July 13th, 2010, 08:52 PM | #1 |
ninjette.org newbie
Name: Robert
Location: Knoxville
Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja EX250 Posts: 4
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Towing a Trailer??
I just got back from a 5-day camping/touring trip of the Blue Ridge Parkway area. The bike was loaded with saddle bags, a tank bag, tail bag, and sleeping bag/tent roll. Plus, I weigh about 185#. I would rather not carry that much on my bike and thought a small trailer would be a better deal. Has anyone had experience with towing a small trailer with the 250? What kind of trailer (2 wheel or 1?)? How did it tow? How was the hitch connected to the bike? Thanks for any help!
Bob |
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July 13th, 2010, 09:09 PM | #2 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Travis
Location: Warwick, RI
Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.
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A motorcycle trailer hitch will attach to the swing arm. You will also need to get a lighting converter inorder to get lights back the the trailer. You're looking at a big investment and probably not very good performance with the 250 pulling a trailer. If you plan on touring or carring a lot of cargo, I would save the money from the trailer and buy touring bike.
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July 13th, 2010, 09:36 PM | #3 |
ninjette.org dude
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Location: SF Bay Area
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I've seen motorcycles pulling trailers, and motorcycles being pulled on trailers, but I don't think I've ever seen a ninjette pulling a trailer of any kind. But I'd certainly be interested in hearing about anyone who attempts the project!
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July 15th, 2010, 08:05 AM | #4 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Justin
Location: Mobile, AL/Memphis, TN
Join Date: Nov 2009 Motorcycle(s): '08 250R/'10 ZX6R/'02 YZ125/'06 DRZ125L/'05 Blaster Posts: 346
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Why not a sidecar for more stability? Also, you'd have a sidecar in case a younger family member wanted to ride.
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July 15th, 2010, 09:35 AM | #5 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Rick
Location: Alexandria, Louisiana
Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 Blue Ninja 250 Posts: Too much.
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I have seen lightweight trailers for bicycles. I wonder if one of those could be modified for a motorcycle.
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July 15th, 2010, 11:15 AM | #6 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Alex
Location: Belfast, ME
Join Date: Jul 2008 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Honda NT-700-V, formerly, Green 2008 Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.
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Rick, I am very familiar with those trailers. They are limited in how much weight they can carry (usually 60 Lbs) They are also built light weight for obvious reasons. The problem that I see would be the wheels, tyres, and bearings. They are rated for a very low speed. A fully laden touring bicycle would max out at 25mph going downhill. Anything over that would smoke the wheel bearings and blow the tyres. The Ninjette tends to be a bit faster. My recommendation would be to move the rear turn signals to the license plate bracket (the wires are long enough with some ccreative rerouting) This would allow you to carry larger saddle bags like Cortech. With a large tank bag and tail bag, you should be able to take a lot of stuff.
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July 15th, 2010, 11:57 AM | #7 |
Tyga Performance
Name: TygaUSA
Location: Nevada
Join Date: Jul 2010 Motorcycle(s): Honda's! Posts: 99
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It would be a little sketchy pulling a trailer with a 250...even tho I always over pack I try and remember to ask myself if I really need this or that...less is always better. Some of those guys on ADVrider have it down to a science, pack little but always enough to get by.
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July 15th, 2010, 12:14 PM | #8 |
ninjette.org newbie
Name: Robert
Location: Knoxville
Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja EX250 Posts: 4
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Thanks for the suggestions. All good! I do have a sidecar bike, a Ural. It can carry a ton of stuff and I have a fairly large trailer for it. But it gets about 30 +/- mpg while I got 81 mpg on my last trip on the Ninja (I have re-geared it for better highway speed and mileage). Also, it is not nearly as reliable as the Ninja (with it I carry a complete tool set). Nor, is it nearly as fast as the Ninja; it seems happiest at about 50-55 mph. I have moved my turn signals; smaller, and mounted on the side of the license tag light, so I can handle larger saddle bags. My tail bag, empty, weighs 6 pounds, so I think I'll go with a lighter, nylon bag. I'm still interested in a small lightweight trailer, but I'll make these changes in the meantime.
Thanks, Bob |
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July 15th, 2010, 02:59 PM | #9 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Alex
Location: Belfast, ME
Join Date: Jul 2008 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Honda NT-700-V, formerly, Green 2008 Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.
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Bob. I have found that when packing clothes that putting neatly folded clothes in a Zip-Loc bag and then sitting on the bag to let the air out helps conserve space. When sitting on the bag, zip it almost all the way, sit, and zip the rest of the way. Keeps things from getting wet as well. I think that fabricating a hitch would not present a problem. What I would be concerned about woild be tyres that can handle the speeds Ninja likes, and wheel bearings. If you can find a rolling chassis that adresses those two issues, you would be home free.
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July 15th, 2010, 03:51 PM | #10 | |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Scott
Location: DFW TX
Join Date: Jul 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja zx6r Posts: 609
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Quote:
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July 15th, 2010, 03:54 PM | #11 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Scott
Location: DFW TX
Join Date: Jul 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja zx6r Posts: 609
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Here's a company which sells a small motorcycle trailer. Not sure how or if it works with a sport bike, but you could probably contact the company with questions.
http://www.motorcycletrailer.com/ |
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July 18th, 2010, 10:28 AM | #12 |
ex-ninjette.org guru :o
Name: Trevor
Location: Barrie, Ontario
Join Date: Jun 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2003 SV1000 S Posts: 475
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check these guys too. pretty pricey, but they look like they work well
http://www.thirdwheeltrailers.com/index.php/trailers |
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July 18th, 2010, 05:33 PM | #13 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Scott
Location: DFW TX
Join Date: Jul 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja zx6r Posts: 609
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That's pretty cool.
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July 18th, 2010, 05:47 PM | #14 | |
Frak It
Name: Sean
Location: SWFL
Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250R Posts: 199
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Quote:
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July 19th, 2010, 01:32 PM | #15 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Corey
Location: Salty City
Join Date: Feb 2010 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250,KTM 690 Enduro R, KTM300XC, XB12X Buell, 1966 Hummer 175 Posts: 28
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Quote:
I think it would be too heavy for the Ninja 250. My trailer that I pull behind my big bike: It is based on the bicycle trailers and works well. I use an old mountain bike shock and spring. It does give the steering a "heavy" feel. The trailer sure beats having the weight up high on the bike. I'm planning to build a smaller bullet-proof version for some dual sport trips I want to do. It will be a "flat bed" that I can just strap my gear to. You have to be mindful of where you park, as backing is a bit more precarious. It is a good bit easier to pull straight out when you leave. A slight hill with a fully loaded trailer can make it tough to balance and push the rig at the same time. Good luck |
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July 19th, 2010, 03:53 PM | #16 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Scott
Location: DFW TX
Join Date: Jul 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja zx6r Posts: 609
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That's an interesting looking trailer. Is that a bicycle tire on the back? If so, I'd be worried that the tire would not be able to stand up to highway speeds and distance.
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July 19th, 2010, 04:12 PM | #17 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Corey
Location: Salty City
Join Date: Feb 2010 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250,KTM 690 Enduro R, KTM300XC, XB12X Buell, 1966 Hummer 175 Posts: 28
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Quote:
My guess is that it will last 20K or so. I always carry the spare and a spare tube whenever I go on a long trip. We did a 9 day 3500 mile Pacific Coast Highway trip with it last year. For a two up trip it allowed us a few luxuries such as full size pillows, folding chairs, camera equipment, a small cooler full of cold drinks. I ended up hauling a few pieces of gear from others that went with us too! It handles the more than I ever anticipated weight load very well. Surprisingly my fuel economy with the trailer in tow is about the same as without. It was actually better on some of the long highway stretches. |
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July 19th, 2010, 08:07 PM | #18 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Rick
Location: Alexandria, Louisiana
Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 Blue Ninja 250 Posts: Too much.
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That is a great design. That is what I invisioned when I mentioned modifying a bycicle trailer.
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July 19th, 2010, 10:00 PM | #19 | |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Scott
Location: DFW TX
Join Date: Jul 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja zx6r Posts: 609
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Quote:
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July 20th, 2010, 07:20 PM | #20 |
ninjette.org member
Name: terry
Location: SW fla
Join Date: Sep 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2007 250r Posts: 94
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155 LBS. about half the weight of a ninja. Kinda scary
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July 20th, 2010, 08:01 PM | #21 |
ninjette.org member
Name: ___
Location: ___
Join Date: Jul 2010 Motorcycle(s): ___ Posts: 160
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July 20th, 2010, 08:22 PM | #22 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Corey
Location: Salty City
Join Date: Feb 2010 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250,KTM 690 Enduro R, KTM300XC, XB12X Buell, 1966 Hummer 175 Posts: 28
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You definitely want to scale it to the bike. I wouldn't have more than 100 lbs total on a 250 Ninja.
Something more like these: http://www.trailtail.com/specs.html |
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July 21st, 2010, 09:06 AM | #23 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Rick
Location: Alexandria, Louisiana
Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 Blue Ninja 250 Posts: Too much.
MOTY - 2017, MOTM - Jan '19, Oct '16, May '14
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Now that is a great product. That would fit the need perfectly.
Great video showing the product and perfect theme music. The Man In Black http://www.trailtail.com/download/trailer_video.wmv |
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August 11th, 2010, 08:02 PM | #24 |
ninjette.org newbie
Name: Robert
Location: Knoxville
Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja EX250 Posts: 4
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Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas. For the near future traveling, I've down sized everything: polyester clothes instead of cotton (where possible)(smaller to pack and can take fewer as I can wash out and dry overnight), smaller tent, lighter nylon tail bag, some compression bags (from ebay), sleeping pad instead of air mattress and pump, and only the bare necessities. This should help a lot. For the long term I going to check into either buying or making one of those trail tail type trailers. All good ideas! Thanks a million.
Bob |
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