Moving a Motorcycle on a Moving Truck w/o Cartoon-Like Mishaps

 Greetings,

I may be moving 600 miles away shortly and I though it would be nice
to take my motorcycle with me (I'm sure it would do the same for me if
our roles were reversed). I expect to be using a Budget or Penske
moving truck, not a ($1000 more expensive) U-Haul truck, with its
lower floor height.

Considering I will be former bicyclist, current motorcyclist, and
almost never car driver driving a 16' truck (!!!), a certain amount of
cartoon-like mishap is probably unavoidable. I'd prefer, however, to
avoid any involving my motorcycle (I want it looking good for my
estate sale ;-).

Questions:

1. Has anyone ever tried loading/unloading a bike onto a (stationary)
moving truck (particularly by themselves), and moving one across
country? Tips? Warnings?

2. The Penske people, on their awful, Opera unfriendly web site, claim
that their truck "includes a 1,500 lb. capacity loading ramp to make
loading easier" (but it doesn't mention the length or width). What are
the odds of my driving the bike up and, later, down the ramp without
amusing onlookers and bothering the local EMS team?

3. Any ideas on how to secure the bike to the inside of the moving
truck without having the bike come out looking as if it had spent 600
miles secured inside a moving truck or, even worse, as if it had spent
600 miles unsecured inside a moving truck? (N.B. I've never seen the
inside of a moving truck.) I was thinking of buying a "MCK2 Tie Down
System" (I found it at http://discount-trailers.com/mck2.htm , but I
know nothing about it or its seller) and a slab of thick plywood, and
then, with the bike (Honda 919), securing everything to everything
else. (I'm assuming that the Penske folks wouldn't like my screwing
things into their truck floor.) Does this seem like a workable idea?
Any better ideas?

Thanks in advance!


Cordially,
Richard "Dead Man Driving"

 On Feb 9, 5:40 am, Richard Kanarek

Richard,
       Don't know if this is a possibility or not, but you might call
the rental companies and see if any of them have a truck designed with
rings to tie down your bike.  We moved a few years ago and found a
Ryder truck equiped with several places inside that you could tie
down.  We used an adjustable tie down kit made of nylon straps with
metal hooks on it and our bike made it without any problems.  Also, we
have hauled the bike several times, renting an enclosed, tow-behind
trailer that we rented from a trailer manufacturing business.  Good
luck with your move, and Keep the Shiny Side UP!!

 
:1. Has anyone ever tried loading/unloading a bike onto a (stationary)
:moving truck (particularly by themselves), and moving one across
:country? Tips? Warnings?

Head on down to your local motorcycle shop and get a motorcycle
pallet. They are usually thrown away when the new bikes arrive.
Then, put it in the moving truck and ride your bike onto it. No
problems.
--

 wrote:


Just to follow up on Steve's comment here is a picture of my bike on a
pallet after it had been shipped to Calgary from Delta:
http://www.actualriders.ca/IMG_0522.JPG

To protect it from damage it was wrapped with cardboard and shrink
wrapped  Seemed to work pretty well. It was loaded and unloaded with a
forklift.

As for getting the bike on the truck without a forklift, find a small
hill, or a raised platform somewhere you can back the truck up to.
Bridge the gap between the hill/platform and truck with your ramp and
either ride or push the bike across it. Most bike dealers will have a
raised ramp for just this purpose. I am sure you could find one that
would let you use their's.

With a high truck box and a short ramp you can almost be sure you will
high center the bike if you try to load it from a level surface.


  

--
See Ya On The Road

2000 Yamaha Venture Millennium
2004 HD Road King

 Richard Kanarek wrote:


I usually use a trailer, but the same principle applies -- I use
a minimum of 3 fasteners to hold the bike rigidly (in a triangle
of forces). Two of them are ratcheting tie down straps and the third
has a simple cam type locking clamp. I put this one on first, looping
it around the rear wheel and fastening it to an anchoring point
behind the bike.

The two ratcheting ones pull the bike forward against the rear one,
and out at an angle to pull against each other. They're attached
at a convenient point near the front, such as the handlebars.

All these tie down straps are available at automotive supplies
or hardwares stores, etc.

This person uses the three straps, except the back one is up higher
instead of through the rear wheel:
http://www.mctrentals.com/transporttrailers.htm

Here's another method, using a front wheel chock instead of
the rear wheel tiedown:
http://www.discount-trailers.com/port-a-chopper.htm

See also
http://www.blackandgray.com/TransportRec.shtml

Sean_Q_