Hauling your bike

[chinto]

After seeing madkats pics of his red kat strapped down, I wanted to ask averyone a question, but did not want to hijack his thread.

When you guys strap your bikes in the back of a truck or trailer do you keep the kickstand down or up?

I have always ket the stand up. I have not seen it happen, but when I first got my bike a friend told me that he was hauling his bike with it strapped down and with the kickstand down, he said that during the ride he hit a pretty nasty bump and when he went to unload the bike the kick stand was bent.

sense to me.

[Chuckwick357]

I always haul with the stand up. I figure if the straps fail, the stand isn't going to do any thing anyway. Plus, I don't want the bike to be rigid when it's being hauled it has built in suspension it will only help absorbed the bumps.

[Mojoe]

I have always hauled mine with it down. The main reason is that with it up, and the bike being strapped above the center of gravity, it can fall over. all it takes is one good bump to slide the tires over 6-8 inches, and the bike is ready to fall over. the straps won't amount to shit if you kick the wheels out from under the bike.

However, this does bend the kickstands. I can't count how many times I have had to straighten mine.

Best option.....buy or make a wheelchock like I posted on here a while ago. The plans are floating around to build one for under $50.

[ZukiFred]

Yes always put the stand up when it is straped into a truck or trailer.

[tigers202002]

It would have to be pretty hard bumb to slide the tires out from under.

[Mojoe]

I would suggest this:

If you are hualing it in a truck bed where you have the grooves in the bed liner, put it up if you wish. The grooves will keep the bike from sliding sideways.

If you are hauling in a smooth bottomed trailer....well, it is risky to have the stand up.

Trust me.....I have had at least half a dozen bikes topple over while hauling them in the last 25 yrs.
The last one was my 82 katana. The stand was up on a plywood bottemed trailer. I restrapped it with the stand down and it was fine....although it bent the stand a bit.

Both have disadvantages. wheelchock is the safest way.

[Mojoe]

It would have to be pretty hard bumb to slide the tires out from under.

here in Quebec, they are all hard bumps. Our roads suck bad. if you want to test how your bike hauls, this is the place to do it.

[Mojoe]

here is my theory on what can go wrong by just strapping a bike in a pickup or on a trailer with no other support than straps. It is actually more than a theory, cuz each and every time I had a bike fall over, it happened like this.

1st image....all is fine.

2nd image, a good bump causes the bike to shift sideways.

3rd image, you better better hope you see it when it reaches this point, and does indeed stop at this point so you can fix it.

4th image....too late....your bike is down. My 82 kat ended up like image 4 when I went to pick it up. All it took was one good bump.

[KitKat]

Get a set of Caynon Dancers, period end of story. It's a $10 strap available almost everywhere.

[Mojoe]

My theory still remains the same......as long as your straps are above the center of gravity, or above the tires, what I posted in the 4 images CAN still happen....regardless of what kind of straps you use.
It's just simple physics. Unless something is securing the lower half of the bike from sliding off to the side, there is the risk of it falling over.

Unless you are hauling on nice smooth roads, it can still happen. If you drive here in Quebec where we have really bad roads, your trailer sees alot of bouncing.
You guys can trust your canyon dancers if you like, or strap the bike with no other support except for the straps, if you like........but here in Quebec it is a recipe for disaster unless you want to drive well below the posted limit. Trying that here will result in image number 4 in a heartbeat. Trust me....been there, done that.

and from what I see of the canyon dancers, they are really no different than using regular straps. I secure my bike the same place they do with the canyon dancers. It's still above the center of gravity.

This is how I haul mine, for now. It has been proven to be more stable over the 25 years or so that I have been hauling bikes. It's hard on the kickstand, but better that than scratching my bike up.
Wheelchock is best....and in the near future for me.




To feel really confident hauling my bike with straps only, I would need to add another set below the center of gravity to keep the lower half of the bike from sliding over.

like this:

[KitKat]

The purpose of the canyon dancers it to provide a secure anchoring point without the straps rubbing the plastics.

... and because the Katana is so fat, i find they work perfect.

[Mojoe]

then the advantage is protection of the bike's paint....not cuz they are any more secure than regular straps.

The 4 images I posted.....does it make sense what I am say, or not? I am not a professional bike hauler, and I have written no books or studied on the subject. It is just personal experience.
If you have never had this problem, then you don't haul much, or have beautiful roads.....or have been lucky.

I am just not that lucky and the roads around here suck too much to take the risk.

[gsxrluver]

im with kitkat...canyondancers are the way to go for the front then i use regular straps for the rear...my stand is up and between the staps all the way around my bikes have never moved...

[tigers202002]

I just don't get it. The tires are rubber right? When you ride on those rodes with you bike does it slide across the road when you hit bumbs? The tires should get enough grip to stay in place as long as the straps are tight enough to keep them from bouncing off the bed.

If the strap were tight enough the bike wouldn't be able to hit on its side even if it did slide.

[tzortn]

The last time I hauled my bike I had six straps in place to keep it upright. I used two across the handle bars with a Canyon Dancer, two from the passenger pegs mounts to the back of the truck bed and two more from engine mounts toward the front of the bed. I drove through the Dragon and the bike did not budge at all. A wheel chock is nice, but an extra set of straps will keep your bike in place without any issues.