Trailer luck
In our long motorcycle life we have "worn out" a few trailers, no, given them back almost unused. The main cause was the fact that you had to push between 250 and 300 kilos of motorcycle live weight over a relatively narrow ramp uphill onto a platform, where the load was then to be secured and lashed. On YouTube there are a lot of superficially funny-looking videos about what can happen with such actions, silly or not. Such life reports do not necessarily contribute to self-confidence.
Most recently we bought a drop trailer. This eliminates the problem of the rising, narrow ramps. The trailer is lowered onto the road as a whole. The motorcycles can easily be pushed or driven onto the trailer over the wide lowering surface and temporarily secured there with two mobile steady stands.
Image 1: Steady stand, front wheel inserted and moved slightly forward
Motorcycles can also roll out of their mounts at steady stands if they are not immediately secured there.
They stand securely in the mobile rockers of the front wheel mounts. However, if they are slightly inclined towards the ramp, they can roll out again under their own weight. An engaged gear and / or a second person to hold the motorcycle until you fasten the belts or the tire securing on the steady stand prevents unpleasant surprises.
Can't that happen? My GS came back towards me clearly independently and with bad intentions. Luck and the sure knowledge that the brake lever is on the right side of the handlebars prevented a misfortune. With a touch of recklessness I had just told my wife that everything was safe. Maybe so, only the GS didn't know that.
The feet are not set in stone
Mobile steady stands keep their feet on the trailer floor thanks to the rubber caps. However, that does not mean that they stay there as if carved in stone under stress. The possible wandering effect after threading the front wheel can be clearly seen in pictures 1 and 2.
Image 2: Steady stand shifted to the front
So:
The steady stands are aligned on the floor of the trailer depending on the permissible vertical load of the towing vehicle and the width of the motorcycles. It must be taken into account that the stands can easily move forward when the motorcycles are hooked into place. A mark on the floor helps to determine how far they have shifted after loading. It is also an important indicator for checking while driving.
Then the latched motorcycles must be secured forwards and backwards with belts so that on the one hand they are pulled into the springs and on the other hand no forces can develop in one direction while driving. If this is not done consistently, the stands move at least a few centimeters while the vehicle is in motion, so that belts can loosen. Correct lashing forwards and backwards and not just forwards and downwards is important. That sounds simple, but it isn't. We have all made mistakes ourselves at least once.
Lashing points on the motorcycle
The dealers are happy to indicate the lashing points for lashing the machines they sell. They are usually located at the front on the upper or lower triple clamp and at the frame points provided for this purpose on the rear.
Image 3: Lashing point fork bridge on the GS 1200
Threading into the ratchet
The best way to see how standard lashing straps are inserted into the associated ratchet is on YouTube. If handled correctly, they can be easily loosened later after tightening. Otherwise only the final solution will help - cut through ...
A know-it-all tip from painful personal experience:
The ratchets can only be loosened if they can be fully opened again after lashing. If they are too close to the trailer floor, that won't work. Then only the final solution will help again ...
Photo 4: Ratchet too steep and too close to the trailer floor
To secure a Honda CTX for the rear wheel, we used a rear wheel belt that can be conveniently placed over the wheel and fastened in several directions. Such a safety device is ideal for motorcycles with a lot of plastic and a frame at the rear that is not very robust.
Image 5: Special tire securing belt
Here the motorcycle is lashed to the front fork bridge with straps to the existing eyelets of the motorcycle trailer so that it is pulled into the fork. It stands securely in the steady state at the front. For driving, it must also be lashed at the rear.
Figure 6: Exemplary fuses on the front fork bridge
The special tire protection for motorcycles with a lot of plastic and unusable frame at the rear (left in the picture) has a Y-belt guide that works in two directions.
On a BMW GS (right in the picture) the lashing points are traditionally located on the right and left on the rear frame part.
Photo 7: Possible securing devices at the rear, machine on the left with a special belt, machine on the right traditionally lashed to the rear of the frame.
There are lots of practical helpers for lashing on the market. Quick-release belts are available that make endless threading of the belt ends superfluous and enable quick securing. The straps are hooked into loops that are placed around the lashing points. With padded loops, this protects the material of the fork bridges and other fastening points. It is only important that the belt hooks that are hooked into the loops have a locking bracket so that they cannot slip out of the loops when moving.
Image 8: Hook with locking bracket