Riding Up A Ramp?

[EASt]

Living up here...in a tundra...has always made me a bit jealous of all the more southern-oriented ST pilots who happily zoom along all winter while I do my best to keep snow off of my driveway. I've often thought of trailering the ST and heading to the SouthWest USA for a winter trip.

However, I'm one of those peope who always felt that motorcycles belong on asphalt, and not the bed of a trailer. I realize now, though, that the only way for me to get some winter riding in is to load up and drive south until the snow is gone, and then two-wheel it from there on.

So, I don't have any experience with trailering. But, I don't have a trailer question. Instead, I want to know how people manage to ride a 600lb. motorcycle up a ramp and into the bed of a pickup truck. Are there special ramps for this? Special techniques? How do you avoid falling off the narrow ramp? :confused:

[tccox]

I'd rent or buy a trailer meant to carry a bike. If I tried to put my ST in the back of my truck I'd end up breaking a lot of things (Bike, bones, and so on) If I was determined to carry it in the back of my truck I'd go find the nearest H-D owner and ask for his help. I understand they are real experts in loading 800+ lb bikes onto Pickup trucks. :D

[jbim]

Instead of using a trailer, do as was suggested in a separate thread this week. Late October, ride the bike to a bike friendly winter location and store it somewhere close to an airport. During the winter, you can hop on a plane and spend a number of weekends or weeks riding. In the spring, bring it back. That way, you'll have the benefit of two long rides plus the winter fun.:D

[Blue STreak]

Riding up a ramp isn't the hard part. Just like riding on pavement, the rotating wheels help keep the bike upright. You need to get enough speed going to balance, and then slow as you come up the ramp, so your at a walking speed as you come off and can stop easily. You can also get folding ramps that are wide enough to put your feet down on, which helps, too.

The hard part, at least for me, is coming down. Bike's don't balance worth **** going backwards. Here you'll need a wide ramp, or a couple of helpers.

Agreed that a trailer is a lot easier to get a bike on and off of. OTOH, a pickup with a bike in the back is easier to drive. But if you've got to do it yourself, a trailer is probably the best solution.

[Fred D]

Or just use one of these (http://www.motorcyclecarrier.net/ramp-master.html) to pull your bike up into the pick-up bed....

[motomac]

I have two 8' 2X10's that I put along side my ramp so in the event I need the feet down, there is something to put them on. Just as Bob said you need a little speed to get it up the ramp, and then slow before you get to the point of running headlong into the backstop of the trailer or pickup. Or ideally, you can back your trailer or pickup into a ditch and just drive the bike in from the level ground, then hope you can get the pickup or trailer out without getting stuck with your 600+ pound payload.

[jackpine savage]

It would seem that an electric winch attached to the front of your pickup box would be a big help in loading a heavy bike by yourself with a ramp. It wouldn't take a big one, something that pulled 1000 lbs or so should be big enough. The control cable would have to be long enough to let you sit on the bike and work the controls. I've never had one of these so it's possible you cannot slowly back down under winch control. The inexpensive winches could be pull only.

I would rather piggy back a bike on my pickup than tow a trailer. Stuff can get pretty messy back there on a snowy/rainy day.
Dave

[Ken]

Or you can cheat and back the truck up to a grade that makes the tailgate (or trailer) nearly level with the ground :)

[EASt]

Or just use one of these (http://www.motorcyclecarrier.net/ramp-master.html) to pull your bike up into the pick-up bed....

For sheer style and Cool Gadget factor, that's the clear solution winner.

I like the idea of storing it near a warm airport...but I'd miss having my girl in the garage for those lonely winter nights when we can...talk. :D

[ToroGuy]

I recently had occasion to haul my ST1300 in my pickup. I acquired "Big Boy" ramps, 10 footers (http://www.motorcycleramps.com/motorcyclehd_ramps.htm) which are beautifully manufactured and everything the ad says. The ad explains how nice it is to have the side ramps to put feet on, BUT neglects to mention that 5 feet or so of movement where the front is on the ramp and the back wheel is on the pavement is on the driveway. The ole ST guickly gets to be a heavy dude as the lean angle at 0 MPH increases. I didn't have the nerve to ride up without possibility of foot contact with solid surface. So I went to a local warehouse with a concrete ramp with a loading height perfect for the pick-up tailgate.

I did use the one heavy duty "Big Boy" for unloading. Also, "Canyon Dancer Bar Harness" is an inexpensive must have if you decide to haul your ST.

Or if all else fails, check out the loading process at http://www.ebaumsworld.com/bikeload.html

[Carl_T]

I have no idea if this is a particularly good way, but I've always loaded 'em like I so often did my dirt bikes; a low trailer, a long and wide enough ramp, then walk next to it (engine running in gear, left side of bike for right hand person), feather the clutch if need be and walk it up in 1st gear, right into the front wheel stay of the trailer. Make SURE the ramp is firmly attached to the trailer or it could kick back off the trailer with the bike part way on the trailer from the rear wheel pushing the bike forward against the ramp. THAT would hurt.

Put the side stand down, put on that side strap, go to the other side and pull down that strap, use a backup strap on each front side in case one fails, and cinch them down enough so bumps won't compress the suspension and loosen the straps. Strap the back down so it won't slide sideways, the front does most of the work keeping it upright. Take off the tip over wing covers and strap to the frame there. Again use redundancy in front straps. The front straps need to pull the bike forwards into the front wheel stay as well as to the side. The wheel stay keeps the bike from going forward, the straps keep it from going backwards or to the side.

Now backing it off, walk beside it (left side for right handed people, walking backwards) with bike shut off and use the front brake to keep the progress down the ramp nice, easygoing, and slo-o-o-w. I've never had a problem doing it that way, but one must remember the ST is heavy when you do it and do a very good balancing job rather than relying on muscle the way you can with lighter machinery.

I would personally not try and load the ST on a truck without being able to back the truck up to something making the height differential much less dangerous.

[vnsfxr]

Riding up a ramp isn't the hard part. Just like riding on pavement, the rotating wheels help keep the bike upright. You need to get enough speed going to balance, and then slow as you come up the ramp, so your at a walking speed as you come off and can stop easily. You can also get folding ramps that are wide enough to put your feet down on, which helps, too.

The hard part, at least for me, is coming down. Bike's don't balance worth **** going backwards. Here you'll need a wide ramp, or a couple of helpers.

Agreed that a trailer is a lot easier to get a bike on and off of. OTOH, a pickup with a bike in the back is easier to drive. But if you've got to do it yourself, a trailer is probably the best solution.

Yes indeed going up is easy it's the coming down that is hard. I use the lift at work to unload the ST or HD.

Another easy way is to find a place that has a dock close to the bed height of your truck. Supermarket, Post Office etc.

[Mark]

What works for me:
Two steel ramps from Harbor Freight bolted together and then ride it up in to the bed of a pickup.
Coming down you'll want some 2x4 or 2x6 boards to use as out riggers.

Note to self... remember that when putting the bike in to the bed of a truck that sand on the tires makes for no braking... :eek: Ouch!

Mark

[Scarman]

Scroll through this page and there is a section on loading a bike into the bed of a truck.

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Trailers.html#Hauling

[ligito]

I had a dropped axle flatbed trailer and bought a heavy steel ramp to load it.
Using a 2 x 12 on each side and 2 people to help me.

The, I bought a 16.5 ft cargo trailer with a ramp rear door, sold the flatbed and now I can safely load the bike by myself.

I waited years/decades to get this trailer.:)