Loading bike in pickup truck

[classicvw]

Bikes are built to be ridden not transported, I have seen many bikes ridden 50,000 miles without harm, transported a block and damaged, tragic oversight or idiotology, I dare not say,
A bike is an extension of the rider, a dam shame to not ride it

Some people aren’t smart enough to cross the street and have little understanding how to secure a bike for transport.

One of the best pieces of advice that I have gotten is, tie your bike down either on a trailer or pickup bed, and drive off. After 10 minutes, pull over somewhere safe to do so and check your tie downs. If you did something wrong, they’ll start to become loose and you can fix things before it becomes a bigger issue. If all is 100% good after those 10 minutes, you’ll have no problem for the rest of your transport.

 

[mjfink420]

Some people aren’t smart enough to cross the street and have little understanding how to secure a bike for transport.

One of the best pieces of advice that I have gotten is, tie your bike down either on a trailer or pickup bed, and drive off. After 10 minutes, pull over somewhere safe to do so and check your tie downs. If you did something wrong, they’ll start to become loose and you can fix things before it becomes a bigger issue. If all is 100% good after those 10 minutes, you’ll have no problem for the rest of your transport.

That's not just bikes. While I'm a noob at moving my bike around in a pickup, I'm experienced with trailers and loads; the advice you give above applies for just about any tied down load. Drive a little bit, stop, tighten/check to make sure everything is still where it should be. And yes, once you do that, you could probably drive until the wheels fall off the truck and never have the load move. There's an initial "settling in" which is what usually loosens up the straps. After that, almost always, the load will be static and "not going anywhere".

 

[Lendog]

That's not just bikes. While I'm a noob at moving my bike around in a pickup, I'm experienced with trailers and loads; the advice you give above applies for just about any tied down load. Drive a little bit, stop, tighten/check to make sure everything is still where it should be. And yes, once you do that, you could probably drive until the wheels fall off the truck and never have the load move. There's an initial "settling in" which is what usually loosens up the straps. After that, almost always, the load will be static and "not going anywhere".

A buddy of mine moved to Colorado before the real estate bubble, when the boom came in there would enough materials laying in the ditch to build a house every day for over two years, at that point his 200,000$ house would bring him a unsolicited offer of 450,000$, he is happy to be back in Ohio

 

[chadhargis]

Bikes are built to be ridden not transported, I have seen many bikes ridden 50,000 miles without harm, transported a block and damaged, tragic oversight or idiotology, I dare not say,
A bike is an extension of the rider, a dam shame to not ride it

I 100% agree.

Bikes are made to be ridden on fun twisty roads. But boring slab that flat spots a $300 rear tire is not fun. I'd much rather toss my bike in a pickup, drive to the good roads while enjoying air conditioning and enjoy a snack and a beverage. Then arrive refreshed and ready to attack the twisties. Ride all day, then when I'm exhausted and sore...load the bike back up and head home in comfort.

 

[Lendog]

I 100% agree.

Bikes are made to be ridden on fun twisty roads. But boring slab that flat spots a $300 rear tire is not fun. I'd much rather toss my bike in a pickup, drive to the good roads while enjoying air conditioning and enjoy a snack and a beverage. Then arrive refreshed and ready to attack the twisties. Ride all day, then when I'm exhausted and sore...load the bike back up and head home in comfort.

many of us are serious commuters lacking resources to enjoy track days, if the roads are boring we know what to do about it

 

[chadhargis]

many of us are serious commuters lacking resources to enjoy track days, if the roads are boring we know what to do about it

If you're daily commuting on your BMW motorcycle, I imagine you're saving a fortune on gas. Save up for that track day. They are incredible.

 

[cajunrider]

All the money I save from bike commuting goes to more bike parts and gear (and the occasional bike).

 

[r0ckrat]

All the money I save from bike commuting goes to more bike parts and gear (and the occasional bike).

And service items to keep the bike in tip-top shape for the fun weekend rides!

 

[powwow]

I'm late to this thread, but congrats on building your skills at loading the bike with a ramp. You're making it look easy now!

For those of us who really never got comfortable with putting a bike in a truck bed (although I do ride my snowmobile up a ramp and into my truck bed), especially a tall KTM dirt bike like mine, I went with one of these: https://mototote.com/

No affiliation with the company, but the product works well and I just wanted to include this as a possibility for others reading this post.

 

[rhbike]

I'm late to this thread, but congrats on building your skills at loading the bike with a ramp. You're making it look easy now!

For those of us who really never got comfortable with putting a bike in a truck bed (although I do ride my snowmobile up a ramp and into my truck bed), especially a tall KTM dirt bike like mine, I went with one of these: https://mototote.com/

No affiliation with the company, but the product works well and I just wanted to include this as a possibility for others reading this post.

They show a photo of a BMW sport bike on one of their hitch mounts in front of a BMW service department. Strapped down by the handlebars, which I believe is a big no-no for most if not all modern BMW's. Perhaps they were picking up replacement bars.

 

[mjfink420]

I'm late to this thread, but congrats on building your skills at loading the bike with a ramp. You're making it look easy now!

For those of us who really never got comfortable with putting a bike in a truck bed (although I do ride my snowmobile up a ramp and into my truck bed), especially a tall KTM dirt bike like mine, I went with one of these: https://mototote.com/

No affiliation with the company, but the product works well and I just wanted to include this as a possibility for others reading this post.

Thank you, hope it helps others! There are so many videos out there, from people saying "don't even think about riding it up" to "2x4 and send it". I feel the setup I have, if you've never done it before, you'd be wary (like "I need to be careful") but probably feel comfortable doing it. Don't think I caught it on video, but I intentionally did a few "stall outs" on the ramp to see how sketchy that would be. The answer is "not". Just put your feet down, hold the front brake and the use the clutch to get back down.

The hitch rack looks nice! I use something that's similar (in concept) for my mountain bike (rack from a company called 1up) and it's awesome! Obviously a lot heavier for a motorcycle, but being so nice and low, probably really easy to get a bike on/off of it.

The taller and heavier the bike, the harder it's going to be. I was kind of cheating loading the 660, it's <400 lbs and maybe a 29-30" seat height? I'd feel comfortable loading the XR now that I've done it a lot of times with the smaller bike, but that's absolutely increasing the difficulty!

 

[Lendog]

If you're daily commuting on your BMW motorcycle, I imagine you're saving a fortune on gas. Save up for that track day. They are incredible.

careful with what you imagine, some of us humans do lack resources, I’m sure a day at the track would be incredible

 

[powwow]

Thank you, hope it helps others! There are so many videos out there, from people saying "don't even think about riding it up" to "2x4 and send it". I feel the setup I have, if you've never done it before, you'd be wary (like "I need to be careful") but probably feel comfortable doing it. Don't think I caught it on video, but I intentionally did a few "stall outs" on the ramp to see how sketchy that would be. The answer is "not". Just put your feet down, hold the front brake and the use the clutch to get back down.

The hitch rack looks nice! I use something that's similar (in concept) for my mountain bike (rack from a company called 1up) and it's awesome! Obviously a lot heavier for a motorcycle, but being so nice and low, probably really easy to get a bike on/off of it.

The taller and heavier the bike, the harder it's going to be. I was kind of cheating loading the 660, it's <400 lbs and maybe a 29-30" seat height? I'd feel comfortable loading the XR now that I've done it a lot of times with the smaller bike, but that's absolutely increasing the difficulty!

I also have a 1up on my Sprinter van for my mountain bike...a very solid and well built rack!

 

[mjfink420]

careful with what you imagine, some of us humans do lack resources, I’m sure a day at the track would be incredible

"Take it to the track" is well intentioned advice, but certainly not an answer for anyone who's financially constrained. It's expensive (~200-300/day), and all the prerequisites you need (a way to get it there, stuff when you get there (tent/chairs/etc), the specialized gear (suit, gloves, boots, etc) and "insurance issue" (it's difficult to insure a bike on the track, dump it there, you very likely are looking at out of pocket expense; even more troublesome if you've financed the bike)..

I've done it now, and I'm going to do it again (now that I have everything I need, it's a "few hundred" per day), but throwing around "take it to the track" without an understanding of what it takes, financially, time, risk.. It's out of touch for a lot of people who ride motorcycles, IMHO. My first day on the track, minus the bike (I bought another bike because insurance was incredibly expensive for the XR) cost more than most people spend on their motorcycles. This forum is a self-selected group of likely most higher income people (if you can afford a luxury level "toy" like a BMW motorcycle, you're probably not struggling to get by) and I suspect the financial hit to "take it to the track" is still a real hurdle for many here.

 

[PGlaves]

Retired civil service pensioner but able to take a few track schools anyway. I took the bike I had. I wore the gear I had. I rode to the track. I was either on the bike or in the classroom so no need for a shelter. There are several ways to skin the possum.

 

[mjfink420]

Retired civil service pensioner but able to take a few track schools anyway. I took the bike I had. I wore the gear I had. I rode to the track. I was either on the bike or in the classroom so no need for a shelter. There are several ways to skin the possum.

No question, it's doable for those who have means and/or are willing to make sacrifices. Track schools are on the agenda for me, but all the ones I've found are pretty darn expensive (2-4K). And sure, you can ride to the track; if you already have leathers then you won't need that investment. We had ~40 mins between sessions and were only in the classroom ~1/2 the day, if I didn't have a shelter, I would have left, it was almost 100 degrees, even in the shade, it was beastly sitting there in a track suit! If I'd had to sit in the sun? LOL, good thing the ambulances are there, I likely would have needed one!!

I'm not arguing that "Take it to the track" isn't the right/best answer. What I am arguing, it's not a realistic answer for the 100's or 1000's of people who are out there, right now, carving a canyon somewhere, on the Tail of the Dragon, or riding at extra-legal speeds down some twisty road. My recent trip to the Dragon was much cheaper than my track day, had lower risk to the bike (I wasn't riding anywhere near the pace I was on track), likely higher risk to myself (there's a non-zero chance of dying on the Dragon/public roads, dying on the track is so rare as to be newsworthy), and I got many more hours of riding exciting/challenging roads than I did on my recent track day (if you ride every session at a track day, you'll get ~2-3 hours of seat time).

I wish there was a "middle ground". Track riding is fun, I just signed up to go again this weekend, so I obviously see the appeal! And it's also a great way to learn, I'd like to get "good" on a motorcycle and have a well rounded set of skills, track riding is absolutely going to help me get there. But it's a lot. Lot of time, lot of money, lot of gear, and, IMHO (I know others disagree) a lot of risk (financial and injury). Sure, you could ride slow on track, but, honestly, at that point, it's kind of like riding the Dragon going 15MPH; why bother (and on track you're going to be hazard out there to everyone else who's riding more quickly).

To be clear, I think people riding public roads in leathers dragging knee at many times the speed limit is ridiculous. At that point, you WAY beyond the risk level of the track, you already have the gear, stop being a moron. But there is a middle ground, perhaps unattainable (because people are idiots); riding quickly but not treating the road as a race track. I feel like what brought me to my first track day (a ticket for going 50 in a 25 mph zone) was deep in that "middle ground"; in fact, I think that almost all my street riding has been in that area. In group rides, I typically see it referred to as "spirited", a pace that reflects a very high level of "buffer" but, in almost all cases, is above to well above the posted speed limits.

Put another way, I often see it said that track riding will make you a better rider. I don't question that for a second, I can already see body positioning improvements in my street riding. But if you're anywhere even in the zip code of the speed limit, there's almost no need for any body positioning at all on the street. I guess you could argue that these skills are useful in emergency situations, particularly brake control, but, with any modern (ABS) bike, the best thing to do in most street emergencies is just pull the front brake until it crushes your hand and hold on.

I think the biggest track day risk for most is their bike. There is very much a real possibility of doing serious damage/totaling your bike at a track. I saw a few "offs". While I was able to get insurance for my bike (Foremost), talking with others at the track, almost nobody was even aware that insurance for track riding is a "thing". Put another way, if you can't afford to write it off (or get insurance that covers track days), you probably shouldn't do it. Think about all those younger riders out there, on bikes they are making payments on; telling them to take it to the track when you see them doing a 100MPH pull on an entrance ramp, well, IMHO, it's a bit out of touch. And that's where the "middle ground" would be a good answer. IDK what that would be, maybe a "buffer" in the speed limit for motorcycles (a 65MPH speed limit is 85MPH for bikes), maybe it's controlling access to roads and allowing higher speeds during certain times, maybe there isn't one (a realistic answer, because I'm not crazy about either of my middle ground suggestions above). And maybe it's what we have today, police discretion and "hope for the best". Honestly, almost all my experiences with police while riding have been positive, they do seem to give an unstated "buffer" for motorcycles, so maybe there's nothing to change.

 

[100rider]

I have a Summit 6x10 trailer. The rear gate is 2 pieces and are used as ramps - also using a pair of BW motorcycle chocks. Those can be used as 2 separate ones or as 1 Dual set. Totally removable.

 

[mjfink420]

That's a cool setup! I have a landscape trailer (16ft) that I've used before, it's super easy to get into it with a bike, it's like 18" high! On a dirt bike, you probably could just wheelie into it.

The roads between me and the track I was going to are pretty awful, so it was nice to not have a trailer behind me banging around for 100 miles. But there's no competing with the ease of loading into a low trailer like this, especially when you have ramps like yours!

I have a Summit 6x10 trailer. The rear gate is 2 pieces and are used as ramps - also using a pair of BW motorcycle chocks. Those can be used as 2 separate ones or as 1 Dual set. Totally removable.

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[100rider]

It does make it easier not having to haul around a separate ramp