Trike Transportation 101

[jdparsons1]

I learned a valuable lesson today in transporting my 200x. I carry my atc in my truck bed with the back end backed up to the truck cab so that the wind goes over the top of my truck and doesn't hit my rear fenders and throw them off. But the problem is that the rear grab bar had a nice little meeting today with my rear sliding window, shattered it into a million pieces. :( I am now going to build some wheel stops into my bed so it can't go back that far. One of those things you could just kick yourself in the @ss for.

[ATC350X 85]

I put both mine front wheel first, I never had a problem with the fenders flying off. I put tie downs on either side of the handle bars and tighten it down a little, not so hard that it blows the fork seals.

[okieRrider]

you can also out a strap from footpeg to footpeg over your seat to make sure it don't fly off.

[ATCnut]

When transporting my trike, I put a bungee cord from the footpeg to the grab bar on each side. I have some that are just the right length. Years ago, I was going riding with some buds, and the fender on the lead guys 200x flew off on the freeway. After it was run over by myself and the next two trucks, it was not much good any more. I always strap my trike down too.

[NOS_350X]

this is a grate "my little tricks" thread ive always just left my finders on and it in front tire first

[Jonathan]

I load mine front first. I tie it down by running one tie-down strap around the rear axle carrier, between my tail gate and bed, and around my bumper. That's the only strap I use when I tie it down. I never do anything with the fenders and I haven't had any trouble with them and I've had my truck up to 93 a couple of times with it in the back.

[md1985250r]

i use a bugee cord from footpeg to frame to make sure my seat and fenders are there when i get to my destination...and always use at least one ratchet tie down,usually two though...back in 85 when it was new my brother was transporting it in his raised up tonka toy and it got bounced out ....never again

[jdparsons1]

Ouch!!! Found out today that my slider window is a stock window and therfore they cannot replace the pane that broke and have to replace the entire window!!! ($500) Luckily comprehensive auto insurance deductable is $100 so I am claiming on insurance. I am mounting a 4 foot lawn timber across the back of my truck bed so it can only can go so far back but I have got a few other good ideas from this thread too. Thanks!

[lisnup65]

Sorry to hear about the mishap! I dont understand though why the fenders would fly off unless they are not fit properly.

[200xer]

my fenders on my 200x don't latch quite right, it's missing a spring. I use a small bungee cord to keep them latched. I don't even strap my 200x down in my truck. It fits in perfect. Survived a 3 hour ride both ways.

[als250]

Here's pics of my '87 200x in truck. Rode to TF03 and back w/no probs. First time I ever had to haul in truck(my trailer holds 2 trikes but was hauling 3), worked out well!

Before all the comments, I should say, it never came out of truck all week-end(not even for group pic :shock: ). Ok, let's hear it! :D :D :D

Al

[ATC crazy]

For my SX we just put a ratchet-strap on each side of the handlebar clamp and hook it to the bottom of the trailer...never had a problem, even on a trailer driving for 8 hours.

Helpful Hint though...make sure you're gas cap is on!
My dad left it loose after he filled it up and we went another 20 miles before reaching my friends house. Good thing we put the side racks back on.

[olderthandirt]

:-D hey, jdparsons,tell me year and model of pickup,i work for a large glass company, we sell and install back sliders all the time,there is no truck out there that cannot have a aftermarket back slider installed,no matter what the dealer says,we and every auto glass company nationwide can and do buy quality sliders from CRLaurence company,they our the largest aftermarket truck slider manufacturer in the world. your insurance company will no of this company well as most of there autoglass repair sites use CRL exclusively. :-D

[olderthandirt]

:-D hey, jdparsons,tell me year and model of pickup,i work for a large glass company, we sell and install back sliders all the time,there is no truck out there that cannot have a aftermarket back slider installed,no matter what the dealer says,we and every auto glass company nationwide can and do buy quality sliders from CRLaurence company,they our the largest aftermarket truck slider manufacturer in the world. your insurance company will no of this company well as most of there autoglass repair sites use CRL exclusively. :-Dif you tell me your info i can look it up and tell you the part # and the list price,so you can tell if their giving you the run around or not.

[jdparsons1]

Its a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 Club Cab. Its only costing me $100 so its not that big of a deal but thanks for all the offers.

[plkmonster2]

we rented a power trowel last winter. well, it was in the back of our 80 somtin cheyenne, chevy, and it rained that night. at about 3 in the morning, it got to 5 deg. was crazy. well the trowel froze to the palate, so we didn't think about tying it down. we were 10 minutes into our trip when the guy in front of use slammed his brakes, about to hit a dog. the ice got warm enuf, and the trowel bar came right through the sliding window. well, another lesson learned... but the window stil hasn't been replaced... :rolleyes: anywho :-P , i tie my trikes down, turning them diagonally, or sideways. then i tie a string from the pegs to the holding hole in the side of the bed. then i tie another string from the axel in the front to the holding hole. if it is a really long trip, ill tie another string from the rear axel to the holes.

[jdparsons1]

The only reason I worry about the fenders flying off is the back where the latch is kind of wobbles if you pull straight up on the back of the seat it wont come off but if you slide it sideways a bit and pull up i can get it to come up without using the latch. I have a system now for putting it in, bungee cord from footpeg to foot peg over the top of the seat and then chains with s-hooks at each end from the footpeg back to the little hook near my tailgate. that keeps the seat from coming off and the atc from going to far back in the truck bed. Alot of good ideas on this thread but i was trying to keep it to a minimal for getting the trike hooked up to go and get out when your anxious to get on the trails.

Just found a "Get $50 off your deductable coupon" on the glass repair shops website!!! :D :D :D

[Mike Fort Laud]

I always put my 250R in my truck backwards. Back two tires aginst the tool box and tailgate down. My thoughts were that every time I ratchet strap it in it is from the rear axle to the front bed corners. The front tire is then strapped down to my Reese Hitch. This way I could strap it up tight aginst the tool box with the rear wheels squared up so I could actually strap it as tight as possible,and when I hit the brakes all of the bikes forward momentum in the truck is aginst the solid axle. When the bike is in front wheel first all of the strapping force,and stopping force is applied to the single front tire and forks. I also run two straps on the rear axle (one hooked behind the wheel to the truck corner on each side, and through the front wheel down to my trailer hitch. NO FRAME MOUNTING. By mounting the bike by the axles or wheeles it will make the tires of the bike mount solid and the suspension of the bike will float down the road. When you frame mount,the bikes suspension will still try to float up and down and may cause a jerking affect on the frame or handlebars and possibly bend something. Just think about a solid axle with 2 tires being strapped forward versus one tire mounted to forks that swivel. Have you ever srtapped your bike in forwards and look in the back of your truck and see your handlebars got turned and your bike is now loose in the truck. Oh Yea, Aluminum ramps make loading it backwards a one man deal. To take it out just grab the front forks and pull.

[ATCnut]

Another thing I do for longer road trips is cover my headlight with a piece of cardboard. We lost a 350X headlight lense to a rock on the freeway. They are discontiued so I ended up having to ebay a replacement.

[Honda300ex]

I dont have to worry about my quad falling out of my bed.. its just through the Big hole in the floor... hehehehe :D :D

[Name Brand]

I have loaded my 125m in my longbed Ranger facing forward, tailgate up. Front tire sits against the toolbox, rear tires agianst the tailgate, nice and snug without being tight. Never tied it down, never had a problem. (till last week...) I've driven plenty of miles like that on highway, offroad trails and my share of brodies.

Last Week- Head out to a friends to go riding, the 125m is in the truck as described above. He has not seen the machine since I rebuilt it from the frame up, just got done a month ago, it's cherry and hasn't been anywhere beyond my yard and neighborhood. I have not taken a good run with it yet. Before I left my house I had pulled on the tailgate and it was secure. Turn of the highway and onto my friends road (gravel) his diveway is about 500 feet from the highway.
I drive up the hill in the road, completely washboard, trucks bumping around, I'm doing about 30mph. I look in my rearview mirror, my tailgate is down and the 125m hits the ground and just tumbles. Flips over itself in different directions about 3 times. I'm only 200 feet from my friends driveway.
I stop check out the damage. Some gouges on the rear rack, front tire and one rear is unseated form their rims, bent handlebars and tore through both brake cables and ripped the choke apart. The headlight is pushed to the side and it's plastic sorround is shattered. Throttle engages by itself with a hard right turn.
Not one scratch on the paint!
After some adjustments to the tires and handlebars, it started right up and I was finally able to ride my restored 125m for a good 8 mile run. 6 miles through I realized I had lost the bolt that holds my shifter pedal to the machine! For over $100 in parts (which I had already bought once) the 125m will be totally fixed, again.

So now that I'm paranoid about it, tie downs rule!

[Name Brand]

This incedent also includes my tailgate pulling out of the hinge on one side and which resulted in a dent in the back of my tailgate.

[tri again]

broke my sliding window too, felt sad and then realized I could've OPENED the stupid thing and avoided all that aggravation

[ATCrider42]

I got my 200x and my 185 big red in the back of my truck. Fit em in like shoes in a box. Had to keep the tailgate down with the back wheels of the 185 riding on that. Used 4 ratcheting cloth straps and drove 3 hours round trip with em like that. O yea, I drive a extended cab S-10.(i.e. short bed) So if you load everything right, and strap it down properly you should never break anything, lose anything on the road, or even bend or scratch anything on the trike. If you do anything mentioned above your doing it wrong. Food for thought.

[Mr_RPM]

wow what an old thread. lol I just had the big red in the back on a 94 ranger with one tie strap front first with no problems

[EarlyBronocGuy]

Carried my 125m backwards in my truck bed, with the hinged bed cover open and the handlebars up against the bottom of it, front tire against the tailgate. Also had my 200x and 200m quad on a 4' x 7' Tractor Supply trailer - front tire of the 200x strapped to the tounge of the trailer just behind the hitch, rear tires just forward of the center of the trailer floor, front of the quad up against the back of the 200x, with the ramp of the trailer let down flat to match the floor and the rear tires of the quad on that.

I've got a toyhauler trailer now, it'll carry 5 atv's with no trouble.

[northerntrike]

This brings back memories. My grandfather had a yamaha breeze atv. He used to load it in the back of his small nissan pickup and head out hunting. One day, he came back without the rear window in his truck. I guess the same thing happened to him. The next week, he picked up a little trailer to load the atv on.

[Xpress]

What I do is I load my X in forward, then put it in gear, then tie it down using tie downs. One around the bars, one around the grab bar. ALWAYS!!!! Always tie down your gear!!! It doesn't matter how many wheels it has, you need to tie them down.

[Jerm1179]

i had to nail 2x6's together to put them infront my my sportsman so the winch hook doenst smack my rear slider...i still open the slider when hauling it just in case