Safe way to transport a motorcycle?

[ceyko]

Okay, I'm taking care of a family member's stuff since he'll be detained for awhile. One of the things I need to figure out how to get to my house is his motorcycle.

It's a Yamaha something or another and not the sport bike type. It has saddle bags and so forth. I'd imagine it is kind of heavy.

What I have:
Pickup truck
Enclosed trailer, no tie downs inside though

I don't want to attempt to ride it or have anyone else ride it until after I get it looked at. He loved the bike and it's probably fine, but since I'm now liable for the bike and anyone on it - I want to have it checked out. So, I'm limited to having to get it loaded and moved.

I'd like to just roll it into the trailer, but I have no idea how to keep it from falling over or anything. I think it'll be nearly impossible to get it up into the bed of the truck - - - so I'm looking for some options.

Any ideas or experiences will be helpful and appreciated.

Take care,

[ThreeFingerPete]

2 normal dudes can put most bikes in a pickup with no problem. Screw the trailer unless its a touring bike.

[Armedtrigger01]

It is probably a roadstar or vstar silverado. For those not familiar they are the same size length and width of a road king. I would not try and pick it up into the truck you will need a ramp that can support at least 600 pounds but that may be a little weak if it is a road star. The best way is to tie it down from the frOnt forks in a V and would really help if you could also tie it down in the back to keep the suspension from bouncing. I have also used a wheel chock that the front tire goes in to help stabilize it. You didn't say how far you are moving it if it makes you nervous there are several company's that will move it as well Cyclone motorcycle rescue is right down the street from me and he uses an enclosed trailer chicks and padded tie downs so it doesn't scratch the paint and is insured.

[Pokulski-Blatz]

+1 on cyclone

[RCITNet]

Motorcycle trailer from uhaul for $20

Sent from my Galaxy S III

[dsrtuckteezy]

are you familiar with bikes? give it a once over and ride that ho!

[kingjason]

Find a deep ditch and back your truck into it. It should put your tailgate on the ground. Old school boyz.

[dsrtuckteezy]

my suggestion is the easiest as long as you know how to do a pre-ride check....if it's not rideable, then take the advice up top.

[BradM]

How far is this being transported? I bet someone would ride it to your place.

[Downs]

I'd just get someone you trust to give it a quick once over then ride it. A trailer with no internal tie downs isn't going to do you any good. You'd end up with a damaged bike or trailer or most likely both.

Inexperienced people trying to load it into the back of a truck has a very high probability of it ending badly for the motorcycle and who ever happens to be on the downward side of it's fall. You could also damage your truck. Loading with ramps unless they are designed for the purpose can be tricky especially if you are riding it into the truck. Which can be done with ramps if you have some wide enough.

If you're not willing to let someone experienced ride it I'd suggest just hiring a moving crew they will be insured and if they screw it up will fix it.

[Reefer Rae]

I'd loan out my trailer but it's as tall as my tailgate . Its on 35's I used to ride the dirtbikes up a 2x10 to load them . Don't think I'd do that with a fat ass cruiser though .

[Chili]

Why not just install some eye bolts in the enclosed trailer you already have? Only cost you a couple of bucks.

[ThreeFingerPete]

It is probably a roadstar or vstar silverado. For those not familiar they are the same size length and width of a road king. I would not try and pick it up into the truck you will need a ramp that can support at least 600 pounds but that may be a little weak if it is a road star. The best way is to tie it down from the frOnt forks in a V and would really help if you could also tie it down in the back to keep the suspension from bouncing. I have also used a wheel chock that the front tire goes in to help stabilize it. You didn't say how far you are moving it if it makes you nervous there are several company's that will move it as well Cyclone motorcycle rescue is right down the street from me and he uses an enclosed trailer chicks and padded tie downs so it doesn't scratch the paint and is insured.

Stop speculating, asshole.

[ceyko]

Motorcycle trailer from uhaul for $20

Sent from my Galaxy S III

This I will need to check out and maybe my best option.

are you familiar with bikes? give it a once over and ride that ho!

Rode one back in 1925 type of thing. I literally know nothing about them.

How far is this being transported? I bet someone would ride it to your place.

I had talked to and arranged a person to ride it, but decided against it. It's being moved from Plano to Van Alstyne. Not hella long, but not short either. Plus plenty of construction, uneven roads...etc...etc.

I'd just get someone you trust to give it a quick once over then ride it. A trailer with no internal tie downs isn't going to do you any good. You'd end up with a damaged bike or trailer or most likely both.

Inexperienced people trying to load it into the back of a truck has a very high probability of it ending badly for the motorcycle and who ever happens to be on the downward side of it's fall. You could also damage your truck. Loading with ramps unless they are designed for the purpose can be tricky especially if you are riding it into the truck. Which can be done with ramps if you have some wide enough.

If you're not willing to let someone experienced ride it I'd suggest just hiring a moving crew they will be insured and if they screw it up will fix it.

Your second paragraph is exactly what I was thinking overall. haha, the thought briefly crossed my mind to ride it up a ramp and I quickly decided that was a horrible idea for me to try.

Why not just install some eye bolts in the enclosed trailer you already have? Only cost you a couple of bucks.

Thought about this and some other things. Long story short, if I do tie downs I'd need more time since I'd want them to be low profile and a few other things I'd want to do do. At the end of the day, I don't really want tie downs in it since I have other methods to secure the normal things that I haul. All that extra stuff just gets in the way.

[ceyko]

Again thanks everyone for the input. There is a u-haul place 1 mile from my home and it is 15 dollars for the trailer rental - so I'm just going to do that since it seems like a sure bet. Low to ground, tied downs..etc.

Take care