Way to Haul a Motorcycle

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How to transport a motorcycle.

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If you are not sure of the way to haul a motorcycle, then you have a few different good options to consider.  One way to haul a motorcycle is to use a pickup truck with a loading ramp.  There are many different ramps available.  There are narrow ramps available that can be less expensive and take up less space.  However, these narrow ramps are often not much wider than the width of your motorcycle tires, so you have to be very careful on your way up.  If you lose your balance (which can happen if you are riding slowly up the ramp), then there is a risk that you will tip over and dump your motorcycle off the side of ramp.  The resulting accident can not only seriously damage your motorcycle, but it could also damage you as well!  To reduce the possibility of this dangerous situation, there are companies such as Rage that manufacture some very nice, wide motorcycle ramps that allow one person to safely load a motorcycle in a pickup.  The ramps are wide enough so the rider can put down their foot onto the ramp to keep the bike upright while carefully loading.  Many of these motorcycle ramps can be folded for more convenient transport and storage.            

Once you have the bike up in the truck bed, then you will need to secure it with tie downs.  In order to do this, you will need to have some good anchor points to attach your tie downs.  Fortunately, there are some convenient tie down anchors such as shown below that fit into the stake pockets found along the top edges of most pickup truck beds.

Simple Stake Pocket Tie Down Mounts & Cam Lock Straps

Another good way to haul a motorcycle is with a trailer.  There are quite a few different motorcycle trailers available that are specifically made for transporting bikes.  These motorcycle trailers include open style in which you transport your bike out in the open.  Some of these are folding trailers that can be folded for compact storage.  In addition, many of these open motorcycle trailers can be towed with a variety of different vehicles.  You don't have to own a big pickup truck to tow some of these lightweight motorcycle trailers.  In addition, there are also enclosed trailers that provide additional protection for your motorcycle and also offers more storage space for gear.  These enclosed trailers are typically heavier and are more likely to require a larger vehicle to safely tow them.

Regardless of the exact platform that you use to transport your motorcycle, you will need a way to secure the bike in such a way that it can not shift and fall.  Wheel chocks are available so that the front wheel will be held securely during transport.  These can be mounted in pickup beds, as well as in trailers.  Some motorcycle trailers will have some sort of wheel chock that is already incorporated into their design.  In addition to the wheel chock, it is very important to have high quality tie down straps to secure your motorcycle down to the platform.  High strength ratcheting style tie downs are a good choice.  Just remember that it doesn't matter how strong your tie down straps are if you don't have strong anchor points to which you can attach the straps.        

There are many options available for transporting motorcycles.  It's a matter of what the needs and requirements are for each specific bike owner.  Number of motorcycles, size and weight of the bike, type of transport/tow vehicle available, finances, etc... all need to be factored into the final decision.  If you already own a pickup truck, then that is a way to haul a motorcycle that is probably least expensive as long as it works with your particular bike.  Open trailers can also be a good way to transport motorcycles, while enclosed trailers offer additional bike protection and conveniences to the bike owner.  As you can see, there is not only one way to haul a motorcycle.  There are many good options, and the choice is yours.                   

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