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Re: Trailering



Eric,

My opinions on trailering a bike ( some have already been mentioned, some
disagree with others)  :

Use tie downs on the front. Pull the front down as hard as possible, but
not bottomed out. The spring tension will help stop the tie downs coming
off. The harder you pull the bike down, the less it will rock sideways. If
it rocks too far sideways the tiedowns can get loose & possibly come off.
Use tape around the tie down hooks so they cant come out/off. Only downside
to pulling the forks down this much is the air pressure in the forks could
cause a leak, but I have never had a problem.

Using tie down extensions (bits of belt about 30cm long) sometimes helps to
get tiedowns on a bike where things are in the way.

Tie downs on front should go over lower triple clamp (use the extensions)
if possible. The tiedown points on the trailer need to be as far outboard
as possible to prevent the bike rocking sideways.

If you must use the handlebars, try to go around the riser. Beware what
could happen if you tie on the handgrips & the grips come off. I have seen
an R1 with a broken handlebar from tying to the handlebars.

Pull the bike forward to the front of the trailer & make sure the wheel
cannot move from straight ahead. I also put a tiedown at the bottom around
the wheel & tyre (front & rear) so if a tie down comes off or breaks, the
bike can only fall on its side, rather than come off the trailer.

At the rear, you only need to tie the rear wheel down to the trailer. This
stops the wheel bouncing up & down & coming out of the wheel channel (if
fitted). No need to compress the suspension. Dont use the centerstand.

Be careful. Keep an eye in the mirror & stop to check the bike & tiedowns
often. Tie the loose tie down end so they cannot flap in the breeze &
damage anything.

I dont use a trailer anymore, but I regularly transport my drag bike in a
van, which is probably a lot smoother than on a trailer. However I have
done many round trips as long as 6000 km (4000 miles) on crap roads with no
damage. One trip was spread over 3 weeks & the bike was tied down the whole
time except when it was unloaded for races. Fork seals never leaked.

Darren.
Melbourne, Australia
2000 ST
82 Katana, (9.35 @ 139)



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