| Author | Message | ||
     Roostre |
I know...I know, but I have my reasoning. After looking at pannier options $$$ for months in preparation for a long Pacific Coast tour in August, I ran across this website: http://www.bobgear.com/trailers/trailer.php?produc t_id=11 And this one: http://www.slicktrailer.com/info.html The trailtail is also influencing my design thoughts. A small trailer can carry more than twice what a pair of 42ltr aluminum panniers can, and carry it lower and with less effect on the Uly's already high center of gravity and taxed suspension. (I go close to 300 with all my gear on.) This is a two-up couples tour.(Lucky for me my wife is petite.) No high speed cornering, no dirt, just a relaxing couple of weeks on the road. My neighbor helped me bend the radius for the frame rails a few nights ago. My brother had an old moped front spoke wheel/brake/axle that he graciously donated. The plasma was put to work cutting the rear swing-arm pieces, and an old mtn bike shock and spring are ready to bolt on. I still need to bend up the Uly axle mount and figure out the details on mounting it. The plan is to use the hollow rear axle as the front pivot and a jeep suspension bushing for the vertical axis pivot. The body will be covered with some aluminum sheet (teardrop style) that I have left over from another project. A wood floor (1/8" ply) should be light and strong. I am also planning to cover the top and make a lockable hatch. My only real concerns are the extra wear on the clutch and how will it brake. An XB9 primary set may be the way to go with this. I was already considering it for off-road excursions anyway. Also- will the air/oil cooled motor be able to take the extra load?? We are generally light packers. All of our gear doubles as backpacking gear so it was bought with weight in mind. I am shooting to keep the trailer weight under 100 lbs fully loaded. I will post some pics as the project starts to come together. Any advice/criticism from the crew here is welcome. I feel compelled to add this disclaimer: I don't have the slightest idea what I am doing when it comes to building anything. Do not take this post as a how-to. I am only sharing my ideas/experience and do not encourage anyone to build or tow a motorcycle trailer of any kind ever, even in the best of conditions it can backfire and become a deadly projectile missile aimed directly at the back of YOUR head. Do not blame me- I warned you! The ability to calculate the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow will help, but will not necessarily guarantee success.  (Message edited by Roostre on July 30, 2008) | ||
| Spops |
Suggest you reach out to Dale Coyner, Author and Owner of http://www.openroadoutfitters.com Recently read his book "The Essential Guide to Motorcycle Travel", a great read and from what I can tell, seems willing to help fellow riders in need of advice on all things "trailer" Hope this helps. SpOps PS: This is one of his busiest seasons, may take a few days before he answers back. | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
I just want to ask WHY????? Still, each to his own and you do have your reasons, I'm sure!!! I'm not going to criticise either!!! At least you can detach it once you get where your going! | ||
| Khelton |
..for me, part of the fun is taking as little on the trip as possible. Took a beautiful Utah ride a few years ago but it was on a Goldwing..which was barely like riding a motorcycle...but we had plenty of room for storage and"creature comforts..won't ride one again. | ||
| Darthane |
LONGDOG, please respond - your e-mail box is full. It has been a week since I sent you payment for the parts you listed in the classified section with no response, yet I see you posting each morning, so you obviously have internet access. | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Darthane, See the post under "Longdog_cymru" I got access back yesterday. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
No criticism from me. I've never pulled a bike trailer but my brother has with his Harley LowRider. His was home-made but with 2-wheels and he'd pack a ton into that thing. That slick trailer you linked looked real nice to me. I sent that link to my bro. I remember him off roading to our campsite in the Black Hills Forest. Up these terribly steep rutted trails with his woman on the back and pulling that trailer and not having any problem at all. And then when he left the campsite he'd do it the same way, fully loaded with woman on back. No mishaps. He claimed it only reduced mpg by just a bit. As for those that don't understand why you'd pull a trailer, who cares what they think. I'm sure plenty of people gave Erik Buell their unasked for opinions when he told them he wanted to build his own style of motorcycles. I want to see the pictures when you're done. | ||
| Gotj |
I know "why" he's going to pull a trailer. He's read up on all the spare parts and tools other BadWebers "always" carry and is taking them all. When you do that, you need a trailer even if you pack light for yourselves.  | ||
| Darthane |
LOL...I bring some allen wrenches, a leatherman, a small crescent wrench, some zip-ties...and a cellphone and credit card.  I remember a S3T at Homecoming in 2001 at the party at Hal's with a trailer attached to it. It got a LOT of attention. Not my thing, but I say, more power to ya, man! | ||
| Treadmarks |
LOL...I bring some allen wrenches, a leatherman, a small crescent wrench, some zip-ties...and a cellphone and credit card. WTF??? No Duct Tape? | ||
| Darthane |
It won't fit under the seat! I have a roll of that '200mph' duct tape that I nicked from a Roush facility when I was working on Mustang prototypes - that stuff is AWESOME! Like, even MORE AWESOME than regular duct tape! We used it - I shit you not - to hold the front fascias on the prototype cars. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Roostre, My brother looked at that link and emailed me that a one wheel trailer adds lean weight to the bike. Have no idea if this is true or even significant but you may want to look into that. He says that he can hardly tell his 2 wheeled trailer is back there when he's used it. | ||
| Roostre |
I am reasoning that the lean weight down low will be preffered to the lean weight up high in saddle bags. I like the fact that the trailer leans naturally with the bike. I also like the fact that I don't have to worry about extra width or where the wheels will line up on potholes. I've talked to a few guys with trailers last weekend at Flaming Gorge. The big difference wasn't in towing, but mileage. The group had one single wheel trailer and the rest were standard two-whelers. The two wheelers lost 10 mpg when towing and the single wheel guy claimed he got real close to the same mpg with or without the trailer. Thanks for the feedback. I'll try and get some pictures up soon. I'm going dirt biking this weekend; then the trailer build will be on full swing. | ||
| Roostre |
Ok, so I have started to get this together. Begin at the end? Why not? The new Sava tire and tube was delivered and mounted up. The wheel is a 17" spoked wheel off of an old moped that was lying about my brothers garage. The trailing arm is made up from 2" wide 3/8" steel. I may chuck those up in the mill and lighten them up with some speed holes/slots before all is said and done.  A small tab had to be welded on to align with the brake drum slot. I hope to add a lever that will act as a parking brake. Next I tackled the basic frame. The material is 1/2"x1/2" x .120 square tubing. I am going for an aerodynamic horseshoe teardrop trailer look. In my research I learned that it was important to angle the bottom of the trailer in order to minimize any chance of creating a bubble in the airflow that would allow exhaust gases to build up. It's pretty spartan at this point.  Next the bender was brought out to fab up a rear hoop hitch. I used 1.25" DOM tubing. You can see the aluminum sheet that I will be using to skin the whole thing leaning against the trailer.  A test fit:  Next came the ends that would bolt to the rear swing arm and the horizontal pivot.   The frame is a t-shape that is made of 1"x1" x.120 square tubing. The hitch and suspension will tie into this. The rear suspension is going to be a work in progress. Here is my first iteration composed of a shock/spring from an old mountain bike. It actually seems to work pretty well.  I took the incomplete chassis for a test drive in a parking lot nearby and did figure 8's while I watched the trailer. It pulls quite well at low speeds. I leaned it over as far as I could in a parking lot and it didn't come near to dragging any hard parts. I pulled it up on the lawn for a couple of pictures.   Next is to beef up the frame and hitch with some gusseting, then clean and paint. After the paint dries it will be time to start building the floor and skinning it out. Stay tuned... | ||
| Hoon |
I'm tuned in to this one for sure. Build on Roostre. | ||
| Chas1969 |
Screws-up dynamics of motorcycling and adds X times to danger factor = BAD IDEA!  My 2 cents, pack-lite w/wo panniers (your choice) and enjoy the ride!!!  Chas | ||
| Ulyssesguy |
Do you have to get a plate for it? If so how hard is that? Im staying tuned to this build i have had thoughts about this for a while now... | ||
| Oddball |
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o316/sheikkinen /HBS2007/HBS070616066.jpg | ||
| Spops |
+1 with Hoon! Pass the popcorn brother!  Build on Roostre, Build on! BTW, have you had a chance to chat with Dale yet? He can probably help you with some of your physics, electrical, and suspension questions. Just send him the link to this thread. =) | ||
| Treadmarks |
 Sweeeeet. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
This is the kind of stuff I like. Don't leave anything out. | ||
| Sekalilgai |
That looks like a great project! I'm curious, if the trailer is attached through the wheel pivot, does that mean that the 'tongue weight' translates to added unsprung weight in the rear suspension? Good luck Roostre, keep us posted! | ||
| Mikef5000 |
Help me out here: It appears that the hitch is bolted to the swingarm, and is only made to swivle side to side. Doesn't it need to pivot up and down also? It appears that your hitch pivots one direction, side to side... where as a standard ball hitch can pivot in 3 directions, side to side, up and down, and sort of slanting if you know what I mean. Do you see the same problem I see? Is there something I'm missing? Seems to me that hitch is going to explode as soon as there's weight in the thing and the bike hits a dip or hill since it can't pivot up and down. I really like the thing though, and really wish I had the kind of skill it takes to build that thing. | ||
| Sekalilgai |
Hey Mike...I think maybe this will help... The plan is to use the hollow rear axle as the front pivot and a jeep suspension bushing for the vertical axis pivot. imagine the handles of the reverse-wheelbarrow pivoting through the rear axle....I thunk... | ||
| Snowscum |
So with that type of rigging and rear tire, when you lean the load will lean with you? I take it you wouldn't want a load being to high or it will tip you over. | ||
| Irelage |
I saw a pair of ladies on Harley Sportsters pulling Uni-Go's. They loved them and pull them all over the United states. They look cool too. Has a universal joint. http://www.uni-go-trailers.com/ | ||
| Roostre |
Ulyssesguy- "Do you have to get a plate for it? If so how hard is that?" It depends on the state. In Utah a trailer under 750 lbs does not require a plate. However, to appease law enforcement in other states I may be traveling through I will be plating it as a homemade trailer. Cost to plate in Utah is $6. The application for title is online and I plan to take in some pictures as proof of the build. Chas1969- "Screws-up dynamics of motorcycling and adds X times to danger factor = BAD IDEA! My 2 cents, pack-lite w/wo panniers (your choice) and enjoy the ride!!! Chas" Having my bike loaded for our last two-up week long trip proved to me that panniers and strapping the sleeping bags to the bike simply makes the bike a top heavy handful. Basic physics of leverage. 100 lbs 3 feet off the ground (fulcrum) vs. 100 lbs 8 inches off the ground. Beleive me Chas- I thought that the trailer concept was nuts until I followed a guy pulling one while keeping up with his buddies on crotch-rockets over bear tooth pass. Sekalilgai-"I'm curious, if the trailer is attached through the wheel pivot, does that mean that the 'tongue weight' translates to added unsprung weight in the rear suspension?" Yep. It will be 1/2 the total weight of the loaded trailer. But keep in mind that it is not rotating unsprung mass, thus it will mainly affect the rear shock damping and rebound. The little bumps will feel bigger. I will have to do some testing to get a good idea how dramatic the added weight is. Remember that I am not going to be doing any high speed cornering with this rig. The group I am riding with probably averages 50 mph. Mikef5000- "t appears that the hitch is bolted to the swingarm, and is only made to swivle side to side. Doesn't it need to pivot up and down also? It appears that your hitch pivots one direction, side to side... where as a standard ball hitch can pivot in 3 directions, side to side, up and down, and sort of slanting if you know what I mean. Do you see the same problem I see? Is there something I'm missing? Seems to me that hitch is going to explode as soon as there's weight in the thing and the bike hits a dip or hill since it can't pivot up and down. " There are three axis in this design. The "x" axis is the pivot point, the "y" axis is the bolt through the hollow rear axle, and the "z" axis is the rear trailer tires ability to rock from side to side. Watch this video- http://www.trailtail.com/gallery.html titled Tail Trail Video and you can get an idea how it works. Snowscum-"So with that type of rigging and rear tire, when you lean the load will lean with you? " Yep. The whole point isn't to carry any more load, but to lower the center of gravity of that load. The heavy stuff goes to the bottom and the light stuff goes on top. Irelage- Those trailers are pretty cool and also part of the reason that I wanted to try this build. There are about 8 companies out there that believe that the single wheel motorcycle trailer is a workable idea. There must be something to it. | ||
| Blk_uly |
FWIW I do believe the only thing I see missing is the brakes for your nifty trailer. My hat's off to you. That is some first class fabricatin'! When I read the strong warnings in the owners manuel I thought about it long and hard. my first thought was short wheelbase plus heavy load, pushing from behind, could lead to an ugly panic stop situation. I figured it's worth mentioning for saftey's sake. good luck with it On the other hand, the very low attachment point might alleviate this threat If not it's going to be one hell of a stoppie!!! (Message edited by blk_uly on July 29, 2008) | ||
| Rwven |
The matching Uly trailer: http://www.dauntlessmotors.com/Mountinghardware/im ages/uni-go/Side%20View.JPG | ||
| Etennuly |
Corey, What do you expect the trailer's total weight to be? I would guess about forty pounds or so. Why not use the aluminum skin on the floor instead of the plywood? I think the whole thing is an excellent idea. When I ride two up for longer slower trips the top heaviness is really notable when coming to a stop. If getting forty pounds off of the upper half of the bike, and half of that onto that trailer tire the trip would have to be less nerve wracking. Somehow when the wife and I go on a distance ride that we stay out for a few nights, we load up what we will be using in the bags and that goes about sixty pounds total. We rode two up about thirty miles tonight, with the bags empty. It does make a big difference. More power to you, and you're doing an excellent job of explaining the build as you go. It is appreciated.  |
