Motorcycle Trailers

[renko_imp]

On Craigslist there are lots of trailers priced $500-$900. What features are important to haul a CB1100 long-distance? Wondering about tire size, weight capacity and stability. Would the trailer's that fold to fit in a garage be an option? Thx for any advice.

[the Ferret]

I have had several trailers including an enclosed. The one I have now is a nice open motorcycle trailer. I have it set up with 3 wheel chocks so that I can haul one bike in the center, or two bikes, one on each side. It has a 3500 pound capacity, 15" wheels with buddy bearings and a fold down ride up tailgate. Its got heavy duty fenders and well protected tail lights.

With 13 members of the family that ride motorcycles, its convenient to have one around.

Over the years here is what I have discovered about trailers.... if you go with too small of a trailer it will not have much weight capacity and will have too small of wheels. I would go no smaller than 13" wheels. imo trailers with 8 and 10" wheels are for light duty in town trailering. The wheels bearings need to be maintained and on a small trailer that will mean pulling the wheels before each use to grease the bearings. Small wheels turn a lot more revolutions for the same speed than big wheels and are hard on bearings. No matter what, get bearing buddies installed to help with wheel bearing maintenance. Unprotected tail lights get knocked off easily...amazingly easy. Look at that situation on any potential trailer. Lifting a motorcycle onto a trailer bed is no fun. Storing ramps for a trailer is no fun. A decent motorcycle chock is worth its weight in gold. Good tie downs like Ancra brand are worth their weight in gold and you will need 4 per motorcycle. Soft loop style pieces that go over your motorcycle parts for the tie downs to hold onto are worth their weight in gold, you'll need 4 per motorcycle. For me, being able to see thru the trailer to the traffic behind me was important which is why I bought the open trailer and sold the enclosed even though the enclosed offered better protection for the bike. Also with the enclosed I had to move the truck to it. With the open, I can move it to the truck ( I hate backing up a trailer, and the worst arguments my wife and I have had in 40 years of marriage involved trying to get a trailer hitch lined up over a trailer ball...I swore if I heard " nope pull forward" after she gave me directions to back up, one more time.....grrrrrrr ). Also get a locking hitch pin, and a cable lock to lock your motorcycle frame to a trailer frame for security.

I would say one of those fold ups with the little wheels would do in an emergency, but that would be about it. Of course as soon as I say that someone will come on and say they have hauled their Harley Full Dresser across the country 10 times on a fold up trailer with 8" wheels no problem, so my opinion is just that and worth every penny that you paid for it.

On another note, trailers are like motorcycles in that all they cost you is, the difference between what you pay for them when you but one and what you sell it for.

[renko_imp]

Thx Ferret, this helps alot.

[meowguy_imp]

Would seem to me your bike is in the most danger getting on and off the trailer. Everything else is dealt with by spending money on a good trailer.

[Ole]

I agree with most of mr ferret says. I have two open trailers. A 5'x10' landscape and a 4'x8' for dirt bikes and 4 wheelers. They have both hauled motorcycles. One has 15" tires, the other has 12" tires. With the correct attention to detail, I would not hesitate to trailer a bike to California with 12" tires. Many have done so. Keep a close eye on those bearings and hubs tho and start with new tires,,,,

[ChipBeck_imp]

Gentlemen,

I have several trailers for my boat, cars, and bikes. My boat trailer is maintained by the shop when my boat goes in for service so I never really thought about it. Then I had a really trick all aluminum enclosed car trailer (Trailex) built to haul my GT to events. After 2 coast to coast trips at 80+ mph the whole way I started blowing out tires. 4 total blown tires!! I called the trailer builder to tell them their product was awful as it blew a tire on every trip. They asked me, "How often do you grease the wheel bearings?". My response was, "I'm supposed to grease what?!?"

Ahhhh, yeah, wheel bearings. They had dried out and friction was creating so much heat that the tires were red hot and they blew. A little maintenance on a regular basis now and everything is fine.

Chip

[rboe]

My only data point: I've rented the motorcycle specific U-Haul trailer several times. Heavy duty, works like a charm and is cheap to rent but the rotter is heavy and the ramp is a built in air dam which makes your mileage suck rocks.

Borrowed a buddies custom made aluminium trailer (very similar to Aluma Trailers version). Light, bigger tires, no air brake and towed just fine thank you. Mileage went from 14 to 21mpg (normally get about 25 on the road). He has some sort of fancy hub that makes it very easy to grease the wheels forcing out the old stuff. I was impressed.

[ron1100_imp]

Kendon trailers for me. I own the combo and it's a stand-up trailer where you just roll it off to the side in your garage standing up. It as torsion suspension and is real smooth. The model I own can carry up to 3 bikes but with a max weight of 1500 lbs, which I won't be exceeding.

[bubblerboy64_imp]

I really prefer an enclosed trailer. If you have a sufficiently large enough truck to tow it.

Enclosed keeps things clear and protected. You can store "things" in it. Used ones are every where.

Open trailers will do the job and are more versatile. But for motorcycles enclosed has big advantages. Nice to have one that would haul more then one. Some times.

I agree about little wheels. I personally would not go below 15 inch.

[The Spaceman_imp]

Don't do what I did and buy one of the Horror Fright Chinee Trailers for bike hauling. It's a decent utility trailer, but getting my bikea on and off it was so difficult I stopped trying. The height of the trailer floor is great enough that the transition from ground to trailer is scary as hell. If you happen to have a couple guys hanging around to help it's not so bad, but on your own? No thanks.

There's a company that makes a trailer that drops the bike rail almost to ground level to load and then lifts up again when you're ready to roll. That looks like the hot setup to me. The Trailer in a Bag gets great reviews and looks easy to load, but I know what Ferret posted on bearings and small wheels is correct: regular maintenance is required.