loading FJR in a pickup

[SigepKat]

Hey guys, I'm going to pick up a new truck tomorrow. It's in Dallas, I'm in San Antonio, so I'm taking my bike with the plan to put it in the bed for the ride home. The truck is an avalanche, so it's got a really short box, so the tailgate will have to be down. What's the recommended method for strapping it down?.

 

[supertankerm60a3]

Sorry,I would not reccoment putting an FJR into an Avalanche. Too long, too heavy. Remember, about 250 pounds (or more, depending on the tiedown system you use) will be on the tailgate, on one spot. If you insist, I would reccoment using the center stand for stability then strpping it down. The problem is if you rock it back on the centerstand, you will not be in contact with the front wall of the bed, neccesary (I miss spelcheck)to longitudinal stability. Aside from the handlebars, finding a good hardpoint is difficult on these.

 

[SigepKat]

That was my initial thought, but a little googling led me to this - https://www.smthng.com/FJR1/

So it can be done. Now, I haven't laid eyes on the truck, so I'm not sure how many tie down points there are, but...

 

[CopB8]

Hmmm, I've done this a lot in a 5.5' bed F150. I'm not sure about the strength of the Avalanche tailgate but i would recommend getting a 4' piece of 2"x12" and put it across the tailgate for the wheel to rest on to distribute the weight. I tie down from the hand grips to the the front anchors and from the passenger foot peg brackets to the back anchors. I'm assume the Avalanche has built-in tie-downs.

 

[crumpadump]

Make sure you don't do any of these...

https://youtu.be/z2EfBPgwi8E

 

[HotRodZilla]

Have you worked out how you're gonna get the big gurl into the truck? Once you do that, you can figure out the tie down points.

 

[Wlfman]

NEVER use either the side stand or centerstand when strapping a bike down in a truck or trailer. If you do you are BEGGING for a disaster.

Having the rear wheel on the tail gate wont hurt it. If you're worried about it you can always get a 4 foot length of 1x12 lumber and place across the tailgate under the tire to distribute the weight across it's entire length. Or place the bike in the bed angled so more of the bike is in the bed.

 

[wfooshee]

I wouldn't be so worried about distributing the weight across the tailgate as I would be having the weight on the tailgate in the first place. Doesn't matter if it's distributed, it's 300+ pounds, maybe closer to 400, on the gate, plus tie-down force. That's still weight on the tailgate, for hundreds of miles.

I'd get online and reserve a U-Haul motorcycle trailer to bring it back home. One-way rental isn't cheap, but a lot cheaper than fixing both the bike and the truck.....

 

[HotRodZilla]

^^^^Best idea I've heard yet.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Whatever you do, use six (6) tie-downs to hold the bike in place. Two soft ties over lower triple clamp, two out back and finally, a lightly tied Canon Dancer over the bars.

Good luck!

--G

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

Like suggested above I'd U HAUL motorcycle trailer it.

They only cost like $25.00 for the day, might even be less than that, they used to only cost like $15.00!!

 

[LgFJR]

Unless you have a loading dock where you can just drive on........and get it off the same way, you could be in for some of the most thrilling moments in 2014. If you use a loading ramp get it at the shallowest angle you can.......which you will have to do because of the low ground clearance of the FJR. Probably the best advice on this thread is to get a trailer...........I just about wiped myself out unloading a much lighter KLR out of a truck a few years back....fortunately the KLR landed directly in the middle of me and didn't get a scratch.....I shudder to think about stuffing one of the big girls in a truck. I wish somebody had taped my misadventure on the KLR, maybe a half a million monetized hits would have made me feel better...........lol.........

 

[SilverHound]

Can't help with the loading advice as I've never loaded my bike in our Avalanche but I will offer this. Some Avalanches had a recall on the two cables that support the tailgate when open as they were rusting at the connection points. Either make sure they are not rusted or that the recall was done as the cables can break under less than their rated capacity if not.

 

[JoBu]

Maybe I got lucky but I've hauled my FJR in my Avalanche. Took it from FL up to NC and back again. My experience is that there is more downward pressure on the front by ratcheting the Canyon Dancers down (not too tight, but enough to slightly compress the forks). I only used two more tiedowns but these were nearly horizontal from the rear swingarm to the lower tiedowns in the rear of the Avalanche. The bike was rock-solid through all the turns/twists. Best of luck with whichever path you choose.

Cheers,

Joe

 

[garyahouse]

Jobu-

youdaMAN. I don't think you were lucky. If that tailgate couldn't handle the weight, you would have known.

So there ya go. The forum strikes again. A hundred different opinions, followed up by one guy who has actually been there and done that. Which is exactly what cha wanted to hear...

A thought: get two guys from the sales department to stand in the middle of that tailgate and jump up and down while you watch deflection/deforming from the side. No damage to the tailgate? Load up the FJR, you should be good to go. The thing gets bent? Betcha the dealership will stand behind it. Tell them it's a strength test to prove Chevy's are tough. The salesman will be bragging about your tailgate evaluation... to every potential customer for months. And you'll get the tailgate properly tested BEFORE you load up your bike.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[lnewlf]

Can't help with the loading advice as I've never loaded my bike in our Avalanche but I will offer this. Some Avalanches had a recall on the two cables that support the tailgate when open as they were rusting at the connection points. Either make sure they are not rusted or that the recall was done as the cables can break under less than their rated capacity if not.

Yup-same recall on my silverado-no worries about the new cables or tailgate..Ford tailgates will bend in half

I have hauled dozens of bikes using the centerstand- grab the centerstand legs and slide [with effort] the bike until it is up against the front of the bed. Use tiedowns to compress the forks about halfway and two more on each side.

a loading dock is ideal but a bank to back the truck up against will work- otherwise you will need a pricey curved loading ramp.

Drive a few miles and check the tiedowns for tightness.

 

[CopB8]

I have 1000's of miles of hauling my FJR in the back of two F150's. Many on-off-on's in between there. As you can see from the video above the number one thing to be careful of is high centering it as you come over the transition from the ramp to the truck bed. You avoid this by backing your truck down some kind of incline, whether that's a driveway, curb, ditch or whatever.

Another thing to look out for is the ramps moving, especially once the front tire is in the bed and the back tire is on the ramp. TIE THEM DOWN to the truck!

Finally, if you're going to use narrow ramps you better have a LOT of help available. Those are good for 250lb dirt bikes but not something like an FJR.

 

[Geezer]

I am embarrassed to admit that I have had my FJR in my pickup truck once

, and many smaller bikes. Once in the bed of the truck I push the front wheel into the front right corner and put the bike on the side stand. I use tie downs to compress the fork a little and secure the front into the corner. I then tie the sidestand forward so it can't retract. Then I tie off the back end to both sides of the truck so it can't slide either way.

To get the FJR into the truck I backed the truck up to a hill and laid a plank from the tailgate to the hill. The hill was steep enough that the plank was almost horizontal. This was an emergency retrieval after I wore through the back tire about 100 miles from home, hence the plank and need for a hill.

 

[RadioHowie]

In deference to those who HAVE transported an FJR in an Avalanche, my hat's off to you....

But MY FJR will NEVER see the back bed of one of those rolling disasters!