Motorcycle Carrier (on towbar)

Buttso

Buttso

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Anybody any experience of these guys, I have a GSA and would be mighty handy for bringing along on family holidays (it is part of the family after all)

http://motorcyclecarrier.webs.com/

from the fitting instructions you just put this frame on your towbar and strap the bike down...

nice piece of kit to tuck away... and more compact (and cheaper) than a trailer
its on flea bay for 130 quid - Item number 290443675284

bike1.jpg


bike2.jpg
 
What car are you thinking of using one with?

Check the tow ball max-weight...most cars are rated to 75kg max...even some Landrovers are only rated to that, although it's odd, others are rated 150kg nose weight (Same body variants as well, its the fuel type that makes the difference, which i don't get at all :confused:)

I don't know what weight you'd be putting on the hitch with one of these PLUS the weight of the bike resting on it, but I suspect it would be rtaher a lot higher that 75kg
 
hitch

hi Fanum

I will be towing with a Honda Civic Saloon 1.4 petrol

I didnt check the max ball weight, but I will have a wee look..

methinks I will have to do some maths... :mad:
 
Added to what Fanum says, the load doesn't even bear down directly on the ball hitch - there's quite a distance back to the centre of the bike wheel. That will put a lot of twisting strain on the tow-ball bolts and the tow bar itself.

It's maybe OK with a lightweight bike, but I don't think I'd hook up a GS to it.

I also note that it will only work with a flange tow-bar.

Greg
 
Be careful - some bikes have warnings about being free-wheeled for more than a short distance. Something about oil circulation in the transmission.

My bike does!
Lloyd.
 
LPB said:
Be careful - some bikes have warnings about being free-wheeled for more than a short distance. Something about oil circulation in the transmission.
Click to expand...

I think the advice would be to remove the chain tho what you'd have to do to a BMW? :nenau
 
trailer

cheers for all the input lads.

yeah I don't want to feck up my bike or car.

I will speak with BMW about the rear wheel freewheeling, and I spoke to the guy who put my hitch on and he has a scales there for measuring ball hitch loads. So we can see how much pressure the GSA is producing directly at the hitching point.

so with a combination of information, I will find out if it is feasible..

if not I may just get a trailer capable of fitting my bike into.
 
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Nice 'n' Fat said:
I think the advice would be to remove the chain tho what you'd have to do to a BMW? :nenau
Click to expand...


Actually...that was the subject of one of our long arguements in the landrover on the way to Morocco once, me and MrIfan :D

With a shafty like a GS, it shouldn't be a major problem, although the shaft will be turning all the time...

I have had a GS jump into gear on a bump before now though (long story why I was in neutral downhill offroad, but I was :blast) so it's not infeasible that a GS may jump into gear over a bump when on this dolly type arrangement....that would be awkward, and potentially very expensive :(

I also have a worry about the geometry of the bike and the steering..it isn't like it was just riding uphill, as the paralever/front shock are compressed.....long distance, I wouldn't fancy that either TBH

I cant pinpoint my discomfort with the idea closely enough I'm afraid, nor explain in technical terms why I havent bought one of these, which on the face of it could be ideal for what we do in Morocco, but I haven't bought one and I wont. :(
 
A mate of mine made one for me very similar to that in the early nineties.

I've towed all sorts of bikes from small trailies up to and including the GS, thousands of miles without any problems whatsoever..... :thumb

It was easy with the BX as it drops down to load then finds the optimum ride height once it's all strapped down, perfect!

I have a load of photos with the thing in bits if you'd like them emailing so that you could get a local engineering shop to knock one up for you....

The Bike in the photo was towed from London to Perth, again, no problems.
 

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The comment about steering made me look again.....

It's hard to tell from the photos, but I presume the whole assembly pivots on the tow hitch?

If not, then wtf is happening on corners? The rear wheel must be being dragged/scrubbed around and a lot of lateral forces are being passed through the swingarm, and there's a large amount of force going through the bars too.....:blast
 
The other thing is

Bearing in mind the bike is unladen, ie no rider to compress the suspension, i would have thought on certain bikes the chain would rub the swingarm cos the swingarm isnt at the correct angle cos there is no rider pressing the suspension down thus altering the angle of the swingarm.
make sense?
 
it's the whole speedbump thing that has me...... Surely the ratchet straps would stop the bike pivoting when the rear of the car is raised up (i.e. the back wheels on the speedbump) and would it lift the whole bike? 200+kgs resting on the towbar
 
The Bike pivots around the steering head when turning corners

It looks quite disconcerting as the bike leans over due to the steering head angle, but the amount of times you have to turn a sharp bend are quite rare and those manoeuvres would always be a low speeds too.

I always exaggerate (make larger) the circumference of a tight turn if I encounter such a situation.

Fanum is correct about the loads through the bars being quite large but only to hold the bike in place, not fighting the cornering forces.

I also tie the forks down at the lower yoke just above the mudguard where most of the strapping load is exerted , thus the bike is able to move around the front wheel axis for the up and down motion/road bumps etc.

As for speed humps, the bike simply rides them without a problem as the movement at the front of the bike is relatively small compared to whats going on at the rear and it certainly doesn't lift off the road... :D

As I said earlier, I have used my setup for years now, countless times without a problem....:thumb

One thing you must do though is to line the bike up to the car so that it is vertical otherwise you could scrub the rear tyre, but that is relatively easy to adjust...I just use the rear window line and say the indicators, line them up in the rear view mirror and jobs sorted.

It's one of those things that looks like it shouldn't work, but does...:nenau :D
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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