Caution Disturbing Pics: How NOT to tie down a bike

I normally do not link stuff from other forums, but this really makes me angry, so I thought I would post this here.

This is a crosspost from Sport-Touring.net. A friend of mine Yosh had her new Beemer die from an electrical issue, and BMW warrantly sends (cue banjo music) a Neanderthal with chains and hooks to secure the bike to a flatbed. Caused 2500.00 damage at first glance, and the tech is looking at the frame, forks, and brakes with a microscope to see how bad it is.

She says that the garage and BMW are going to go after the tow company, but they may end up in court. I hope she doesn't get caught in the middle of a pissing match, and gets a rideable bike for the rest of the year. Frick, this is horrible!



More pics on the original thread, but you get the idea. This is before he Tightened the chains down



Original thread: TOWTRUCK HORROR

I guess the only positive thing is that 10,000 bikers on that site will be very careful about flatbed drivers from now on!

 

OMFG!!!! I hope she has some say with her insurance carrier as to who NOT to hire for towing in the future. And I hope other motorists in Illinois are made aware of this outfit's shady practices.

 

I know, did he think he was going to pic up an X5 SUV or wtf? I would have flipped out, but it is possible she came out to already find it this way. I am glad she snapped pics though.

 

Silly question, but what *is* the proper way to secure a bike being "towed"?

Michael

 

Nylon straps and compress the suspension

 

front and rear, with the bike straight up
chock the front wheel too
something like this

**EDIT** I dont like the strap placements front nor back.
The front should go to the handlebars (or triple tree)
and rear should prob go to the rear subframe

 

I prefer the triple tree over the bars - and the reason? I have seen the metal cast risers of sport bikes (in particular) crack and break. It is a mess - particularly in this case where there were 2 bikes being transported.

 

FWIW, I towed my bike weekend before last on it's center stand. I had at least 6 straps on it.

One each to the handlebars.

One each to the back frame just under the grab bars.

One on the front, wrapped around the tire to hold it to a post on the trailer.

And, when all the others were tight, I put an addition one through the back tire.

I am sure that this is not the best thing to do, so, I am going to get a motorcycle rail from Northern Tool so that I don't have to put it on it's center stand. And since it has a chock like thing in the front, I will pull it tight to that. It has a ramp that you can get for it to make loading easier.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/ ... _200244874

Just make sure your nylon straps are strong and long enough.

 

Cool, Thanks. Very helpful to know.

Michael

 

Ok - I'm recommending against the centerstand...

The suspension is built to deal with bumps and being compressed. The center stand is not. Further - because it doesn't absorb bumps the bike is rigid which means if you're not tight enough it can move.

The X-method is pretty popular and works

Basically as shown in the picture above.

Ride the bike on.
Tie the front end down-out-and-forward. This forms the bottom two legs of the X. This hold the front tire to the front, it also compresses the forks. I make a trucker hitch with rope, but tie downs work. It can not lean left or right as it would tighten the opposite strap - which if they are tight, can't happen.

Then do the same from the back. Down-and-out-and-back. This means the back end can't move side to side. Honestly the front has it, this just secures it.

That's it.

Test all of the ties after a few miles. They should be as tight. If not you need to practice

Woot.

Trucker hitch?

Secure the rope to one end - either a tie down ring, or the triple clamp. I'm going to start from the triple(A). Run the rope down through the tie down ring(B). Make a bowline knot on the first run 2/3 way up to the triple(C). Take the tail of the rope from the tie down ring up to the loop of the bowline(D). Pulling down gives you a double pulley. Pull down to tighten. To secure hitch the rope to itself (or use slip knots against the loop if you don't want to have skin left on your fingers untieing it later).

 

I bought some 8 inch straps at my sportbike dealer that essentially are web straps that are sewn closed. They are great for getting the hooks away from the expensive tupperware although I still had to use rags to keep them from chafing the paint and plastic. On the Seca it is not as much of an issue, but I like that I can loop them easier than the hooks.

So I loop them as close to the triple tree as possible and then hook onto and cinch it down and I let the suspension take most of the bouncies out of the trip. I usually use two straps on the rear so it does not dance side to side, but I usually do not cinch it down towards the ground as tight. So far (knock on wood-like substance) I have not had any problems and I have been on some absolutely dreadful roads. I have done this in open trailers, U Hauls, pickups and even a van.

Looking at some of the great advice here, I will try some of the above variations.

 

The "Good" part is that she has photographic evidence of how negligent the Tow operator was at doing the securing of the load.

He treated it like dead weight rather than respect any of the bikes delicate geometry.
I'd get a good lawyer and explain how the bike got damaged and have the Tow Company get-out the Checkbook.

You would think that would be a standard to follow and that the Tow Company would have been more discrete in handling such a nice motor vehicle.

 

wow, that tow job is really 'Effed up!
I bet the guy carries his kids around by their pinky finger, while standing on their toes.
IF it had been a wreck in the first place, less care is nearly understandable.

Coworker Joe's friend had a Subaru towed a few weeks ago because the automatic tranny died. The flatbed driver showed up, started the car and rev'ed it in gear to see if it would load onto the truck under its own power. It did. high RPM and a drop into 1st/low got it to move to the truck. Still had to be winched on.
They did file a complaint through her service (AAA maybe) and the towing company. Even with Joe standing there the driver beat the customers already ailing car. I haven't heard any updates, but hopefully she got better service form the shop!

Steve

 

Shipping a bike is definately a delicate measure... even compressing the front shocks is dangerous. Ideally the bike should be able to absorb the shocks under its own weight... as in when they come in a crate... with no front wheel attached and the forks attached to a metal jig instead.

There's a product out there that allows you to strap your bike down by the tires in a straight up position. Don't have the link but I'm as good as sold for long distance shipping (although when I put my bike in the back of my truck for a 1-2 day trip this summer I'll probably do the tripple tree / slightly compressed method).

 

the bike should be off the stand.
there are webbing straps with pockets on the end which slide over the handlebar grips and then cross diagonally and forward. the bike is solid against the front of the trailer / flatbed and the straps are tentioned to slightly bear down on the suspension. once this is done it's simple to tie the rear around the top of the shocks and to the tie down points on the trailer.

 

Any body hear what happened to the Beemer?

Did the lady get a new bike?

Just curious.

 

I am glad that is not my bike

 

This is how I tied mine down when I went to get it.

 

Chock both sides of the front wheel, that could fall, if the wheel slides sideways.

 

Right you are KEN.

 

Hey wait, that looks like my bike!!

BRING IT BACK!!!

 

Bought it off ebay.Sweet ain't it 19000 miles and everything works like new good paper paid $2000. Little too much money but I had to have it.