Tie down FJR

[JoeShep]

Planning my annual fifth wheel trip from San Antonio to Colorado. Want to take the FJR and my KTM 450. Planning to triple tow my open bike trailer behind the fifth wheel. I am planning on tieing down my 2014 ES using the canyon cages as the tie down points. They are a little low for leverage but should be strong as hell. Any ideas sugestions?

 

[majicmaker]

Get the "handle bar" strap and attach your tie downs to that. It'll help a lot.

 

[CA G-Man]

The one time I towed mine I used the Canyon Dancer tie-down strap:

https://www.canyondancer.com/

I seem to recall reading something on this forum afterwards about that not being a good idea for some reason or another, but it seemed to work great for me.

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

Canyon dancers work well with the FJR or any of my families bikes with body work that prevents using the triple clamp fork junction. You will need to use common sense and not overly tighten your tie down straps since the handle bars could be overly stressed by over tightening with a ratchet type strap.

I only use the cam lock straps with closed hooks and compress my forks about 1/3. I've never had a cam lock strap slip but always use an overhand safety knot for peace of mind.

Always tie the back down lightly to prevent side to side movement because your bike will tip if the rear moves left or right.

 

[Lauren_TK]

BEGIN OBLIGATORY SNARKY COMMENT

A trailered FJR is a sad FJR. Screw the family, and ride it to Colorado!

END OBLIGATORY SNARKY COMMENT

 

[NMRoadRunner]

The correct answer would be "How the hell would we know, we ride them" Not many haul the FJR around, but the Canyon Dancers are the best design for that purpose I hear. Good luck. Have fun.

 

[deagle]

I've always used Canyon Dancer with very good results.

 

[Mr._Gone]

I've always used Canyon Dancer with very good results.

+1

 

[not2shabby]

Just don't crank down too hard on the Canyon dancers, you can smash your throttle tube. I used soft ties around the forks over the lower tripple clamps and put most of the force there. Canyon dancer was more of a backup. +1 on tying the rear down enough to keep it from bouncing sideways and a chock that holds the bike upright by itself is very useful if you're loading solo. Oh, good idea about the closed end hooks, or use some duct tape to make sure they can't slip loose if you hit a big bump.

 

[colorocket]

enjoy Colorado.....it's a great state to travel about. lots of fun roads.

 

[Niehart]

Just don't crank down too hard on the Canyon dancers, you can smash your throttle tube. I used soft ties around the forks over the lower tripple clamps and put most of the force there. Canyon dancer was more of a backup. +1 on tying the rear down enough to keep it from bouncing sideways and a chock that holds the bike upright by itself is very useful if you're loading solo. Oh, good idea about the closed end hooks, or use some duct tape to make sure they can't slip loose if you hit a big bump.

We have a winner here.

 

[Fred W]

FYI... there are two types of Canyon Dancers. The ones I have (the original type) are two interlocking straps with web loops the handle bars go through. When these are used they have the tendency to smoosh your hand grips as they try to pull each other towards the center of the bike. (please note that I have never subjected my FJR to such brutal treatment, that is just for the dual sport bike)

The newer style CDs have a plastic cup at the ends that bars fit into. This limits the amount of smooshing that happens to your grips and controls. If I were buying new ones I'd go for those.

As an aside: Is triple towing a bike trailer behind a 5th wheel even legal?

 

[JamesW]

Once you are under way stop after some miles to see how things are holding/riding as things settle in.

 

[SacramentoMike]

As an aside: Is triple towing a bike trailer behind a 5th wheel even legal?

Good question. Here, I think it's no. Better check first.

You'll have the bike on the side stand, right? They specify that when you take your bike on a ferry. Much more stable.

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

FYI... there are two types of Canyon Dancers. The ones I have (the original type) are two interlocking straps with web loops the handle bars go through. When these are used they have the tendency to smoosh your hand grips as they try to pull each other towards the center of the bike. (please note that I have never subjected my FJR to such brutal treatment, that is just for the dual sport bike)
The newer style CDs have a plastic cup at the ends that bars fit into. This limits the amount of smooshing that happens to your grips and controls. If I were buying new ones I'd go for those.

As an aside: Is triple towing a bike trailer behind a 5th wheel even legal?

The newer Canyon Dancers are called Canyon Dancer 2's and they are easier on the grips but I still wrap a small micro fiber over the grips to protect them from the hard plastic cups causing marks on my grips and handle bar end weights.

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

As an aside: Is triple towing a bike trailer behind a 5th wheel even legal?

Good question. Here, I think it's no. Better check first.

You'll have the bike on the side stand, right? They specify that when you take your bike on a ferry. Much more stable.

I'm questioning having the kickstand down as it would impede the bike's suspension working along with the trailer suspension. I can see having the kick stand down as being a good idea and not causing any problems on a ferry.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Oh damn, here we go again.

I will swim against the tide here and say that I HATE HATE HATE the Canyon Dancers. If you put enough strain on them to feel comfortable with the act of tying the bike down, you have put too much stress on the handlebars. As Fred W pointed out, they also "smush" the grips.

Use a front wheel chock if possible. These cost less than you might think and are well worth the price. Use soft straps to go around the bottom triple clamp, then attach your ratchet straps to the soft straps. This may require installing eyebolts in the trailer floor. There are several good ways to tie the rear.

Do not use the sidestand, you want the suspension to move. You also don't want to tie the bike down too tightly, you want the suspension to function.

Since the last time this subject came up there was at least one particularly belligerent jack ass who objected to my comment about Riding Instead of Trailering I feel compelled to add this just to irritate those with thin skin and no sense of humor:

I have no idea how you would tie one down. Mine has never broke down where I could not get it to the dealership. I cannot imagine trailering it otherwise.

 

[BigOgre]

My original smushy CD still has me searching for a replacement turn-signal stalk for one of my bikes.

I've also learned to use it now as a back-up to the primary tie-downs. It does work nice though to quickly set the bike when you initially run it up, then take your time setting the other straps.

 

[RadioHowie]

Oh damn, here we go again.
I will swim against the tide here and say that I HATE HATE HATE the Canyon Dancers. If you put enough strain on them to feel comfortable with the act of tying the bike down, you have put too much stress on the handlebars. As Fred W pointed out, they also "smush" the grips.

Use a front wheel chock if possible. These cost less than you might think and are well worth the price. Use soft straps to go around the bottom triple clamp, then attach your ratchet straps to the soft straps. This may require installing eyebolts in the trailer floor. There are several good ways to tie the rear.

Do not use the sidestand, you want the suspension to move. You also don't want to tie the bike down too tightly, you want the suspension to function.

Since the last time this subject came up there was at least one particularly belligerent jack ass who objected to my comment about Riding Instead of Trailering I feel compelled to add this just to irritate those with thin skin and no sense of humor:

I have no idea how you would tie one down. Mine has never broke down where I could not get it to the dealership. I cannot imagine trailering it otherwise.

'Fish, you are sounding more and more like HRZilla with every post....I swear!