March 21st, 2017, 05:08 PM | #1 |
Lays er down
Name: Michael
Location: Maryland
Join Date: Apr 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Lime green Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.
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Anyone use a pull behind tow dolly (thing)?
I feel it is time to go back to the track. I don't have room for a trailer but I have seen stuff like
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=...cycle&_udlo=70 Will pulling the bike like this have negative effects on the tranny? I've seen mixed feelings about it. I would probably only be going to one motorsports park (Summit Point) which is about 75 miles away. The extra 150 miles on the rear tire does not concern me too much as I barely have been riding at all since every time I do ride the street it just makes me want to sell the thing. Any thoughts would be appreciated. |
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March 21st, 2017, 05:27 PM | #2 |
CCS Amateur #501
Name: Dave
Location: Iowa
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There was a guy on here that seemed to blow up a motor by having the bike drop into gear while towing at a good speed. Youd want to disconnect the chain at a minimum.
If you have a truck that can carry the entire wt of the bike from the hitch, the well regarded hitch carrier is $600 - moto tote I believe but I dont have experience with any of this stuff. They all look too flimsy for my taste and mechanical engr education. |
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March 21st, 2017, 06:50 PM | #3 |
Lays er down
Name: Michael
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Well I don't have a truck or anything like it. I have a mazda 2 so it would be this or a single rail trailer. Disconnecting the chain would be out of my league mechanically but would zip tying the clutch in be a solution to that potential problem?
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March 21st, 2017, 07:01 PM | #4 |
CCS Amateur #501
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March 21st, 2017, 07:16 PM | #5 |
Cat herder
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When you say you have no room for a trailer, do you mean you don't have a parking spot? Neither do I (well, technically I do have room but the whole redneck trailer in the yard thing would not go over well).
I got the folding HF trailer and it sits against the back wall of my garage. Only sticks out a couple of feet or so. Plus it's cheap. If I wanted to spend more I'd get a Kendon -- same idea, just much better quality. I considered doing the dolly for about two minutes, but concluded that a trailer would be far more useful.
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March 21st, 2017, 07:29 PM | #6 |
Lays er down
Name: Michael
Location: Maryland
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@Dave Wolfe Welp that thread killed this idea seeing as he also had the clutch pinned in, thanks
@adouglas I am sure I could make the room with the living situation I am currently in but I am trying to plan for the long term as well. Currently I just rent a room in a house but have no idea how long I will be doing this and where I may end up. Also by HF do you mean harbor freight? |
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March 21st, 2017, 09:25 PM | #7 | |
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March 21st, 2017, 11:12 PM | #8 |
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I used a Stinger trailer for quite a few years when I was only taking a single bike to the track. Folds up small, works great. New ones look pricier and more full-featured than I remember, but they still solve that problem of wanting a reliable, high-quality trailer and having only a little space to store it when not in use.
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March 22nd, 2017, 05:00 AM | #9 | |
Cat herder
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Quote:
Here's a thought: Offer to do dump runs/carry stuff for your landlord in exchange for permission to house the trailer.
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March 22nd, 2017, 06:19 AM | #10 |
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Hello dolly
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March 22nd, 2017, 10:38 AM | #11 |
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Husband has one of those little dollies and it always feels a little sketchy to me. Yeah, it holds, but I don't like it.
Better is the Stinger folding trailer. We picked up a used one for fairly cheap. Feels much more solid, even for a big bike. https://ca.stingertrailer.com/ |
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March 22nd, 2017, 11:00 AM | #12 |
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Take the chain off if you go this route. The transmission bearings are pressure fed, without the engine running failure is eminent.
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March 22nd, 2017, 11:55 AM | #13 |
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See if you can find a used "trailer-in-a-bag." Can be fully dismantled for storage and doesn't take too long to put together.
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March 22nd, 2017, 12:13 PM | #14 |
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Michael,
Please take the time to figger out how to remove and reinstall the chain. This is common practice for a track vet as well as the removal/reinstalling of both wheels. If nothing else, it will help you get past tech (chain slack check) as well as save you some coins.
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March 22nd, 2017, 04:01 PM | #15 |
Lays er down
Name: Michael
Location: Maryland
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Thank you for all your inputs. I will not be going the dolly route and will probably go with something like the stinger. I definitely want to get back to the track this year.
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March 22nd, 2017, 05:18 PM | #16 |
Guy Who Enjoys Riding
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This thread got me working on my Deals Gap 2-stroke meet prep. I can fit my H2 and Ninja 250 in my van, but also taking the DT100 would cause me to have to use my trailer just for it. So I'm upgrading my cheapie trailer hitch to a 2" receiver type, and getting one of the hitch mount carriers like near the top of the link in the original post. The sub-200 lb DT100 should travel just fine on the rear carrier.
Thanks for getting me going on the prep, Old Lemon! |
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March 23rd, 2017, 05:33 AM | #17 | |
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March 24th, 2017, 09:48 AM | #18 |
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March 24th, 2017, 06:59 PM | #19 |
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If you won't be needing it very often, you can rent a trailer from U-Haul or Home Depot. Maybe more expensive than owning one, but it solves your problem of not having storage for it.
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March 25th, 2017, 07:34 AM | #20 |
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Can you just ride to the track and back?
You can tape over the lights and maybe remove the mirrors over there.
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April 30th, 2017, 05:06 PM | #21 |
Lays er down
Name: Michael
Location: Maryland
Join Date: Apr 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Lime green Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.
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Got the stinger trailer in a bag. It is a bit too much to do everything my self though I am a very scrawny dude. Don't think I "need" assistance to get the bike on and off but I most certainly will get help doing it. Will start going to summit point in May and the goal is to go at least once a month ending in October or so.
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April 30th, 2017, 05:41 PM | #22 |
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Looks like the perfect match for your towing vehicle. Congratulations on finds no your solution.
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May 1st, 2017, 05:09 PM | #23 |
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Glad you found a good solution!
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May 2nd, 2017, 05:14 AM | #24 |
Cat herder
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You might want to move that bike back. You're putting a lot of weight on the trailer tongue. In this photo (first track day) I've got the chock as far forward as it will go. See how it's making the car squat?
In the attached photo (sorry, Photobucket is not cooperating today so I'm having trouble uploading) I've moved the chock back and everything is much more level. You want to have maybe 20 lbs of load on the ball... i.e. there should be some weight, but you should be able to easily lift the tongue off the ball. You DO NOT EVER want to have the center of gravity of the trailer behind the trailer axle. Not only is that a Bad Thing if the coupler comes undone, it's what makes trailers fishtail. The c.g. of the bike is roughly at the crankshaft. Put that a few inches forward of the trailer axle and you'll be about right.
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May 3rd, 2017, 03:49 PM | #26 |
Cat herder
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I've also learned to carry less stuff in the car and more stuff on the trailer. In the first pic, the only thing on the trailer was the bike. Now I carry the ramp, EZ-up, both paddock stands, the trailer spare, and gas cans on the trailer. The car is much happier and I've got more suspension travel.
That'd be a challenge with yours, but I bet you could get creative and have a better towing experience that way.
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May 3rd, 2017, 06:16 PM | #27 |
Guy Who Enjoys Riding
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I'm not a trailer expert, but I believe the rule of thumb is to have approximately 10% of the trailer's gross weight for tongue weight. If you have a 350 lb motorcycle and a 200 lb trailer, you'd want about 55 lbs of tongue weight at the ball.
Putting more stuff on the trailer is OK if the trailer has brakes, but if not, you really want all the weight you can get on the tow vehicle, since any weight you move to the trailer takes braking ability off the tow vehicle. You have the same amount of mass to stop, but less of it over the tires that do the stopping. |
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May 4th, 2017, 05:59 AM | #28 |
Cat herder
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To be clear, tongue weight and total trailer weight are two different things.
My understanding is that as long as total trailer weight is within the towing limits of the vehicle, you're good. A typical small car has a towing capacity of 1000 lbs. I could probably put another 200-250 lbs on mine and still be within that. Note that he same car in different markets may or may not be "approved" by the manufacturer for towing. My US Honda Fit isn't supposed to be able to tow according to Honda, but in Europe and Australia it can. Exact same car, different regs, I guess. Old Lemon's Mazda2/Toyota Yaris/Scion iA is comparable to my car.
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May 4th, 2017, 08:55 AM | #29 |
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Yes but Andy in general you do want 10-15% of the total trailer weight to be tongue weight. If your car can tow 1,000lbs then it prob has a tongue weight of 200lbs max. But its prob not called out anywhere since its not very common in small cars. Too much tongue weight just has the effect of wearing out your tires or overloading the vehicle, but it will still be stable towing. Too little tongue weight will give swaying which is a nono.
Ive done too much research on towing with this new truck......
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May 4th, 2017, 12:28 PM | #30 |
Guy Who Enjoys Riding
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You're good as far as the tow vehicle's capacity is concerned, but the more weight you put on a trailer without brakes, the longer your stopping distance will be in an emergency. In an extreme case, like a 10 lb. car pulling a 10 ton trailer, it takes a huge amount of force to stop the trailer, but the car can't put more than about 10 lb. of stopping force on it, assuming the tire coefficient of friction is 1, so it will skid a very long way before they stop. Arrange it the other way, with a 10 ton tow vehicle and a 10 lb. trailer, and the stopping distance won't change much whether or not the trailer is there.
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May 4th, 2017, 12:34 PM | #31 | |
Cat herder
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Quote:
I've got enough weight on the tongue that it won't go negative over bumps. Maybe 40-50 lb? Haven't ever measured. Before I moved the bike back I couldn't readily lift the tongue. It was clearly too much, based on the fact that the rear of the car would bottom occasionally. I can say for certain that with more of the load being carried by the trailer's suspension instead of the car's, handling is a lot better and there's no noticeable impact on braking. It's not as if the trailer is ever going to come close to outweighing the car, after all.
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May 4th, 2017, 12:42 PM | #32 |
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Ya your well within spec, but when your looking into 8000 lb trailers and tongue weights around 1,000 lbs, i started doing a decent amount of research lol.
Either way good pickup OP, my little trailer has served me well for a few years and ill be selling it soon for my upgrade.
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May 7th, 2017, 03:52 PM | #33 |
ninjette.org member
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How much did you pay for that trailer?
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May 7th, 2017, 04:48 PM | #34 |
Cat herder
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Are you asking the OP, or me?
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May 8th, 2017, 10:31 AM | #35 |
cadd cadd cadd
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Both.
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May 8th, 2017, 10:51 AM | #36 |
Cat herder
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My trailer is from Harbor Freight and can be had (in unassembled form, with no deck) for $299 with coupon. The coupon discount isn't always in effect, but it happens so often that you just need to wait a little to get it.
Figure a full day, or a casual weekend, to assemble. Quality is what you'd expect for the price. It's just a pile of angle iron bolted together, after all. Keep an eye on it and don't expect a whole lot. I paid $350 used, basically to save the hassle of having to put the blasted thing together on my own. I didn't save a dime (remember you have to source a sheet of plywood) but I was ready to roll the moment I got home. I looked around for awhile and you really can't save significant money by buying one of these used, since they're so cheap to begin with. I added the jack and spare after purchase. Don't recall the cost of those, but everything came from Harbor Freight. I didn't bother getting a spare tire mount. It's just strapped to the tongue using giant heavy-duty zip ties. You'll need a ramp. I got a full-width one from Tractor Supply. I power-walk the bike up onto the trailer. Easy once you get the hang of it. I need a trailer I can store indoors, so the choices were this, the Stinger or the $$$$ Kendon. I'm a very short guy and really can't wrangle a bike that's up above my shoulders, so I needed a trailer I can walk onto. That ruled out the Stinger. Cost ruled out the Kendon. If you can park a trailer outside, another good option is Tractor Supply. You can get a nice trailer with a built-in gate/ramp for about $750 new.
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May 10th, 2017, 03:41 PM | #37 |
Lays er down
Name: Michael
Location: Maryland
Join Date: Apr 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Lime green Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.
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@GregS
1500 https://www.stingertrailer.com/produ...iler-in-a-bag/ It is pretty expensive but it takes a lot less space then most trailers. I am 120 5'6 hella scrawny and at the moment am not comfortable pushing the bike up on it my self yet (or taking the bike off) but in time and with practice I probably will be able to. Pretty simple to put together, bolts with R-pins. |
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May 11th, 2017, 09:52 AM | #38 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Greg
Location: San Antonio
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Quote:
I know the feeling about loading bikes, my ACL is blown out in one knee so I don't like pushing bikes up ramps, which is why I ride my bike up the ramp and into the back of my pickup truck |
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May 11th, 2017, 06:55 PM | #39 |
Lays er down
Name: Michael
Location: Maryland
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@GregS
Yea it is really expensive, but price increases with ease of use, plug and play, no additional work required you know. I didn't trust my self with constructing or modifying existing hardware so gotta pay the premium. Like building your own computer vs buying a pre built one. |
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May 11th, 2017, 07:42 PM | #40 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: Greg
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