Using a Directional to Lift a Bike

[redneckdan]

Not sure this is in the right place, it is a How-To that involves technical rope equipment, mods please move it if you need to.

Hey all yall. A couple people on the Sab-Mag email list asked me to do a write up on how to use a mechanical haul system to lift a heavy bike when there is no over head anchor point, ie prairie, desert, Walmart parking lot.... I decided to do the write up here since this crowd might find it handy too.


OH NOES, my big heavy ass RT1200-SUPERE.TENERE-Strom fell over and I can't get it up!!1! What do I do?! Sit and cry myself to sleep like a skinny jean hipster or put on my big girl panties and use that $80k worth of BS-ME….



In a real tip over with a big bike I would just use the somewhat over head branch as the anchor. In this scenario the anchor is at the base of the tree. I will talk about anchor options later.

First you need to make sure the bike is in gear. Really sucks to get it stood back up and it takes off rolling down hill. Next find some where to hook on to the bike. It is best to figure this point out before you need to use it. Here I clipped a runner to the foot peg. This runner is 60" of 1/2" flat webbing with an Omega Five-O 'biner, tie a loop in each end with a water knot.





Fling the loose end of the webbing over the seat towards your anchor point.



Next you need a directional, this may be the tricky part. A board, tree branch, log, something 5’-6’ tall. You may have to do some walking to find it. Look around for old homesteads…be resourceful. If your directional happens to have a fork in one end so much the better. If not, a clove hitch with the runner on the top end of the directional will work too. The purpose of the directional is to change the direction of the applied force from the haul system. It will lift the bike instead of dragging it across the ground.



Next find an anchor. Here I slung the base of a tree.



You may find a boulder near by that you can sling. If not maybe take your saddle bags/panniers off, empty them out, fill them with sand/rocks/mud/small children…get creative. Dig a trench and bury some sticks. There is always a way. When riding in places with rocky out croppings bring a couple nuts or hexentrics. You may find a big enough crack near by that you can jamb a chock stone in there and sling that.

Nuts, you don’t need a whole rack, just some of the smaller ones. Bigger cracks you can jamb a pebble or a rock in and be all set.



Hexentrics, Same story, pick a small one or two. These can be set as chocks or cams.



Next build your haul system. Here I am using a z-rig, which gives 3 to 1, you can stack another z-rig and get 9 to 1 if you need. You might chose to use a pair of sheave blocks instead. Use what ever you wish.

This is how you lay out the z-rig.



The rope end on the right will get tied into a loop. I like the figure 8 on a bight. The pulley on the left gets hooked to the anchor. The pulley on the right gets hooked into the loop on the end of the rope. The running end of the rope is where you pull. Running line (1) plus an active pulley (2) gives 3 to 1 mechanical advantage.

Here it is rigged to go. I am using 6mm static rope, this is good to 2000lbs single strand. Even something like 4 mm will work for standing up a bike. This z-rig also works good for hauling a bike out of a hole or up an embankment. That is more of a two person job.



Here I clove hitch between the prongs of the fork to keep the runner stable on the directional.



Positioning the direction is the most important part. You want the top end of the directional as close as possible to being directly over the point where you attached the runner to the motorcycle. You want the beginning of the lift to be as straight up as possible. If it is not pulling directly up your system will be less efficient and you will be more likely to drag the bike across the ground versus lift it up. The red line represents the ideal placement, I was a little off. Be sure to dig the lower end of the stick in to prevent it from kicking out.



Here is the active pulley of the haul system hooked into the runner.



Apply a little bit of force to the z-rig and the bike lifts right up. Don’t go too far or the bike will tip over the other way. If you were paying attention the bike is in gear and won’t roll off down hill on you.



Another angle.





To tie off the z-rig pull a bight of the running line threw the pulley ‘biner and tie an over hand on a bight knot across the top of the pulley/around the haul lines. Then you can walk over to your bike and stand it up the rest of the way.






So that is how you use a directional to stand up a heavy bike. Any questions?

[Bob]

All your climbing/recovery gear is worth more than the bike!

Good refresher, thanks

[IsAnOzzie]

To carry all that gear you would need a sidecar, then of course you would not need all that gear.

[keetmanaa]

What is a "water knot" and how is it tied?

[katbeanz]

Cool, was just reading up on Z drags a couple days ago, hadn't considered the directional.

[Superfish]

Well, I learned something today so I'm home free. I can take the rest of the day off. I'm not a climber but my last house did have a great view of the "Gunks" in New Paltz,NY.

I've been carrying a similar setup on my road bike, Just lighter rope and pulleys.

The Directional is new info for me and I appreciate it.

[redneckdan]

A water knot is an overhand knot used for webbing. http://www.animatedknots.com/waterknot/index.php

It is all a matter of perspective. Some people don't even carry patch kits or tubes. The vital pieces for this kit don't weight but 3 pounds. More weight can be shaved with a smaller rope. The rope can also be used for setting up hammocks or rain flys.

[Snarky]

I'm a 130 pound, 6'1" skinny jean wearing hipster and when i drop my R1200GSA in the soft stuff, i just pick it it up and remind myself not to do that again.

I guess i'm doing it wrong, ill head over to REI and gather some climbing gear.

Maybe i need to carry a hilift jack too...

[redneckdan]

Congratulations. You want a medal or a chest to pin it on? Go get yerself some beer and lasagna...if you were any skinnier you'd fall through your own ass hole.

All in good fun of course.


PS- rei is for posers, find yer self a small local shop. the danker the smoke and the shaggier the shop dog, the better the store.

PPS- I have attached a hi lift to a KLR before. Came across some local kids with a truck buried in a mud hole. Ran home with da six-fiddy and grabbed the hi lift. Kinda top heavy mounted up high, thinking about making a mount for it down low near the skid pan.

[GSWayne]

Thanks for the idea of a directional, I do not recall anyone mentioning that in several threads about getting bikes unstuck.

If you want a small and light block and tackle for this sort of thing: http://www.adventureengineering.com/...oducts/ez-pull

And if you want a cheap block and tackle for this sort of thing:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...=11839&R=11839

There is also the Skert technique:
http://www.pinkribbonrides.com/dropped.html

[steve_k]

Good info, thanks.

[Flashmo]

A z-drag is really good for recovering a bike that has gone over the edge of the roadway, but you can stand any bike up if it has just tipped over with good technique...even a Goldwing.

[rockydog]

I've had bikes dumped where I couldn't stand no matter what technique I used, but if I could get it on it's wheels it would be ahella lot easier to find the road I went exploring off of. I've used the northern tools rig to lift stuff I had no business messing with, good stuff. Thanks for the technique tip.......

[fluff34567]

Originally Posted by Snarky

I'm a 130 pound, 6'1" skinny jean wearing hipster and when i drop my R1200GSA in the soft stuff, i just pick it it up and remind myself not to do that again.

I guess i'm doing it wrong, ill head over to REI and gather some climbing gear.

Maybe i need to carry a hilift jack too...

GS is easy to pick up as its already at 45 degrees, its a bit harder with a "normal" bike

$90 for the ez pull is a joke... go to any climbing shop and order 2 pulleys, cheaper ones are about $15 each

[GSWayne]

Originally Posted by fluff34567

GS is easy to pick up as its already at 45 degrees, its a bit harder with a "normal" bike

$90 for the ez pull is a joke... go to any climbing shop and order 2 pulleys, cheaper ones are about $15 each

If you try to do 5:1 (to compare apples and apples) with the climbing gear (double pulleys and include the cost of the rope) it will probably cost much more than $90.