Running a AE up a ramp

[flagstaff]

I've read lots of posts about ways riders deal with tight turns on their AEs, but couldn't find anything mentioned about trying to run one up a ramp (or a REALLY steep drive). I ocassionally put my motorcycle in the back of the pickup so I can bring along my mountain bike. My preferred method for loading is to walk the motorcycle up the ramp under power, feathering the clutch. Is this possible with the AE? If not, is the only other option to push it up with people power?

 

[El Toro]

I am a fan of the AE and have had two of them (I own one currently). If I were going to run an AE up a ramp, I would buy one of those wide, slightly arched ramps and ride it up. Feathering the clutch is obviously not possible on an AE. You can feather the front brake if you're walking next to the bike, and a careful well coordinated person might master this activity. I'd just rather learn on a demo bike rather than on my own.

 

[mferriter]

+1

I agree - get a ramp wide enough to walk it up under power while sitting on it.

I bought this ramp from Harbor Freight and covered each section with aluminum diamond plate so I can more easily roll the bike up it and walk up it with risking falling through the gaps.

I only use it for a trailer that has a deck height of about 18". It would be much steeper getting up into a pick-up. Haven't tried that yet. I also have a "Trailer-in-a-bag" that has a very short ramp which can be steep. I usually back that up to my garage which has a good slope up from the driveway. That way the bottom of the ramp is a bit higher to make it less steep. Is you have a steep driveway you can do the same thing.

 

[mcatrophy]

... to walk the motorcycle up the ramp under power, feathering the clutch. Is this possible with the AE?...

I'd say "possible" but "unwise".

You can feather the clutch simply by starting the bike from rest (which of course you are if you're walking), opening the throttle until the bike wants to move, and continue like that. Using more or less throttle will give you more or less drive. Below about 12mph the clutch will never fully engage, so technically it's feathered.

But you don't have the ease of pulling in the clutch lever to kill power to the back wheel, you've got to roll off the throttle, nothing like as easy, particularly when you get to the top of the ramp when the bike will want to accelerate away.

I suppose the good news is you can't stall the engine , so you won't get an unexpected stop.

Personally I'd try to get a ramp that I could ride up, wide enough so's I could put my feet down if necessary.

I've not ridden up a ramp to load it onto a vehicle, but I've done some pretty steep ramps boarding ferries, up drives etc, but never tried to do it walking beside the bike.

 

[Bustanut joker]

Or...... You could go this route.

 

[Top_Speed1]

Or...... You could go this route.

Barry u one funny mo-fo-heekie!

 

[bucky]

You wouldn't get me riding or walking alongside to power a fjr onto a pickup bed unless you can dramatically cut the slope from the ground to the truck bed. Way to heavy and top heavy and especially with an AE you simply don't have that real good clutch feathering ability.

I don't know if anyone has ever attached an electric winch to the front of the pickup bed (or trailer) and just winch the bike up? Seems easy enough to just run a strap around one side of the front fork down by the axle, stand along side holding the bike and preferably another person control the winch.

 

[El Toro]

I have to admit, the few times I've put the FJR in the back of a pick up truck, I've used a loading dock and an unloading dock, rather than a ramp.

I've thought about the winch idea, but I've never tried it.

If you do use ramps (and I've used them many times for lighter bikes and ATVs), be sure to connect the safety straps to tie the ramps to the truck. If you don't do this, be sure to have someone making a video so that you can make some money from shows like "Dumbest Stuff on Wheels." Also be sure you're medical insurance covers avoidable accidents.

 

[ionbeam]

...It would be much steeper getting up into a pick-up...

...be sure to have someone making a video so that you can make some money from shows like "Dumbest Stuff on Wheels." Also be sure you're medical insurance covers avoidable accidents.

Take a close lookie-see at the angle where the ramp meets the tailgate. When you run a long wheelbase motorcycle up a ramp with a steep angle at the tailgate something on the bottom of the motorcycle almost always hits and usually causes the motorcycle to immediately come to a stop. If you are sitting on the motorcycle your feet will not touch down by a whole lot. If you are walking beside it and it stops you can be stuck, unable to get it into the truck bed or back down the ramp without help. With a motorcycle as big as the FJR this is rigged for Epic Fail and golden Youtube fodder.

 

[Top_Speed1]

To reduce the angle, find a culvert or ditch. Back the rear truck tires into it. bamm, easy peasy. We've always done this with a 4WD p/u by the way Sometimes you won't need a ramp hardly at all. This method is quite common in the red-neck snowmobile transportation world

 

[wheatonFJR]

Alan's right. You want a nice smooth transition like this...

...especially if you have an electrosport stator that cooks itself and shorts out...

...in the middle of western NC...and you have to get home NOW, cuz wifey has an upcoming operation in a couple of days.

Fortunately, since there was NO one around to help me push the bike up the ramp, a higher power than me enabled enough battery charge left to start the bike and "Steve McQueen it" up the ramp.

 

[rushes]

*snip* I ocassionally put my motorcycle in the back of the pickup so I can bring along my mountain bike.

Another idea...

 

[HotRodZilla]

Ramps scare the crap out of me...But I've never used a wide ramp, and thankfully, I've never had to load up my FJR.

With a bike this expensive and prone to ugly damage if it gets dropped from height, I'd spend the little Estes and get the wide, arched ramp.

It'll give you room to put your feet down, and the arch will prevent the bike from bottoming out where the ramp meets the bed.

Then there are always those really expensive "auto loading" ramp options. Maybe worth it if you have to load the bike a lot.

 

[Top_Speed1]

Another idea...

Bet u get a ton of looks on this setup going down the road

 

[wheatonFJR]

Another idea...

Bet u get a ton of looks on this setup going down the road

My guess is that the lawyers who wrote up the 2lb rear subframe capacity wouldn't certify that configuration.

 

[yamafitter]

Riding an AE up a steep ramp into the back of a Pick-Up has "Hold my beer and watch this" written all over it.

I await the carnage on YouTube.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Riding an AE up a steep ramp into the back of a Pick-Up was "Hold my beer and watch this" written all over it.

I await the carnage on YouTube.

Would people do that? I mean, put it on YouTube?? That' just ... awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMBbzzfkQbs

As for the winch idea - here's a dude that worked it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znM7ZPONGow

 

[Bustanut joker]

You tube is like facebook, with pictures and a laugh track!!! :lol:

 

[wfooshee]

That first vid was about the lamest effort at vid that I've ever seen. Forget the load fail, the vid fail is epic. Show the same thing over and over at different speeds, one shot, the other shot, both shots, fast, slow, and in between. And WTF is it with camera people that drop cameras when the good **** happens??!?!? I hate that!!!!

But yeah, you could see a long ways off that it wasn't gonna clear the ramp/gate angle.... :huh: