Trailering the ST1300

[SMSW]

When pulling a bike on a trailer, the bike needs to be able to absorb the bumps and shock in the pavement that are transmitted through the trailer suspension. A trailer ride is more rough and bumpy, with more jarring and bouncing then a Ferry ride. The bikes suspension has to be able to absorb that. Thus a straight up tie down approach. In comparison, a ferry ride is smooth as glass, with no jarring and bouncing. So a solid three point stance tie down is acceptable, as the suspension has no shock to absorb.

I agree with you, but some ferry rides can be pretty rough if the water is choppy. I've tied my bike to a trailer using the tip over guards (each doubled) and then lateral straps around the tires down low to prevent them from sliding. And, if possible, I tie the front wheel to the front of the trailer (and the back wheel to the rear of the trailer). Kick stand? I would not trust it to absorb shocks.

 

[CYYJ]

In comparison, a ferry ride is smooth as glass, with no jarring and bouncing.

Gee, I dunno about that. The ferry I took was the 'Queen Elizabeth II', which operated between New York City and Southampton, England. My trip over was in the late spring, and it was a very rough voyage... waves and water were coming up over the bridge of the ship, and the bridge on that ship is a good distance above the waterline. All the bluehairs on board were either holed up in their cabins, or hanging onto the grab-rails for dear life.

It can be pretty rough in the North Atlantic in the springtime. The ship actually diverted about 350 miles south of course to try and avoid the worst of the storm.

Nevertheless, we made it... I was glad to get off after 7 days at sea. I've stuck to shipping by air since then.

Michael

Dry Land at Last (Southampton)

 

[ChucksKLRST]

What kind of teeth jarring potholes, curbs, or rough railroad tracks has your Ferry hit. (The QEII is not a Ferry boat.) Even in rough seas there are no shock jarring bumps. All I am saying is the difference in tie down method is based on the type of ride the bike is going to have. A ship board ride is smooth compared to a trailer ride on bad roads, even if the seas are heavy.

 

[Bmwdumptruck]

When I moved from Texas back to Colorado I used an eight point tie down system worked great.

That looks like a seriously shortened screen? I've taken a jigsaw to mine and taken about 3-4" off, but yours looks even shorter. I assume you've found the same as me, that it's quieter having your helmet in cleaner undisturbed air.

 

[wcleland]

I trailer mine to Florida, every winter, and back to Michigan in the spring. I use a wheel chock and ties on the tip over bars and back pegs. I also use a Canyon Dancer on the bars, just tight enough to stop serious rocking, but not enough to damage the bars (extremely weak point).

 

[ChucksKLRST]

That looks like a seriously shortened screen? I've taken a jigsaw to mine and taken about 3-4" off, but yours looks even shorter. I assume you've found the same as me, that it's quieter having your helmet in cleaner undisturbed air.

The Short screen was my summer when I lived in Texas . Able to get more airflow to heat releif setting behind the screen. I mounted the short screen on the higher mounts and this way I could block weather and allow more air flow under it. or lower the screen all the way even with the top of the dash and have plenty of air flow over the top of the dash. I was all about heat relief.

 

[Bmwdumptruck]

I also use a Canyon Dancer on the bars, just tight enough to stop serious rocking, but not enough to damage the bars (extremely weak point).

i never tie bars down anymore, at the front(on any bike) I just use a ratchet strap each side of the axle. My trailer allows this as there's a cross bar the front wheel sits onto, allows the straps to spread a little clearing the discs and in line with the forks. Also leaves the forks uncompressed. Bikes really steady with just these, but still add a pair at the rear and round the back wheel too.
Will try using the tip over bars next time, hadn't thought of that before, just used the frame by the rear pegs previously.

The Short screen was my summer when I lived in Texas . I was all about heat relief.

rarely get that problem over here

 

[CYYJ]

Just a follow-up on this discussion to share my experience transporting a ST 1300 in the back of a moving truck from Nova Scotia to Ontario (1,500 miles highway, some of that highway in pretty poor condition);

First, I rolled the motorcycle into the truck, centered from side to side and pointing straight forward, put the front wheel up against the front wall of the truck (this to ensure the moto could not easily move forward during deceleration), and then put the side-stand down. I then installed two eyelets in the floor of the truck abeam the lowest point of the rider seat. I used 2 inch diameter washers (not visible in the photos) on the underside of the truck floor to ensure that force applied to the tie-down points was evenly distributed and to make sure the eyelets would not pull out.

I then used 1 large cargo strap (5,000 pound capacity, usually available at any auto parts supply house) to tie the motorcycle down. I cranked the strap so that it was 'tight', but not excessively so... I think that the rear suspension compressed perhaps half an inch, the front suspension did not compress at all. After doing that, I screwed short lengths of 2 x 4 wood to the floor of the truck on either side of the two wheels, this to prevent any lateral movement (due to vibration or bumps in the road) of the motorcycle. Finally, I screwed another piece of 2 x 4 to the truck floor behind the rear wheel, to stop the motorcycle from rolling back during acceleration.

This setup is pretty much identical to how I have transported my ST 1100 in the past both on ferries and in cargo aircraft (see posts #18 and 22 above).

I checked the security of the motorcycle after driving for 20 minutes, and discovered that the motorcycle had settled a little bit on its own suspension. I re-tightened the strap (didn't require much, perhaps I cranked another 1 inch of strap around the drum of the ratchet). I checked it again several more times during the next 100 miles, and nothing had changed... it was secure. In the course of the journey, I drove through one pot-hole in a motel parking lot that jerked the truck sufficiently to slop my coffee all over the cab, and had to brake very heavily once due to a moose on the road at night. I inspected the moto after each of these problems, and found it had not moved. When I arrived at my destination 1,500 miles down the road, the motorcycle was still very secure.

I put an old bedspread (a padded comforter cover) over the top of the seat, and then laid the tie-down strap over that, this to prevent the strap from digging into the seat and leaving a scuff mark. When I untied the moto, there was a compression on the seat where the strap had been, but that disappeared after leaving the motorcycle in the sun for a few hours.

Hope this information is useful to others who may have to transport their moto in a truck.

Michael

In the truck, fully tied down. Note chocks beside tires and behind rear tire.


Detail of attachment point and tie-down strap
I used a 2 inch diameter washer on the underside of the truck bed to distribute the load from the attachment point.


Detail of chocks to prevent lateral movement.
I installed these after the moto was loaded and tied down, it's much easier that way. Only 2 wood screws hold each chock.
Note that the front wheel is pointing straight forward, the handlebars are not turned to one side.

 

[NorCalBusa]

Yeah....no. But the lumber is a nice touch.

Proper tie down calls for four points- all to hard parts on the bike. Two on each side; two aft strap pulling backward/outwards bias- two fore straps pulling forward/outward bias. A nice way to envision things is going over a massive speed bump, at speed, while turning sharply- twice- that's how well you want it anchored. This does not mean tons of pressure in the straps- just sufficient to hold the machine still.

 

[970mike]

Yeah....no. But the lumber is a nice touch.

Proper tie down calls for four points- all to hard parts on the bike. Two on each side; two aft strap pulling backward/outwards bias- two fore straps pulling forward/outward bias. A nice way to envision things is going over a massive speed bump, at speed, while turning sharply- twice- that's how well you want it anchored. This does not mean tons of pressure in the straps- just sufficient to hold the machine still.

You will be amazed at how much those bikes move going down the highway, I would also secure the bike at four points.

 

[NorCalBusa]

Afterthought; far and away most tie down straps have J-hooks. These can come free/drop off in transit when a bump temporarily loosens a strap. The old race car trick is simply closing the J opening with tape (make a little tab at the end by folding 1/2" of tape back onto itself) and J-hooks can be purchased with a gate on the opening that's spring loaded. I don't care much for the J-hooks touching the hard parts- as it rubs it creates wear. So I use soft loops (nylon webbing)- simple lengths of 1" by 12" either a full circle or 2" loops sewn at each end to attach- one to the hard part and other end the J-hook to grab. These are really inexpensive- find 'em on sale often at the shop.

While not planned, turns out they also do a fine job in helping secure broken body parts (!) post crash. Two weeks ago I came up on a get-off- the guy breaking his shoulder in BFE. No cell coverage at all- an hour (at speed) to closest town- 90 minutes at more pedestrian pace. Other than that, he was fine, but in a ton of pain. I carefully bound his shoulder/arm with these loops and a long nylon web I carry for towing- rigged it so with his good hand he could adjust his broken side up/down (kind of a pulley setup if that makes sense) to find comfort (turned out holding in one place hurt more than an inch up/down every few minutes).

Got him on the back of the ST and took him to the hospital- riding biatch went just fine. What wasn't fine was getting OFF the bike- we needed help- just not a safe way to do it with him one handed. As luck would have it, an ambulance pulled up with a patient and a fireman was on board- so I knew the fire engine would be pretty close behind to pick up their guy. They graciously gave us a hand and were super nice- a nurse came out seeing the fuss and got the guy a couple Vicodins (I've since added a half dozen on the bike) as we noodled how to get him off the bike. Turns out the scapula wasn't broken- just cracked and he avoided surgery, just months of PT I guess. Hmm, I need to replace my straps- never got them back as he wore the rigging into the ER and I split.

 

[970mike]

Afterthought; far and away most tie down straps have J-hooks. These can come free/drop off in transit when a bump temporarily loosens a strap. The old race car trick is simply closing the J opening with tape (make a little tab at the end by folding 1/2" of tape back onto itself) and J-hooks can be purchased with a gate on the opening that's spring loaded. I don't care much for the J-hooks touching the hard parts- as it rubs it creates wear. So I use soft loops (nylon webbing)- simple lengths of 1" by 12" either a full circle or 2" loops sewn at each end to attach- one to the hard part and other end the J-hook to grab. These are really inexpensive- find 'em on sale often at the shop.

While not planned, turns out they also do a fine job in helping secure broken body parts (!) post crash. Two weeks ago I came up on a get-off- the guy breaking his shoulder in BFE. No cell coverage at all- an hour (at speed) to closest town- 90 minutes at more pedestrian pace. Other than that, he was fine, but in a ton of pain. I carefully bound his shoulder/arm with these loops and a long nylon web I carry for towing- rigged it so with his good hand he could adjust his broken side up/down (kind of a pulley setup if that makes sense) to find comfort (turned out holding in one place hurt more than an inch up/down every few minutes).

Got him on the back of the ST and took him to the hospital- riding biatch went just fine. What wasn't fine was getting OFF the bike- we needed help- just not a safe way to do it with him one handed. As luck would have it, an ambulance pulled up with a patient and a fireman was on board- so I knew the fire engine would be pretty close behind to pick up their guy. They graciously gave us a hand and were super nice- a nurse came out seeing the fuss and got the guy a couple Vicodins (I've since added a half dozen on the bike) as we noodled how to get him off the bike. Turns out the scapula wasn't broken- just cracked and he avoided surgery, just months of PT I guess. Hmm, I need to replace my straps- never got them back as he wore the rigging into the ER and I split.

Nice job on improvising a splint for the injured rider, we teach this in our CERT classes.

 

[aniwack]

Y'all are scaring me with those pictures. All I can see is one sudden stop and down she goes. There's only one proper way and that's to the hard points.



Even when you're working on the table, ALWAYS secure your bike. #GravityHappen

 

[Jambriwal]

Trailered to Daytona bike week this year. Weather was wet but not snow