Hauling CT 125

[BradyFry]

So, I have been on the hunt for months. I am located in Western MT, and the local dealer has close to 30 people in front of me. But I did track one down and made the deposit. It will arrive in July in SD. Not only did I find one that was available, but they had two coming in. So, a friend of mine bought the second one. We will have to truck them 600 miles. I have also never seen a 125 in the flesh. So, my question is can I haul 2 125s in the back of my F-150. I have hauled 2 trail 90s, but I want to do it right and want no chance of hurting our new bikes. Any additional information would be great. Also, a pic of how you have tied down your bikes would be much appreciated. THANK YOU.

 

[m in sc]

easily. 2 straps front around lower tree, (around fork and back)or over bars, one or 2 across back. rack ok to use as tie down point. don't use friction straps they are garbage. use good quality ratcheting straps. would recommend adding center tie down point in bed of truck up front and in the back. do not leave on side stand or center stand. zip tie or velcro strap front brake to bar/grip to lock front wheel while transporting.

I've hauled multiple bikes in backs of trucks for 30 years, never had one come loose. .02 Heres my trail on a car rail. basically, like this but 2x.

note they are looped. thats stronger. also, at the tie point, the tail of the strap is then lopped through the eyelet then wrapped around hook then tied back onto strap. zero chance of hook coming out of eyelet this way. .02

 

[m in sc]

lower tree method here. different bike but same principle. back strap actually goes around frame rail on other side you cant see behind wheel.

 

[AZ7000']

don't use friction straps they are garbage.

Some are some aren’t, I too have been hauling bikes for a while. I do use ratchet straps on my hitch carrier though, hate them for the bed of a truck.

2 in a f150 should be fine.

 

[m in sc]

use 3. ie seen plenty of friction straps fail, even the 'good' ones. ive never seen a quality ratchet strap fail, ever. that's why they use them in actual rigging.

 

[chan2565]

easily. 2 straps front around lower tree, (around fork and back)or over bars, one or 2 across back. rack ok to use as tie down point. don't use friction straps they are garbage. use good quality ratcheting straps. would recommend adding center tie down point in bed of truck up front and in the back. do not leave on side stand or center stand. zip tie or velcro strap front brake to bar/grip to lock front wheel while transporting.

I've hauled multiple bikes in backs of trucks for 30 years, never had one come loose. .02 Heres my trail on a car rail. basically, like this but 2x.

note they are looped. thats stronger. also, at the tie point, the tail of the strap is then lopped through the eyelet then wrapped around hook then tied back onto strap. zero chance of hook coming out of eyelet this way. .02

Which hitch rack is that? Got a link or name? I've been looking into them but haven't decided on one yet

 

[m in sc]

I made that one. I made the hitch too.

 

[Andrew27]

I was using this Versa Haul hitch hauler for my CT90, but I DO NOT recommend it for the CT125. The CT125 is too heavy.
https://hondatrail125.com/index.php?threads/hauling-ct-125.916/

I am considering this one from Versa Haul: http://www.versahaul.com/vh55ro.php

 

[m in sc]

thats (second one) similar in design to mine. Ive had a 96 gs500 , 77 gt550 on mine (the heaviest bikes i've hauled on a rail). zero issues. usually i haul bikes about 120 lbs heavier than the trail.

 

[STUBBORN]

thats (second one) similar in design to mine. Ive had a 96 gs500 , 77 gt550 on mine (the heaviest bikes i've hauled on a rail). zero issues. usually i haul bikes about 120 lbs heavier than the trail.

I have a different method of transport. I transport my Honda Trail 125 inside my old Ford E250 van every day to practice slow speed maneuvering around cones. I use 9 500 pound ratchet straps (6 tied to two short 10457 pound rhino straps wrapped around the handle bar +2 - 1 each to the crash bar and one more tied to the back cargo rack.
I am using an inexpensive unsecured chock to stop the front wheel. It takes some time to load and unload the 9 foot ramps and secure the motorcycle. It's hard to crouch in the hot van for a long time but the motorcycle jeans have padded knees. I can drill some holes and bolt the chock to the floor if I need to.

I have not powered the motorcycle up the ramps yet as I park backed to a hill making the ramps almost horizontal. I move the bike placing my hip next to the seat slowly moving up or down the ramp with two fingers on the front brake. The left foot peg keeps hitting my legs. I find that bracing my back and pushing up with both legs slowly moves the bike up. May not seem like much, but at over 70, I can't do stuff as easy as I did in the 1970s.

 

[STUBBORN]

So, I have been on the hunt for months. I am located in Western MT, and the local dealer has close to 30 people in front of me. But I did track one down and made the deposit. It will arrive in July in SD. Not only did I find one that was available, but they had two coming in. So, a friend of mine bought the second one. We will have to truck them 600 miles. I have also never seen a 125 in the flesh. So, my question is can I haul 2 125s in the back of my F-150. I have hauled 2 trail 90s, but I want to do it right and want no chance of hurting our new bikes. Any additional information would be great. Also, a pic of how you have tied down your bikes would be much appreciated. THANK YOU.

They will fit. Use lots of ratchet straps. I bought two of the best ramps that I could find. They are only 9 footers but walking up the back of the truck is scary. If you back the truck up to a slope the ramps will be nearly horizontal.

 

[Kev250R]

I'm not a fan of ratchet straps for Motos. I use high-quality Ancra 'Friction Straps' for most of my Motos and ATV's. I get them to the tightness I want, then take the slack in the strap and tie a knot in at where the strap is being held by friction (hard to explain). I don't have a problem with them loosening-up on me. I have seen friends over-tighten the front forks on their dirtbikes and hurt the Fork seals using Ratchet Straps (which were lightly over-tightened). My Ancra Friction straps hold tight even while I'm hauling MC's or ATV's down miles of dirt roads to get to Staging Area's out in the desert. The trick is to compress the suspension slightly so that the straps have some tension on them. For my ATV's I generally have a friend sit on the machine while I'm strapping it which seems to be sufficient.

It's also important to replace the straps periodically. Most people who know me know a set of Ancra's are an easy Birthday/Christmas/'Thanks for taking me riding' present for me so I get new ones pretty regularly. And for no other reason then it makes me smile, all my straps are color-matched to the machine they haul LOL!

All that said I do use Ancra Ratchet straps (the heavy duty ones, I think their rated 2K LBS) to secure my VW's whenever I trailer them. I also have a set of heavy-duty MC Ratchet straps I use when I haul my Adventure bike, because it's the heaviest MC I own (KTM 990 Adventure) and it's too heavy for the Ancra straps I use. Plus KTM makes ratchet straps which match that bike, so there's that

Whatever you use, I suggest avoiding the cheapy big-box store (Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart) Ratchet straps. I've seen those fail from being mildly over-tightened.

YMMV

 

[m in sc]

"Whatever you use, I suggest avoiding the cheapy big-box store (Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart) Ratchet straps" this 100%

I get my straps from places that sell them for hauling cars typically. good ratchet straps will lock the lever in place and will never come loose. Look at any flatbed trailer on the highway. the riggers use monster versions of ratchet straps. Ive never been a fan of ancra straps, but i know people that swear by them, it s preference thing for sure.

look here. this is from last year. I could have flipped the car on its side, the bike wouldn't have come off. hook once, loop around strap around (use a tie down loop if need be), then hook again. then take tail, go thru tie down loop on rail (or trailer) and wrap around the hook and tie. the strap is looped and hooks are tied, they can NOT come off.

To the point, when i got the ds7, i was actually doing powerslides in the galaxie with it on the rail coming home. lol. no worries.

 

[STUBBORN]

"Whatever you use, I suggest avoiding the cheapy big-box store (Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart) Ratchet straps" this 100%

I get my straps from places that sell them for hauling cars typically. good ratchet straps will lock the lever in place and will never come loose. Look at any flatbed trailer on the highway. the riggers use monster versions of ratchet straps. Ive never been a fan of ancra straps, but i know people that swear by them, it s preference thing for sure.

look here. this is from last year. I could have flipped the car on its side, the bike wouldn't have come off. hook once, loop around strap around (use a tie down loop if need be), then hook again. then take tail, go thru tie down loop on rail (or trailer) and wrap around the hook and tie. the strap is looped and hooks are tied, they can NOT come off.

To the point, when i got the ds7, i was actually doing powerslides in the galaxie with it on the rail coming home. lol. no worries.

I have friction straps on the 9 foot ramps and they are always loose.

 

[m in sc]

yeah, ive never trusted friction straps myself, but to each their own.

 

[Kev250R]

I have friction straps on the 9 foot ramps and they are always loose.

The brand-name ones are less likely to do that then the no-name or cheapo ones. That said even the good ones need to be replaced periodically. The ones I use for my ATV's get cycled-out every couple of years. As I mentioned in my post above, tightening the strap then tying a knot with the slack around the tensioned-portion helps. Although the last time I bought a ramp, it came with a cheapy Ratchet strap which seems to work fine for holding it in-place.

 

[Kev250R]

"Whatever you use, I suggest avoiding the cheapy big-box store (Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart) Ratchet straps" this 100%

I get my straps from places that sell them for hauling cars typically. good ratchet straps will lock the lever in place and will never come loose. Look at any flatbed trailer on the highway. the riggers use monster versions of ratchet straps. Ive never been a fan of ancra straps, but i know people that swear by them, it s preference thing for sure.

look here. this is from last year. I could have flipped the car on its side, the bike wouldn't have come off. hook once, loop around strap around (use a tie down loop if need be), then hook again. then take tail, go thru tie down loop on rail (or trailer) and wrap around the hook and tie. the strap is looped and hooks are tied, they can NOT come off.

To the point, when i got the ds7, i was actually doing powerslides in the galaxie with it on the rail coming home. lol. no worries.

Part of my job requires I rig and lift heavy things (downed Street Light poles mostly) so rigging and securing heavy things which I don't want getting loose is something I spend a lot of time thinking about. As I said in my earlier post, for some things I use heavy-duty Ancra (or other brand-name) Ratchet Straps. For things like my ATV's and MC's, I've yet to have a problem with good-quality friction straps. Although I've yet to go powersliding to test their effectiveness, I have gone four wheeling with one of my ATV's secured with Friction Straps (see pic). There is a cheapo-Ratchet strap holding-down the rear of the ATV in the picture, but that was more to keep the rear of the ATV down so that my ramps didn't slide-out from underneath it.

All that said, use what makes you feel comfortable.

 

[m in sc]

well, 4 wheelers are a different story. they have 4 wheels. lol.
we use friction straps in my wife's wagon to secure stuff inside, but never a motorcycle.

That being said, i was asked to show how i tie them. i used the wheel chock in my shop to show, these are general basic garbage tie downs I use just to secure a bike in the shop to the wheel stand. this will -never- come loose in use, ever. It also is much easier on the strap since its looped, cutting the stress basically in half on each 'leg' of the strap.
tie down points on the bike will vary, i usually use the lower tree wrapped around the fork, but on smaller bikes the lower section of the bars is just fine. NEVER the upper bars on std bars, ive seen them move and bad things happen.

 

[m in sc]

continued:

 

[Kev250R]

Beware of using one tie-down eyelet as a point of contact, they can and do fail. I don't have the time to put together a pictorial (full time Job + OT, plus YT Channel plus I'm rebuilding my car trailer in my spare time keeps me pretty busy) but I never use the same attachment point twice when I tie something down. My car and ATV trailers all have multiple tiedown points, so if/when one fails I 1) Don't loose the strap 2) Don't loose both points of contact on the trailer/truck/crane/etc. (gives me a chance to pull-over and fix what is normally a chaffed strap). That said I've never had a tie-down point fail on anything I own, but like I said my life depends on rigging things properly for my job and if all my ATV's fell-off my trailer en-route to my destination, no one is going to buy me new ones so this is something I take rather seriously.

This ends the debate for me. My point was not to convert anyone away from or to the use of any particular type of strap, rather to show that friction straps don't deserve the bad rap they've been given in this thread. Use the advice, don't use it. Make a photo book showing how Friction straps are the reason why your cat won't eat dry food and why your first love ran away, I don't care. Meanwhile I'll be hauling my Trail and other MC's and ATV's all over the desert with them