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Motorbike towing frame

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T0MMY
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PostPosted: 18:20 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Motorbike towing frame Reply with quote
Anyone ever used one of these...

https://towingaframe.co.uk/motorcycle-towing-frames-new.html

Just wondering if they're any good? Could I use one for towing a trackbike or would the towed vehicle have to be road legal as it's not up on a trailer?

That may well be a stupid question but I know literally nothing about towing stuff Laughing
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Pete.
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PostPosted: 18:28 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've pondered making one several times. No idea on the legality of it but I think you'd be okay.

Just noticed this:

Quote:
To keep cost down use a 6″ x 2″ peice of wood abour 900 cm long for a ramp. (Not supplied)


A 9 meter long ramp Very Happy
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fozzym
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PostPosted: 18:39 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Price wise you aren't far away from a good second hand single bike trailer. To me a trailer is much the better option unless weight is a major concern.

I wouldn't want to be traveling too far to a track day with the back tyre in contact with the road all the way.

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T0MMY
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PostPosted: 18:45 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
fozzym wrote:

I wouldn't want to be traveling too far to a track day with the back tyre in contact with the road all the way.

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The way I get my bike to track at the moment involves both tyres being in contact with the ground so this would be an improvement Laughing

The problem with getting a proper trailer is that I have nowhere to put it; no driveway and no garage.
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Cunnington
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PostPosted: 18:46 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Pretty sure you would exceed the noseweight for the towbar with most decent capacity bikes. My towbar is rated to 75kg, which would limit you to a 150kg bike, assuming the centre of gravity is in the middle of the wheelbase, whereas anything I've owned then engine is forward of centre.

You've also got the practicalities (and expense) of lights / numberplate which the plod will expect (with the associated cable rubbing your paintwork) and it would be a bitch to reverse as you cant see it in your mirrors.

I know you say it's a track bike, but I doubt I'd trust anything of value to something like that when you can pick up a decent second hand trailer for not much more.
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Pete.
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PostPosted: 18:47 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
fozzym wrote:

I wouldn't want to be traveling too far to a track day with the back tyre in contact with the road all the way.


No power being transmitted through the tyre and very little load - it'd probably last a very long time.
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herulach
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PostPosted: 18:49 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'd be more concerned about the chain & transmission still spinning than the tyre wear.
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T0MMY
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PostPosted: 18:51 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Pete. wrote:

A 9 meter long ramp Very Happy


Reminds me of a brilliant mistake made by a friend of mine at uni. We had a project to design a water treatment works and she specced the dimensions of a little storage tank for holding chemicals. Somehow she ended up including a 1 cubic metre tank with steel walls 50cm thick in the design spec Laughing You could probably have survived a nearby nuclear blast inside the fucker...
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Pete.
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PostPosted: 19:03 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
herulach wrote:
I'd be more concerned about the chain & transmission still spinning than the tyre wear.


Why is that then?
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Taught2BCauti...
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PostPosted: 19:40 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mentioned in another thread - I had one made by a local welder to my own design, but similar to this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Motorcycle-Trailer-Motorbike-Carrier-Trike-dolly-Scooter-Motorcycle-Recovery-/120867641282?pt=UK_CartsParts_Vehicles_ATVQuad_Trike_Parts_Accessories_SM&hash=item1c2445d7c2

I doesn't need a ramp, as the front wheel is self-raising as the tie-down straps are tightened. The headstock is secured to the towing frame with a chain before driving off.

I also made an adapter that allows me to use the bike's rear light, brake light and indicators with the car's trailer socket - so no trailer-board needed.

Main advantage is that it is cheap to make, light-weight, easily detached from the vehicle and stored under a seat, in the boot, or hanging from a hook on the garage wall. Useful for dropping the bike off for garage work or MOT, or temporary re-locating for a 3 month work assignment, 150 miles from home, when I used the bike for a daily commute and travelled home at the weekends in the car.

Main disadvantage - the bike you are towing needs to be as street legal as if it were being ridden - i.e. Tax, MOT and Insurance. This is obviously not the care if both the bike's wheels are off the road, as with a conventional trailer.
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RideLimousin
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PostPosted: 19:48 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
You could always buy a 2nd hand collapsible trailer? They fold down very small.
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T0MMY
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PostPosted: 19:58 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Taught2BCautious wrote:

Main disadvantage - the bike you are towing needs to be as street legal as if it were being ridden - i.e. Tax, MOT and Insurance. This is obviously not the care if both the bike's wheels are off the road, as with a conventional trailer.


Ah...this is the bit I was worried about.

I pay for insurance and tax and MOT on the bike at the moment purely so I can ride it to trackdays as I don't really use it for anything else. The main reason I want to tow the bike is because I don't want to have to keep it road legal anymore plus I want the option of buying race or trackbikes in the future.

Collapsible trailer seems like a good option then maybe...
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herulach
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PostPosted: 20:02 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Pete. wrote:
herulach wrote:
I'd be more concerned about the chain & transmission still spinning than the tyre wear.


Why is that then?


Bike in neutral with the back wheel up = spinny wheel.

Stands to reason that bike in neutral with the wheel rotating = spinny something in the engine somewhere.

Maybe unfounded, but with no oil circulating I wouldn't chance it.
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J.M.
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PostPosted: 20:28 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
herulach wrote:
Bike in neutral with the back wheel up = spinny wheel.

Stands to reason that bike in neutral with the wheel rotating = spinny something in the engine somewhere.


My mechanical knowledge of bikes is very limited, so excuse me if this is wrong, but I thought when the bike was in neutral the engine is disengaged? I.E. nothing in the engine is moving.
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herulach
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PostPosted: 20:33 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
J.M. wrote:
herulach wrote:
Bike in neutral with the back wheel up = spinny wheel.

Stands to reason that bike in neutral with the wheel rotating = spinny something in the engine somewhere.


My mechanical knowledge of bikes is very limited, so excuse me if this is wrong, but I thought when the bike was in neutral the engine is disengaged? I.E. nothing in the engine is moving.


In theory, but various things mean your back wheel will spin with the engine on - I've always read not to tow with the back wheel on the ground for that reason.

Also, i'm pretty certain that cars need to be taxed at least, and potentially moted to move on an a-frame unless its causing a danger by leaving it somewhere. I imagine the same applies to bikes
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Cunnington
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PostPosted: 20:42 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
J.M. wrote:
herulach wrote:
Bike in neutral with the back wheel up = spinny wheel.

Stands to reason that bike in neutral with the wheel rotating = spinny something in the engine somewhere.


My mechanical knowledge of bikes is very limited, so excuse me if this is wrong, but I thought when the bike was in neutral the engine is disengaged? I.E. nothing in the engine is moving.


The viscosity of the oil in the gearbox causes the output shaft to rotate when the bike is in neutral and the back wheel is in the air. The reverse is unlikely to happen, as the resistance of the engine will be far too great for the forces that the oil can transfer.

The effects on the oil? I'm no expert. As most bikes use engine oil to lubricate the drive train, and engine oil is changed far more frequently than gear oil in a car, I'd suggest it is minimal.
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Pete.
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PostPosted: 21:20 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
It's no different whatsoever to towing a car. Unfounded worries.
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Taught2BCauti...
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PostPosted: 21:41 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
herulach wrote:
Bike in neutral with the back wheel up = spinny wheel.

Stands to reason that bike in neutral with the wheel rotating = spinny something in the engine somewhere.

Maybe unfounded, but with no oil circulating I wouldn't chance it.


I did look into this on mine - nothing in the engine turns when in Neutral, and only the gearbox output shaft turning, under oil, with the front wheel raised.

Other bikes may be different, but it would be reasonably easy to remove the front sprocket, take the chain off the rear sprocket and tie it up securely for the journey.

Best thing of course, would be to have a proper bike trailer - and somewhere to store it when not in use Smile

I'm planning a weekend trip to France, by towing the bike down the motorway to Dover and taking just the bike across on the Ferry, so it will suit me not having to worry about parking the car + trailer - the towing frame will just undo and slip into the boot!
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Pete.
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PostPosted: 21:51 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Taught2BCautious wrote:
Other bikes may be different, but it would be reasonably easy to remove the front sprocket, take the chain off the rear sprocket and tie it up securely for the journey.



A lot of work and bloody dodgy to have a loose chain flapping about near a turning sprocket. Gearboxes are splash-oiled by the layshaft - so -called because it lays in the oil and splashes it about. Some have oil-fed bearings but as before with no load on the geartrain they don't suffer from turning idly.
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Taught2BCauti...
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PostPosted: 22:36 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Pete. wrote:
A lot of work and bloody dodgy to have a loose chain flapping about near a turning sprocket.


Taught2BCautious wrote:
Other bikes may be different, but it would be reasonably easy to remove the front sprocket, take the chain off the rear sprocket and tie it up securely for the journey.


Depends on the bike I suppose - on mine, it's just two 8mm bolts for the front sprocket cover, two 10mm bolts for the front sprocket, then the chain can be slipped off the rear sprocket and tied up out of the way of anything rotating - 2 minutes max.

Other bikes might not be so simple - which is why you would need to investigate before going with this type of towing frame.
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Bezzer
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PostPosted: 22:42 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Pete. wrote:
Gearboxes are splash-oiled by the layshaft - so -called because it lays in the oil and splashes it about.

It's got nothing to do with "laying" in oil. Mr. Green
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Ariel Badger
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PostPosted: 22:50 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Not sure of the legality , I made an A frame for a mate to tow his Morgan with and the cops pulled him over it.
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RideLimousin
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PostPosted: 22:55 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Something like this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Teales-collapsible-foldaway-motorcycle-bike-trailer-/190648608578?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item2c638ae742#ht_500wt_949
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Taught2BCauti...
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PostPosted: 23:12 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
RideLimousin wrote:
Something like this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Teales-collapsible-foldaway-motorcycle-bike-trailer-/190648608578?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item2c638ae742#ht_500wt_949


I've seen those go for over £250 so it could be a bargain for someone
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T0MMY
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PostPosted: 23:31 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sounds like I have to go down the proper trailer route don't I. That looks good actually...could probably get that in my shed or at least tucked away behind it.

My other issue is finding a towbar for my car now...it's an MX5...basically I will be towing my track bike with my track car as I don't actually have a day to day car Laughing

I have seen them around so they do exist.
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