I discovered, at the start of the last camping trip, that the bracket which supports the rear portion of the Cycleracks cargo rack had broken. I'm thinking mounting the Kolpin gas can mount on the rearmost portion of the cargo rack caused too much flex/stress. My fault. Back to the drawing board on carrying extra gas.
Until I can find a welder to hopefully fix the weld shown above; I drilled the holes you see, and used safety wire to hold things together for now. Also found an old metal strap, for use in the middle hole....so far so good.
Oh, and speaking of welder work needed, the bolts you see in the foreground, mount to an aluminum support that is part of the frame of the motorcycle. It has a crack, probably from all the weight/stress. Hopefully, that's an easy welding job.
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As I learn to safely transport the T-Dub on the rack I bolted to the front of the trailer, I've been learning how to best tie it down for transport. Have lost a couple of straps due to wear point damage, and have tried several ways to hold her upright and steady.
Below pics show latest version of the tie downs. Any thoughts/feedback would be appreciated if you see something not right.
Front view: anchor point is attached to rack at right front wheel,
through the middle frame and ends at the spare wheel.
Rear view, the new anchor point is the silver one
at bottom of above picture. It extends the angle
so there's less stress on the blue strap.
The front wheel is kind of held in place by the adjustable clamp that came with the rail, not great at that role so I also used cam lock straps to secure each wheel to the rail as well.
6 comments:
Does the gas can leak if it’s lying down flat? That would really lower the stress on the rack. As far as what’s underneath that is also cracked, I’m not sure.
Since you are retired now maybe look into a welding class...
The can doesn’t leak on it’s side, RichardM, so it’s a possibility but would have to forgo the use of the top compartment of the saddlebags. Still, something to consider. I’ve been playing with idea of learning to weld through the local tech college....
Is there a way to move the gas can mount forward? Less leverage equals less stress.
Re straps fraying, had the same problem. The solution was to buy several foot long pieces of chain. Loop the chain thru the tie down points then hook the ratchet straps to the chain. Straps no longer touch any sharp edges. No more fraying. Then use the two existing outboard brackets on the trailer.
Attaching the straps high on the bike front and rear will help to immobilize it. On the tongue, is there a spot closer to the hitch where you could anchor a chain to attach both front and rear ratchet straps to?
I've had a bike tip over in a trailer before so I've spent some time thinking about how things can go wrong. All your eggs are in one basket with that new silver anchor point. Is there a plate underneath to prevent the bolts from pulling through the deck? Also, if you hit a bump and the suspension compresses, do the straps get slack? If so they should be taped or zip tied at the hooks so the hooks can't unhook. Thats how my Aprillia came loose and spent at least three states of interstate travel bouncing against the trailer wall.
CCjon, thanks for the feedback. I used to, on the leading or ride side of the bike as it sits on the rail, run the strap from the point near the front edge of front wheel to a point on the rail near the bike's rear wheel. Was told to increase the angle of the strap in relation to anchor points as it was too close?
Basically going with same concepts as tying a bike down normally when it faces direction of travel on a trail. Securing the front end and just ensuring the rear tire doesn't move around.
Now thinking perhaps some Canyon Dancer tie down rigs where the passenger pegs used to bolt so I can use separate straps for that portion of the frame on both sides of the bike. So in the end, there'd be four straps (not counting the ones binding the tires to the rail).
Scott Seidl, thank you for your feedback as well. Not quite all eggs in one basket, the addition of the silver anchor point supplements the closer in anchor points used by the blue strap. I was told that the straps were too close in to the bike so added silver anchor point to increase strap angle.
There's large washers under the floor as part of the anchor to prevent bolt from tearing out.
I like the idea of taping the hooks! Also debating the use of Canyon Dancer tie down rings and straps to eliminate use of hooks but must research more, in the meantime, will tape the hooks. thanks.
The bike's front end is compressed about 1/3 of its suspension travel and seems pretty rock solid on the rail.
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