Need advice fast...how to anchor bike in u-haul

I'm renting a regular 4X8 u-haul trailer to transport my '08 1400 miles.

Anyone strapped their bike into a trailer with advice of where on our bike to anchor and how many straps they used?

Leaving in a couple of days so looking for fast advice.

Thanks

Dang.. No help here.

Might I be so bold as to suggest a "Hardly" Davidson forum?

Bustanut joker said:

Dang.. No help here.Might I be so bold as to suggest a "Hardly" Davidson forum?

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Didn't think of that, they trailer their bikes everywhere...lol.

Thanks

Around here, they rent motorcycle trailers. If you are only hauling the bike, you might look into that.

two straps forward from the lower triple clamp and two more from the passenger peg mounts. You can add a bar harness but don't make it to tight cause the bars aren't that strong. Don't put it on either stand. If the trailer has a wood bed put a 2x4 on each side of the tires to keep them from shifting sideways. You might see if they have a wheel chock you can rent with the trailer.

The small open trailer has a built in wheel chock. Not sure on the enclosed trailer.

FJRay said:

two straps forward from the lower triple clamp and two more from the passenger peg mounts. You can add a bar harness but don't make it to tight cause the bars aren't that strong. Don't put it on either stand. If the trailer has a wood bed put a 2x4 on each side of the tires to keep them from shifting sideways. You might see if they have a wheel chock you can rent with the trailer.

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Hmm..Useful, free help from the ghey contingent..

Imagine that!

Google it. Bazillions of hits including videos.

Personally I would fill the trailer with styrofoam peanuts then ride the bike in at about 35 MPH.

I have hauled my FJR in the 5X8 U-Haul several times. I use a canyon dancer on the bars and then two straps on the rear. If you can jam a board or two up front to keep the front tire straight you will have no problems.

Canadian FJR

Most of the Uhauls have the wheel cutout in the front now.

I used a canyon dancer on the handlebars, and I wraped a ratcheting strap once around the the front wheel and pulled it the the front floor corners, then did the same with the back wheel to the MIDDLE floor corners.

I then added two strapes from the rear passenger pegs to the left and right "side bars" on that trailer, just to add upright stability.

Occasionally - double check your set up especially early in your trip after big bumps. The bike may want to skip to either side.

Besides the fact that those trailers are awfully heavy, those anchor points and the grooved floors are a really great way to drag the bike around, when riding is out of the question because of your {insert lame excuse here}

Ok, couple of things. First, thanks for the replies and help. I knew someone would indirectly want to know why I wasn't riding down. I'm driving my fatherinlaw home with his F150 and instead of fly back, well, now you know.

Secondly, I wanted to get the bike trailer but it was unavailable for my area to go there. This U-haul has a ribbed or corrugated floor not flat.

What is a canyon dancer?

I will google vids, and the above reference too. I especially like the styrofoam peanut idea. I'll keep that one in mind!

Thanks again.

Canyon dancers are a tie down system that use the handle bars. I would not tie down a bike as heavy as the FJR using the handle bars.

I hauled bikes from Alaska when I moved to MT and have made other cross country hauls while in the Army. You need to brace the front wheel with a chalk that you buy or make. The chalk is supposed to stop forward movement and ideally stop the wheel from turning. Attach two straps at the front and attach them below the suspension. These straps should pull the bike down and forward into the chalk as well as preventing side to side movement . The bike should ride only on the tires, no stand. In the back I use one strap wrapped around the wheel and tire as low as possible. This strap pulls the bike to the rear. I finally attach a strap on either side of the bike to a point in the middle of the bike and as high up as possible. These straps do not have a great deal of tension on them; they are only there to limit swaying. You'll note that I do not compress the suspension at all. This technique has worked for 10s of thousands of miles with no damage to any bike. You need to check the tie downs after about 10 miles, again at 50 miles and then every fuel stop.

For shorter trips, I've tied mine down perhaps 20 times using four friction style tie downs and a couple tie down extensions (16" long with a loop at both ends). I love the extensions as they prevent scratching, but be warned, the straps can't handle all the bouncing around for long: they do indeed loosen somewhat over time. For traveling smooth highways (can you spell F-l-o-r-i-d-a?) and short trips, they're fine. Anyway, I wrap the extensions around the handlebars just inside the switch housing. I tie the rear down using the passenger peg brackets.

Never had a problem around town.

However, for longer distances and more secure towing,

Do not trust friction straps. Use ratchet straps instead.

Gary

darksider #44

https://www.harborfreight.com/motorcycle-wheel-chock-69026.html

Lots of good advice above.

Listen to Ray and use ratchet straps and soft ties going to the lower triple clamp for the majority of the front holding power. Do not over tighten the front and compress the forks all the way, just about an inch or so. If you run a second set of ties (looser) to the handlebars, you can use the Canyon Dancers around the grips or just some soft ties, that will keep the front wheel straight since the bars will be restrained from turning. Plus those will act as a safety net should one of the lower straps slip or break.

Then, since the wheel can't turn, the only thing you need to worry about would be the front wheel hopping and sliding sideways. That is what you'd block the wheel (from the two sides) to prevent.

The bike would trailer and remain upright fine with just the front tied down, but you should run some rear ones (left pretty loose) just to keep the rear end from hopping sideways on bumps and banging stuff on the side of the trailer. No need to cinch those down or compress the rear suspension.

Sounds like a lot better plan to me than taking a plane back. Enjoy the ride.

A friend built a little frame out of 2 x 4s, and he said it worked well. Sort of like the following drawing (not to scale ). It wasn't attached to the trailer, but the boards were full width side to side and against the front. Once the bike was in it and tied, the frame wasn't going anywhere and held the front wheel steady. The long boards were flat against the floor, and the short boards were nailed on top for about a 3" total height.

You could probably do this for $10 worth of pre-cut studs and a few 16 penny nails.

Unfortunately I probably hold the record for the most miles of hauling my FJRs around the country. My wife refuses to do overnight trips on a bike and I never pass a chance to haul my bike South to ride and escape the North Dakota winters.

I use Canyon Dancer 2 handle bar ties with a wash cloth inside the cup to protect the grip and handle bar weight from any marring. If you are using the regular Canyon Dancer insure they are pulled fully inwards to prevent distorting your grips. I have always heeded warnings of not over stressing the handle bars and only find it necessary to lightly compress the suspension. I have found that compression of 1/4 to 1/3 of total travel works well at not stressing the handle bars and does a great job at stabilizing the bike.

I agree that using the lower triple clamp is the best place to tie down the front of any bike. Unfortunately on the FJR the triple clamp is covered with brake lines, and plastic air dams, and when you have finally snaked a soft tie over the triple clamp and around these items you will find the faring will prevent any use of any anchor points that are not directly next to the front tire. This close anchor point may not provided much lateral stability and may require additional tie downs like Fred mentioned above.

I use Powertye 1 1/2" cam lock straps with latch hooks. I have never had one slip but I always use an overhand safety knot for piece of mind.

I have seen too many ratchet straps failures from over or under wrapping them to trust them on my bike. It is also impossible to release a ratchet strap gently and you will need someone to steady the bike to prevent it from slamming into the trailer wall or the bike next to it.

I will reiterate statements above about tying the back of the bike down. If the back of the bike shifts left or right while in transport, the bike will likely fall over. I've seen it done twice by the same guy who refused to believe the rear needed to be tied down. The second time was with a brand new bike coming home from the dealership. O miles! LMFAO Light compression of the rear suspension will also make the bike ride rock solid.

Abercrombie FJR said:

(From Abercrombie above)

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Abercrombie FJR said:

"...I use Powertye 1 1/2" cam lock straps with latch hooks. I have never had one slip..."

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The source of my troubles (above in my post) was probably that I use bargain brand cam lock straps. I just called them "friction style tie downs" for lack of a better term in my post above. I guess what I'm learning is something I've always suspected: all straps are not created equal.

Gary