tie down points 1978 R100S

[alancoles]

Kent, that documentation is under the heading of BMW Motorcycle Aftersales Group, which I understand to be part of BMW Group. I would not think such a well known and official BMW Dealership like A&S Cycles would distribute counterfeit material.

As for, what is the correct way to tow, I'd suggest that we aren't far off oil thread territory. Having said that, I will continue to tow using the method that has worked best for me and makes the most sense to me.

I would take issue with the contention that there is "no valid engineering reason". However, I'm travelling on holidays for the next while and don't want to start down that long road. I just suggest that you look at any commercial car hauler (they move thousands of cars, thousands of miles every day). What you'll notice is that they - do not - compress the suspension.

 

[khittner]

I don't know what BMW's motorcycle trailer weighs without a bike on it, but my "let the bike bounce" preference might change if I was using one of those. Having 600lbs. of motorcycle moving up and down on a lighter trailer seems like a different situation than having the same weight bouncing a bit, but firmly connected to a 4000 lb. truck.

Interestingly, though, the Telever suspension on that R1200C depicted in the trailer-specific instruction Alan links to is not being substantially compressed by their recommended tiedown procedure, even though, at Paragraph 4 of their procedure, they say:

4. To tighten the straps, the person sitting
on the motorcycle pushes the bike to the
right while the other person tightens the
right strap. Then the person on the
motorcycle pushes the bike to the left
while the other tightens the left strap.
Repeat the procedure until the front suspension
is compressed and the straps
remain tight even when the motorcycle is
pushed firmly from side to side. Check, to
ensure that the motorcycle is vertical and
that the front tire is still pointing straight
ahead and that it is firmly against the
wheel chock.

 

[pglaves]

The real answer is that either method works if done properly. Anybody who ties an R1100RS by its aluminum bars with soon have a horizontal motorcycle and at least one broken handlebar. With a naked K75 either approach works. With my dirt bikes I tie to the handlebars.

There is nothing wrong with compressing the forks for a while, and there is equally nothing wrong with strapping just the wheel and fork sliders and allowing the bike to float on its own suspension. In any case at the front the wider you can spread the bottom ends of the tie downs the better. In either case at the front, at the rear I just strap the wheel/tire to the trailer so it can't move sideways.

 

[179212]

Tie down

+1 on securing wheels so they won’t slide sideways
Hauling a bike in an enclosed trailer you can be less picky about tie down straps, in my experience straps flapping in the wind seem loosen much quicker on open trailer I have and will use cam lock straps but after I tighten them I use several wraps of good electrical tape to help lock straps in place. ( on open trailer, enclosed trailer no tape )