Hitch carrier

[mcmd]

Bought a mototote for the CT on Black Friday. Currently in the dead of winter so have to wait for spring to test it on the back of the Land Cruiser

I've heard good things about the Mototote. Looks well made, too. If I get one, its will be this one.

 

[jimzpsd]

This my set up, front or rear depending on the trip.

 

[Coolewell]

I bought the HF one on classified add for $50 then I added 2” to the hitch so I didn’t have to take the spare off my Jeep rubicon then moved the brackets to fit the trail 125 tire spacing I had used it first to carry bike home for about 100 miles then decided to modify it for use on back roads. I think it will work good and easy to use

 

[Shoot870p]

Steel or aluminum? I purchased the aluminum version but have not used it yet.

 

[TrailBoss]

Steel or aluminum? I purchased the aluminum version but have not used it yet.

Steel bends. Aluminum cracks.

I choose steel.

 

[Kev250R]

I gave the Harbor Freight 600 lb hitch carrier a good test a week ago. It checks out. This was with a 380lb KTM 390 Adventure on it, so a Trail 125 would be cake.

Things to know:
1. There is some sway front to back (not side to side though, the included stabilizing plate takes care of that) under braking and just general driving. I would love to come up with a gas shock support or something along that line to try to reduce it.
2. Depending on the height of your vehicle and weight of the motorcycle it can definitely be a two person operation to load/unload these safely. With a Trail 125 probably a 1 person deal, but the KTM for instance was a 2 person job to do it safely.
3. The chock at the front is great, it holds the bike all by itself so you can easily strap/unstrap.
4. Going to need to drill some holes so I can relocate the license plate, as well as get some of those remote lights because the brake/turn lights are definitely not as visible.
5. There is no grip tape on this as it comes, so I bought a roll of 6" tape from Amazon and applied it to the ramps. Worked perfect, no slipping while loading/unloading.
6. They include only bolts for the part of the chock that cups the back of the tire (pivots). I instead used steel pins so I can easily move this piece depending on if I'm hauling the KTM (19" front wheel) or the Trail (17" front wheel).

Overall a thumbs up.

Link: https://www.harborfreight.com/600-lb-capacity-motorcycle-carrier-57720.html

Nice bike! A couple of years ago I debated between the 390 ADV or the Duke. I went with the Duke because I didn't have a true street bike, just dual-sports but if I ever wear-out my TW200 I may replace it with a 390 ADV!

As far as lighting for hitch carriers go, I added an LED strip from Amazon for mine. Has tailights (shown in pic), brake and turn. I don't worry about relocating the license plate as from what I've seen as long as you're not purposly trying to obscure a plate or haven't permanently-mounted something in front of it, LEO won't hassle you. YMMV

 

[harleyddad]

Guys, some great information here, looks like I need to plan a trip to Harbor Freight!

 

[AZ7000']

Guys, some great information here, looks like I need to plan a trip to Harbor Freight!

When they throw out a 20% off coupon too!

 

[TrailBoss]

After thinking about it a bit, I believe the front-to-back sway of the Harbor Freight hitch carrier is the ladder frame twisting. Even though it's a stout design, there is some flex due to it not being braced. After thinking about it some more, and taking inventory of my "building materials," I decided to use a piece of 1.5" angle steel to shore things up.

I added the brace like so, so there is minimal twisting of the ladder frame:



A couple bolts, nuts, washers, a u-bolt, and some spray paint (ended up using high-temp flat stove paint because my half can of Rustoleum black glossy didn't survive the winter it seems) and I have this:



Total cost to me was about $4 since the angle steel has been in stock for over a decade now. Not sure what this would cost if you had to purchase that component plus the few bolts/washers/nuts that I also had in stock.

I haven't officially thrown a bike up there for testing yet, so I'll report back next time I do how well this actually worked.

 

[AZ7000']

I'm a really strong believer in the strengthen something to take the wobble out and you will find the next weakest link, flex is good at times. As you mentioned, let us know if any of the mods wallow out or any other issues. I have 1000's of miles on our HF stock without issue, many on dirt.

 

[TrailBoss]

I'm a really strong believer in the strengthen something to take the wobble out and you will find the next weakest link, flex is good at times. As you mentioned, let us know if any of the mods wallow out or any other issues. I have 1000's of miles on our HF stock without issue, many on dirt.

Fair point. My hope here is I'm transferring most of the stress to the central 2" square tube, which should NEVER fail under this little load. The straps for the bike will be more stressed though as a result of the removal of the flex, which is why I'm also incorporating a frame-to-brace safety cable in the event of strap failure.

All of this could be totally unnecessary, but I was bored last weekend.

 

[brbo]

Hey folks,

I went with the Mototote MTX and just picked up my CDN (yeah we finally get them) Trail yesterday.

I've travelled across continents with bikes - trailered and hitch mounted.. but I've never had to compress suspension due to the bikes and racks I've used

Issue with the CT there is no way to strap it down just by the front tire, the lower triple tree is above shock and the fork tube and axle ends are in front of mounting points

I don't really plan on taking the CT off the back except when riding it as its my camper....so I hate to have the suspension always collapsed

The only real idea I think may work but haven't tried yet is a block between triple trees....

Anyone have any suggestions ?

Thanks