gilberjj
Needs a job
Friend of Fast
Posts: 3196
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posted January 29, 2010 11:11 PM
Post up pics of your motorcycle/trailer combo
I'm in the market for a trailer to get my bike to the track and back. I'm still leaning towards a 4x8 utility tilt bed, but i figured I'd post this and see if I can get some other ideas.
I fired the 89 Ford f250 (10 mpg) and bought a jetta tdi (50 mpg). So my towing capacity is 1500 lbs. I need it to be able to do 70 mph cause my track is an hour away each direction, and I'll be road tripping to Sacramento next winter.
  
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01smokes
Needs a job
Posts: 2243
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posted January 30, 2010 12:37 AM
this is a 4x7 with a ramp i pulled it 1200 miles to Houston last year with my Scion Xb
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PayPal, vigilart22@yahoo.com
Email, artvgl@yahoo.com
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eklipse636
Needs a life
ZX-14
Posts: 6046
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posted January 30, 2010 04:18 AM
I don't have pics, but I have a 6x12 enclosed trailer. I love having the enclosed one. Too bad the vw won't pull one.
Funny, we done the opposite. I had a 01 jetta 1.8T for years (until thetiming belt broke and I had to put a junkyard motor in it). Then I sold it and got a 10mpg f250! I miss my jetta.
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Best: 60ft 1.351 1/8 5.68 mph 123.98 1/4
8.89 mph 151.32
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busaisbetter
Novice Class
Posts: 79
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posted January 30, 2010 06:42 AM
recently i tried to pull similar trailer (as above) with my civic from new york to california. bike puts too much load on the hitch which compresses the shocks on the car so I put all my clothes and motorcycle gear at the end of the trailer to balance the weight- which helped untill Virginia when they all fell off the trailer and i lost most of my clothes leahter pants jacktes, gloves and suit.
somewhere in TN i noticed that plywood floor is giving away . and in tx i lost the bearing on the right wheel of the trailer. so instead of fixing the bearing i sold the trailer to mechanic for 100$ and tossed rest of the stuff in the garbage to lighten the load.
conclusion: honda civic is not meant to tow motorcycle and replace bearing and plywood flooring before you tow.
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busaisbetter
Novice Class
Posts: 79
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posted January 30, 2010 06:43 AM
oh...... canyon dancers saved my bike. thank you guys.
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SixSixoh6
Zone Head
Posts: 660
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posted January 30, 2010 06:56 AM
nice trailer 01smokes, how much did that baby set you back if you dont mind me askin? thats about the size im looking for as well.
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2006 ZX-14: Murdered out, in the dirt, extended, sprayed, air shifted, geared--GONE
2009 ZX-14 SE--has two wheels and an engine
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Compton
Zone Head
Posts: 969
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posted January 30, 2010 07:39 AM
my friend has a 6x12 enclosed
and i have a 7x16 enclosed
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b.w.
zx14, little longer, little louder, little lower.
08 Busa, just a little longer and louder and lower than the 14
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SixSixoh6
Zone Head
Posts: 660
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posted January 30, 2010 07:59 AM
i see IL plates....where you from compton???
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2006 ZX-14: Murdered out, in the dirt, extended, sprayed, air shifted, geared--GONE
2009 ZX-14 SE--has two wheels and an engine
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Compton
Zone Head
Posts: 969
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posted January 30, 2010 08:01 AM
i'm by ohare
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b.w.
zx14, little longer, little louder, little lower.
08 Busa, just a little longer and louder and lower than the 14
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01smokes
Needs a job
Posts: 2243
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posted January 30, 2010 08:10 AM
quote:
nice trailer 01smokes, how much did that baby set you back if you dont mind me askin? thats about the size im looking for as well.
I picked it up used for 350 from a bike shop, they sell new ones for right at 750
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PayPal, vigilart22@yahoo.com
Email, artvgl@yahoo.com
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01smokes
Needs a job
Posts: 2243
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posted January 30, 2010 08:13 AM
quote:
recently i tried to pull similar trailer (as above) with my civic from new york to california. bike puts too much load on the hitch which compresses the shocks on the car so I put all my clothes and motorcycle gear at the end of the trailer to balance the weight- which helped untill Virginia when they all fell off the trailer and i lost most of my clothes leahter pants jacktes, gloves and suit.
somewhere in TN i noticed that plywood floor is giving away . and in tx i lost the bearing on the right wheel of the trailer. so instead of fixing the bearing i sold the trailer to mechanic for 100$ and tossed rest of the stuff in the garbage to lighten the load.
conclusion: honda civic is not meant to tow motorcycle and replace bearing and plywood flooring before you tow.
it was not bad on the scion, The scion gets usuealy about 35-40MPG with out a trailor but with it i got25-28
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PayPal, vigilart22@yahoo.com
Email, artvgl@yahoo.com
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SixSixoh6
Zone Head
Posts: 660
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posted January 30, 2010 09:05 AM
ah im in peoria. what track do you normally go to? joliet?
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2006 ZX-14: Murdered out, in the dirt, extended, sprayed, air shifted, geared--GONE
2009 ZX-14 SE--has two wheels and an engine
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Compton
Zone Head
Posts: 969
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posted January 30, 2010 09:08 AM
byron
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b.w.
zx14, little longer, little louder, little lower.
08 Busa, just a little longer and louder and lower than the 14
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Quarter Pounder
Pro
with Cheese
Posts: 1069
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posted January 30, 2010 09:57 AM
 Edited By: Quarter Pounder on 30 Jan 2010 18:00
I have a simple 40"X48" Harbor Freight trailer with 12" tires with decking made by me to fit my needs. Super lightweight, tows awesome and super easy to load and unload by yourself. I just added a chock to it this year and it makes it even better! I had to have a trailer that was no more than 60" wide to fit through my gate into my back yard and almost all trailers were too wide. This was/is perfect for what I need. I still use it all the time to drag my bike around to the track.
Even with the bike on it, you can move the whole thing around by yourself no problem. I've towed this thing around for 6 years now with no issues except for replacing the decking. I used pressure treated this time around for better longevity.
This first pic is missing the two rear straps that make this solid.
This pic is prior to installing the chock.
Original set up with crappy chock. I now have a much better chock that allows you to roll up on the trailer and just hop off.
It carried my almost 64" ZRX no problem at all. But you can adjust the length of the decking to fit whatever.
I towed it with my 4 cyl Accord coupe for several years getting 24mpg with the air on. Lots of bigger set ups, but this has worked like a champ for me. Less than $250 also. Beat that.
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SWB 2008 ZX-14
9.19 @ 151
5.98 @ 123
1.53 60'
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shiphteey
Needs a job
Posts: 2529
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posted January 30, 2010 11:18 AM
quote:
recently i tried to pull similar trailer (as above) with my civic from new york to california. bike puts too much load on the hitch which compresses the shocks on the car so I put all my clothes and motorcycle gear at the end of the trailer to balance the weight- which helped untill Virginia when they all fell off the trailer and i lost most of my clothes leahter pants jacktes, gloves and suit.
somewhere in TN i noticed that plywood floor is giving away . and in tx i lost the bearing on the right wheel of the trailer. so instead of fixing the bearing i sold the trailer to mechanic for 100$ and tossed rest of the stuff in the garbage to lighten the load.
conclusion: honda civic is not meant to tow motorcycle and replace bearing and plywood flooring before you tow.
Slightly erroneous. I used my 93 Geo Metro 993cc 5 speed 3 cylinder to tow my zx12. 250 lb trailer (4x8) and it did ok, could go past 70 mph, 35 mpg towing. More than likely your setup was wrong.
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Gemini Motorcycles
Topping out everything from Ninja 250s to nitrous ZX-14s.
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jarhead
Expert Class
Posts: 418
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posted January 30, 2010 11:42 AM
There used to be a guy that towed his bike to Muncie, Indiana with a Geo Metro and a small trailer. I always thought that was a sweet way to eco-race. I have had a few open trailers over the years and I miss the fuel mileage and being able to move them around by hand but I really like my gas guzzling enclosed when the weather is less than ideal. That is most of the time here in northern Indiana. BTW, just dropped the bike off to Ryan and his newborn twins, Alex and Chase, are doing well. That puts him at four boys!
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jarhead
Expert Class
Posts: 418
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posted January 30, 2010 11:45 AM
BTW, sweet Z-Rex's!!!!!!
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masszx14
Pro
A mind beside itself!
Posts: 1806
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posted January 30, 2010 01:48 PM
I would recommend a stand-up Kendon. They aren't cheap but are really well built and if pinch for room in the garage they
are great. I have posted pics of mine before, can't find any now. The problem with towing one with a car is that there's nowhere to put the bike stands, tool boxes, extra gear etc. Going to the track will be like the firstimers- helmet in hand and a running bike.
Going with a small enclosed single axle trailer is not bad. Just stay away from the two axles large ones (car hauler type) as mpgs will be really bad even if you have a vehicle with the tow capacity.
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universal@mind
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Bawls
Needs a job
re-learning to ride
Posts: 2701
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posted January 30, 2010 11:38 PM
i need to do something since right now I ride my bike to the track with a backpack full of tools lol. 25mpg with 16/46 gearing FTW!
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Best 60ft: 1.42
Best 1/8th: 5.97
Best 1/8th MPH: 119
Brockland Police Badge # 001
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SixSixoh6
Zone Head
Posts: 660
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posted January 31, 2010 06:09 AM
quote:
i need to do something since right now I ride my bike to the track with a backpack full of tools lol. 25mpg with 16/46 gearing FTW!
man i have def been there!!! there must be another way lol
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2006 ZX-14: Murdered out, in the dirt, extended, sprayed, air shifted, geared--GONE
2009 ZX-14 SE--has two wheels and an engine
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dakota9498
Pro
Posts: 1181
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posted January 31, 2010 09:16 AM
Hey Bawls, in the near future you could hitch a ride with me. I am about to buy a 6X10 enclosed in a week or two.
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2008 ZX14
Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. ~Mark Twain
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BrooklynNYZX12
Zone Head
Posts: 520
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posted January 31, 2010 10:23 AM
I posted in the Dragbike Zone before I saw it was here as well,I bought a Motorsport brand stand up trailer that has 2 pivoting ramps that are easy to load bikes that are lowered,when not in use it has a stand up set up that makes it easy to store.It wasn't expensive and I have towed all over with it, NY to Maryland,NY to Jersey many many times. The big difference between the small tire trailers like mine compared to the large tire fold ups like the Kendon is the smaller tire ones aren't as stable at speeds around 80 ish..I found the smaller tires make it wander ever so slightly when going really fast which in all honesty is too fast for any trailer. I can't see the bearings being an issue as long as they are greased properly and free of moisture and looked after. I'll see if I can dig up a pics or a link.
http://motorsporttrailers.com/
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Orient Express Top Street Bike Winner 8-4-07
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Quarter Pounder
Pro
with Cheese
Posts: 1069
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posted January 31, 2010 12:44 PM
quote:
BTW, sweet Z-Rex's!!!!!!
Thanks. MeanGreen dragrex was a consistant 9.3 bike in decent air. Slowed a bit in the heat of summer but a solid bike all around. Learned a lot on that bike and had a blast with modding it over the years.
The Coolblue one went through many mods in the almost 40k miles I put on it. Great bikes and one of the best all round bikes I have ever had.
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SWB 2008 ZX-14
9.19 @ 151
5.98 @ 123
1.53 60'
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Wheelie
Needs a life
Old Man
Posts: 6902
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posted January 31, 2010 12:54 PM
open trailer gets Black Angus to the track
wee
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Flyboy
Pro
Posts: 1536
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posted January 31, 2010 08:39 PM
quote:
recently i tried to pull similar trailer (as above) with my civic from new york to california. bike puts too much load on the hitch which compresses the shocks on the car so I put all my clothes and motorcycle gear at the end of the trailer to balance the weight- which helped untill Virginia when they all fell off the trailer and i lost most of my clothes leahter pants jacktes, gloves and suit.
somewhere in TN i noticed that plywood floor is giving away . and in tx i lost the bearing on the right wheel of the trailer. so instead of fixing the bearing i sold the trailer to mechanic for 100$ and tossed rest of the stuff in the garbage to lighten the load.
conclusion: honda civic is not meant to tow motorcycle and replace bearing and plywood flooring before you tow.
Great story!
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'There's more living in five minutes flat-out on a bike than some men have in an entire life'.
"The World's Fastest Indian"
One fast red ZX-14,
Three World and four National Land Speed Records,
One faster red and white Cessna Turbo 210
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