slobdog Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hi guys, With my recently converted CBR600rr track bike, I'm left with a new challenge. How to get it to the track, safey and securely.. I have a small van (Vauxhall Combo) which it should just about fit in. This bloke seemed to manage it! click here and scroll down until you see pics There are several points to strap down to, so I was thinking ratchet straps. The question is where and how? I've read on a few forums that you can buy handle bar straps (canyon dancers I think they're called), but then have also read that they can damage your grips! So - how does every oneelse do it? I need to figure something out before saturday - as I'm going to level 4 at silverstone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotfoot Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hi guys, With my recently converted CBR600rr track bike, I'm left with a new challenge. How to get it to the track, safey and securely.. I have a small van (Vauxhall Combo) which it should just about fit in. This bloke seemed to manage it! click here and scroll down until you see pics There are several points to strap down to, so I was thinking ratchet straps. The question is where and how? I've read on a few forums that you can buy handle bar straps (canyon dancers I think they're called), but then have also read that they can damage your grips! So - how does every oneelse do it? I need to figure something out before saturday - as I'm going to level 4 at silverstone There are a million different ways to do it, but I've been happy with the Canyon Dancer straps, a front wheel chock, and rear straps, so a total of four tie-downs. Canyon Dancer just came out with a new version that has plastic cans that fit over the grips instead of straps, probably to address concerns about damaging the grips (I've heard about the concern but I never had a problem). I tried the new type, I've only used them once but I liked them better, it was easier to take on and off, and the plastic cuffs held the straps farther away from the bike sides so they are less likely to rub the fairings (with the old style I used to use a soft cloth between the fairing and the strap, to prevent rubbing). I use a plastic wheel chock from Black and Gray that mounts to the floor and is easy to take on and off - so easy that I always take them out when I get to the track so I have a smooth floor in my trailer and don't trip over the chocks. They are very lightweight, not expensive, and work well. You will want something to secure the front wheel so it can't turn. I have never used ratchet straps because I have heard that it is easy to over-tighten them and bend the bars. I do put knots in my front tie straps after I tighten them to keep them from slipping - I only had one slip one time but it was enough to scare me into knotting them. I secure my rear tie downs to the bike frame near the rearsets, to keep the bike from tipping side to side or the back-end hopping around - someplace farther back would be better if you can find something to attach to. Some people tie down the rear wheel, but that isn't easy to do in my trailer so I haven't tried it. On my ZX6R race bike I didn't have a good way to tie the back down so I bought an eyebolt that screwed into the hole where my passenger pegs use to go, and used that, it worked GREAT. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradvanhorn Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hotfoot described it nicely. Put the front wheel in a wheel chock, Canyon Dancers on the bars, four tie down points. I do use ratchet straps, but you do not want to over-tighten them or you could do harm to your suspension. I put two straps to the Canyon Dancers, which then pull primarily forward and down. The other two straps I secure near the foot pegs or where the subframe connects to the frame (depends on the bike design and where there is a handy point to hook into), and these pull outward and a little forward. I don't use Black & Gray products, but I do essentially follow their recommendations (with a few deviations) (http://www.blackandg...905998c61e4ea49). I have not tried Strapless Stands (http://www.ststands.com/main.cfm), but they look like an excellent idea to me. When I buy my trailer I may go this route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmccombe Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Baxley Chock, either trailer or sport, and then the straps as needed. With the sport chock you can also use it at the track. Amazing product, don's use a cheap knockoff. http://www.baxleycompanies.com/Chocks.html Dave Mc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 I'm thinking what the heck is this Canyon Dancer thing, ohhh a Bar Harness! Yep that's the ticket! I just know it as a bar harness. All suggestions are great, double support of the not strapping the front down too hard, that's THE MOST COMMON cause of blowing fork seals. The rear really only needs to be secured in place and not really that hard. If you want to get more fancy or permanent. Putbull makes a slick restraint system, once installed, just roll in and click. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillyjoey Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I just purchased the pit bull trailer restraint and love it. Really easy to install and really easy to load the bike. Don't know if it will work in a van though. Looked at the pictures second maybe i should have looked first. Wow thats a tight fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slobdog Posted April 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Wow guys, cheers for the superb answers! I think we can make our own version of the strapless stand in time. Maybe not in time for saturday though. I managed to borrow some handle bar straps from a friend, no idea what make they are.....but he said they worked fine with his old bikes (R6 and Gixxer 6) and bike trailer. I'll head the warning and go easy on the tightening, I guess just enough to put a light load on the suspension is required? I should be able to modify the van to wedge the front wheel so it holds the bike vertical, plus a chock behind bolted to the floor. Then for the rear, I'll fashion a bracket to secure a D link into the pillion peg mount points. (Again going easy on the strap pressure). I'm thnking of a crude version of these.... http://www.satoracing.com/cbr600rr09racinghooks.htm Does that sound sensible? I suppose one good point about having a cramped van space, also full of my bike gear/stand/toolbox is that the bike can't actually topple all the way over! Thanks so much guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khp Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 As an opposing view: I am a fan of the ratchet straps and I primarily use the inner lower triple clamp to secure the bike against the interior of my van (wall and cabin). Yes, I could probably blow a fork seal this way but I've done it this way for the last 8 years and never had a problem. As for the ratchets, I switched to them after having a bike almost fall over using a non-ratchet strap. I ditched all my non-ratchet straps after that and never looked back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I just purchased the pit bull trailer restraint and love it. Really easy to install and really easy to load the bike. Don't know if it will work in a van though. Looked at the pictures second maybe i should have looked first. Wow thats a tight fit. I tend to agree with you, I couldn't see the photos at the time I mentioned it and now that I can, yeah...that's a snug fit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slobdog Posted April 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 As an opposing view: I am a fan of the ratchet straps and I primarily use the inner lower triple clamp to secure the bike against the interior of my van (wall and cabin). Yes, I could probably blow a fork seal this way but I've done it this way for the last 8 years and never had a problem. As for the ratchets, I switched to them after having a bike almost fall over using a non-ratchet strap. I ditched all my non-ratchet straps after that and never looked back. Interesting. Thanks for the info. The handle bar straps I have borrowed do actually tighten with ratchets. We do have loads of ratchet straps of all different sizes though, so a triple clamp approach is possible.....Will perhaps need an experiment to see which feels most secure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warregl Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I'm not sure if this would work in your van but I have thought this Tyre Down product is a stellar idea for trailers. There's a review at: http://www.webbikewo...er-tie-down.htm And here's their website: http://www.kyaracing.com.au/ Has anyone here used this or anything like it? It would seem to alleviate some of the pressure needed on the fork seals in more traditional tie down options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aredman Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 I'm not sure if this would work in your van but I have thought this Tyre Down product is a stellar idea for trailers. There's a review at: http://www.webbikewo...er-tie-down.htm And here's their website: http://www.kyaracing.com.au/ Has anyone here used this or anything like it? It would seem to alleviate some of the pressure needed on the fork seals in more traditional tie down options. Yep, bought mine from them. Fantastic, stop the front wheel from turning side to side and bouncing (i.e. 2 short ropes/tie downs), strap on the back and your set, 5mins tops. Note they can get caught up on exhausts, huggers and brakes (all usually can be worked around) and can leave marks on soft tyres (no big deal, the tyres reform). Someone also makes a strap version of it which I have heard good things about (have struggled to find it though). Now, I use a trailer but many people have used it in a van (maybe not the tiny one in the link though ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slobdog Posted April 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Ok, just bought some steel....tomorrow I'm going to try and make front wheel grab and a crude version of the strapless stand. Wish me luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warregl Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Good luck slobdog! Post up some pix when you finish (I love DIY). And thanks for the info red. Those straps are going on the list; I think they will work well with my Baxley chock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilfuel Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 The Pitbull restraint system is the best thing on the market! Period. We have a 7X12 trailer that is loaded for this weekend with 5 motorcycles and a 4 wheeler. You can use every inch of available space if you don't have to strap the bike down.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warregl Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 The Pitbull restraint system is the best thing on the market! Period. We have a 7X12 trailer that is loaded for this weekend with 5 motorcycles and a 4 wheeler. You can use every inch of available space if you don't have to strap the bike down.... I've heard that one is awesome but doesn't it have to be hard mounted to the trailer? I don't own a trailer (storage issues) so I need to be flexible with my mounting hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradvanhorn Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 The Pitbull restraint system is the best thing on the market! Period. We have a 7X12 trailer that is loaded for this weekend with 5 motorcycles and a 4 wheeler. You can use every inch of available space if you don't have to strap the bike down.... I've heard that one is awesome but doesn't it have to be hard mounted to the trailer? I don't own a trailer (storage issues) so I need to be flexible with my mounting hardware. I'm not criticizing the Pit-Bull system (they clearly have a following), but the generalized concensus I've seen thus far is the original Strapless Transport Stand still has the edge vs. the others. I have searched for reviews of the various strapless systems numerous times, and given the limited info I found it is hard to say any one system is definitively better than another, but each user has to assess the applications for each system and decide which best fits their needs. And, from what I've seen (and it almost seems too obvious) all of the strapless systems require hard mounting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slobdog Posted April 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2011 Ok - so we did it! Pics below. The stand works brilliantly. Once the axle bar is in place, there's a pin that goes in to prevent it pulling out. The bike is then totally stable and can easily be slid into position. Sliding the stand under the rear wheel is a little more tricky and I needed to get 2 helpful people to assist. One to hold the bike and front brake/bike, the other to slot the stand under the rear wheel, while I levered the rear wheel up with a bit of wood. Once that obstacle was cleared and the pin in place, we just slid the stand into position and secured it in place with 3 T-bar bolts, which screw into 3 plate metal captives, which we had riveted to the chassis. The small van size is a real pain, as the stand would be a 1 - man operation, if there were space to simply roll into (as on a trailer). I'll keep bugging my boss for a bigger van! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilfuel Posted April 26, 2011 Report Share Posted April 26, 2011 Ok - so we did it! Pics below. The stand works brilliantly. Once the axle bar is in place, there's a pin that goes in to prevent it pulling out. The bike is then totally stable and can easily be slid into position. Sliding the stand under the rear wheel is a little more tricky and I needed to get 2 helpful people to assist. One to hold the bike and front brake/bike, the other to slot the stand under the rear wheel, while I levered the rear wheel up with a bit of wood. Once that obstacle was cleared and the pin in place, we just slid the stand into position and secured it in place with 3 T-bar bolts, which screw into 3 plate metal captives, which we had riveted to the chassis. The small van size is a real pain, as the stand would be a 1 - man operation, if there were space to simply roll into (as on a trailer). I'll keep bugging my boss for a bigger van! I think it's great! Nice work...My grandfather had a saying and I think it applies here. The motorcycle in the back of that little van "Looks like a diamond in a goat's a.s!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted April 26, 2011 Report Share Posted April 26, 2011 Wow! Congrats! That's pretty darn slick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kujiashi Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 HI, I´ve used bar straps on all my bikes with no problems so I guess it´s more of a preference then any thing.. but I have heard that on some bar riser´s they don´t recommend using bar straps because they can be damaged but have not heard of anyone so far having that problem... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotwill Posted December 18, 2020 Report Share Posted December 18, 2020 There are numerous ways in which you can secure a vehicle in a beneficial manner but the main fact is securing your vehicle in a cost effective manner. While moving your vehicle in the truck there are higher chances of your motorcycle getting slipped and having damages due to which it will be always better if you have a wheel chock beneath your wheel of the vehicle to help it from slipping. I usually go with Citizenshipper to transport my bike as they done it with full safety Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.