Transporting your bike in a truck is a heavy-duty task and requires careful attention to avoid damage to your valuable vehicle.
With the growing number of riders riding their bikes, transportation is important to move from one place to another safely. This requires to know how to transport a motorcycle in a pickup truck.
In this article, I am going to give you an informational guide on how to transport a motorcycle in a pickup truck.
How to Transport a Motorcycle in a Pickup Truck
How to Load a Motorcycle into a Truck
There is no correct way of hauling a motorcycle in a trailer. There are two things to keep in mind when knowing how to transport a motorcycle in a pickup truck.
These two things are safety and the compatibility of your truck bed and your motorcycle.
To haul your motorcycle into the truck you need:
- Aluminium arched ramps with security straps
- Canyon Dancer handlebar harness with soft loops
- Ratchet tie-down straps
- Microfiber rags
Optional items:
- A trusted second person
- A motorcycle wheel chock
- A bed extender
- Extra tie-down straps
Method:
1. Measure the truck bed and your motorcycle for compatibility
The most important part about transporting your motorcycle pickup truck is to know whether your truck is compatible to load your bike. This step is very crucial as size matters. The first measurement you need to take is to measure the length of the truck bed with the tailgate down and consider the points where you want to attach the hooks.
The second measurement is to measure the length of the motorcycle. Starting from the outer edge of the front tire to the contact patch of the rear wheel. Then measure the distance between the flat surface in the front tire and the flat surface in the rear tire. If you want to fit the motorcycle into the truck, you must measure the width of the tire.
2. Locate an incline to load the motorcycle
This step is the process where locating a sufficient incline considers loading the bike. This step helps to prevent the motorcycle to collapse while driving. To find a suitable incline to load your motorcycle is to look for a steeper incline as this helps to flatten the angle to set up the ramp.
Once you have found a good incline, you must get your pickup positioned at the right spot. If you live in an area, where the surface appears to be flat. Then your driveway is not as flat as it appears to be. When inclining to load the bike, make sure you park your truck that touches the curb line. Another option to locate an incline to use a loading dock.
3. Get your ramp set up
This is the step where you should not do it in a hurry. Getting your ramp set up must secure properly while loading the bike. The weight of the ramp must accommodate the weight of your motorcycle. If you are not sure about the weight of your bike, have a word with your dealer.
When setting up the ramp, the ramp must push against the tailgate properly and use ratchet straps to secure the ramp against the vehicle. The ramp should not make a single move at all and should secure as tight as possible. To secure the ramp, place one hook on the ramp and the other hook on a point of your pickup truck.
If you cut corners on the ramps you use, your setting up the ramp will fail.
4. Set up your wheel chock
This is an optional step in knowing how to load a motorcycle in a truck. This is the step where you have got your pickup set the way you like with the best angle and your ramp setup. Some riders use wheel chocks to load their bikes and others do not.
If you have a wheel chock, just place the wheel chock against the front of the pickup bed and place it at the centre of the truck bed.
To use a wheel chock you must go for a chock that has the weight between 15-20 pounds and will not slide easily.
5. Load the bike
This is the real process on how to transport a motorcycle in a pickup truck. To load your motorcycle, there are two things to choose for moving the bike onto the ramp. One is with the bike power and the other is pushing up the ramp.
If you want to go for bike power, you can either clutch the bike or ride into the truck. To clutch the motorcycle is to have your ramp at the correct angle. This should not be an issue of loading your bike onto the ramp. If you have two ramps, you should be able to walk up the ramp with your motorcycle.
If you want to push up the ramp, this is the safest option but depends on the weight of your bike and your ramp. To push the ramp is suitable for smaller bikes but not best for heavier bikes unless you have a second person to do the job together.
6. Secure the motorcycle in a truck bed
To secure the motorcycle in a truck bed, you need to have four tie-down straps: two at the front and two at the back. To secure the bike is to use a Canyon Dancer harness.
A canyon harness is a single strap that runs from one side of your truck, then to the handlebars and the other side of the truck. Each side of the truck has a ratchet in which you can adjust the pressure equally.
When strapping the motorcycle, you must apply downward pressure sufficiently to help get the motorcycle settled in and strapped tightly. To secure the rear bottom is to use two separate tide downs. One for each side.
7. Inspect the load
After you know how to transport a motorcycle in a pickup truck, you must do a careful inspection. You do not want your motorcycle to fall off while driving the truck!
Before you begin driving, you must double-check the bike to make sure that nothing is loose around the straps. If it is, just tie down the straps tighter to avoid moving while taking turns and accelerating during transportation.
In case of an emergency, you must bring some extra tie-down straps and bungee cords for securing the ramp inside the bed of the truck so it does not damage your valuable motorcycle. This allows additional stability when riding the pickup at an extreme.
Tips for Transporting a Motorcycle in a Truck
Now you know how to transport a motorcycle in a pickup truck. It is important to take safety precautions of hauling your bike in a truck.
As mentioned earlier, transporting your bike depends on the size of your bike and the size of your truck.
To fit your motorcycle into the truck safely, there are certain tips to know how to haul a motorcycle in a pickup truck.
Such tips mention below:
– When looking for a suitable motorcycle hitch carrier, make sure the ramp has to be compatible with the weight of your bike. The weight of the ramp should be stable to hold your bike during turns and accelerating at a certain speed.
– Before loading the bike onto the ramp, make sure the truck or trailer must position near the curb line. If you position your truck at the flat surface, this will make it difficult to load the bike onto the ramp.
– To make the load easier is to manoeuvre the rear of the trailer so the angle of the driveway is as shallow as possible. This will make it easier for how to transport a motorcycle in a pickup truck.
– When loading the ramp, do not attempt to ride the bike onto the ramp unless you are sure about handling your bike. To haul in the truck is to walk the ramp while taking your bike in case you have a double ramp.
– If you are unable to transport the bike by yourself, have a trusted person to haul the motorcycle onto the ramp.
– When looking for the type of ramp, make sure you go for a flatter or a longer ramp. These ramps are easier to load the bike and are less steep than shorter ramps. The good thing about longer ramps is they do not produce any ground clearance.
– If you experience any cut corners, you need either to adjust the height of your truck or change the length of your ramp.
– Before hauling the bike, make sure you take accurate measurements for your bike and the truck bed for compatibility.
– To prevent your bike falling off, stop your truck every 30 minutes and check to see if the straps became loose or the bike shifted. If you inspect these two things, tie down the straps tightly.
Conclusion
Here is the informational guide about how to transport a motorcycle in a pickup truck. You can see hauling a motorcycle is a tough task to transport into the truck.
To know how to transport a motorcycle in a pickup truck is to refer to the procedure above and follow the instructions carefully. Do make sure you read the tips carefully when considering to haul your bike into the trailer.
So haul your motorcycle into the truck and enjoy the ride!
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