Motolug Bike Trailers

PMVern

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Has anyone got any experience of towing a 1200GS for a long distance on one of these trailers?
I'm unsure of the 8" wheels as all previous bike trailers I've used have had 10" wheels. Weight limit of bike is well within manufacturers guidelines so I assume all would be OK in theory, but would like to hear of others experiences before I commit to a 700 mile journey...
 
Have used one for many many hundreds of miles, often with an 1150 on it...no probs.

Take a spare wheel, and check inflation on the ones fitted....they wear unevenly very quickly if wrong.

Use Carabiners or end-less tie down straps, so that big bumps cant bounce hooks out of eyes.

Stop and check all is secure and tight after 5 mins on road and at an hour, and if it is, you'll be fine.


:thumb2
 
My BikeLug has 8" tyres and it's fine.

The tyres are 4.00 x 8 and are 6-ply rated 70M. Each tyre will take a load of up to 335Kg and are rated at 130Km/Hr (81mph).

To be safer, avoid 4-ply tyres.

Greg
 
My Moto Lug has never given me a problem with it's 8" wheels, I went for the uprated suspension option in case I ever wanted to add a second bike rail.

If you prefer 10" wheels they offer them as an option but I personally don't think they are necessary unless your towing with a vehicle with a high tow bar.

Bill's advice is worth listening to particularly about caribeners or endless tie down straps, the site of a bike listing at 45 degrees in your rear view mirror is not good for the sphincter I can tell you! :eek:
 
Spot on chaps. Thanks for that advice - will be less worried now!
Cheers
Paul
 
Fanum said:
............

Use Carabiners or end-less tie down straps, so that big bumps cant bounce hooks out of eyes.

.....................
:thumb2
Click to expand...
Yes also had this problem with the moto-lug. We nearly lost a Honda Deauville (twice) that way.
Otherwise a great piece of kit.
T
 
Carabiners are definitely the thing to use.

Towed bikes all the way to Istanbul and back and at up to 3 figures speeds without a problem and they contributed to the sense of security confidence the hooks would not be bouncing off on some Greek mountain pass!
 
I understand that, with the right option, you can load a bike onto these trailers single handed.
Anyone got any experience of this ?
 
AberdeenAngus said:
I understand that, with the right option, you can load a bike onto these trailers single handed.
Anyone got any experience of this ?
Click to expand...


You don't even need the option, it's easy to do without the wheel cradle thing.

Set the neck so you can wheel the bike on, and have a strap with a hook end and cam adjuster ready on the left hand bar of the bike, set to approximately the right length to reach the anchor hole on the wheel/suspension unit.

Roll the bike up, in gear, get the front wheel into the dip , then release clutch lever, hook the strap in and just by a tug so that you can tilt the bike away from you a little and it takes up the slack on the strap......
Then go around the other side and put another strap on the left bar, then go around to the left, pull the bike up to vertical and strap properly on the left side....then you can lower the bed to horizontal and tie down properly.....

DO NOT leave tie downs for the actual trip off the bars.....seriously, even if your bars are apparently tight in the clamps, DON'T....go off the frame or headstock and footrest hangers (at t he top, on the main frame, but in that area)

(after over 18 months of using my lugger for moving my own bike, I hit a bump once and the bars twisted down, resulting in me NEARLY losing the thing :blast)

You want a minimum of 4 anchor points.

It sounds complicated, but in reality once you've done it a few times, it's easy peasy :thumb
 
takes abit of practise and bottle I loaded my HP countless times by myself, mainly cos I've got no mates...:blast

we did a nonstop epic drive with a bike on a trailer on bad roads all that fell off was a single mudguard.....won't bother saying how long it was nobody would believe me....:D and really they're designed for getting you out the shit or weekend use which they do spot on.

I can't praise these trailers enough, they're the business....:thumb2
 
For long term, regular use, they aren't actually strong enough...the holes elongate, the pull-pin things for the tilt mechanism fall apart and the neck on ours broke.

Then again, admittedly, we have used it many many times, on very rough roads in Morocco over 5 years, with many bikes being loaded and unloaded from it......for more average use, they are indeed, the mutt's nutts.
 
Has anyone ever lost any pins from these things. I have completely lost the front pin.
I then almost lost the second pin, it was jammed halfway out by the weight of the bike.
I then lost a clip from the rear light fixing.

I have had to get larger R pins and weld a washer to the sprung leg so I can bungee them to stop them escaping.

I have just e-mailed Motolug for their advice/my gripe.

Ray
 
Old Git Ray said:
Has anyone ever lost any pins from these things. I have completely lost the front pin.
I then almost lost the second pin, it was jammed halfway out by the weight of the bike.
I then lost a clip from the rear light fixing.

I have had to get larger R pins and weld a washer to the sprung leg so I can bungee them to stop them escaping.

I have just e-mailed Motolug for their advice/my gripe.

Ray
Click to expand...


If your trailer is one of the older versions with two pins about an inch long that locate the hinged drawer bar, the factory now supply a single long pin that goes right across the hinged area. It's altogeher better.

If you're using old/bent R-pins elsewhere, they are likely to fall out. Buy some new ones!

Greg
 
Old Git Ray said:
Has anyone ever lost any pins from these things. I have completely lost the front pin.
I then almost lost the second pin, it was jammed halfway out by the weight of the bike.
I then lost a clip from the rear light fixing.

I have had to get larger R pins and weld a washer to the sprung leg so I can bungee them to stop them escaping.

I have just e-mailed Motolug for their advice/my gripe.

Ray
Click to expand...


Yes, have lost these pins as well

I replaced them with some ironmongery bought from a (Spanish, but not relevant) farm hardware shop.....go for something that's over-engineered and that will do the job...the sort of thing i got is designed ( I think) to hold various parts of agricultural trailers/tractors together, so it does the job well

Watch the neck of the lugger as well...I had to have a new one manufactured by a local steel fabricators after the original one twisted and smnapped, but in fairness, we were towing an 1100 GS ouot of the desert across some fairly rough Oueds, so it's unlikely to be a common problem :)
 
where to tie the bike to motolug trailer ?

Just got myself a motolug aka transformer
lovely bit of kit - got the uprated suspension with 10" wheels

Any recommendations where to tie the bike down , it's a R1100GS.

here's what I have tried so far...
Handle bars - bounced off :(
paralever - bounced off :(
under sadle (straddling bike ) - bike slips through :(
Hepco becker bars - straps too long :(
Forks - works ! :)
frame at rear foot rests - works ! :)

here's my best attempt....>>>
2011-06-26 18.19.34.jpg

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
 
malky said:
Just got myself a motolug aka transformer
lovely bit of kit - got the uprated suspension with 10" wheels

Any recommendations where to tie the bike down , it's a R1100GS.

here's what I have tried so far...
Handle bars - bounced off :(
paralever - bounced off :(
under sadle (straddling bike ) - bike slips through :(
Hepco becker bars - straps too long :(
Forks - works ! :)
frame at rear foot rests - works ! :)

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Loop the tie-down straps through the bars/crossbrace and then down to the eyes near the trailer wheels.

Strap down the front wheel (NB not the bike's frame - keep suspension compression to a minimum) to the trailer so that it cannot jump out of the wheel braces.

Strap down the rear wheel the same as the front.

Job's a good 'un.

Greg
 
Malky, re: your post from June 2011 re: the motolug trailer; apologies for digging it up again. But looking at the photo you provided, what helped you decide on going for the 10" wheels over the standard 8" wheels ? Did you measure the tow hitch height and manage to calculate that 10' wheels would then provide a level load ? as opposed to a slightly inclined load ? Are you still happy with the trailer ?
thanks Steve (new member)
 
iceclimber said:
Malky, re: your post from June 2011 re: the motolug trailer; apologies for digging it up again. But looking at the photo you provided, what helped you decide on going for the 10" wheels over the standard 8" wheels ? Did you measure the tow hitch height and manage to calculate that 10' wheels would then provide a level load ? as opposed to a slightly inclined load ? Are you still happy with the trailer ?
thanks Steve (new member)
Click to expand...

Have another look at the photograph. Where the trailer tow hitch (the silver bit) meets the trailer chassis (the blue bit) there's an angle of dangle adjuster to accommodate variations in ball height between car and trailer.
 
Greg Masters said:
Have another look at the photograph. Where the trailer tow hitch (the silver bit) meets the trailer chassis (the blue bit) there's an angle of dangle adjuster to accommodate variations in ball height between car and trailer.
Click to expand...
Greg, many thanks for the suggestion, but after visiting the Motolug again today, (they really are very local to me .... ) the 'angle of dangle' is not adjustable when the tow hitch is 'pinned' in the normal tow position, it is a fixed position. In Malky's picture the tow hitch is in the normal tow position, and for a trailer with 8" wheels, it is perfect for a tow ball 'centre' of between 15 - 17 inches, and the tow hitch would have the incline as shown in Malky's picture. A 16" tow ball would provide a near level trailer, presumably tow ball height above or below 16" would result in a slight incline of the trailer either way according to tow ball height ?
So, my question is ....... is tow ball height one of the factors that could make one consider 10" wheels over 8" wheels ? and out of interest what would be the other main factors for going to 10" wheels ?
thanks, Steve
 
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