Dual Sport went off hitch carrier @60 mph

I think if you buy a cheesy used Toyota truck for a buck or two, you'd be way ahead in safety for your bike when trippin' down the road. And when someone wants to borrow it to haul some wood or their dogs to the vet, make them change the oil for you.

The key thing is to think about how the bike will move around. You don't want it to go up or front or back. So, I usually run straps from the ends of the bike to the middle of the hitch carrier (make a V with the straps, holds the bike in center). Then I use my cheaper straps to wrap the wheels to the carrier (this keeps the bike from going up). I also used to use a strap from each end of the carrier to the roof rack on my SUV, but that was beacause I overloaded the carrier and wanted to take some weight off and keep it from bobbing around. If you can keep the rack from bobbing around and keep the bike from bouncing around in the carrier, you won't bust your rear glass or lose your stuff. It is a bitch to undo all of the straps to pop the hatch and get something from the back after it is all loaded, so make sure you have your overnight bag easily accessable.

The main thing I do is use enough straps so that if any one breaks, I won't lose my load. I have had straps break due to age.

Agreed. I think the horror stories come from the people who've never used them... "haters gonna hate" and all that.



I've had this HF hitch carrier for about 3 years now, and after 12-15 uses carrying all kinda of bikes (Aprilia scooter, Yamaha TTR-125, Suzuki DR-Z400), no issues to speak of so far.

The conveniences of the hitch carrier far out-weigh the inconveniences of a trailer. Strap it down properly and then just drive.

Agree. When I drove my KTM 525 home 360 miles, I had 6 straps on it. 2 on the bars, 2 on the rear frame, and one locking down each rim.

The one thing I don't like about them is masking the vehicle tail lights. I don't know if those are tail lights or reflectors on the one in that picture, but I added trailer lights and a trailer wiring harness to mine.

You am a smart man! Like me!

Since this picture was taken (Dec '10 I think) I have added some brackets & LED trailer lights I sourced at Northern Tool + Supply, connected to a 4-pin flat wire harness to give me stop, tail & turn lamps. About $30 worth of lights, brackets & wiring.

Werks guud!

Original Poster Here.

I'm glad many people have contributed their ideas and concerns with receiver hitch carriers and haulers so that past and future thread viewers will have less trouble while traveling with our bikes.

Today I found a vendor website with over 50 pictures of assorted bikes on hitch carriers on assorted vehicles. The vendor also has two "how to load" videos that seem very good and good written instructions. Their single bike carrier has a better front tire stop design than mine because theirs has sides. Their instructions also stress using a short double d ring strap through each tire. The site is JoeHauler.com

Happy Travels in 2013 and beyond.

A trucker years ago told me of the seven "P's" of trucking... Proper Prior Planning Prevents a Piss Poor Performance

I've never used those things but they sort of scare me to death. At they safe? I swear I saw a 1200Gsa on one strapped to the back of a mother home.

So, there any that would be suitable for carrying my GS on the back of my truck?

It depends on your truck, your hitch, and the rating of the carrier.

If your GS is 600lb., I wouldn't hesitate to haul it on a truck and hitch rated for towing 10K+ lb. I'd look into a dual or triple receiver setup though. This might mean that it has to be made custom. With a triple receiver setup, you'd eliminate a lot of the torsional and bending forces exerted on just 1 main center bar/receiver. With a heavy winch and winch bumper, or a snowplow, on the front of an F250 or beefier, you probably wouldn't even notice a 600lb GS on the hitch.

People haul heavier things than motorcycles on rear-of-axle carriers. I've seen forklifts carried this way, and they're heavier than many CARS.


For hauling with straps:

Do NOT max or exceed the capacity of the vehicle, the hitch, the carrier, or the straps. I try to keep things below half of my capacity, for a huge safety margin.

USE STRAPS WITH ENCLOSED ENDS.

PUT THE BIKE IN GEAR.

Attach a strap on either side of the handlebars, going down and OUTBOARD from the bike to the carrier. Attach a strap on either side of the rear frame/subframe, going down and OUTBOARD from the bike to the carrier. This is at least 4 separate straps going from 4 separate INBOARD points on the bike to 4 separate OUTBOARD points on the carrier. If any of your 4 main straps go down and INBOARD IN ANY WAY, you're asking for trouble. Yes, there are ways to counter this, but it adds complexity, and it would still be better if the original straps went outboard. This creates more redundancy, which creates more safety. Fore straps pull the bike down, fore, and outboard to either side of the bike. Aft straps pull down, aft, and outboard to either side of the bike. Center straps, should you choose to ALSO use some in this position, pull down and outboard to either side of the bike. Strap the wheels tight to the rail too. I only ever use the 4 mains and the 2 wheel straps, and my bikes don't budge on even the roughest of roads. Use something to chock the wheels at either end. On my trailer, I have a locking wheel chock for the front wheel, and a chocked rail for the rear wheel.

I've never lost anything off of a vehicle or trailer. I don't plan to.

From what I have read I suggest that some on here go to the EPRI site and download this............please. Will this make you a competent rigger...no...will it give you some basics....yes.

I always cringe when I pass someone with an 800lb bagger strapped down wrong, and on top of that it is usually done with those POS 1" nylons from Walmart. Why wouldn't I trust the safety of my $15k bike to $6 worth of straps from Wally World? :huh And it is not only the possibility of damaging your bike, but you are also putting the safety of others at risk.



If you lose your bike off the trailer, out of the back of your truck, or off of a receiver carrier...........you rigged it WRONG.....end of story. And yes, not inspecting your rigging each and every time you use it also means you rigged it........WRONG! And yes if an S hook comes loose because you didn't secure it...you did it WRONG! You should be securing your bikes planning for worst case, that includes having to make emergency maneuvers. Let me repeat.....if your bike falls over, falls off, or gets dragged.......you rigged it wrong.

+1 I have the HF one as well. When I strap my DRZ to it I use a total 8 straps, 2 from bars, 2 from rear frame, 1 around each wheel to rack, and then 1 from bars over the tail gate to the truckbed tie down and one from upper rear frame over tailgate to truckbed tie down. ALL of them are ratcheting straps - I NEVER use those flimsy cam lock type. Takes a while to load and unload, but the bike is secure.

And my hitch is rated for a 600 pound tongue weight, which is 200+ more than the weight of the bike and carrier.

I have had a strap let go while hauling my k1200rs in the back of my F350. Luckily, I saw the potential for the failure
as I was loading the bike at the dealership. Went across the street and dropped $25 on a second set of straps. I attached the second set to a second anchor point as a back-up. Sure enough the first set failed (I think it was the S hook syndrome). WHen I got home the primary strap had come of the hook and was only hanging on to he inside edge of the bedliner where the hole is to access the tie-down thingy.

I used to drive tow truck in the early 80's... back then we were not required to use safety chains but I used them every time anyways. Nowadays all tow operators have to double strap everything. There's a reason for that!

I have haul my Honda trail 90 at 200 lbs across America and back over 6,000 miles with out a problem. Two straps front and two straps back. I use ratchet straps because they hold well. I could check the bike by seeing the bike mirror riding back there. By lights flashing and braking was very visible through the bike. To counter the rocking horse effect I secured the back ratchets to the chain hitch points on the side of the car side receiver hitch.
When stopping for gas I would need to avoid sidewalks and curbs because the hitch would drag. I used truck stops and had no problem.

Yeah, I would do a Trail 90 on a hitch carrier, but not much more than that. I tend like things to be over engineered, so I would want to see an HD Electraglide go over a 4X4 trail before I would trust my Honda dual sport on one.

I would prefer one of those folding trailers if I didn't have an open truck bed.

Horror Story: Since I'm advocating using the truck bed, I thought I'd include a truck bed horror story. The first time I loaded my dual sport into a truck bed using a ramp, people were watching. That means I have to act like I know what I'm doing, right? So here I go, giving it plenty of throttle because I don't want to stall half way up the ramp and look like a fool. I made it into the truck, but bent the ramp because I hit it too hard. I also had wet tires, which it turns out, don't have much traction on a plastic bed liner. I wiped out, bending the bed into the back of my truck cab, put a huge dent in the side of the bed with the handlebars, and landed with my shin against the jagged foot peg. It bled a lot, and I still have a 3" scar on my shin to remind me of that day.

Those hitch haulers are sounding better already...

These scare the shit outta me, because ya know most of the time a 70 year old grandma put it on there..


Mobility Scooter Car Carrier |