The Cowboy II Motorcycle Carrier is Now A Video Star!

I built my Motorcycle Carrier on my Jayco Fifth Wheel a couple of years ago. I've hauled the V Star on it something better than 10,000 miles... so, I guess, that should make it a fairly proven design.

It's still got a couple of things I'd like to improve on it, when I get the time... but hey... The truth is...

Now that I've got the modifications done to the hitch on the truck, added the Black Widow Motorcycle ramp and bolted on the New Wheel Dock Chock... I can Haul Two Big Bikes, the Raider and the V Star, along with a Standard Fifth Wheel RV!

Take a look at what you can build for yourself... with a lil' ambition...


... and the help of a good welder!

Both Bikes are loaded... just waiting on UPS and our accountant to finish up some things... and then we're hauling both bikes on out of here... for several months... or longer... RV Boondocking... and Motorcycle Touring... Freakin' Awesome! HooYa!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Second Loading using the Black Widow Ramp

The misty rain finally cleared out this morning and I went back to work getting things put together so we can leave and start south...

Here's how easy it was to Load that big Cruiser on a Tall Flatbed (42" tall) using a 12', extra long Black Widow Motorcycle Ramp from Discount Ramps...



You may have noticed a lil' BANG! as the bike goes into the chock?... Uh... I missed the guide a lil' a bit wide to the right... and she rode up over it a touch... but... BANG! she went where she was supposed to be! :o)

It's darn near as easy coming off. Like I said, down at the bottom, 'cause the truck bed sits so tall, the angle that the ramp meets the ground is still a little too great for me to reach the ground... so I just walk down beside the bike, with it in first gear. Between the front brake and the clutch, I have complete control... No Worries!

I'll do up a video showing where I'll lash down the ramps, and... loading the V Star on the Tail Rack! Never done that one!

After I got the bike loaded this time, I hooked up the fiver on the New Hitch... I've got enough turning radius to work... though I can't go completely jack knife... unless I pull the left hand saddlebag off first! :o)

I Plan to place a lil' verticle slice of tape on the mirrors... to give me a reference point... just before the front end of the trailer would start to make contact... I can use the vertical line of the main body of the trailer as the Guide point...

That way... as I make turns, I can just look in the mirrors and know exactly how much room I've got to turn... without running into things...

I was pretty impressed with the Black Widow Ramps... very little flex... most of the movement I saw was in the truck suspension... the ramp just did what it was supposed to do... at least one thing worked correctly this week!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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I've added the Black Widow Motorcycle Ramp

The Motorcycle Ramp got here day before yesterday, but I didn't get time to put it together and do a test load till late yesterday afternoon...

The ramp is actually three ramps, connected by several brackets welded to the wider, center section. This one is 12' long when it's unfolded.

... and... it worked just like it's supposed to...

If you haven't loaded a motorcycle up a ramp... in a while, I can tell you... it kind of gets your attention... especially when you're NOT loading lengthwise... but crossways on a flatbed! With No cab to stop you if you... uh ... misjudge your speed? :o)

*Loading a Raider Crossways on a Flatbed with a Black Widow Ramp*

I'm pretty happy with the Ramp. They aren't cheap...at $669 for the 12' ramp... to buy it and get it shipped to me. But... you gotta do what ya gotta do!

The Black Widow ramp uses welded on brackets to lock the three ramps together... and transfer weight across all three. Then it uses a pair of straps to keep them from spreading any... along with three more straps, to hold the ramp to the truck. (click the pics to see the larger size for details)

With a hundred horsepower... give or take... depending on who you talk to... and what the dyno read that day... a Raider has the grunt to kick that ramp out from under you, if you twisted the throttle a lil' too sudden... so ya better make sure those security straps are pulled snug! :o)

Anyhoo... I managed to do a test load without any unpleasant surprises... all that worryin'... 'bout just ridin' off the other side was all for nuthin'. The Raider just rolled right on up... just as it was supposed to.

The only, very small issue, is at the bottom, just starting up. Even though the ramp is 12' long, and that cruisers seat is pretty low... the angle is still steep enough, that once the front wheel starts up, my feet won't reach the ground until the back wheel gets on the ramp...

So... there's no Walkin' it up under power, sittin' on the seat with your feet down... A fella has to just commit and roll  on up the ramp... But No worries. A big cruiser has the torque to just roll on up pretty slow an' easy... no need to Get a Run at It... Like you might feel the need to do with some smaller bikes.

I'd planned on just riding it back down too... but... without bein' able to put my feet down, at the bottom... that didn't seem especially sensible to me... so I just walked it down, in gear, with hands on the clutch and brake... and again... no worries!

The cross bars of the Black Widow Motorcycle ramp are serrated... and closer together than you see on ATV ramps... so you don't have to worry 'bout where you put your feet... or slipping... I had good traction all the way... as I inched that bike back down the ramp...

I'm hopin' I get a lil' quicker as I gain a lil' confidence in my athletic ability! :o)

Well... we've got most things just about buttoned up... and are hoping to be able to pull out and start wandering... by the end of the week...

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Motorcycle Auxiliary Gas Tanks for Motorcycle Touring

How do you carry extra fuel on Long Motorcycle Adventure Tours... or Just Motorcycle Touring where you're not quite sure if you can make the distance between fuel stations?

On my recent Solo Tour to Alaska... on my Raider that can only go, comfortably, a mite over 150 miles 'tween fillups... I carried an extra gallon in (4) MSR, Quart sized fuel bottles made for Back Packing...

I carried 'em in the pockets of my Ruck, strapped on my tail rack... which seemed pretty good to me! ... I did have the thought, a time or two, that those MSR bottles are kinda thin... and really didn't wanna see the consequences of dropping the bike...

So... I made an extra special effort to keep that Yamaha Raider Upright! :o)

I recently found an outfit called Tour Tank that builds some pretty fine looking auxiliary fuel tanks for motorcycles. From what I can tell, these things are just the ticket for Long Riders... and Adventure Riders.

They also build something they call "Tour Tubes". These don't cost much more than the MSR Bottles I used, (with similar volume) and their weight and construction should make 'em a hell of a lot sturdier and safer for Motorcycle Touring use...

These would have, I do believe, fit right in the same place as the fuel bottles I used... and a lot less risk in the event of an "Incident".

So... back to my chores... see ya down the road somewhere!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Most of my Parts are in to Build the Newest Motorcycle Carrier for my Fifth Wheel Trailer setup

Most of you already know, this part of my Motorcycle Carrier setup is going on the truck.

The V Star will ride in its Cowboy II Motorcycle Carrier, where it has for 10,000+ miles out on the tail end of the Fiver...

The Raider is slated to ride, cross bed, just behind the cab of the truck.

I'm using another Wheel Dock Motorcycle Chock for that job... special built to fit that 21" Wheel on my Raider....

But, Sitting there behind the cab, there wasn't enough room with the hitch in the standard position... so we're moving it back approximately 18".

You can see it here... the trap door for the original hitch location is just in front of where the gooseneck is sitting on the bed... and in this pic, the full pin weight is on the truck, with it NOT quite coming level...

I figure quite a bit of weight gets taken off the pin when the V Star gets up on the back... so... when I load the Raider... I've got my fingers crossed that I won't need to be adding anything like the Firestone air suspension boosters... We shall See!

Also, you can see the weld in turn over ball gooseneck hitch setup I found... Now all we gotta do is burn some steel, do some wrenchin' and go to haulin'! ... Uh ... as soon as the 12' ramp that's long enough to get that low clearance cruiser motorcycle up on a Tall flabed... gets here!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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What's New... and what's happening...

Just got a call from the Boss lady in town... UPS just delivered the hitch parts, so we can start makin' that change in the next day or so... still waiting on the Wheel dock that I need to complete the work on the truck itself...

... and of course, now that I've come 'round to thinkin' it makes more sense to just go with a high dollar factory ramp... rather than struggling with building it myself... deciding which ramp to spend so much coin on, is a chore that has to get done, and quick!. :o)

Got a lot put together 'round here on the website, yesterday... got the main Alaska intro page built along with a supporting page talking about Motorcycle Touring Solo in general...

I was a lil' surprised on the trip, by the number of people, Bikers and Not, that seemed kind of startled that I was riding alone... I never gave riding solo a whole lot of thought before... rode alone too long I guess.

Then, today, I spent way too long, trying to figure out how to do YouTube videos... and built my first slide show / Video! HooYa! you'll find it in the new section where I re-organized the Nav Bar, adding a Video / Photo Gallery section.

The first gallery on the page is from my recent Alaska Trip... hell, it's the only gallery on the page! :o) Hopefully, as soon as I get this welding work done and we get gone, I'll be adding galleries real often.

Gotta get back at it... keep it between the ditches people!

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

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Parts are On the Way... and Rethinking is What's Happening

Another Wheel Dock Chock is ordered and on the way to hold the Raider on the truck bed, along with a weld in turnover ball setup to modify the gooseneck hitch location to allow sufficient turning space with the bike loaded.

If you hadn't already known, I use a gooseneck style hitch rather than a fifth wheel hitch. Every mile our 30' Jayco has moved, it was pulled with a gooseneck. Far superior in my opinion... especially when you pull off the pavement in an RV Boondocking situation. I've pulled this trailer 50,000+ miles with the gooseneck... and 10,000 of those with the 525+lb. V Star sitting in it's carrier on the tail.

Well, I've scrapped the idea of building the ramp I need. Once you calculate out the steel cost... opposed to factory built price... all the work involved... and the final weight of a long, steel ramp... I've decided to just suck it up and find a way to squeeze a 10' factory aluminum ramp into our shrinking budget...

I decided that my ambition just didn't fit the requirements of the job... I want to Ride my Raider... not burn steel! :o) same reason my chrome don't shine as bright as that on some other bikes... I'd rather be riding than polishing!

So... we're finishing up the rest of what few preps we need to make while I wait on the arrival of the ordered parts. As soon as those get here, we'll get 'em bolted on... get loaded... and get gone! RV Boondocking and Motorcycle Touring! HooYa!

and, while we wait, I'm working up several pages about different parts of my 25 day Alaskan Highway ride... Just so much to talk 'bout, they keep rambling... hard to get 'em cut down to something readable! :o)

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking

Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share...  Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
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Simplification is Guiding my Motorcycle Carrier Redesign

OK... Carrying Two Cruisers on a Truck and Fifth Wheel setup might not be what others think of when the word simplification is mentioned... but then... I've always had a mite peculiar perspective when it comes to a lot of things...

So... on my Motorcycle Carrier redesign... I think this makes it number three? :o)

... I'm scrapping the "Dovetail" idea... and going with just a ramp... that will run up onto the right side of the truck bed... with a Wheel Dock motorcycle chock set in place on the road side... just behind the cab; and I'll stay with my gooseneck type hitch...

... with the hitch moved to a position just behind the axle... rather than the standard position... just in front. This is necessary to give enough swing room, for clearance for turning. It would be a really bad day... should the trailer run into the bike... as many folks run the trailer into the cab itself, when they hook up fifth wheel trailers on short bed trucks... OOPS!

The possibility is big, that I'll also need to add a Firestone airbag suspension system to the truck, to level things back out proper... but that's been kind of expected... and I'll wait to see how things shake out, to see if it's needed. Airbag suspension can be added any time.

Now... about that ramp...

A ramp length calculator I found figures that I need a 10.2 foot motorcycle ramp, to yield the attack angle necessary to clear my low ground clearance Yamaha Cruiser, over the edge of the bed... and NOT high center.

OK...

My problem with that is dollars! or rather... the lack of dollars in my wallet... The price of those extra long motorcycle ramps... with sufficient quality... and the shippin' to get one here... is shoving hard on $600 and more...

So... being the genuine, unadulterated, Redneck, do-it-yourself sort... and my son-in-law having a welder... next week... we're gonna burn together the steel tubing to create a cowboy engineered and built, 12' ramp, in four bolt together sections... to run that Raider up onto my tall flatbed Dodge!

Yeah... 12 foot... if a straight 10 foot motorcycle ramp would do... a longer ramp, with a bit of a curve built in may even allow me to ride the bike up... and allow me to NOT have to install a winch... saving a few more dollars...

... and dollar wise... unless my cipherin' is way off... the cost for building my own bike ramp... is gonna be about 1/3 of a factory built... maybe a little more... but still... if it keeps a few hundred in my pocket... that's a big deal just now! :o)

So... check back... and see how many trips to the emergency room it takes Josh an' me to get the ramp built! :o) ... and... there are a couple pages on my Alaska ride in the works for the main site... just not enough of me to go 'round and get all the my list of chores done as quick as I'd like.

Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian

Return to the Home page of Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
Visit our sister site goin' RV Boondocking

Share your stories and opinions;
*Tell us Which you think is the... The Best Touring Motorcycle
*Share...  Your Personal Motorcycle Philosophy with us!
*Tell us about your...  Great Motorcycle Roads