uShip Forum / The Truck Stop / Trucks & Equipment / Motorcycle Tie Downs / Latest Posts

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

KineticHotShot — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:57:32 GMT

Ahh, just throw a couple of chains across it and ratchet it down tight, it wont go anywhere and whats the big deal with a few scratches here and there....

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

tim5056 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:44:02 GMT

we used wheel chocks and soft ties to protect your shipment...

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

onetruckpony — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:17:14 GMT

Mary laughed and said we have a LAPTOP.... not a tabletop.

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

onetruckpony — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:15:27 GMT

Understood.

My base Customers are lifelong friends. We've already agreed to a full inspection with video and digital pics on both ends. They crate it, they secure it inside the crate, they load it, they unload it, they open it. If it falls or comes loose its on them. This part has been agreed to on both ends. Only the restored vintage stuff will go in crates. The restorer is a friend I have known for fifty years.

I can only imagine the horror dealing with the General Public. Buyer's remorse, looking for a way out or a partial refund, seller hides damage on the bike to bidder a thousand miles away.
Cant understand buying one sight unseen myself but thats me.

You have all been a great help and I'm sure there are more questions. We have a tabletop and Mary tells me we will be able to use it on the road..Some kind of wireless voodoo.

I'm still amazed at cell phones myself.

Good knowing we can get answers here from folks with history of doing it.

Dutch
onetruckpony

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

INDIAN — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 12:57:36 GMT

crates are great as lon as you have a way to move them an would be very careful to inspect every inch of the bike maybe trying to hide something,.jack Indian

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

TSEXPRESS — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 12:54:10 GMT

While a crate seems to be a great idea keep in mind that it's not a cure all. Care must still be taken in transit. We (my office,United Van Lines) loaded a military shipment of HHG & included a m/c, it was crated, nothing got damaged, not a scratch on anything.....EXCEPT FOR THE CRATED M/C. At least I wasn't the one who hauled that load.

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

onetruckpony — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:16:12 GMT

Thanks jroy. I did just that. When we began talking about it his head started spinning around and his eyes rolled back in his head. He then turned me over to a friend of his who seems to know it rather well. And if I had a lawyer going against the DOT I would want a smarta**

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

Jroy96 — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:28:40 GMT

Not to sound like a wisea**, but to get legal advice from an attorney that does not specialize in transportation law is not a good idea. The general run of the mill CCCJs....courthouse corner circle jerks generally don't have a clue about USC 49 and how it translates in to the US DOT's FMCSA regulations. Go to an attorney that specializes in transportation law or your chances of receiving erroneous information are very high.

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

onetruckpony — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:21:48 GMT

Thanks all.

Guess I still call it my sled. Old habits die hard. No snow where I live nor where I will go so no ski's for me.

Mine get toted around now because their owner is old and nearly worn out.

Dont know what the new generation calls their sport bikes "murdercycles" maybe. I have seen and hear all the time new riders learning about braking distance. SPLAT!!!! "Man he was going really fast on that wheelie right before he hit that car."

Whats up is I want to see what others are doing, might find a better way. Need to be ready for anything out there. Those cute little sport bikes will fit right in the bed of my truck and may make me a few bucks before they kill their new owner. And if one falls out I wont feel as bad LOL....

We have been kicking this around for years. I already have what is turning out to be a pretty good core of Friends/Customers that need fairly regular transport and are willing to use my method. There wont be many times I will need this site.

When we found it I asked the wife to get some answers from folks already doing it. The quickest way to learn is with your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open.

Don't want to open this can of worms again but I could still pull a trailer and stay under my 9420GVWR and be legal. Since I want to stay away from real trucking it would be a short trailer and those dont pull worth a crap. Maybe a van would work better.

There is still much to consider. I seem to have the legality of it all worked out, have an appointment today with my Attorney to confirm it all. Dont want to be on the side of the road telling a DOT man that a guy on the internet whose profile looked good said it was ok so I went. Not saying they are not legit, but a letter from my lawyer in the glove box would present a much more convincing case than a print out of an email or forum post.

Steelhorse, hope you get back at it soon.

Indian..hope the back work went well and your on your way back.

Enclosedtrailer..good luck,, looks from the profile photos like you already got it going on.

If you ever need just one moved in a hurry keep us in mind.
Thanks again for the support. Got real world work to do now.
Best of luck to all of you.
Us

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

INDIAN — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:47:00 GMT

i use pingel chocks with fittings welded on the bottom an plenty of e-track can put rhe chocks any where along the track,pus us e-track rings with custom made 10,000lb ratchet straps an covered soft tyes,even have the e-track in the bed of my truck,an not that aluminum junk tracks.i also use enclosed trailer.jack Indian

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

compliantgraphix_deleted — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:08:26 GMT

Sleds have skis and a track!Bikes have wheels!If you have been hauling bikes in the back of your truck for this long whats up with that!

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

onetruckpony — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:33:54 GMT

I really wish I could get the spell checker to work. sorry for the typo's.

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

onetruckpony — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:32:17 GMT

Thanks for the replies. enclosedtrailer good luck with your new venture as well.

I Figured it would be bike dependant. My system works great for our stuff but I've refined it over the years. Looks like I'll check out a few and have several types on hand. I do have a lift gate on my old truck. A Buddy of mine welded it up for me. Works great and folds up under the bed when not in use. We call it the wheelchair lift on steriods.

Going to have him mount one on the truck I will haul with this week. Got over the Evel Knievel thing of riding them up a ramp years ago. Trying to ride one up a ramp into a covered truck usually does wind up in disaster.

"Back in the day" Way back, a few of us would just lift it and set it in there. THATS NO LONGER AN OPTION.

I'm getting set up to do the vintage sleds, small, light, EXPENSIVE! Most owners probably wont even want the tires touching the ground so I'll crate them and load with a machine or on my lift. Can't do the longer customs (who ever thought those wild choppers would come back into style??) and keep them in the bed with the tailgate up and the top closed. I'll make it clear that I can only go uo to so many inches overall length. Most vintage sleds, sotck harley's and those...ahhh ummmrrrpff ohhh...crotch rockets there i said it. will fit in there nicely.

Got some online shopping to do.

Still trying to figure out just what type of biz lic to get. But ya know what, I parked the last big truck I will ever drive yesterday, and it felt great.

Thanks Again
Dutch
onetruckpony

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

steelhorsetransport — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:39:35 GMT

I have always been a big opponent of loading bikes in the back of the pick'em up truck unless a motorized loader used. To much room for error even for the experienced. Seen every secenario played our resulting in damaged bikes, trucks and bodies. An enclosed trailer would be best. As for straps I personally prefer "BIG DADDY STRAPS". They are heavy duty 2" wide and are available with sheepskin sleeves. Ask yourself which you think is better, a little 1" strap from the local auto parts store or a 2" strap designed just for motorcycles? They can be purchased from PINGEL and in my opinion are well worth the money. I NEVER had one malfunction. The canyon dancer the other poster mentioned is a must for sport bikes but it does not work well with Harleys and touring models. The PINGEL wheel chocks are excellent too and I use them alot. I also use CONDOR whell chocks as they allow the bike to be held upright while straps are attached. With it one man has no problem strapping down the biggest of bikes.

RE: Motorcycle Tie Downs

enclosedtrailer — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:21:23 GMT

Hey Dutch I use a ENCLOSED TRAILER as you can tell by my user name and it depends on the type of bike you are hauling. Canyon Dancers are one way to do it Wheel Chocks are another. You need to tell us the type of bike you are hauling, sport bike, harley sporster, harley bagger, to many un answered questions to give you a good answer. Let me know.

Motorcycle Tie Downs

onetruckpony — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:11:39 GMT

Have been hauing my own sleds around for years and now I'm about to start hauling others.
Wife spent a week on here getting it figured out and everyone was real helpfull. Thanks again you guys.

Being a 35+ year HD rider (have two in my garage as we speak////type??) I have more expierence than I care to admit to hauling bikes in the back of my truck. Back in the day thats why they were cheap..because if you bought one you had to buy a truck too. And if your and older HD rider out there you know this to be true.

After hitting forty yrs old I joined the ranks of those who haul it somewhere, ride for the weekend or event, and haul it home.

Bought my old truck in 93, except for a few trips to the lumber yard it only hauls our bikes. It has a pinch over 200,000 on it now so you can see we've hauled motorcycles a mile or two. This is not the truck I wil use to haul by the way. I Have a 2008 with just 5K on it is for that.

I got my first job (not off here yet) and its a high dollar vintage sled a friend of a friend bought and needs moved. I'll build a custom crate for this one on top of everything else. I always use six point tie down with six ratchet straps. Straps are connected to sheepskin lined canvas loops so never metal touching metal. I Then cover wih a form fitting sheepskin lined cover that my wife made. She put slots for the straps to go through so it fits tight to the bike. I also put it inside the custom top on my long bed truck. Dont like trailers and wont be using one here.

Glad to be a part of what looks to be a typical dysfunctional trucking family.

I'm always looking for something better. What do you motorcycle haulers out there use. Is there a better moustrap? Links...comments??

Thanks
Dutch
onetruckpony