Trailering the R1200RS

[36654]

Now, I know you guys are real Beemer riders and would never trailer your motorcycle, but under the most extreme circumstances.  But, in those rare situations.........when strapping down the bike, front or rear end ........do you turn on the ignition to activate the ESA?

[Motorhead1977]

The 2020 1250RS owners manual (pg 134) describes how to tie the bike down for trailering (Lashing). It doesn't mention turning the ignition on. Only says to tie it down evenly and shows the locations for the tie downs. I have trailered mine a number of times and never activate the ESA. I would think that tying the bike down with ESA active would result in the bike being loose once you shut down the ignition and the suspension relaxes.

[Pyrrho]

Haven't heard of that before. I would think strapping it down so the suspension is semi-compressed and not "bouncing" would be preferred? I wouldn't know from practical experience, because all I've ever owned have been Beemers.

[Grumpy Goat]

Haven't heard of that before. I would think strapping it down so the suspension is semi-compressed and not "bouncing" would be preferred? I wouldn't know from practical experience, because all I've ever owned have been Beemers.

When the bike is turned off the ESA "locks" and it does not bounce. One of the reasons you have to have the bike on to bounce-straighten your forks if they become off-centre.

My mike was trailered once and not by me, but I am pretty sure that Haulbikes.com did not turn on the bike, strap it down and then turn it off. It was most likely turned off, suspension locked, then the bike was strapped down. I have not had any issues in the 6 years since then.

Maybe Runnerhiker can chime in - he had the most recent trailering experience to the National Rally in Springfield MO in June.

[36654]

Haven't heard of that before. I would think strapping it down so the suspension is semi-compressed and not "bouncing" would be preferred? I wouldn't know from practical experience, because all I've ever owned have been Beemers.

When the bike is turned off the ESA "locks" and it does not bounce. One of the reasons you have to have the bike on to bounce-straighten your forks if they become off-centre.

My mike was trailered once and not by me, but I am pretty sure that Haulbikes.com did not turn on the bike, strap it down and then turn it off. It was most likely turned off, suspension locked, then the bike was strapped down. I have not had any issues in the 6 years since then.

Maybe Runnerhiker can chime in - he had the most recent trailering experience to the National Rally in Springfield MO in June.

I agree the ESA locks the valving within the forks & shock, but they drift down as you tighten the tie-down ratchets.  I never thought about this until I was doing the "bouncing" while torquing the front axle and pinch bolts.  If the bike had conventional suspension, you would use the same procedure, but the springs would be compressed and the valving providing rebound damping.  In our case, the ESA system makes the suspension react very slow....

[Pyrrho]

When my last bike was delivered by Keyboard Motorcycle shipping, front forks were tied down to the point there wasn't much travel left. Maybe they did that with the bike on, then turned it off? Dunno.

[Liteitup]

I trailered mine several times, starting with when I first picked it up and another time for service in Austin and back (100ish miles each way). I walk it up the ramp under power and tie it down on the lower forks and a second set of straps for the back. I never gave the ESA any thought, ignorance is bliss I suppose. Anyway, the bike never moved and I never had to tighten the straps. YMMV and all that.

[Motorhead1977]

I trailer my bike annually for at least one 1500-2000 mile round trip with my wife as she's not really up for that many miles on the RS. Most recently I trailered my RS to the Unrally in West Virginia and back home again. A total of about 1500 miles round trip. I tie the bike down without turning the ignition on. The front tie downs are set to remove most of the suspension travel. The rear tie downs are used only to limit side to side movement so the rear wheel can't "walk" to either side. No suspension issues at all.

[Freddyfruitbat]

Never trailered mine, but have often taken it on ferry journeys, including overnight, where the bike is strapped down firmly to the deck, so analagous to a trailer. Certainly wouldn't be leaving the ignition on under those circumstances - not that it's ever even occurred to me to do so if I'm honest

[Grumpy Goat]

On the subject but a slightly different tack ... I'd like to own a bike trailer, but my issue is storing it. I have no garage space presently so it would have to store it in my back yard which means manually getting it through the gate in the fence. I have looked at the ridiculously priced Kendon trailers and the narrowest of these has a max width of 6 ft and weighs 340#. I hardly think that pulling that mass uphill to my fence gate would be easy, and (without measuring) my gate is hardly wide enough anyway. It's a beautiful trailer but at almost $4000 for the occasional tow, it is not worth it for me.

So, the question - anyone know of any narrower light weight trailers that would suit my needs. I did a search a couple of times, and it seems that the selection is not good.

[Ray]

On the subject but a slightly different tack ... I'd like to own a bike trailer, but my issue is storing it. I have no garage space presently so it would have to store it in my back yard which means manually getting it through the gate in the fence. I have looked at the ridiculously priced Kendon trailers and the narrowest of these has a max width of 6 ft and weighs 340#. I hardly think that pulling that mass uphill to my fence gate would be easy, and (without measuring) my gate is hardly wide enough anyway. It's a beautiful trailer but at almost $4000 for the occasional tow, it is not worth it for me.

So, the question - anyone know of any narrower light weight trailers that would suit my needs. I did a search a couple of times, and it seems that the selection is not good.

How high is the ceiling in your garage?

[Grumpy Goat]

How high is the ceiling in your garage?

I'd guess 8ft ... why? I have a small 2 car garage with one side reserved for my wife's car and the rear of the other half my 2 bikes fit on a diagonal. The rest of it is full with workbench and other stuff, 1/2 of which should really be in a shed I don't yet have. I have no free wall space.

[36654]

the occasional tow, 

Start with your definition of occasional tow and determine if that can't be met with the $15/day UHaul MC trailer or the 4x6 cargo (enclosed) trailer.  What about the bed of your pick-up?

Luckily, for me, the Uhaul MC trailer has always met my needs.

[Grumpy Goat]

Start with your definition of occasional tow and determine if that can't be met with the $15/day UHaul MC trailer or the 4x6 cargo (enclosed) trailer.  What about the bed of your pick-up?

Luckily, for me, the Uhaul MC trailer has always met my needs.

Up to now my wife has never accompanied me on any motorcycle event, either as a pillion or in the truck. With a trailer she could possibly accompany me as she is not really a rider (and is not that interested in motorcycling, truth be known). The other use might be to drag the bike to the dealer if it is crippled and needed work, which has not yet happened. So, for me, until now "occasional" has been never and that could bloom to maybe 2 times a year tops. I agree not enough to justify spending more than a couple hundred bucks for rare use.

As for U-haul - yes they do have U-Haul motorcycle trailers for $15 / day which would serve the purpose. If I consider a $200 / 6 day rental each time (assuming only motorcycle events and no repair transportation), that would be 20 trips, or 10 years worth of rentals vs one Kendon trailer.

Guess I know what my answer is ...

[Motorhead1977]

I have a Triton all aluminum AUT-1064 (10' x 64" (5'4")) wide trailer. It weighs 400 lbs and has a 1800 payload capacity. At current prices one is about 5,000. Of course when I bought mine (pre pandemic and supply chain price increases) it was about $2500.

[Lee]

On the subject but a slightly different tack ... I'd like to own a bike trailer, but my issue is storing it. I have no garage space presently so it would have to store it in my back yard which means manually getting it through the gate in the fence. I have looked at the ridiculously priced Kendon trailers and the narrowest of these has a max width of 6 ft and weighs 340#. I hardly think that pulling that mass uphill to my fence gate would be easy, and (without measuring) my gate is hardly wide enough anyway. It's a beautiful trailer but at almost $4000 for the occasional tow, it is not worth it for me.

So, the question - anyone know of any narrower light weight trailers that would suit my needs. I did a search a couple of times, and it seems that the selection is not good.

Buy a good aluminum ramp and put the bike in the back of your truck.
Ramps like this break down to four sections.

   

   

[Grumpy Goat]

Buy a good aluminum ramp and put the bike in the back of your truck.
Ramps like this break down to four sections.

Thanks Lee. That makes more sense and would certainly be cheaper - $400 for this option presently. I'd just have to offload all the camping gear that is permanently stored in the back of the truck. That is not a problem though. What is a problem is hold-down points ... I have none and there is a drop-in bed-liner. Playing with the idea of getting my last truck as this one is getting old and things are starting to go. Any new truck will have tie down points available. Thanks for the idea though. I did think about this but will admit I was not too keen on riding the bike up to such a height, but costs and storage being what it is I just have to get over it.

[Lee]

Buy a good aluminum ramp and put the bike in the back of your truck.
Ramps like this break down to four sections.

Thanks Lee. That makes more sense and would certainly be cheaper - $400 for this option presently. I'd just have to offload all the camping gear that is permanently stored in the back of the truck. That is not a problem though. What is a problem is hold-down points ... I have none and there is a drop-in bed-liner. Playing with the idea of getting my last truck as this one is getting old and things are starting to go. Any new truck will have tie down points available. Thanks for the idea though. I did think about this but will admit I was not too keen on riding the bike up to such a height, but costs and storage being what it is I just have to get over it.

The ones I've seen and the one in my picture is not too steep. It helps you can put your feet down if needed with wide ramps like this.
Nothing wrong with having a couple spotters while loading or unloading.
Bolt a Baxley motorcycle chock to a piece of thick plywood and also add tie-down points to the plywood.
If you have a short box you want the plywood to extend unto the tailgate. This spreads the weight out and does not stress the tailgate.
A quality chock like Baxley will let you get off the bike and had held up securely while you strap it down.
When looking at ramps look for ones that have a good and easy system to piece the sections together.
Don't forget you need a way to attach the ramp to your truck. Straps can take care of this. If the front bike wheel is in the truck bed and the rear tires is on the ramp and you spin the back tire you can spit the ramp out from under you.

For trailers if you want cheap look at a steel trailer with wood floor at one of the big box stores.
If you want light weight look at aluminum trailer. The aluminum option is not cheap.

[Liteitup]

I've used the three piece long ramps to haul across west Texas in July/August several times to Colorado. I think they all have an arch built in so the belly doesn't hang up at the transition point.
Pluses: easy to load/unload bike, you ride up/down the ramp. Use the clutch instead of the front brake to modulate speed down the ramp. Parking and towing is easier without a trailer.
Minuses: setup/takedown is labor intensive and a bit fiddly. Tying down three ramp pieces so they don't get into the bike or disappear in transit is interesting until you figure out what works. The arch in the ramps means they don't nest together and tie up conveniently. I wasn't comfortable loading two bikes into back of truck if traveling with another person.

For me the two place Kendon was the answer. I have plenty of room to park it at home so that's a major issue that doesn't apply to me. Trailer is low, so it's easy to load/unload. It has decent tie down points and built in chocks. It's low and light so gas mileage isn't affected too badly. My Titan gets 15mpg with or without the Kendon. Heavier, "real" trailers bring it down to 8/10mpg. Last trip I used my VW GTI as a tow vehicle for the first time and got 20 mpg running 75/80 and it was way more comfortable than my 2006 truck.

My understanding is the Uhaul trailers are heavy, maintenance is sketchy, and you may not be able to find one when you need it.

Different strokes for different folks.

[Duccrazydave]

The Baxley Sport Chock has been a game changer. Makes the tie down process so easy and has a locking clasp to secure the front wheel, making it slightly less convenient for thieves. It's an extra expense, but who doesn't like more tools