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Re: Off-topic: Pickup trucks



>Does anyone know if it's safe to drive for extended periods of time with
>
>a bike resting with its back wheel on the open tailgate of a pickup?

I would think it would be safe, as I've seen many racers do it.

However, if you have room to store a trailer, you'll find getting a bike
onto a trailer a much easier proposition. Especially if you end up getting
a 4x4. I have a 5x8 garden utility trailer and I find it works great since
the tailgate is long enough to serve as a built in ramp. That is for
everything but the Sprint. With the Sprints lower ground clearance I do
have to extend the tailgate with a short ramp or it bottoms out. But the
trailer is low enough that I can get the bike in and out by myself. I
wouldn't want to try getting a 600lb bike in or out of a pickup by myself.
I learned that lesson the hard way dropping my '83 Vision of the ramp of a
U-haul truck. The 5x8 is big enough to haul my ATV and my KLX side by side,
and I had a wheel chock and tie downs installed for hauling the Sprint or
the KLR.

Here in the country the utility trailer does all kinds of double duty that
a dedicated motorcycle trailer couldn't, but if I still lived in the city
the fold up trailer that Paul Masters has would probably be my choice. I
think he posted a page on it somewhere.

As for pickups, we just took delivery of our new Dodge Dakota QuadCab last
week. We went with it because we eventually plan to tow horses and it has
the biggest engine (5.9l) and the highest towing capacity for a mid size.
But it also has the most comfortable back seat which was important for us
since our other vehicle is a Honda Del Sol which has no back seat. So if
we're taking friends somewhere it's going to be in the truck, and I'd like
for them to be comfortable. Plus I liked the styling of the Ram when it
first came out so the Dakota was a natural choice.


Matt Knowles - http://home.earthlink.net/~mattknowles/sprintst.html
Red '99 Sprint ST - Ferndale, CA
'01 KLR650
'97 KLX300
'00 Lakota ATV



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