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.