Transporting a bike in truck bed

[jrthomas6]

I had to get rid of my trailer last season and was going to transport my back to the track in the bed of my truck. It has tie-downs for the straps. Should I install a wheel chock for the front wheel? Anything else I might need to know about? Thanks!

[SOCAL4LIFE!!]

no need to install anything if you have tie downs and d-rings. If you decide to get another trailer I am about to put up a 5x8 I used once before I bought an enclosed one yesterday.

[Repsol a095]

I don't think you need to. I use Canyon Dancers to help, but I am not a huge fan of the old school ones. The new ones are pretty good, but I wouldn't worry about the chocks.

[CaneZach]

No need for a chock, but if you're bike can be clamped down by the frame, I'd go with that instead of the bars. No need to blow out the fork seal.

[salsashark]

yep... no need for it, but it certainly helps when loading bikes alone.

I picked up a chock from HF and mounted it to a sheet of plywood. It weighs a ton, but I can slide it in and out of the truck bed by myself and load bikes (by myself) without worrying about them being in the bed on a kickstand or off center once tied down. Then, I use soft straps to the bed tie downs and call it good.

It works great.

[Aracheon]

No need for a chock, but anytime I cart my bike around in the bed of a truck I toss my Baxley in there... makes loading by myself a hell of a lot easier.

[UglyDogRacing]

Put soft ties around the lower forks legs and use ratchet straps. It's anchoring it more securely than by the bars and you won't blow out your fork seals.

[Sean]

Put soft ties around the lower forks legs and use ratchet straps. It's anchoring it more securely than by the bars and you won't blow out your fork seals.How low do you put them? If you go to low, wouldn't it allow the bike to tip over? Or does it keep it steady?

[UglyDogRacing]

How low do you put them? If you go to low, wouldn't it allow the bike to tip over? Or does it keep it steady?

bottom of fork tube above the caliper. no it won't tip over. it will be more stable than strapping at the bars, even with a canyon dancer. use ratchet straps on the front and then attach 2 tie downs to the rear subframe and to the front of the bed where the front straps are attached. you want all the tie down pulling in the same direction. if you anchor the rear tie down to the rear of the bed, you have all 4 pulling against each other and they loosen up.

[dragos13]

Put soft ties around the lower forks legs and use ratchet straps. It's anchoring it more securely than by the bars and you won't blow out your fork seals.

+1

You can also tie down at the frame or subframe to add support if you have spots in the bed for that. Swing the tire over to one side and after putting the tailgate up, swing it back flush against the tailgate for extra support. Should be solid after that.

[Sean]

...2 tie downs to the rear subframe and to the front of the bed where the front straps are attached. you want all the tie down pulling in the same direction. if you anchor the rear tie down to the rear of the bed, you have all 4 pulling against each other and they loosen up.Interesting. I never knew that you should have all of the straps going towards the front. I'll def try that next time. Thanks.

[Kim-n-Dean]

Can someone please explain to me how tying your bike down by the handle bars blows forks seals, but landing from twenty feet in the air off a jump and bottoming the fork doesn't blow the seals?

I'm not angry, not bitching, just extremely curious!!

[UglyDogRacing]

Can someone please explain to me how tying your bike down by the handle bars blows forks seals, but landing from twenty feet in the air off a jump and bottoming the fork doesn't blow the seals?

I'm not angry, not bitching, just extremely curious!!

I still tie my 450 down by the bars. I just dont compress the forks very much and put 2 on the rear also.
The last time i tied a street bike down with a canyon dancer was 10 years ago on a 2001 gsxr1000. As soon as I compressed the front and tighted the straps both seals blew and the bed of the truck was full of oil. Never again.

[MetaLord 9]

yep... no need for it, but it certainly helps when loading bikes alone.

I picked up a chock from HF and mounted it to a sheet of plywood. It weighs a ton, but I can slide it in and out of the truck bed by myself and load bikes (by myself) without worrying about them being in the bed on a kickstand or off center once tied down. Then, I use soft straps to the bed tie downs and call it good.

It works great.
Still haven't mastered getting a bike on & off of a ramp without help...

I've got the HF chock too and it's a pig. But the plus side is that you can be sure that front isn't going anywhere. It's good for work'n on the bike when you've got a center stand. Feels more stable than a rear stand

[Kim-n-Dean]

I still tie my 450 down by the bars. I just dont compress the forks very much and put 2 on the rear also.
The last time i tied a street bike down with a canyon dancer was 10 years ago on a 2001 gsxr1000. As soon as I compressed the front and tighted the straps both seals blew and the bed of the truck was full of oil. Never again.My guess is that the seals were ready to go anyway. Imagine how far you compress the forks on your race bike when you hit the brakes. Way more than simply tying it down. Dirt bikes are the one's that really get to me. Bottom that baby out all day long doing jumps, but don't tie it down or you'll blow the fork seals. Just doesn't sound logical too me...

Like I've said before, keeping the forks clean is what really saves the seals. When that dirt dries on the tube, it's like concrete. When the seal has to scrape it off, you start to damage it.

[Kim-n-Dean]

Still haven't mastered getting a bike on & off of a ramp without help...It helps if you're 6'-3" :D

[brennahm]

My DR-Z goes for a ride at least once a month. I tie down by the bars every time and my seals are fine. Did the same with my R1 about 15 times and never had an issue.

People like to overthink this.

Chris - get 2 ramps. :)

[Kim-n-Dean]

Chris - get 2 ramps. :)That's what I do for the street bikes.

The dirt bikes are light enough and I'm tall enough that I can just step up into the bed with only one ramp. It's a big step, but doable.

[Ricky]

My guess is that the seals were ready to go anyway. Imagine how far you compress the forks on your race bike when you hit the brakes. Way more than simply tying it down. Dirt bikes are the one's that really get to me. Bottom that baby out all day long doing jumps, but don't tie it down or you'll blow the fork seals. Just doesn't sound logical too me...

Like I've said before, keeping the forks clean is what really saves the seals. When that dirt dries on the tube, it's like concrete. When the seal has to scrape it off, you start to damage it.

I agree with this 100%. I'm careful how I tie mine down, and I try not to compress the forks too much, but I've always thought it was more of an urban legend, or the factual issue here has been spread around in a whisper game.

I've read that people use a 2x4 to lock the fork from moving downward past a certain point, and they still tie up the bike using the handlebars.

[Kim-n-Dean]

I agree with this 100%. I'm careful how I tie mine down, and I try not to compress the forks too much, but I've always thought it was more of an urban legend, or the factual issue here has been spread around in a whisper game.

I've read that people use a 2x4 to lock the fork from moving downward past a certain point, and they still tie up the bike using the handlebars.On the dirt bikes, I put a 2x4 between the fender and tire. Not to save the seals, but to take the spring out of the front end. Makes for a much more stable tie down.

[Aracheon]

Interesting. I never knew that you should have all of the straps going towards the front. I'll def try that next time. Thanks.


That's how I tie all my bikes down on the trailer with the Baxley. Even the rear straps pull slightly forward.

[Ricky]

I just had a thought...

When you compress a fork, fluid moves from one reservoir to another. The restriction of that movement is the smooth motion we get from our shocks. The internal pressure of one chamber is no different when fully compressed vs fully uncompressed. I'm not sure I understand, logically, how strapping down a bike to full compression, is going to blow a fork seal.

[brennahm]

It won't. And if you ever look at a graph showing force analysis of a fork on a track you will quickly realize that the forces experienced there are way worse than anything to be experienced in the back of a truck or on a trailer.

[Ricky]

So then I wonder where the fuck this "strapping your bike down in a truck/trailer, blows fork seals" urban legend came from.

[asp_125]

I think the blown seals story comes from seals that were already on their way out. Compressing a fork only pushes against the spring pressure, the fluid travels between the shock chambers through the internal valving. Other than instantaneous pressure spikes (no more than what a bike normally encounters travelling that same road) the pressures equalize normally due to the fork's high and low speed valving. I am not a shock expert and I didn't stay at the Holiday Inn last night.

[UglyDogRacing]

I say strap your bike down any way you want too. I'll keep doing it my way and be happy with it. :)

[brennahm]

Probably those people whose seals were blown already. Likely didn't notice until they got to their destination and looked at the bike eye level and noticed the fluid under their front tire.

This is a big reason why there's an urban legend about shops damaging peoples' bikes (which I totally agree DOES happen on occasion), people don't notice things until they see them from a new perspective (their bike is eye level in the back of a truck) or they think maybe someone fucked with their ride (those damn dealerships).

I used to point things out all the time before people unloaded their junk at the shop because you learn to pick out what people are going to blame you for.

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

I took a cheap metal chock I bought at Harbor freight, made a nice sturdy/braced wooden platform for it, and use that. I use a canyon-dancer (works "ok", but I'd like to design something better) and NEVER use ratchet straps. Too easy to stress shit/bend shit with them. If you're tying down a load on an 18-wheeler, or a racecar to a trailer, fine. Bikes, well, I'll never do it. the chock makes the bike Way more stable, especially as mine locks the wheel in so I can walk away and it won;t fall, plus, it doesn't put that bend in the front of your truck bed, AND means you don't need to strap it down as tight. I got it the 550miles or so to ID and back at 80+ and it didn't move at all in the corners or wind. One of the things I did was get some sturdy folding "D"-rings and bolt them to the 3/4" marine-grade plywood of the platform I made. This way, you can attach tiedowns to that if the (U-Haul) trailer doesn't have any solid tie-down points inside, and it may shift around a little, but the bike isn't going anywhere.

[Devaclis]

Just got these delivered today. $10 a pair. Had them on another DRZ and LOVED them.

[Bueller]

There has to be a pressure build up during compression. The air chamber above the oil is a spring in itself, adjusting oil levels is how you change the "air spring".

I worry less about fork seals from being tied down for long periods (never have blown one this way) than I do creating a "memory" in my springs.

[Kim-n-Dean]

There has to be a pressure build up during compression. The air chamber above the oil is a spring in itself, adjusting oil levels is how you change the "air spring".

I worry less about fork seals from being tied down for long periods (never have blown one this way) than I do creating a "memory" in my springs.The air spring is your friend. Although, I've never felt a difference when I hit the bleeder from low altitude to high altitude. I've heard a lot of air escape or get sucked in, but I've never felt any difference.

Spring memory? Are you starting another myth? Just kidding!

[Ricky]

There has to be a pressure build up during compression

Exactly, and that pressure buildup is greater when dropping from 3 feet in the air, than pulling down with a strap. I'm not sure a human could emulate all that weight dropping from several feet, with the pull of a strap.

[Bueller]

Yes the pressure will increase proportional to the distance traveled, up to end of travel. If your fork seal failed or you got some dirt in it that would make it leak, it will do so more readily under pressure, so when people tie down a bike with a failing seal it will leak and lead to the assumption tying the bike down caused the seal to "blow".

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

Yes the pressure will increase proportional to the distance traveled, up to end of travel. If your fork seal failed or you got some dirt in it that would make it leak, it will do so more readily under pressure, so when people tie down a bike with a failing seal it will leak and lead to the assumption tying the bike down caused the seal to "blow".
Agreed, I also agree about having a spring "set" if you really crank it down. That's why I use a chock, so I can ease up on the tiedowns.

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

Just got these delivered today. $10 a pair. Had them on another DRZ and LOVED them.
Interesting, but I'd urge caution in using them as I know the bolts in my triple clamp would have to be changed out for longer ones because of the extra grip length required, and I'd use a minimum of grade 5 bolts if so.