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Trailering My Monster 1200S Stripe

5K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  Smilodon 
#1 ·
I am planning a vacation to the mountains soon, and of course, I want to take my new Monster along to get some “bike-appropriate” riding in (it’s more designed for the curvy stuff than the flat stuff here).

I have other obligations this trip, and can’t really ride the bike (1200S Stripe) up. So, I’ll be loading it on the trailer.

To avoid having to experiment myself, I was wondering if anybody has trailered their late-model Monster, and how they ended up tying it down to the trailer.

I have had to trailer a number of different bikes over the years, so am pretty well equipped as far as tie-downs, helpers, etc.

Use a Canyon Dancer-style bar harness on the grips? Soft wrap around the frame? What about the back?

Just curious what folks have done and how well it worked for them.
 
#2 ·
Do you have room in the trailer to put a front wheel chock? That will make it a one person job.
I would use soft ties and racket tie downs on both front fork tubes and someplace around the rear passenger pegs. You want to get the bike strapped down at 4 points.
I would also use the Canyon Dancer's with the cups that go over the grips. The older style will ruin your grips.
Snug everything down, but with this setup you don't have to over tighten anything, you can let the bike move a little on it's suspension so you don't damage any fork/shock seals.
 
#3 ·
LA Chock, old canyon dancer even over the CRG arrows (to be fair, is a slight pain) and one strap on a rearset pulling the bike *forward* into the chock to keep the arse from bouncing around.

No problems with the Spider Grips Pikes Peak grips I use tearing; however, have seen it be an issue with stock/others.
 
#5 ·
Thanks all. Yeah, all my other bikes have so much bodywork, your choices are pretty limited. This one has no end of things to hook to or wrap around, so I thought there might be some other ways that were popular or worked really well.

What is being suggested is pretty much what I do with the faired bikes currently, so it sounds like I'll be sticking with what I know then...

Counting the days until riding the twisties!
 
#6 ·
Put soft ties around the fork tubes above the lower part of the triple clamp, and then feed more soft ties through the mounting for the passenger pegs. That and a good wheel chock and you're ready to go.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I use soft straps when using my motorcycle trailer. One set around the fork tubes behind the headlight and the other I run through the hole in the passenger foot pegs. It works really well, no issues doing it that way.
I have a pit bull trailer restraint system in my toy hauler. That way is my preferred method. If you can get one, pit bull trs, I would highly suggest it. It's definitely the most secure way to transport a bike.
 

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#9 ·
Thanks for the pics. I'm more like the setup on the right (I have a two-rail Kendon trailer). So, no clever chocks, e-track, pit bull restraints, etc. I may not use the Canyon Dancer due to concerns about the controls, grips, bars, etc.
 
#11 ·
Northern Tool Ultra-Tow Single-Rail Folding Motorcycle Trailer. I got it used for cheap. $150. Don't know if I would buy it at full price. It had to be modified for structural support. It does well with the bike on it, drives straight, but unloaded the trailer bounces all over the place. It does fold up though which works for me cause I can take it with me camping in the toy hauler and load up the bike for track days. If I didn't need it to fold up I would just get a utility trailer with a pit bull restraint.
 
#13 ·
I do not have experience trailering bikes but I had to Trailer my monster home 7 hourso. The dealer tied it down as follows.
One strap around each fork tube. Left fork strap went to left front corner of the trailer and right fo rk strap to right front corner of trailer. This pulled bike in tight to the wheel chock. Then one strap went from the left rear corner of the trailer through the rear tire to the right rear corner of the trailer. I was nervous about trailering the bike but it did not budge for the whole ride which was 7 hrs of 65 mph twisty bumpy highway
 
#14 ·
I do not have experience trailering bikes but I had to Trailer my monster home 7 hourso. The dealer tied it down as follows.

One strap around each fork tube. Left fork strap went to left front corner of the trailer and right fo rk strap to right front corner of trailer. This pulled bike in tight to the wheel chock. Then one strap went from the left rear corner of the trailer through the rear tire to the right rear corner of the trailer. I was nervous about trailering the bike but it did not budge for the whole ride which was 7 hrs of 65 mph twisty bumpy highway


This is exactly how my friend has helped me trailer my bike and it worked great. The only difference is he wrapped it around the spoke of the rim a couple times before extending it over to the other side


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#16 ·
I have exactly those same ratcheting tie-downs as mentioned (other than a different color). I've used the "cinch" type tie-downs for years, but had more than one failure that led me to the "ratcheting" type. They are a bit more fussy, but you can take a long trip without having to re-adjust them as I always did with the cinch type.

Post trailering follow-up: I ended up using sheepskin strap covers and wrapping them around one of the vertical frame sections. For my "S", there was quite a bit of fragile headlight mounting stuff around the bottom triple-clamp that made that look like not such a good place to use (this is generally the "normal" place for most bikes.

Anyhow, after making sure everything was clean (no grit to scratch), it worked like a champ. Used the passenger pegs on the rear.

I meant to take some pictures, but forgot... Doh!
 
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