Towing your bike?

[0150r]

Has anyone towed their bike for any long trips? Is there a recommended way of doing it? I've only ever moved my bike once on a truck for less than 10 miles, and the anchor straps compressed my front down quite a bit. I will be moving from San Diego back to the midwest in the next few months so I'm looking at either buying a truck, trailer, or having it shipped. Is it safe to transport it this way for a 3-4 day journey?

As of right now, my car is an '07 Kia Rio with automatic transmission so I don't know if I can even tow it with a small motorcycle trailer..

 

[BoneJj]

You can pretty much guarantee that trailering a bike with that car will result in some serious damage to your car for that great of a distance. You will burn up the transmission on that long drive.

Your best bet is to rent a truck put all your stuff in there, put your car on a trailer/dolly and put the bike inside the truck along with all your belongings.

 

[Wooster]

Brother I'd be scared to death towing my bike on that thing....LOL.

And I'm not sure about towing anything with a KIA RIO

 

[BoneJj]

Brother I'd be scared to death towing my bike on that thing....LOL.

And I'm not sure about towing anything with a KIA RIO

Those types of trailers aren't that bad but I still don't see his car as being able to tow that trailer for the distances that he's talking about.

It will more than likely like cause his transmission to overheat and die out on him.

 

[0150r]

Would you tow it that far with an SUV or truck? I will likely end up getting one of those for the nasty mid-west winters, so I could pick one up here before I go. Would the bike be okay being tied down to a trailer like that for so long or should I just spend the $800 to have it done professionally?

 

[0150r]

The military will be paying to move all of my belongings a few weeks before I move, so I won't have a uhaul to use unless I get one specifically to move the bike.

 

[Wooster]

Those types of trailers aren't that bad but I still don't see his car as being able to tow that trailer for the distances that he's talking about.

It will more than likely like cause his transmission to overheat and die out on him.

yeah I don't even think those cars have a tow hitch on them. He might have better luck towing the car with the bike...lol. I think I'd go with your idea and just renting a truck, put the bike in back, and tow the car.

 

[Wooster]

The military will be paying to move all of my belongings a few weeks before I move, so I won't have a uhaul to use unless I get one specifically to move the bike.

In that case I would just have them pay to ship it. I've never done it before, but I know there are companies out there that do it.

 

[Nastybutler]

This may help. A member from one of the Triumph forums was discussing his experience with shipping his bike: Terrible Shipping Company (HaulBikes / Daily Direct LLC)

 

[0150r]

In that case I would just have them pay to ship it. I've never done it before, but I know there are companies out there that do it.

They will only ship one vehicle...so I will be left with either two bikes or my car and a bike to get home. It might be best if I have them ship my FZ6R and figure out what to do with my other bike and drive the car home with the clothes/etc that I need for the last 2-3 weeks I'm out here.

 

[Wooster]

They will only ship one vehicle...so I will be left with either two bikes or my car and a bike to get home. It might be best if I have them ship my FZ6R and figure out what to do with my other bike and drive the car home with the clothes/etc that I need for the last 2-3 weeks I'm out here.

Didn't know you had 2 bikes. Do you have any friends who own a bike trailer large enough to tow 2 bikes? If you do, maybe pay him to tow them for you assuming he has a truck strong enough to do so and then just follow him. That's kind of the way I'm going to do it next year when I move

 

[BoneJj]

Didn't know you had 2 bikes. Do you have any friends who own a bike trailer large enough to tow 2 bikes? If you do, maybe pay him to tow them for you assuming he has a truck strong enough to do so and then just follow him. That's kind of the way I'm going to do it next year when I move

That might work but it would end up being cheaper to just rent a truck and either put the bikes in the truck or on a trailer.

If you chose to buy a truck, then good for you but I would just make sure you buy a good one and don't rush into it. Make sure it's something that will last you a while. You don't want to have to pay for a mistake by buying too fast...

As for the move, yeah they will only move one vehicle then you will have to get a little creative. While I was active I lucked out and had a friend of mine ship one of my bikes for me as he was headed to the same location that was I was.... There are always ways around the "rules" if you know how to be tricky with things.. lol.

 

[0150r]

I don't have any friends that I could ask to drive across the country twice...the gas would probably be a lot too.

 

[Blue-Sun]

Can you rent a truck and car dolly from U-Haul??

Rent a truck large enough to put the bike in the back and a "car dolly" for your Kia Rio. (something like this)