When backing a heavy bike down a steep ramp using only the front brake, the front tire may skid on the ramp. I leave the engine off and put the bike in 1st gear. Then backing down I use the clutch lever as a rear wheel "brake" still keeping both feet on the ramp for balance.
That's what happened to me when the front tire skidded. Fortunately, no damage to my BMW F750GS or me. Will keep the bike in gear next time. Good suggestion! Thanks.
from someone that transports bike for a living its always interesting to see these videos when they pop up. Really well done and properly informative for those that may be looking to transport there own bike here and there.
Back in the early days of my starting to ride, I did the Evel Knievel while trying to load my 600 lb low rider on to my truck with a skinny ramp. Got the bike on to the truck, but collapse the front of the bed unto the cab of my truck. What a disaster I ain't 6'6". I use a trailer now. LOL.
Really great video Matt, I recently rented a low motorcycle trailer from uhaul. It is the very best way to go since you can.load it yourself very safely and transport it securely.. Just like the one you demonstrated. Matt, I remember transporting my freshly restored vintage 1971 super glide boat tail night train in the back of my ranger pickup truck from Jim’s Harley-Davidson in Ohio to my home in Illinois. As I was approaching a over pass on the interstate at 65 mph I noticed 3 teenagers throwing rocks at vehicles, they seem me coming and started throwing rocks down at me. I swerved at the last second and the little SOBs missed my freshly restored 71 vintage Night train. Truly, if I had a machine gun mounted to the roof of my pickup pointed up I would have taken them little SOBs all out before they let the rocks drop on me. Thanks for the video Matt. I would use a enclosed trailer for longer distance hauling...out of sight out of mind!
Those sort of "pranks" have caused accidents that have resulted in deaths, so if you do shoot those delinquents and are charged, if I'm on the jury, I'll be voting to acquit.
Come on Paul, a "1971 super-glide-boat-tail-night-train"??? WTH is that, a model you made up lol? That sounds like something a drunk biker would say when a bunch of guys are sitting around the garage telling lies LOL Night Train didn't come out until 1998, discontinued in 2010. I have a 2004, super sweet bike that I will have until I die!! Rock on Harley bros!
I am 5'9 so loading and unloading my harley on my pickup was a bit scary. I had to have someone spot me and hold the bike in place as I stepped up and down from the bed. Thank you for making this video, good useful tips here.
I'm surprised that that dealer truck doesn't have something to stabilize that front wheel in a straight up fashion. Strapping the bike down with the kickstand down has the potential to do damage to the kickstand, frame and truck bed where the kickstand sits when you hit potholes and such. The majority of the weight goes down on the kickstand when the suspension gives. If you have to strap it down with the stand down because of urgency then do it, but I like to go upright.
Another great video, Matt. Thanks! I would only add that straps need to be put on the rear of the motorcycle, as well as the front. This required removing the saddlebags in order to access the swing arms. Another thing I discovered was that you need to keep the fob in proximity to the bike or the alarm system will activate due to the bike’s movement on the trailer while you’re going down the road. And I had no issues with the front straps interfering with the leg fairings on my 2020 Ultra Limited.
Those tailgate braces aren't really going to help prevent the center of the tailgate from tacoing when you're using a single ramp. The weakest point in any tailgate is right in the center. Maybe the braces make the tailgate a little bit more rigid because they go to the upper edge of the tailgate, but not much. It makes more sense to me (with a single ramp) to place it off-center to the right just a bit.
One suggestion. Before tying the loose end of the strap wrap it around the strap at the bottom of the buckle, that way if the buckle mechanism breaks or loosens the strap will pull tight against the buckle frame and hold the bike tight.
Good information especially since so many people screw this up. On another note, you're 6'6''? We are both the same height...give or take a foot or so...
Don't hate,I do load my bikes in the back of my 2003 tacoma w/ bike off on one ramp and a 5gal bucket(I'm only 6'4"). It works, really liked the tailgate support bars.
This is great Matt, thanks! The clips of the guys dropping them off the ramp are nightmare stuff.. yessir, pay close attention, this is very helpful 👍🏻👍🏻
years ago if you had a harley davidson you must have a pick up truck to take it home or a friends harley they broke down all the time in the 60's when i was a kid no joke and if you rode 300 miles in one day that was a good day and someone always broke down ... now we have a new type of harley that 1000 miles in one day is a good day Mr. Matt....
One of the most practical videos I've seen on this subject. Though he demonstrated these techniques on Harley's, the principles apply to other bikes too. Nice job!
I have the Biker Bar in my tralier, just connect the bar to the bottom of the frame drive onto tralier and it locks down get off bike and go no tie downs or nothing. Luv it.
@@tahoe9882 -- Interesting concept... If they made it a bit wider, it would even make it impossible to drop your bike on the side while moving it around in your garage. It would be like having a kickstand down on both sides... :) I had actually though about doing something similar to that using a length 2x4 to make it easier to move my Harley around in my garage. I was thinking of mounting it to the crash bar instead though. I've never dropped my Harley while moving it around in my garage, but I have dropped *lighter* bikes unfortunately...
Me and three other guys loaded my vn900 classic lt backward in a uhaul truck so that I could ride out without help when I deliverded in back to uhaul ! They thought that was the coolest thing of the day !!!
Great video thx! I have 2 trailers and will be using your methods going forward. A 5x8 for short trips and my toyhauler that I built myself for loonngg roadtrips!
Cool video guys. Can’t say that I’d want to use anything other than a trailer in future. Just recently recovered my Ninja and had to load it into a van. That was bad enough, but my Harley is SOOO much heavier.
I have a Tacoma but no CVO. What a better reason to go buy one now. Great video. Learned a lot of useful points. Really liked the loading fails and what not to do and why not to do them.
I've always heard that and practiced it with heavy Harleys, but I always used a wheel chock too. Surprised nothing was said about it here. Is it a myth?
There's probably more "load motorcycle fail" videos than their are success videos on RU-vid... :) If you are not tall, riding the motorcycle up the ramp does not have much room for error. If your bike is of such a height that when you sit at a stop light, both feet are not flat on the ground, when you try to ride it up the ramp, there is a point where your legs will not be long enough and if it starts to go over, it will be far enough that you might not be able to recover. And, add to that the fact that the grid type ramps do not always provide you the best place to put your feet.
I have a fully enclosed trailer because a bike can be exposed to weather & road debris in an open trailer . Especially during long interstate Transports . I also have a Harley Cruiser Cradle AKA Condor wheel chock bolted into the floor . For years on my touring bikes I use the floor board support brackets that are welded into the frame under the floorboards with a soft tie on each side . Never an issue with the bike moving or never anything scratched too. I’d never transport my $30K Roadglide Special any other way period !
Thankfully I’ve been lucky enough to not have to load a bike in a truck bed in a long time . The shovel head did that quite often and it was easiest for help to be around. Great explanation and video!
Excellent content, love all your videos, some are very helpful, currently without a bike, it would be an honor to give my business, but am all the way in Florida. Keep up the good work. Loading a bike on a pick up truck is like an art and no everyone is capable of giving a good hair cut so best to leave that stuff to the artist.
Lol Matt, you said only ratchet down the suspension an inch and a half max...but not to max out or bottom out the suspension...well you should know this, stock harley suspension probly bottoms out at an inch!! Legends...best performance uprgrade ive ever done...nice vidja though ...thx
21:06 The tiny amount of structural rigidity you might lose in the rubber bushings and riser clamps, you more than make up for in a significantly higher moment arm on the bike. If the bike wants to fall over for any reason, two ratchet straps anchored to the highest structural point on the bike (the handlebars) will have significantly more pulling power in keeping that bike upright since the moment arm is the full height of the bike, from the pivot point at the bottom of the tires. Anchoring at the mid-point of the frame there might be okay for most scenarios but the fact is you're losing a whopping 50% of the staying torque for each strap as opposed to probably less than 5% in structural rigidity from the bushings and clamps. Good point about putting it in 1st gear to lock the rear tire, I didn't think of that. Another thing I'll add is that you should activate the parking brake on your truck to minimize any rocking when you're loading up the bike. I like to also strap down either side of the rear of the frame to mitigate any fishtailing, but that's mostly for peace of mind. 9:05 Great to point out to have the lowest point of the ramp be at higher ground than the lowest point of the truck, but I will stress you should also mention that the *truck itself be on level ground*. Say you're on a downhill slope. The ramp load point is surely higher than the truck, but the truck bed itself is sloped downward too. This would require you to be more careful to not crash into the back of the cabin when loading. It also makes unloading much more difficult as you have to push the weight of the bike uphill before you get to where the ramp starts sloping downward.
Would you know if there is a way to lock/secure a portable fuld-up ramps in your truck bed so no one tries to steal them? Say you're on a road trip that may take 24-48hrs of travel. You make a pit stop for food/bathroom break and someone takes your ramps. Now you can't get your bike out of the truck when you reach your destination.
Excellent video, The only thing I would add is that I;m not a fan of those "pull tight" straps. They have come loose on me on more then on occasion. I prefer the ratcheting type. Other then that great information.
I learned years ago to go around forks just above fender mount this way the suspension of bike has free travel without straps ever becoming loose when suspension compresses when hitting bumps or turning. I also never use a hook in any tie down location using strap to go thru tie down eye then thru eye of hook. Just my opinion. Are others doin this way? What do you think? Also I do soft strap in rear to prevent side to side movements. Great video.
That’s a decent way to do it and will work in most cases. The way I show isn’t the only way to skin a cat. The problem with strapping a big heavy Harley right there is you can easily put pressure on the fender and mess up the paint or bend the fender. Also it doesn’t anchor the bike in as well as using the frame.
What bout screwing two 1 x 8's together say 16 in long to put in front of front tires to drive up on to lower the back end in order to decrease the ramp angle ???
Matt, can you make a video on the Road Glide from a passengers perspective. In town, highway, turns, etc. Maybe, you and Andrew, no judging (joking). But serious about a video with narration from a passenger’s perspective on what it’s like. Thanks :)
I’m need to haul my ‘stock 47 Flathead in the back of a moving truck from Phoenix to Buffalo. Tie down points in moving trucks typically are not even near floor level and I don’t have a wheel chock. Any recommendations how to
I have a 22 road glide special with a road glide fairing spoiler, am I still able to strap around the motor mounts? or do I have to go around the forks?
Surprised you didn't mention about Not Twisting the Straps. And how big of a Truck you would need? 8 or 6 Foot bed? You did mention the 800 Pounds weight.
I have a few questions 1 what size truck bed is that? 2 what are these Yellow straps holding the bed and 3 what ramp is that and 4 will a road glide ultra fitnin a 5ft 8' truck bed??????
No. I think in the video I did but if you have it tightened down evenly on both sides you don’t need it down. If it is down out of necessity because of the angle you put it in then that’s okay. Leave it up if you can.
Ideally the bike is standing almost straight up and the kick stand will be up. If the stand needs to be down for any reason like a bad loading angle etc then having the stand down is okay. So have it down while tightening down, when you do the right side the weight should come off the stand
My bike doesn't have a computer or any of that crap but I've heard of the horror stories of people who fail to put their bike in "transport mode" (whatever that is) and their battery goes kaput once they get to their destination! 🤣 Gotta love technology...
Or you can do like I do. I have a four wheel drive dually that is lifted. I back the truck into a ditch in my front yard. Then I get a half sheet of 3/4" plywood for my ramp. Then strap down😁
@@MattLaidlaw Not to be funny but i drive out of it with my truck. The ditch is not to steep of a bank i can back down use board to ramp the gap. Strap down bike and drive out. I know it wont work with every ditch bank but i dont have issues with mine. Never needed my four wheel drive yet.
