Motorcycle Carriers

[jage]

Water system to rinse the bike down would take care of some of the muck coming in. We use it for shoes, but a whole bike might be a bit much. I've actually got a power washer that is a plastic tank that gets it's pressure from compressed air- not a great pressure washer but for something you can fill and power with on board air to hose down the bike it might be worth building.

[Roonie]

So I got a hitch extension (Reese 14" 650 lbs rated but listed not to exceed 65% of that so more like 425 lbs). The extension is solid! It works for my rig and barely lets the bikes gas tank slide past the THule bike rack mounted to the bumper off the rear box so that means a perfect fit. Any smaller of an extension and it wouldn't work for me.

[KTMRIDER]

Good info. Nice bike! Also, I like the chair storage in the gas tray, had thought about trying that but haven't had a chance yet.
ET

[Cowboywanderer]

Good afternoon everyone!

I am doing a new 4x4 EB build, and I am having SMB West do a custom motorcycle carrier similar to the one a few pages back with the three class III receivers distributing the weight. I am hearing everything on tongue weight from it should be 10-15% of the towing weight to "a max of 500lbs". The carrier that they are modding up to mount on the back is rated at 600lbs as it stands, and with the three receiver system that we are building I feel confident that it should do at least this.

My question would be, and I apologize if it has been answered before buy my feeble google - fu and search capabilities could come up with nothing, is how much weight are you carrying on your haulers? Can I get a Zuma scooter and a KTM EXC 500? A Zuma and a KLR? A Zuma and a BMW GS F 800? Doing rough round numbers with weights on all of these it looks like they should all come in at or under the 600lb limit, I am just wondering what experiences have been.

Of course SMB's blanket answer is "500 lbs only"., but when I get Jonathan off the record he thinks it should be substantially higher than that, especially since I am running uprated suspension with the Dynatrac full floating rear and air bags on top of that to level it all out. I am not attorney and am not going to hold anyone here liable for their opinions, just want to hear what everyone has "gotten away with" out there on the road!

Thanks again in advance!

[stiggs]

Wow that seems like a lot of the hitch, especially when you factor in bumps on the highway, I have a carrier rated at 500 pounds, I feel fine about putting my CT90 on it, but get a little nervous when I load my XL500 or Triumph onto it

[Cowboywanderer]

Yeah, I was worried quite a bit as well, that is why I am having them fabricate the custom hitch with three receiver points. I would definitely rather over build than under build!

Motorcycles and bicycles are a HUGE part of my families life. My wife, kids, and I all ride, and both of my sons race motocross as well as BMX, so being able to "take it with us" is a huge concern for the family. My wife mainly takes her hopped up Zuma 125 scooter (212 lbs according to the scale at the COOP. We ridded off a few things and replaced the stock pipe with an aftermarket to put it on a diet to hit that number.) and I would LOVE to be able to rig it so I can take my F 800 GS, but I would settle with my 500 EXC if I had to (LOVE the cruising comfort of the bigger bike, but the all up weight with it wet to ride with a half tank of fuel is close to 440lbs!).

I figure with the triple class three mounting points grafted onto the kit rack (supposed to hold two bikes totaling 600lbs, plus two five gallon fuel jugs which I would leave off = 10 gal @ 6.2lbs / gal=62lbs) I should be in the limits according to the rack specs, and that is with it having just the single class III mounting point I'm not expecting "triple the lifting capacity with triple the receivers", but I would think the two bikes as listed would be a doable proposition.

Ultimately it boils down to safety, and that is something I am definitely not going to compromise on. If I can't do it I can't do it, and we will take a trailer on our trips. The rear carrier though holds so much appeal to me as trailers are usually a PITA. Trips where we meet other family members and are at a location for a week or so it is REALLY nice to have the escape pod I can hop on and go out and do a little sight seeing while the rest of the family is playing at the beach or the kids are out hiking around, and it is always great to have something to shoot into town and pick up a few supplies with without having to completely break camp and go. I am sure there is a solution to this, I just want to bounce this off all of you that have "been there and done that".

Thanks again!

[stiggs]

What about putting the zuma up front?

[dhally]

How far back will it extend with 2 bikes on? Seems like a big load swinging way out back, not to mention all the things you'll run over in reverse.

The weight itself shouldn't be a problem - If you have 3 receivers aren't they EACH rated at 500 to 1000 lb?

[carringb]

Just put a Class 5 hitch on the van.

[Cowboywanderer]

Thanks for the responses!

It will extend back quite a bit, and we have worked out a system of bracing (think suspension type like a bridge using square stock and 1/4" steel strap.) to cover the distance from the hitch to the first bike tray. It is definitely going to be one heavy SOB, but with the three class III hitches we knew it was going to be a two person on and off proposition from the get go. I am concerned about backing as well, but with the backup camera being mounted high on the Voyager top and previous motorhome experience as well as a CDL if I get into to hairy of a spot backing I'll just have the wife bail and let me know when I am getting close.

I thought about going class 4 or 5, but I would still like the multiple contact points that the three class III hitches provide to try and help minimize sway and torsional stress that may occur going down the road.

I also thought about splitting the load, but with the bicycles that are coming along for the ride as well, and the meager amount of area that is going to be left on the rack up top Jonathan said that two of the bikes are going to have to be mounted on the back on top of the Aluminess box and two bikes plus one kid carrier are going to have to be mounted up front. I am definitely going to look like a rolling gypsy camp when we are loaded for bear, but it will be a dream come true if I can make it all happen!