into a Pickup bed PLEASE WEAR YOUR HELMET!!! If it goes wrong it is a long way down to the ground and many steel truck parks to bang your head on while on the way to the ground.
I move bikes for folks from time to time and have had to pick up ones that hit the ground. If done correctly with the proper ramp and truck bed size and wheel chock there is no problem BUT when it goes bad it usually hurts!!!
I've spent most my money on Motorcycles and Women, the rest I just wasted.
About 20 years ago I had to take my BMW R-100 GS to a dealer for transmission work. I only had a little Toyota 'Hi-Lux' pickup at the time. Luckily, my back yard had some terraces (built with railroad ties) that were about the same height as the truck bed. I was able to drive the bike straight into the bed without a ramp. At the dealership, they had a proper ramp and several guys to help unload.
With a bike as heavy and long as the F6B I'd never try that, even with the F150 I now own. That's why I bought an enclosed trailer. Not only is it a good transport, but it gave me an extra garage so I could buy another bike!
If you have a real truck (aka an 8ft bed 3/4 ton or better) you shouldn't have any issues. Is it ideal? No, it's the load/unload that sucks, especially with the height of most truck beds nowadays but if you have a place to back up to too ride the bike in or some other way of shallowing the angle of the ramp it's easily doable.
Use to see full dressers in the back of trucks all the time, yes mostly Harleys, but with the popularity of short bed trucks/lifted trucks today the practice has fallen to the way side.
+1 on the "don't try it" advice. I have a good ramp, and an F150, it was the scariest thing to drive my VTX 1800R up into the bed. I did it once, and went to get an enclosed trailer. Useful for transport, and storage.
If you're going to do it, you need a wheel chalk. Tie the bike down on at lest 4 independent points using 4 good scraps. Don't use the engine guards on the B, they will bend. Use the forks in the front, the frame in the back. Watch the plastic, the stuff breaks in a second. Check the load and straps an hour into the trip to look for slippage.
Tie it down tight enough so the bike does not slide, but not too tight that you stress the suspension. The truck will handle differently, need to slow down on the turns.
Good luck.
This is all great advice and I understand all of it. Having said that I managed to build a platform for the bike to rest on, the reason I did this is because I didn't want the rear tire to sit directly on the tailgate, the platform teeter totters about an inch. Now last night I decided (with my neighbors help of course) to load it in the back of the truck---I know I know I hear you all,, but loading it with the ditch method was way to easy, First off the platform I built worked PERFECT, once the bike got in the bed and on the platform it did exactly what I wanted it to do basically keeping the rear tire off the gate, there is about a inch clearance between the tire and the tailgate, as for securing it, well thats another whole issue I am working with. While the bike was positioned in the bed I marked where I need to place the chalk block, good to go.. Now strapping the rear in is easy enough its the front I am concerned with---My only option is to mount EYE BOLTS into the platform itself in order to secure it.. Now comes the point where the platform could move, well I already installed eye bolts on the sides of the platform to secure it to the bed,, I am on a role with this project however, not sure I will actually use it--it filled up the bed of the truck pretty good and yes we all know the weight of the F6B is over 800 pounds and with a 1/2 ton truck its a bit worrisome.. I will continue with the project and once complete will post a few pics and go from there.. As always, Thank you all for your advice and keep the comments coming if you feel the need. Joe
Your choice and I wish you success...but, IMHO a bad choice!!!...Why take the risk is my question..The truck you have will easily pull an enclosed trailer and mostly eliminate all the hassle.....Ride safe
Please keep in mind you are working under idea conditions at your home. Where do you plan to unload the bike ??? is there another ditch or bank to back up to, or will you have a wide ramp to back down?
Another tip for unloading is to put the bike in gear (NOT RUNNING) and pull in the clutch as you back down a ramp. The reason is if you only use the front brake your front tire may slide. But having the bike in gear and using the clutch to hold back you will have better traction to stop if needed. Also make sure your ramp is wide enough for both feet to be solid on the ramp as you back down.
Please test your loading and unloading procedure while you are still home and become comfortable with it!!!
I've spent most my money on Motorcycles and Women, the rest I just wasted.
Seen so many bikes on the back of pickup trucks en route to and from Daytona.
Even if they are securely tied down and not moving - and some of them weren't - there's still one thing not accounted for that an enclosed trailer can give you:
Cracked and broken windscreens from rocks and debris flying over the pickup and nailing the windscreen on the bike.
One in every 10 or so bikes I see in the pickup bed seems to have that issue.
I take a rock cracking the windscreen while riding, I'm thinking "damn, glad that wasn't my helmet/face."
I break my windscreen while transporting? That's a waste of money.
Cheers,
Steve
My girls:
Isleen - 2014 F6BD
Saorla - 1995 FLSTN Heritage Special
"Politeness, n: The most acceptable hypocrisy."
Ambrose Bierce
You can get a 5 x 10 yard trailer with a gate that lays down for about $1,000. seems a whole lot safer and still economical. Put a bike cover or tarp on the bike when hauling. If you drop the bike off a ramp loading into a pickup you are going to pay a whole lot more than 1k to fix it, and/or risk ins increases. Also you will have a 5 x 10 yard trailer to do many other things with.
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