Trailering a new FJR

[Feejer/Weejer man]

cyclecinch.com, much better than canyon dancer

How is that different from the canyon Dancers? (serious question)

use backups too

Actually the handlebar tie points should be the backups. Get the majority of the force on the forks (lower triple tree).

As an aside, I went to the cyclecinch.com web site. The product they have called EZ-Chock is ridiculous. Their chock, which doesn't bolt down, would not keep the front wheel from moving laterally, which is the whole point of a chock.

[edit] You want a wheel chock? Get one of these suckers: Condor Chock

Yep condor is the easiest best chock I have used. Well worth the money. Even in the garage, ride in and out.

 

[Fred W]

[edit] You want a wheel chock? Get one of these suckers: Condor Chock

Yep condor is the easiest best chock I have used. Well worth the money. Even in the garage, ride in and out.

My only problem is I need three of them.

 

[CODan]

How is that different from the canyon Dancers? (serious question)

Canyon Dancer is two straps that sit on grips. Strapping them down tight enough to hold the bike is very hard on the grips, they distort, perhaps necessary to be replace. Also, due to CD design, they are not held from slipping off sideways of the grips.

I used CD to bring my ZZR home in truck, 200 miles. Made it but was very uncomfortable with the stress on the grips, and was very worried during the trip about the CD slipping off the grips.

CC has two straps that are attached via a strap at the grip end. This attachment is length adjustable, and thus absolutely prevents the straps from slipping off the grip sideways. Thus you don't have to strap it so tight.

I would not use a CD again.

Re: strapping down to lower triple clamp - the problem I had (ZZR) was in making certain that these straps did not rub against the fairing. Not sure about how it would be with an FJR.

I have no opinion on the CC chock.

 

[Fred W]

How is that different from the canyon Dancers? (serious question)

Canyon Dancer is two straps that sit on grips. Strapping them down tight enough to hold the bike is very hard on the grips, they distort, perhaps necessary to be replace. Also, due to CD design, they are not held from slipping off sideways of the grips.

I used CD to bring my ZZR home in truck, 200 miles. Made it but was very uncomfortable with the stress on the grips, and was very worried during the trip about the CD slipping off the grips.

CC has two straps that are attached via a strap at the grip end. This attachment is length adjustable, and thus absolutely prevents the straps from slipping off the grip sideways. Thus you don't have to strap it so tight.

I would not use a CD again.

Re: strapping down to lower triple clamp - the problem I had (ZZR) was in making certain that these straps did not rub against the fairing. Not sure about how it would be with an FJR.

I have no opinion on the CC chock.

Thanks. The CC is not all that expensive so it would indeed appear to be the better option. Good to know...

 

[FJRay]

By design the Canyon dancer can't slip off of the grips as the tension from the other side keeps it from moving. I have used the Canyon Dancer for many years and many miles without any problem. I would not trust it by itself and if I am going any distance I use at least 3 tiedowns on each side but the Canyon Dancer is the one on the front. They come it different lengths depending on your needs.

 

[CODan]

By design the Canyon dancer can't slip off of the grips as the tension from the other side keeps it from moving.

He's right about the slipping off. My mistake, I was working on the basis of my very imperfect memory.

If your anchors are slightly to the front of the bars, CD would work fine probably.

If your anchors are at the front of the trailer or truck, then the design of the CD pulls on the "tubes" that surround the grips. The connecting strap moves to the front of the bike, though the pics at canyondancer.com show it to the rear. This cause the tubes to "wrinkle up" (hard to describe but basically the go from full width to maybe 2") which puts stress on the grips. I had to spend some time (10 minutes) pushing the grips back into shape, and worried about the throttle tube breaking due to concentrated pressure (didn't break though).

CC, due to design, can't slip or wrinkle, force remains spread out over the width of the grip.

I am not affiliated with the CC people. It's just a better product.

 

[Niehart]

MrMung, sent you a PM.

 

[Nick2]

I echo the condor rec's. I have a trailer that I bolt the condor to and then use tie downs fore and aft to compress the suspension (don't use the condor alone). Use ratchet straps designed for motorcycles/ratcheting down loads (like powertye straps). One great feature of the condor is that you can easily trailer alone (you don't need to have someone help you cinch down while you balance the bike). OK -- you can do this alone, but it's a "trial", with the condor chock it's easy.

Going to youtube and typing in the terms "motorcycle bmw tie down" will get you to a BMW video on tying down a BMW. You don't have to do it exactly like they show in the video, but it will give you some good info.

Later.

 

[KnuckleHead]

Here is the clicky for the video.

 

[Dan23]

Picking up my new 2007 this weekend, hauling it across the Cascades to Seattle-burbs (I know...I'm a wuss).......
Concerned about attach points for the tie-downs, and wanna insure no scratches, rubs or other damage...of course I will cover it also.

Will traditional tie points (handlebars, rear axle/footpegs) work ? Like I have done on the dirt bikes ?

Hopefully a few folks have done this, and have it sorted out ?

Thanks for the advice.....

Tie downs to lower triple tree, not to the handlebars. The handlebars on an FJR are cast alloy and bolted on the upper triple tree. Definitely not strong enough for tying the bike down. Forget those harnesses that loop over the handlebars too, unless you are using that as a backup in conjunction with the lower tie downs that are doing the actual holding. Handlebars are OK (though not preferred) on dirt bikes, but not 600 lb street bikes.

I'm with Fred regarding tieing off to the handle bars. Canyon Dancers might be fine for light weight bikes, but not for 600+ pound ones, IMO.

The problem with tieing down plastic clad bikes is keeping straps whose the other end attaches to the trailer floor usually means the strap contacts the bike's plastic, painted bodywork. Marred paint at a minumum, cracked plastic at a maximum.

Therefore, I always try to arrange it so the straps' other end mounts higher than the floor. In the case of my enclosed trailer, that means the other end mounts to the trailer wall. On my pickup, the other end mounts to the top of the box sidewall.

Yes, use soft tie tie down extenders at the tops of the fork tubes. Chock the front and rear to prevent fore and aft movement. Secure the front and rear tire from slipping sideways off the chock; some chocks will do this for you.

Tape any hooks that could slip totally off with plastic electrical tape. That way, even if the straps loosen, they cannot slip completely off and allow the bike to fall over. Do not cover, as earlier explained.

Hope this helps.

 

[Fred W]

Here is the clicky for the video.

Just FYI... the reason that they tell you to never use handlebar tie downs on the beemers is because the bars are attached via rubber cushions, at least they were on my R1100RS. Since the boxer bikes only have 2 cylinders they have taken extreme measures to isolate the vibration. A common farkle amongst the blau-mit-weisse propeller-heads was the replacement of the rubber mounts with solid ones. Supposed to increase the steering feel, but at the expense of hand numbing after about 30 minutes. Any whooo, with only rubber holding them bars on you definitely don't want to use their bars. But I still think it's good advice for any bikes with non-tubular handlebars.

 

[YooperDick]

Anybody owning the Condor already went through the taffy pull of conventional chocking. The best part about it is the ability to safely load without help. The eccentric design captures the front wheel upon entry and supports the bike while the rider gets off. However, you still need to resolve the issue of where to locate your tiedowns which varies pretty much from bike to bike.

I wouldn't waste my time with anything else. Costly? Perhaps. But then, consider the consequences.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

Now a "Yooper" could really know about trailering...! And from Watersmeet -- any snow there yet? How many feet? I'd imagine, that if you wanted to ride the other nine months -- you'd need good trailering skills? :huh:

Oh, welcome(too)....

 

[YooperDick]

Yoopers know all about trailering. You have to go to Wisconsin to get anything fixed. And, you're right. If you plan on riding more than five months a year, an enclosed trailer to facilitate the exodus to the southern climes is a must.

 

[MrMung]

Thanks to all for the tips and advice !!!

Picked up the new 2007 at Desert Valley yesterday, and dragged it across the pass in blazing, 28 degree sunshine..no rain, snow or road grit !!

only able to put a few miles on yesterday...and now I wake up to ...SNOW........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great to meet you Duster19, Warchild, Mike, Greg, Thorin at Desert Valley yesterday...

BTW the bike came with Metzeler Z6's.....

Dave M. :yahoo:

 

[Duster19]

It was nice to meet you to. Warchild is a guy with a ton of FJR information. I ended up spending more then I had planned because of Warchild ... but it was money well spent.

Your new Black Cherry looked sweet.. even if it was trailered.

Looking forward to meeting more members.

Dave

Thanks to all for the tips and advice !!!Picked up the new 2007 at Desert Valley yesterday, and dragged it across the pass in blazing, 28 degree sunshine..no rain, snow or road grit !!

only able to put a few miles on yesterday...and now I wake up to ...SNOW........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great to meet you Duster19, Warchild, Mike, Greg, Thorin at Desert Valley yesterday...

BTW the bike came with Metzeler Z6's.....

Dave M. :yahoo:

 

[YooperDick]

I'm sure you will like the Metzeler Z6's. At least my RT likes them. They stick like the Wrath of God or a twig to a knit hat, whichever suits your imagination.

 

[Ordrock]

I use these web straps and then hook them to my tie down straps. This gives me enough stand-off from the tank to ensure no contact. Have to use a block to ensure the front fender won't hit the pick-up bed . It works pretty well.

I travel between Hermiston to Portland and truck it back and forth when the weather is good enough to ride. Make sure you have the bike centered on what ever your toting it with.

You can pick them up at the Motorcycle shop, i also use them on my dirt bikes to protect the bars from the plastic coated hooks.

 

[rtsangelo]

This is how I tied down my bike

Used soft ties around the triple tree

Tied to frame for rear ties.

Ralph

 

[Toter]

I have a Baxley "Sport Chock" and have transported my 06 FJR over 500 miles using it. They are not cheap, but are very sturdy and user friendly. See their site:

https://www.baxleycompanies.com/Sportchock.html

Baxley Trailer Company

Roll into the chock, close catch lever. One person job. Used a normal tie down to secure the front wheel to the chock as security. Then used the loops around the grips and standard tie downs to put slight tension on the bars without fork compression. Last step was standard tie downs from the passenger peg brackets to eyelets in trailer pulling forward and down to keep the back end from bouncing. Rock solid and no fear of any plastic rubbing or excessive bar tension. This was done with a 5x8 utility trailer with wood floor. Works great for me.

Ed