Trailering
 

I bought a Pitbull trailer restraint a couple of years ago for my '07 GSA. I love it and it performs flawlessly. For those of you not familiar with the Pitbull system, it does not require any straps or tie downs at all. It does not compress the suspension and allows the bike to "float" on the trailer.

My concern is regarding the swingarm pivot bearing. The swingarm assembly was not designed for the torsional loads that this puts on it. I have not had any problems and I just returned from a family Thanksgiving reunion that got me out of the sandbox for a few days.:clap

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated, here are a few pics of my rig:

http://bigdreama.smugmug.com/Machine.../0/L/015-L.jpg

http://bigdreama.smugmug.com/Machine.../0/L/012-L.jpg

http://bigdreama.smugmug.com/Machine.../0/L/014-L.jpg

I wouldn't use the rear stand. Like you said, the bike isn't designed for that kind of loading. As the suspension moves the rear stand will stress the FD and suspension, and the side loads will definitely stress the FD and pivot bearings.

Use the front stand and tie it down with straps to the telelever tightly. Then strap it down to the rear frame snug, but not tight, to keep the rear from moving around.

Jim :brow

Whenever trailering the GS, I have always used straps attached as high on the bike as sensible to reduce strap loads as well as increased security and minimize load to the bike at attachment points.

At the front, I roll the bike into a wheel chock and use ratchet straps at the fork brace oriented so that the straps are pulling the bike forward slightly into the chock.

At the rear, I secure straps to the passenger peg mounts with only moderate compression of the rear suspension. Finally, I place a chock at the rear of the rear tire.

I have trailered my GS thousands of miles in this manner without incident. Also, I put a cover on the bike and use bungees to secure the cover.

I like it! That looks like a great tool. As a rule of thumb always ask yourself, "does this stress anything more than me riding it?" i don't think so. Looks really well done

See above. He's right!:clap

So you think that the FD incurs lateral stresses as it would on the stand as shown when riding?

Jim :brow

Most definitely. When you lean the bike, the same forces are in effect. Think of the whole system; when we lean the bike while riding, the bike itself may be moving as one unit, however the link between the road and tire is effectively the same as the link he is using. In actuality, the only thing he has done with this stand is take the tire out of the equation.

I went to the website to see if I could obtain one for my drz: they do, but they are $279. Wow! I'll stick with the ratchet straps!

Is that bike stolen or broken?? I wasn't aware trailering these bike was allowed :D:rofl

Not really. When you lean a bike the force is still transmitted along the axis of the wheel. There is minimal side stresses comparred to fixing the wheel and pushing sideways on the seat or top of the bike.

Don't forget, this is a single sided shaft drive bike, not a chain drive with a fixed axle shaft across both sides of a swingarm.

Jim :brow

The rear swingarm moves through a arc, changing the wheelbase in the process, Kinda looks like the rear stand would inhibit that movement. I'd ditch the rear stand and use tie downs at the frame member that runs under the swingarm. That allows the suspension to move freely and keeps the tension on the tie downs more consistent then if they were attached to the passenger peg loops.

I have this, works very well.
http://lockitt.com/Lockitt/product/TD/TDTD1502.html

Enclosed trailer has a Condor chock for the front.

Nice alternative to tieing to the suspension!:deal

Jim :brow

The axis of the wheel is transmitted through to the swing arm.

I'm no expert rider, but I do understand mechanical systems. We may have to agree to disagree.

Of course, we could always meet in the middle and advise a strap be put on the front to assist in holding the bike upright. All bases covered!

Personally, I believe that after spending the almost 300$, and hauling it a few times with no issue, he is going to keep using this bracket no matter what we say!!!

***I just went and looked at the Lockitt tie down system. While I like that one equally as well (especially the price), if you use the wheels to hold the bike up, the effect on the swing arm is the same! The only way to reduce side load or tension is to use side load on the bars to hold the bike upright.

My Condor chock holds my bike upright. Tie downs on the bars, but they don't have to be stupid tight.

When I unstrap the bike, it usually takes a couple pulls to get the front wheel out of the chock.
I have the trailer because I work on the road and it gives me a place to store the bike as well as transport it.

The difference between riding the bike and the pitbull is where the loads originate. While riding, the stresses initiate at the rubber and flow as the engineers modeled.

When using the pitbull, the inner potion of the hub will have acute compressive loads on the inner material, which are normally modeled as free. Although fatigue isn't an issue, the fact that the wheel is static may create stress paths that weren't modeled. Only the BMW engineers would know.

Another issue would be the difference in diameter. Theoretically, with enough stress, the inner tube will oblong the inner hub.

Will it matter, probably not, would I use it, no.