This
page is designed to give advice on tying down your Motorbike
in a Trailer or Ute, whether you have a Smart Arse Designs,
Bike Vice or not.
Please note these tips are to help you secure your bike
for transportation, I have been using these methods for
many years now, they may not work on all bikes and you
should experiment with them first before you travel long
distances. If you have any useful Tips please email them
to us and we will add the to this page.
| - |
First you will
need to have the bikes front wheel up against a
solid object, Bike Vice or Bike Trailer etc. I have
seen bikes that have been tied down hard to the
front of Ute bodies, bend the metal body, this is
one of the reasons why I market the Bike Vice. It
is advisable to have a means of securing the front
wheel in place, so as to stop it twisting sidewards.
The Bike Vice uses C-Channel Tyre Rests or The Deluxe
Tyre Rest to do this. |
| - |
You will need some form
of strong Tie Down loop or hook at some point equal
to or in front of the front tyre to attach the Tie
Downs to, like an Eye Nuts |
| - |
Then there's Tie Downs,
there are many different types on the market and
they vary in price and quality. Like most things
these days you get what you pay for, so don't trust
your pride and joy to $2 Shop specials. Relatively
light bikes like MX's Dirt or small road bikes the
use of friction type Tie Downs are fine. They are
designed to hold tight until a button is pressed
then it lets loose. The best I have seen so far
are Aussie made Snap Hook. They have a fully closable
hook at both ends so they cannot come off and a
soft loop at the top so as to not scratch any paint
etc. They can be purchased online by clicking our
orders page. If you plan on carrying a heavy Road
Bike I would recommend considering a ratchet type
of Tie Down for extra security, although they do
take more time and effort to use. The best I've
seen have Stainless Steel Hardware and can be found
from Marine Shops. |
| - |
Tie Down Methods. There
are a number of methods people use to Tie bikes
down. I have always secured my Tie Downs to the
bikes Handlebars but other people use the top or
bottom Triple Clamps or make up brackets to fit
the Folk legs. The wider you attach the bottom hooks
the more stability you will have, so if your carrying
one bike have the hooks attached to the widest Eye
Nuts possible. If you have two bikes or more just
run them to the nearest point. WHY ? Never cross
the Tie Downs over each other, they can rub, Frey and
break. ( This happened to me many years ago, I had my
TT 350 Dragging behind the car at 110kmh !! ) I always
tie the left over Tie Down up above the friction buckle
three times or more so it cannot slip and always check
these after 10 or 20 kms driving. |
A good trick is to put a couple of twists in the Tie Downs
this stops the wind causing the Tie Down to Vibrate and
make the most annoying droning sound. It's also good practice
to put extra Tie Downs on the front of the bike in case
one comes loose. I always use my older Tie Downs for this.
They don't need to be overly tight as they are there "just
in case". If I carry 2 bikes I will put one extra Tie
Down on the inside to stop the bike falling off the Trailer.
I would also recommend the use of one Tie Down on the
rear of the bike, generally on the inside, this will help
keep the rear more stable. You can purchase extra Eye
Nuts for this purpose.
One very important thing is not to tie the bike down using
full suspension travel this can damage the Folk seals.
Most dirt bike guys use a spacer between the tyre and
guard this also helps to stagger the handle bar height.
A little extra care will ensure you get to your destination
intact and enjoy the riding. |
