Securing R100RS into pick-up bed

[beemered]

I have hauled countless sickles in my truck.But everytime I consider doing same to my RS,I can't see where to secure the tiedowns.I went and bought one of those handlle bar strap doohickies but this will not work because the strap will be contacting fairing.I'm thinking a couple of soft straps up in through the fork boots ,but that is not my favorite way to do this as the boots will need regluing each time.I guess not end of world but...Any other ideas,suggestions?I have no safety/crash bars,Thanks,Ed

[daz]

Four straps all pulling the bike forward toward some kind of wheel chalk that will not allow the front wheel to turn. Those front straps grab the forks as high as possible. Just above your fork brace? Rear straps mostly keep the rear from bobbing. BUT....will not allow the bike to fall over if should something happen to the front straps. Don't really have to compress the front forks but it helps. Really just above the fender would work but the higher the better.

And drive carefully.

[Ken in Oklahoma]

Four straps all pulling the bike forward toward some kind of wheel chalk that will not allow the front wheel to turn. Those front straps grab the forks as high as possible. Just above your fork brace? Rear straps mostly keep the rear from bobbing. BUT....will not allow the bike to fall over if should something happen to the front straps. Don't really have to compress the front forks but it helps. Really just above the fender would work but the higher the better.

I transported my RS well and securely in a similar manner, though the setup might have been different. I didn't touch the front end of the bike in the tying down. You don't have to (unless you're going off roading.)

I used one of those Harbor Freight wheel chocks, the kind that has a cradle for the wheel and tire. This is the one I'm talking about: http://www.harborfreight.com/motorcycle ... 69026.html

The front wheel and tire are held secure enough that you can let go of the bike. The bike might lean to one side but it's not going to fall over, and it's safe enough to let go when strapping the bike down. I also use straps pulling forward to secure the bike in place. One of my favorite places to secure the straps to the bike is to lift the seat and attach the straps to the tubes just below the seat. I have also used the rear sub frame and even footpegs. You can also attach straps (on most bikes) to the fork tubes, only pulling backwards. Or high up on the front frame tubes below the triple tree. Nuthin wrong with 6 straps or even more. The bike ain't gonna go nowhere and you feel very confident in what you've done.

Now in my case I screw the stand to the wooden floor of my trailer. That may be a show stopper unless you can figure out a way to secure the stand to the floor.

In such a case Harbor Freight makes another chock that surely will work. Look at this Harbor Freight version to get an idea of what I did: (Mine was much better)
http://www.harborfreight.com/motorcycle ... 97843.html

I fabricated one on the same principle out of some channel iron welded together in an "L" with the vertical about 2 feet tall and the horizontal (where the front wheel sits) about 3 feet long. I welded 2"x2" square tubing perpendicular to the bottom channel to keep the contraption from tipping left or right. I 'invented' it so I could easily load an airhead in the back of my van for travel. It worked a treat.

With both approaches I was able to secure the bike with straps pulling forward.

Perhaps food for thought.

Editing: On that first Harbor Freight stand the workmanship was terrible. I had to place different stacks of washers under the bolt where the frame attaches to the base. But the thing works and is secure. What kind of jigs were they using to do the welding. It's as if one person held the pieces together while another one welded them together.

Ken

[Major Softie]

That stand Ken uses can be bolted to a board that fits exactly the width of your pickup, and then, if you strap the bike pulling it forward, it's almost as secure as the stand being bolted to the bed.

[SteveD]

This was for a 5km haul. I'd go a little lighter on the fork compression.
Of course, if you have the fairing "boots" then you'll need to think of something else.

[khittner1]

I need to carry my RT in my pickup's bed more often than I care to admit, and tote it to and from Chicago (probably 400 miles round-trip) when it needs skilled labor. I have a simple steel-tube wheel chock bolted to the floor at the front of the truck bed. I use two fairly heavy duty ratchet straps (1000 lb working load, 3000lb break strength) run around the fork lowers with both hook ends of each strap hooked into the truck bed's forward stake pockets, to pull the bike forward into the chock. Then two more (one on each side) attached to the lift handle and to a soft-tie run around the main frame and sub-frame, and pulling toward the rear stake pockets. The rear ratchet straps aren't pulled tight enough to compress the rear shocks much, but do help to hold the bike upright. Neither of the bike's stands are used; it rides upright on its wheels only. With this arrangement, the bike is free to bounce up and down on its suspension, but the wheels don't move anywhere. It may be a little disconcerting to others to watch the bike bounce up and down on its suspenders, but carrying it this way avoids damaging the springs, as the suspension gets to work as it was designed to, and the bike stays put. The bike's up and down movement is not noticeable at all from the standpoint of the truck's handling, though it's movements are visible in the truck's mirrors. No messing with the fairing boots is needed; they're well above where the front straps go around the fork legs.

[Rebel]

I use one of the Canyon Dancer tie downs. Check it out, works great!!
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/cany ... harness-ii

[Ken in Oklahoma]

Steve D: The John Player RS has to be my favorite airhead in the whole wide world. My own '82RS is pretty damned nice but I'd cheat on it in a heartbeat!

I also like the John Player Norton a lot, but that's for another forum. (And another audience)

Ken

[khittner1]

Yeah, Steve, that's a nice RS, but did one of your Norton or Harley buddies use the wheel dock just before you and leave that oil puddle?

[beemered]

O.K., thanks for the tips guys.I never gave a wheel chock a thought because I have hauled bikes 1000s of miles never using one.Rebel,I have one of those Canyon Dancer gizmos ,but the bars don't extend out beyond the fairing which would have the strap bearing down on the fairing-this is a no-go.As far as using a chock,this seems to be the way to go.Although I have never needed to haul the RS,if the time ever comes when I need to,I want to be prepared to do it without damage ,of course.I am not a big fan of Harbor crap and garbage because the few things I have bought from them weren't up to the task at hand .But,to have one readily available for the occasional use,I will take a look at those.I see J & S jacks (U.S. made) has a well built one but the price is well above Harbor 's. Quality is never cheap.Thanks again all,Cheers,Ed