Trailering the Hyper - Ducati.ms

mikemul · Sep 19th, 2011, 3:25 pm

I am looking to do about a month long driving trip around the southern US starting in November. I own a Chevy Silverado.

I am considering buying one of those hitch trailers. Does anyone have experience with one? I will be driving alone, so this will enable me to trailer the bike easily. I’m not exactly comfortable with taking the bike in and out of the bed of my truck alone. The ramps I have are not the greatest. My cousin has the trailer hitch for his dirt bike, and it looks so easy to use. It’s an awfully expensive oops if I drop the bike from 4 ft up. Although, it’s game over if one of the straps comes loose with the trailer hitch.

Any feedback / experiences would be helpful.

Also, I am looking for some great rides. Here is my general route.
Philly -> Charlotte -> Tampa -> Key West -> Possibly Dragons Tail -> New Orleans -> Austin -> Denver -> Philly

Rikosintie · Sep 19th, 2011, 3:34 pm

Those trailer hitch carriers look sketchy for that much weight. I did have a dirt bike fall off once but that was because of an old tie down not a design flaw in the trailer hitch carrier. I don't know how easy it would be to get the Hyper up the ramp they have either. They are usually pretty short.

I think you would be better off buying a nice wide folding aluminum ramp made for the weight of you and the hyper. I see them in Sport Rider all the time, they are about 3 feet wide and pretty long. You can walk the bike right up and then the ramp folds in half.

I'm sure they are are $300 or so but it looks like you will be loading/unloading a lot and dropping it off the carrier would be a lot more than $300. Plus the truck will drive a lot better with the Hyper in the bed than hanging off the hitch.

Michael

johnnie27 · Sep 19th, 2011, 3:39 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemul

I am looking to do about a month long driving trip around the southern US starting in November. I own a Chevy Silverado.

I am considering buying one of those hitch trailers. Does anyone have experience with one? I will be driving alone, so this will enable me to trailer the bike easily. I’m not exactly comfortable with taking the bike in and out of the bed of my truck alone. The ramps I have are not the greatest. My cousin has the trailer hitch for his dirt bike, and it looks so easy to use. It’s an awfully expensive oops if I drop the bike from 4 ft up. Although, it’s game over if one of the straps comes loose with the trailer hitch.

Any feedback / experiences would be helpful.

Also, I am looking for some great rides. Here is my general route.
Philly -> Charlotte -> Tampa -> Key West -> Possibly Dragons Tail -> New Orleans -> Austin -> Denver -> Philly

dont mean to sound rude bro, why not just buy or have made a stronger longer folding ramp and ride it on

Drinky · Sep 19th, 2011, 4:04 pm

Don't know if you can rent trailers there, but there in the Netherlands you can rent motorcycle trailers, but for one month it might get expensive so buying one would seem more sensible.

I used one of these to haul my Hyper + '07 R1 for 2200km, worked like a charm. Used bar straps(you have to loosen the handguards though, 10 seconds of work) with rachets which pull the front of the bike in pretty hard, and then some normal tie-downs for the rear.

The bar rachets go for 30 euro's here, not that expensive. I think you could find a trailer like this for $300 maybe? I have another trailer I own which I use for the dirtbikes(has smaller gutters so hyper wheels don't fit in it) which I got for 40 euro's. If you can find something like that and convert it yourself for cheap you'd be all set to go, and it's possible to tie it down solo.

I have used a lot of different trailers but these are just the best you can get. If possible, get one which has a front wheel lock/stand. You just ride the front wheel in, and it's secured there, and then you just have to tie it down.

Mr Mike · Sep 19th, 2011, 4:13 pm

I have a hitch carrier i used for my DRZ. Beefed it up, 3 point support, and put Duc on it but was very scary . too much weight to muscle around. Dont recommend it.
Quality ramps you can ride on/off is much better Idea if you dont have a trailer

Rikosintie · Sep 19th, 2011, 10:15 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drinky

That is one beautiful Hyper, well done!
Michael

Decreasing Dave · Sep 20th, 2011, 1:15 am

This is mine and Yellow Cake's Hypers in my lifted Superduty. It isn't easy getting the Hyper in this truck due to the 6" lift and 35" tires but easily done with two people. When I'm by myself, and only loading my Hyper, I run it up under power but walk along side. With a lower truck, this would be cake. With a wider ramp, it would be that much easier, as you could ride it up.

Skip the hitch rack, these bikes are too heavy to be completely secure. Focus your attention to figuring out how to get the bike into the truck.

Dave

velocita · Sep 20th, 2011, 8:59 am

I have a hitch rack though I've never put the hyper on it. I used it to haul a Yamaha YZF600R (sportbike) for ~2 hours a couple times. It got the job done, but hard bumps made my butt pucker. For a dirtbike it'd be perfect. Loading and unloading was definitely a snap, but even with the "anti-rock" pin it rocked side-to-side too much for my comfort. If I ever wanted to use it again for longer distances I would want to weld two more supports and I think that would help greatly.

If you decide to use the hitch rack, make sure the bike is insured and get a good quality one. Some of them are junk. Also verify your hitch's tongue weight and class rating is sufficient.

For that time/distance I think I would consider putting the money towards a nice set of fold-able ramps, with enough width you could walk the bike up yourself. I'd sleep better at night with the bike in the bed rather than hanging off the back secured with a couple of nylon tie-downs. It's asking for theft or someone to back into it.

MTScott2 · Sep 20th, 2011, 9:07 am

The longer the ramps the better...
The lower the truck the better/easier...
I just don't like the idea of having 6oo pounds hanging off the most rear of the truck .
Bad roads and thats a lot of crap you are subjecting the bike too...

I would worry about the Chevy making it or not

Seriously you got someone going with you to assist loading and unloading??

LowSider · Sep 20th, 2011, 9:30 am

I got one when I started racing and had to load and unload bikes often by myself. A big problem with standard ramps was that my truck is so tall, sport bikes would not clear the transition from ramp to tailgate. Now I can ride up and back down just about anything by myself with room to balance if need be.

I got the model with 3 portions, a bigger middle and two small side pieces. I use the middle and one side together and then have just the second side peice for smaller projects.

It is bulky but just fold the ramp in half and stap it down on its side next to the bike.