Advice on towing my motorcycle...
 

First a quick story on my old motorcycle. As some might remember last summer I purchased an 81 yamaha xs650. I was able to enjoy it all summer long and put some good miles on it and saved alot of $$ on gas. On my way to work one morning in Sept of last year some 67 year old guy rear ended me. The State Trooper came and I was afraid for a second that he would take his side of the story and totally screw me over. But two minutes into the conversation the trooper turned to me and said "don't worry I'll be issuing this guy a few tickets". He gave the guy a total of three tickets including reckless driving and the guy had to present his bail card on the spot.

He bent my rim up pretty bad and destroyed my fender the motorcycle shop estimated the repairs to be $790 some bucks so his insurance comp called the same day to say they would be paying for the repairs and sent me the check. The mechanic at the shop offered me $800 for it on the spot and with the insurance money it turned out to be an ok day.

Now my new bike. I drove to Milwaukee and picked myself up a 82 Yamaha maxim. I love it already! It's shaft drive and it has 23 more hp it looks next to new. And the best part is I picked it up for $650.

Okay so the towing question is and I have done some researching on this so I just want to make sure I'm thinking straight here. The bike weighs roughly 450lbs and my plan is to haul it using a 56lbs motorcycle carrier. I know it's slightly over the manual recommended 500lbs hitch weight. However, I've spoken to a couple buddies who haul frequently and to the local u-haul expert guy in town and they all say I should be fine. Something about the weight distribution and that it won't be all dead weight on the hitch. Here's a link to the motorcycle carrier I'll be planning on purchasing http://www.discountramps.com/dirt-bi...ch-carrier.htm

One last thing I'll be rolling on my OME 890's by summer which is when I'll be hauling the bike. I would be hauling the bike about 8 to 10 times over the course of the summer for about 110 miles each way to Mi. Do you guys think I should be okay hauling it???

You should be fine with the OME stuff just be carefull at first. Also that link you posted says its not meant for street bikes. I think they are just worried about scratching body work or something. Looks like you have minimal body work.

Where are you getting the bike weight? Bike specs usually quote "dry" weights. Actual weight of a street bike may be 30-50 lbs over the dry weight. (battery, gas & oil) I remember a bike mag in the late 80's or early 90's tried to make a bike match the claimed "dry" weight & they couldn't do it. Is it a 650 or 750? most likely it is a little over 500 lbs.

Don't forget that a street bike is much longer & wider than a dirt bike or scooter. The carrier you are looking at clearly states that it is not for street bikes. Park your bike behind your 4Runner & see how wide it will be, you might be surprised. It will probably be about 20" wider than your 4Runner.

It looks like a nice carrier.

Good luck,
Paul

i dont seem to trust those hitch mounted carriers i use a small trailer or a truck

Lifelong motorcyclist and sportbike rider here.

If you're set on trying one of those hitch haulers, at least get one that's designed to handle the weight of a streetbike.

I know the guy that used this setup with his 'Busa and Sequoia, and it worked for him, with some custom touches to the hauler.

http://www.joehauler.com/camloc/355x220/image21.jpg

Here's the Joe Hauler website: http://www.joehauler.com/index.shtml

A word of caution, with one of those haulers plus the weight of your bike, you will be over the rated tongue weight of the receiver on a 3rd gen 4runner.

Good luck.

take a tow strap, wrap it around bike, hook to tow mounts on truck. drive where you are going

I use a hitch carrier like the one you posted for my 205lb dirtbike. My 4runner handles it nicely although gas mileage sucks but what do you expect. I think you are definitely going to need those stiffer OME springs with the added weight of your street bike and you may even want to look into a rear airbag set up. This thread might help you out http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showth...20AirLift+1000[u

width on that carrier looks like it would be an issue with a street motorcycle, it looks like the fairings would come in contact with the rear of your runner, It does seem like it is gonna be over the tongue weight to i would say get a small trailer you can find them pretty cheap i see jet ski trailers for sale all the time they are very easy to convert.

POOR MOTORCYCLE!!!

Though that does make me think, maybe you could make a little bracket for the hitch; like a little plate for the front wheel to go on. So you drag the back wheel on the ground, wire the tailight up to the runner. Keeps your hitch weight down and it wont be wide. But youd be wearing down your back tire and there would be a possibility of someone hitting the bike. Your odometer should be on the front wheel too so you wouldnt be putting miles on the bike.

It's a 650. I've seen different quotes about the weight but I used the site below as my reference.

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/buyer...-SecaTurbo.htm

02SE I was thinking the carrier would suffice since it's rated for 600lbs and I fall well below that. Also it's a rather small motorcycle meaning I don't think I'll have worries about it crashing thru the rear window:hillbill: but I guess I need to do some more measuring before I can say that for sure. Those JoeHaulers look pretty sweet I'm going to the local yamaha dealer tonight to take a look at a couple they have in stock.

I'm a bit skeptical right now but I'm thinking I'm going to be borderline making this work. Also I don't really want to do the trailer thing since I live in a condo, storage is already a pain.

Keep in mind the width of the bike as well. I haul a trail 90 on the back of my 4runner sometimes and I have to move the handlebars so that they don't come flying through the back window during a huge bump

already been done

http://hoghauler.net/
http://hoghauler.net/yahoo_site_admi...164648_std.JPG

http://www.oldinc.com/rhmcbscan.htm
http://www.oldinc.com/rhmc1-2b.jpg

. . . then there's always the really cheap way
https://i141.photobucket.com/albums/...cle-towing.jpg

I should have searched google. lol. I like the last one.