Advice on Using Tie-Downs

[Bungie]

Use the loops from the bottom of the triple to a tiedown on the floor. Make sure the forks compress 50% (not more!). Use loops, tie down the back from the footpeg brackets. These are only to keep the back in position. No need to crank on them. For extra piece of mind, tie down from the handlebars as well (I was glad I do this getting detoured around some backwoods mountain on the way to EOM last year.)..

Just be watchful that none of the tie downs touch anywhere on the bike other than the tie down point. If they touch anywhere, they'll leave a mark.

Otherwise. Ride it.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I have used canyon dancers on other bikes. On this one, I use a harbor freight chock and soft loops around the lower triple clamp, with frame tie downs to keep the rear wheel planted. Only takes about two minutes. Chock is less than $50 bucks. It's the only way to fly. Of course, unless I have to drop the bike off for service that's going to take all day, it's never trailered.

 

[Niehart]

Canyon Dancers

 

[RaYzerman19]

I have both loop style and the HF version of the Condor wheel chock. Option you can use if you have them is to tie down to your Canyon Cages or T-Rex bars, with a backup Canyon Dancer (newer one with the plastic cups) to the handlebars. You do not have to crank down the front suspension that much.... rear tire gets a tiedown from one side of the trailer to the other with one loop around the rear tire to keep it from going sideways.

 

[rushes]

Canyon Dancers

Nice photoshop work

Black and white except for the human in the pic.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

This is how I brought a bike back to Canada from Arkansas. use the hand-grips. Secure the rear with the Rear foot rests or loop a line through the rear tire then rearwards to a secure point. I'm in the towing industry and move bikes all the time. I've never scuffed any body parts. Just returned from Florida with a Harley and an FJR in a 7 by 10 ft trailer. No problem. make sure the forks compress at least 50% when tightening it down.

Your picture made me want to cry. Handgrips are absolutely the wrongest place to tie any motorcycle from. You concentrate the tie down forces in a small patch on each grip, expensive electrically heated grips and this makes sense? The relatively long handlebars of an FJR are not designed to support the bike. Plus it appears your FJR is tied while on its side stand! Side stands can not tolerate the impacts of trailering that the bike's suspension will handle without second thought. If your tie downs are sufficient to hold the bike then there is zero need for side stand.

I'm new here, my FJR is still on order. But I have seen very very few motorcycles for which the lower fork clamp is not easily accessible for towing purposes. This lower fork bridge (or triple clamp) is more than enough to carry the entire mass of motorcycle and rider under braking (with rear wheel in the air). Is a wonderful place for securing a bike in transport.

This is my trailer and dirtbike. Have lost track but that Husaberg has ridden somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 miles on this trailer.

A couple of trailer queens eh?

 

[tjcin]

What size canyon dancers are best for the FJR?

 

[El Toro]

I have trailered an FJR. I used to use the Canyon Dancer rig along with a Condor ride in style chock.

Two things.

1. The lower cowling on the FJR will get rubbed through if you don't cut the tongue off the Condor. No problems with assorted BMWs, Triumphs ... this problem seems to be peculiar to the FJR geometry. At least this has been the case with my Gen II FJRs. So watch out for this. I've cut the tongues off all of my Condors.

2. Once I tried the Cycle Cynch, I preferred it and I gave my Canyon Dancer harness away.

My drill is to remove the bags and stow them in the vehicle. Ride the bike into the chock. Hop off and secure the bars with the Cycle Cynch. Use a strap to secure the front wheel to the Condor's front post. Secure the rear frame spars with tie downs. And last, I tie the rear wheel against lateral movement in the trailer (probably overkill) by running a tie down to the wheel on both left and right, using a pair of soft ties linked together to wrap the wheel. One tie down pulls the wheel to the left via the soft tie. The other tie down pulls the wheel to the right via the soft tie. Soft ties are well worth the money. I always use them at points of contact with any part of the bike.

I check the load at every stop, but using this strategy, I've never had any issues.

 

[RaYzerman19]

You want Bar HarnessII....... get the standard or x-wide...... longer will accomodate short also.

https://www.canyondancer.com/canyondancerbarharness2

 

[tjcin]

You guys are fast. El Toro, please explain the cutting of the Condor. Did you cut the piece that stands vertically or the piece that lays horizontally?

 

[El Toro]

You guys are fast. El Toro, please explain the cutting of the Condor. Did you cut the piece that stands vertically or the piece that lays horizontally?

The Condor has a pivoting link that you ride over. It's like a little "ramp" into the chock. The link closes behind the front wheel, clamping it in place when the bike is fully into the chock.

I cut a couple of inches off of the part of this pivoting link that first touches the wheel as you approach (the front end of the ramp). You can still easily ride into the chock, but when it closes behind the wheel, if it's cut off it doesn't extend back over to rub the tupperware.

PM me with your e-mail address and I can send you a picture. I do not use a hosting service for my photos, so I can't post them here.

One other observation is that with the Canyon Dancer I did tend to compress the forks, but with the Cycle Cynch I do not. The bike still rides securely. I think this is easier on the bars, which really are not designed for large downward forces since large downward forces are not part of normal loading of the bars.

 

[tjcin]

PM sent

 

[Barn Boy]

You guys are fast. El Toro, please explain the cutting of the Condor. Did you cut the piece that stands vertically or the piece that lays horizontally?

Have used the Condors with a 2005 and a 2009 FJR. With the wheel cradle in the 2nd hole from the front, the cradle is close to the under chin spoiler, but it doesn't make contact. Both of my wheel cradles have a longer side and a slightly shorter side. I always make sure that the slightly shorter side is mounted facing the bike.

 

[tjcin]

Good tip, thanks. I ordered a Condor trailer model.

 

[fjrob1300]

I move bikes all the time. I have NEVER dropped a bike or broken anything on a bike. It's basic physics. 2 straps pulling forward and outward. And , one or 2 straps pulling rearward.

For the record.... this is wrong.



picking up my Frieghtliner and tying bike to the deck.





Customers BMW. Towing it to bike shop to install new tires.

 

[Richouse]

I have used the Canyon Dancer once. I hated it.

My advice is to use the soft loops around the bottom triple clamp, run the tie downs to eye bolts in the trailer floor. The use of a relatively cheap Harbor Freight wheel chock will make this whole process more secure.

This way works great! Trailered the bikes several hundred miles with no issues. Tied to the lower triple tree, compress the forks some and secured the rear so they didn't move and bang into each other. Easy-Peasy!

Well, I tried to post some photos too but apparently I'm too dumb to follow the photo bucket instructions on how to post photos (I spent at least 30mins just trying to figure out how to post the pics to no avail!)

 

[rmcobb]

there are alternatives to the Canyon Dancer.

See

https://www.tiedownclamp.com/index.php

and

https://barcuffs.com/

I've got both, have yet to use the Cuffs, but the Kafe clamp worked pretty well. Only issue is the rubber piece glued to the inside is a bit to thick and you really have to compress the clamp in order to get the screw engaged. Once engaged, you can tighten the screw.

The Cuffs seem to be easier to use and would most likely perform well.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

My main hold down is the soft tie around the lower triple. As you can see, they have to be

tucked in pretty close to avoid any plastic. When I built this trailer, I put in numerous holes so I could adjust accordingly.

I also use another set attached to the rear sub-frame pulling the bike forward (to the rack

"stop"), besides a heavy duty rubber tie down around the rack and rear wheel.

Re the Canyon Dancer, I'll use that as a back up BUT made up two short PVC tubing with a larger LIP (another piece of pvc glued at the end). The two PVC pieces slip snuggly over the grips,

the larger lip keeps the CD from sliding inwards and spreads the load around the grip. I never used it with heated grips..

 

[RaYzerman19]

Hey Rob, that Beemer guy has too much money!

 

[fjrob1300]

Hey Rob, that Beemer guy has too much money!

Government employee.... say no more.