Are trailer breaks really necessary

[Wazza]

Hi,
I was considering buying a trailer for carrying some extra camp equipment when the wife comes along on our trips. There are a couple of trailer manufactures in Australia such as Classic Industries and Perforance trailers (Aero fx). The options to have brakes increases the price considerably. As the these trailers weigh approx 80kg, and I would like to carry approx 50kg of tent and camping equipment, my question is, should I pay up for the extra safety of trailer brakes. For a goldwing this weight may not be a problem, but I'm not sure how 130kg will affect the St-1300 in a hard braking situation. Any advice would be welcome from experienced trailer pullers.

Regards Wazza

 

[ChipSTer]

My 'rule-of-thumb'... If the option is available, I take it... All that extra weight will have to be stopped somehow...

 

[ST1100-Mtl]

I would definitivelly go for brakes on a MC trailer. I don't want to think about a 130kg dead weight pushing at me when I need to slow down in a hurry...

 

[Avtrician]

Bit of a fine line with brakes, you dont want the trailer pushing but you dont want them to be dragging the rear the wrong way either...

Mind you I havent tried towing a trailer as yet..

 

[DragonBreath]

At that weight, you may be flirting with the edge of "needing" brakes, there.

One thing to be careful of, though, is the type of brake and the type of suspension. Here in the USA, many trailer manufacturers are NOT offering electric brakes for trailers that go behind bikes if the trailer uses torsion-arm suspension. The reason is that the arm is usually at an angle, which goes against the design of the brakes. The actuating arm inside the drum hangs from a pivot at the top, curves forward, around the axle, and has a magnet at the bottom. When energized, the magnet is attracted to a machined surface on the inner surface of the drum, which drags it back, spreading the shoes against the drum in the process. By angling the whole assembly on a torsion arm, simply hitting a bump can accidently activate the brake, which can make the bike do some interesting things.

If you have leaf-spring suspension, this is not a problem. There are other types of brakes that work with torsion arms, so be careful of what they offer.

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