August 4th, 2011, 12:16 PM | #1 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Bill
Location: NC
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250 Posts: 282
|
Transporting the Ninja
Normally haul bikes on a trailer behind a 87 Toyota Pickup. Wanted to find a way to reduce overall vehicle weight to increase fuel economy. Had a shell given to me a few years ago for the Pickup, so decided to remove the shell to see how loading & unloading the Ninja on the back of the pickup would work.
Found the Ninja is easy to load/unload using an inexpensive aluminum ramp from Harbor Freight. The Pickup also has tie downs in each corner of the bed that should work fine for the Ninja. Will haul the Ninja 400 miles tomorrow to see how the 2.4L four cylinder Pickup performs with the Ninja in the back. Bet the Pickup will handle the KLR or CRF easily, too! Last futzed with by exploring/carolina; August 4th, 2011 at 01:19 PM. |
|
August 4th, 2011, 12:22 PM | #2 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Moe
Location: Earth
Join Date: Jun 2011 Motorcycle(s): None Posts: 424
|
Nice...are you going to be able to close the tail gate? I was wondering about this. I have an '01 Dakota and I will likely be transporting my ninja in the bed as well. How did you secure the bike?
__________________________________________________
'09 Ninja 250R SE TB Slip-On l Puig DB l Pazzos l Pro-Grips |
|
August 4th, 2011, 01:14 PM | #3 | |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Bill
Location: NC
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250 Posts: 282
|
Quote:
The bike's unloaded right now, but will reload it later today and secure so I will be ready to roll in the morining. Will post photos later today in this thread with the Ninja secured. Have a 400 mile round trip tomorrow to Deals Gap, not including riding the Ninja, too . Last futzed with by exploring/carolina; August 4th, 2011 at 02:38 PM. |
|
|
August 4th, 2011, 02:19 PM | #4 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Marc
Location: Crawfordville, Florida
Join Date: Jan 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2005 Suzuki S50, 2006 Kawasaki Ninja EX250F, 1990 Honda PC800, 2000 Yamaha TW200 Posts: 848
|
Did you ride that up on there or muscle it up?
Those ramps make you have to really watch your step where you put your feet for balance. Watch your butt coming down if you are sitting on the bike. |
|
August 4th, 2011, 02:34 PM | #5 | |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Bill
Location: NC
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250 Posts: 282
|
Quote:
Coming down the ramp, I put it in neutral, use front brake & walk beside the bike. I wear good shoes, not flip flops. Have to have a ramp wide enough for the bike & person walking. With the Ninja around 300lbs, not too bad going up or down the ramp. |
|
|
August 4th, 2011, 02:58 PM | #6 |
wat
Name: wat
Location: tustin/long beach
Join Date: Sep 2009 Motorcycle(s): wat Posts: Too much.
Blog Entries: 5
MOTM - Oct '12, Feb '14
|
when i load bikes into trucks (seems like i've been doing that a lot lately... ) i put them in kitty corner. the corner of the bed acts as a wheel chock and the tailgate closes no problem
__________________________________________________
|
|
August 4th, 2011, 04:14 PM | #7 |
CVMA/AFM #72
Name: Tiffani
Location: Los Angeles, Ca
Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 250r (Racebike), 2015 FZ-07(Tourer), 2001 KX65(LOL bike) Posts: A lot.
|
I've towed mine over 600 miles round trip with a 2.2L Celica with little noticable drag, so the back of your pickup should fare just fine :
Gas mileage ftw Although I'm mad jealous of your ability to just load it in a truck and actually be allowed to drive speed limit and not get stuck in the crappy truck lanes going <55 mph up the Grapevine. Ahem, yes. I'm not even bitter about it, I swear |
|
August 4th, 2011, 07:09 PM | #8 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Bill
Location: NC
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250 Posts: 282
|
That's a good idea placing the front wheel caddy corner secure the wheel.
Like the trailer behind the Celica. Would like to get one like that for our 2.3L 5 speed Focus. Got the bike tied down & road tested tonight, very stable. Every thing is a go for the "Dragon" tomorrow. Used the red straps close to the front axle on the fork to keep the front of the bike from moving left or right. Placed the red straps on the cross tube on the centerstand to keep the rear from moving left or right. Used the blue straps on the twisted throttle trunk mount to stabilize the top of the bike. |
|
August 7th, 2011, 10:07 AM | #9 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Brian
Location: Georgia
Join Date: Jul 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2004 Kawasaki Ninja 250, 2007 Harley Davidson Nightster XL 1200N Posts: 99
|
why don't you put straps on the handle bars? that compresses the suspension (near bottoming out), and makes it really stable. you can buy straps that look like a figure 8 that do a half hitch around the bars so you can hook ratchet straps to them without marring the bar.
|
|
August 7th, 2011, 12:31 PM | #10 | |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Bill
Location: NC
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250 Posts: 282
|
Quote:
Would have used the the handlebars, but the angle from the tie down in the truck to the portion of the handlebars I wanted to use, allowed the tie downs to contact the fairing, which I did not to do. My first choice is to use handlebars compressing the forks if possible. Use the figure 8 straps on other bikes when using the trailer, but did not use them on the Ninja until the return trip from the Dragon. Like the figure 8 straps, too. Hauled the Ninja 420 miles last Friday, and it worked well with the pickup getting 28MPG in the mountains during the round trip to Deals Gap from 55 to 60MPH. Thanks, |
|
|
August 7th, 2011, 01:03 PM | #11 |
CVMA/AFM #72
Name: Tiffani
Location: Los Angeles, Ca
Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 250r (Racebike), 2015 FZ-07(Tourer), 2001 KX65(LOL bike) Posts: A lot.
|
When I was looking into tying down my ninja way back when, most people recommended going up and under, looping the tie downs around the lower triple clamp (Supposedly the canyon dancer/handlebar method is prone to grip damage). So that's what I do. It's very stable, doesn't touch the fairings, and you can compress the suspension safely. I've never had anything damaged doing it that way.
Just another method to consider next time if you'd like |
|
August 7th, 2011, 01:55 PM | #12 | |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Bill
Location: NC
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250 Posts: 282
|
Quote:
|
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
[motorcyclistonline] - Tips For Transporting Your Motorcycle | MC GARAGE | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | December 22nd, 2014 10:31 PM |
[RideApart] - Transporting Bikes Requires Balance | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | July 18th, 2014 06:20 AM |
Transporting rearstand | Cuongism | General Motorcycling Discussion | 15 | August 16th, 2010 06:26 AM |
Sorry, n00b question- transporting your bike without a truck? | Zombiphone | Ninjettes At Speed | 34 | April 14th, 2010 10:19 AM |
Transporting Motorcycle - moving to LA | darkknight49 | General Motorcycling Discussion | 13 | July 10th, 2009 03:04 AM |
|
|