| Author | Message | ||
     Redxb |
Hey all .... looking for a means to transport to track days and wanted the input of what you all like (good bad pros cons) Have Blazer w/o hitch presently. Open to both options | ||
| Blake |
Trailers provide added capacity and are lower so make loading/unloading the bike a bit easier. The downside is that they are a pain to maneuver in tight spots and require additional storage. I have always used my little Nissan PU. I bought a nice wide folding ramp is all. Works great. A small motorcycle specific trailer might not be too much trouble though. If your Blazer has the capacity for it, check into those cantelever ledge type motorcycle transporters that mount to a frame mounted trailer hitch receiver. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
There are a number of ways to do this. Here is my list of alternatives: 1. Dedicated Vehicles: a. Pick up truck. These are not ideal unless you already own one. The bike is not enclosed. The bed is quite high, so you need a good wide ramp and usually a helper. Best pickup truck is a dual cab long bed, but they are very expensive and difficult to park. Ranger class pickups will hold a Buell, but only if the bike is set diagonally across the bed. b. Vans. Mini vans won't really work. The Ford E-150 van is cool, could be an every day driver. Vans are a bit tricky to get the bike in as the floor is high. wide ramp and assistant are a good idea. They aren't too expensive either. Hold one bike in the small size. Bike is hidden, protected from weather, room for track day stuff. You can rent these anywhere. 2. Trailers a. open. These little guys are what everybody loves to hate. They don't protect the bike against the weather or theft. They make the vehicle hard to park and you have to learn how to back them up. Big advantage: can you spell CHEAP? Harbor Freight has an 8' model that cost $230 delivered. you have to add a plywood platform, tie downs and ramp. Trailers are low, easy to load with simple ramp with one person. Add a trailer hitch, $300 installed, less if you install it yourself, and you could be on the road for $600 or less. My nephew swears by his, has carried his 'Busa 1300 and his firebolt with no issues. b. Enclosed trailers: these cost $3000to 4000 new. bigger and heavier tow. Advantage: bike is protected, hidden and you can use it for winter storage of the bike. Usually room for tools and spares, larger models hold 3 to 4 bikes. Check the towing capacity of your vehicle. If you do get one of these, ( I wish I had one:-), make sure you get one with the ramp type door that folds down, not the side mounted doors that will require an additional ramp. Because the " door ramps" are long and low, these trailers are a pleasure to load. One man job. 3.Cantilever mounts. These were originally designed for lightweight dirt bikes. Now they are offering heavy duty models for full size bikes. The problem with these units is tongue weight. With a trailer, most of the weight is supported by the trailer wheels, the weight on the tongue is rarely over 100 lbs. With a cantilever, the tongue weight is 90 lb.s for the unit plus about 450lb. for your Buell equals 540 lbs. These will exceed the allowable tongue weight on many sport utes, or be right at the limit. I would love to hear from any Buelligan who has had good luck with one of these. Also very tricky to load a full size bike, really a two or three man job. I can't imagine this would do much for the handling of your Blazer unless you are into wheelies:-) Campers. When I visit my brother in Los Angeles, we rent a Camper with a built in garage to go to Willow. This is motorcycle heaven. You travel in style and when you get to the track, you have your own hotel. Mean while the bike is in the garage which is equipped with a hydraulic lift to get the bike up to the garage. Needless to say, these are not ideal as a daily driver, ownership would be limited to professional racers or people who like to move their family and bikes every weekend. Confused Yet? If you move your bike a half a dozen times a year, put a hitch on your Blazer, and buy,rent or borrow an open trailer. Most economical by far, and it works. This is what I am presently doing with my Jeep Grand Cherokee. If you plan on frequent long trips to track days, enclosed trailer. If you plan a full season of racing, large enclosed trailer or good size van If you are a professional privateer racer, the camper. just my .02¢ | ||
| Rkc00 |
This is what I have. It works well for the Buell. https://www.mototote.com/ Also no Reg. and No tolls. like a trailer (Message edited by rkc00 on November 19, 2004) | ||
| Darthane  |
My Firebolt fits perfectly into the bed of my short-box Ram with the tailgate up...the Blast needs to be a little ••••-eyed (go figure). I've got a folding ramp that cost about $180, but loading a bike is a two-person job unless you find a good hill you can back up to. If I were made of money, I'd have a 10' enclosed trailer that I could fit both bikes in as well as tools, etc. If I didn't already have the truck, I'd hitch whatever vehicle I had and get an open bed trailer (unless you wanted a new vehicle anyways). | ||
| Bonesbuell |
If you go with a trailer, be wise that trailers specific to motorcycles can be more expensive then a simple flatbed trailer. I started pricing 6x10 flatbeds , 6x12 enclosed , then motorcycle trailers. I personnally found the enclosed trailer best bang for buck if you can find more uses for it. | ||
| Signguyxb12 |
The snowmobile trailer always worked good for my. inexspensive.. easy loadind...doesn't take up much room....get the plastic totes for your gear and your in business... i spent around $400 for a used trailer, totes and extra tie down bracket things | ||
| Bluebuellxb9r |
I have used both and it all depends on your prefrences. My old truck ( a 95 toyota T-100 0 was great to load bike in the back, It was a 2 wheel drive so I had no problems loading or unloading (I also have a 6 foot loading ramp before I go any futher), but my new truck ( an 05 Toyota Tundra double cab 4x4)is next to impossible to load and unload. My ramp isnt long enough and my muffler scraped, now I use a trailer to travel to trackdays and such. Mt trialer is a little big for my purposes, Its an 8 foot so I could haul like 4 bikes on it safely, but, its better to have too much than have too little and need more !The trailer is the wayto go when youve got more than one bike to haul and /or will be loading and unloading by your self. It gives you extra room for error and gives a since of security, but, it also cuts 8 mpg from my truck ! | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Rkcoo Thanks for the input on the Moto Tote. I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind. 1. What vehicle are you using? Do you think it would work with a Jeep Grand Cherokee? 2. How many people do you need to load and unload it? 3. How does it affect driving the vehicle? Thanks | ||
| Darthane |
Whoa, sweet...my bike's underneath my name! Thanks to Blake or whomever managed that one! Blue, my Ram's bed is most likely just as high as your Tundra's if not higher, and I've never had a problem like that. My ramp is 8'...I do try whenever possible to park at the bottom of an incline (such as my driveway) for loading/unloading. It eases it considerably. | ||
| Henrik |
An enclosed trailer is a really nice thing, if you intend to race or do many track days. I share an open MC trailer with a friend - Tow it with Jeep Grand Cherokee. It works, but takes a lot of work to get all our gear to fit in the back. And then we still need to strap spare wheels and tires - and sometimes stands - the the trailer. If you have the room to park it, an enclosed trailer is nice. Henrik | ||
| T9r |
I bought the 4x8 (tilt/folding) trailer from Harbor Freight and built the wood slats for it. Hauled it behind an S-10 Blazer for a long time. I liked that set up the most. Right now I have a FULL size Chevy and it's difficult to get the bike up in it, plus fuel economy and not much space in the xtended cab with all the bike gear. I still use the aluminum ramps from Sam's Club but at least I can do it myself without much worry. THere are more tie down points on the trailer than on my truck right now. THough a time or two I used my folks window van and that was pretty nice, keeping the bike out of the weather. ON my S2 & S3 I had to remove the windscreens though, not so on the XBR. | ||
| Racertroy |
Hey all, I've logged my fair share of miles in various configurations of bike haulers. I've raced coast to coast out of a '91 dodge dakota (no trailer), '94 Tacoma (w/ and w/o 5x8 enclosed trailer), '98 dodge ram w/14x7 trailer, '99 chevy van, '01 Mastin toy hauler. Currently have an '02 4Runner with custom 10.5'x5.5' extra tall v-nose enclosed trailer and a custom built off the hitch bike rack. In looking back at these various modes of trailering, I most miss the dedicated van. I made a bed frame of wood that took up a little less than half the van and the bike was on the other. Gear/food stored under the 'bunk'. I sincerely miss the days of eating cold soup out of a can and taking showers in a bag. At anyrate, if you can afford a cheep reliable van (e.g. State Hwy Dept auction or the like), you will be happy with the results in my humble experience. For me, it was a rolling domicile. However, for the w/e warrior, a van will save you time and help keep you organized, e.g. wheels, tires, lubes, tools, gear always ready. The enclosed trailer is alright, but stuff always seems to shift way more and requires more thoughtful placement when loading whereas the van had dedicated places for everything as it was dedicated to the bikes. Also, towing is dangerous...if even only incrementally so. The bike rack is OK, and I even used it haul a dirtbike 1100miles into MI's UP. No problems, but man does it sketch me out to watch the bike rock back and forth on the rack. Unfortunately, this is inherent in the tube-to-hitch-box tolerances. To make it work reasonably well, we fabricated a tensioning ring to take up the slack as well as added an outrigger. It weights 70lbs but still flexes enough that i have to adjust the rear view mirror so as not to stare out the back of the vehicle... Another idea i've had but never carried out would be to get an old ambulance or sheriff's patty wagon...might make your trip a little shorter and quicker if you follow me... as always...just my two cents... ciao, --ts | ||
| Benm2 |
Two more. Four trackdays, rented trailer behind Chevy Tahoe. Total expense = $30 for two-day rental x 4 days = $120. Eventually, this cost equals the trailer, but I don't have any trailer maintenance expenses OR a trailer in my driveway when I'm NOT using it. The tahoe (or other SUV) is great, all the tools, leathers & such fit in the back, you or your co-driver can sleep in it easier, and its way more comfy than my old Toyota PU. The tools & gear stay locked away. My Buell is useless as a streetbike, so I don't worry too much about it leaving the trailer. | ||
| Bluebuellxb9r |
Hey Darth - I guess the ramps the difference ! | ||
| Rkc00 |
Jon I have a Ram 2500 pickup and a 1500 Chevy van. It has worked out good on both. I load the Buell XB9S on it by my self. Not a problem. No bad effects on the trucks. I have also had it on a GMC Yukon. Mike Black 2003 XB9S Long island, NY | ||
| Schnitzel |
moto tote, i made my own, i would recommend buying the moto tote for strength, i put air assist bags on my 2000 toyota tacoma, it reduces the sag due to the extra torque applied to the trailer hitch. i love it , no speed limit problems, no extra axles to smoke bearings, no extra tires to blow, easy to load by yourself, i love it, economicla as hell also. good luck , hans | ||
| Jan_lee |
i bought a 83 el camino to move my bikes for 1200 bucks. its a low deck. and if you haul more than one like me and pull a trailer. i run up the trailer and then up the ramp from trailer to truck. pulled'em over a 800 miles one way just to go for a ride. but it works great anyway | ||
| Racertroy  |
el camino.....now that's just plain COOL! |
