Trailer Tie Down Points

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Bdogridgeback

Member
Hey guys
For you guys that trailer your Ridgebacks, where are your tie down points when using a front wheel chalk.
I was told not to use the triple tree to compress the forks as it was hard on the suspension & seals.
Have a new trailer with a condor chalk and I'm trying to get it outfitted.
Thanks
LP
 
BWG56

BWG56

Guru
The 2 red straps on the floor go around the swing arm to keep the back end from bouncing around, and the front 2 are on the triple trees, don't pull it down more than have the travel when your riding, look at the marks on your front forks.

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Brew

Brew

Troop Supporter
Two up front on the triple trees, I use sheep wool type tie downs so the trees don't get marred up. You can cinch the front end down but don't over do it, I'll let the front end go down just a little. Put two on the rear frame near the axel. Just to be safe, I put a cap jack under the scoot and throw a tie down through it and run it up to the seat and cinch it down. I use a long towel and drape it over both sides of the bike so the strap doesn't touch any part of the bike.

 
B

Bdogridgeback

Member
Thanks guys for the tips. The biker bar looks pretty darn good after some of the reviews i've read.
Does the bar get caught on the ramps due to the low clearance of our frames?
 
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ChoppaNoob

Active Member


Front forks, front downtubes, and rear frame. Use slipon covers or towels to protect the paint. Never had a problem. My sportbike is lighter. Just use a canyon bar dancer on the bars and rear frame.
 
Jersey Big Mike

Jersey Big Mike

100K mile club
All straps should pull down and forward.

If you have straps pulling the rear wheel back, they are fighting against front straps and in the event of a strap failure have a higher chance of the bike shifting badly IMHO, whereas if everything pulls towards the chock the bike is less likely to shift.

The biker bar is very nice and if I ever trailered that much I might look into it, but for me trailering is bike broke down or I am moving!(hopefully not again to either!).
 
liferider

liferider

Looking forward to retirement
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Jersey Big Mike said:
All straps should pull down and forward.

If you have straps pulling the rear wheel back, they are fighting against front straps and in the event of a strap failure have a higher chance of the bike shifting badly IMHO, whereas if everything pulls towards the chock the bike is less likely to shift.

The biker bar is very nice and if I ever trailered that much I might look into it, but for me trailering is bike broke down or I am moving!(hopefully not again to either!).
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The straps on the rear must pull backwards. Have trailered my motocross bikes when I was younger more miles than most people have on their bikes! It stabilizes the bikes and holds the bike during hard breaking. I really try to pull backwards at 45* angles. And yes I pull down on my triple tree but only to travel marks on forks! I also wrap the back tire & rim with a towel and then wrap a wratchet strap and pull.image.jpeg
 
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ChoppaNoob

Active Member
I use the rear tiedowns to keep my tire from going through the plywood front. I dont have a chock. Think its a good idea to keep some back pressure on the forward straps.
 
SMCT

SMCT

Active Member
Based upon how these bikes are designed, your better off blocking the frame, and then tie it down. I have Condors, and even though your pulling forward by different points on the bike, you start to collapse the forks pretty good just to keep it stable. When you block it, it can only collapse the forks so much before the bike is hard down on a wooden block under the frame. Just don't want to put any extra stress on the K9 forks or front hubs/rim. I am probably going to make some sort of scissor platform to slide under the frame before I strap it down. I don't see this being any different than my hard tail dragster.
 
Jersey Big Mike

Jersey Big Mike

100K mile club
Well unless you over do it, strapping the forks down isn't an issue.
My first chopper spent more time strapped down for the first couple of years than most people would believe.
It got strapped down EVERY NIGHT unless I was on an overnight road trip!

Why would you do that you might ask?

When I bought my first chopper I was living in an apartment that I wasn't comfortable leaving the bike outside all the time when I wasn't there, paranoia maybe.

So -- I went and bought an F150 pickup, ramps and proceeded to build a 6FT tall in the back cab over top the bed of the pickup truck.
Installed a chock in the front, mount spots to store the ramps etc.
I would drive the bive up the 10ft long ramps and park it in the pickup truck -- It got strapped down all the time so I could both move the truck and more importantly so I could close the door to the custom cap (98"bed, 99+" bike!).

I still stand by my opinion that the straps should all work towards the same goal (down and forward into chock). I have seen videos showing both ways and I have even transported both ways myself, but have since gone to down adn forward after too much trailering to suit my taste (never would be my choice - although I did have to trailer my first Big Dog home when I bought it -- couldn't get anyone else to ride 3hrs to go pick it up and I wasn't willing to wait).

Whatever method you use, just make sure their tight and stay tight!
 
njbiker20088

njbiker20088

Active Member
Bdogridgeback said:
Hey guys
For you guys that trailer your Ridgebacks, where are your tie down points when using a front wheel chalk.
I was told not to use the triple tree to compress the forks as it was hard on the suspension & seals.
Have a new trailer with a condor chalk and I'm trying to get it outfitted.
Thanks
LP
Click to expand...
i go over the tire and under the wheel chalk
 
bdm7250

bdm7250

Guru
Supporting Member
dentdude36 said:
Only downfall is laying on the ground to mount the bar on the bike, but I've used them several times now so I do it pretty quick
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I like the fact that you're not relying on straps, I am always pulling over every time I hit a pothole to check my bike. This is about every quarter mile when going through WNY...:D
 
BadDawg Bill

BadDawg Bill

Well-Known Member
SMCT said:
Based upon how these bikes are designed, your better off blocking the frame, and then tie it down. I have Condors, and even though your pulling forward by different points on the bike, you start to collapse the forks pretty good just to keep it stable. When you block it, it can only collapse the forks so much before the bike is hard down on a wooden block under the frame. Just don't want to put any extra stress on the K9 forks or front hubs/rim. I am probably going to make some sort of scissor platform to slide under the frame before I strap it down. I don't see this being any different than my hard tail dragster.
Click to expand...
You saved me the trouble of typing all that :oldthumbsup: A block of wood under the front of the frame (about 1/2 " under the bottom) will allow you to just pull the forks down just a little. The last time I didn't use a block of wood the fork fluid was all over the floor and the seals shot. an expensive lesson to learn.
 
BWG56

BWG56

Guru
BadDawg Bill said:
You saved me the trouble of typing all that :oldthumbsup: A block of wood under the front of the frame (about 1/2 " under the bottom) will allow you to just pull the forks down just a little. The last time I didn't use a block of wood the fork fluid was all over the floor and the seals shot. an expensive lesson to learn.
Click to expand...
When I strap mine down by the triple trees I don't pull it down any more than half way on the oil mark that the shock normally moves when riding. But I have seen others pull them down too far and puke the fork oil out:oldbang:
 
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