Moving Time

[gambrinus]

As much as it pains me to do this, I have to transport my bike from L.A. to Denver rather than ride it. Wife is driving the car, and I'm behind the wheel of the moving truck that is hauling a trailer behind it. The trailer will have our Land Rover onboard. The plan is to put the bike IN the moving truck... Plan is to use FAT ratchet straps to secure the bike to the load tiedown points. This leaves the question : Are there are tricks or pointers that anyone would care to share? I know a lot of the Harley guys from the cold parts of the country load their bikes in moving vans and drive most of the way to Bike Week.. so this HAS been done before, just never by me. Any hints or suggestions will be much appreciated.

RW

[BradfordBenn]

I would recommend that you contact your local dealer. When my brother moved, they helped him crate it up and everything. It arrived in perfect condition.

Also take out the fluids. If not all the stuff in the moving van ends up stinking like gas. You may also want to check out AMA, if you are a member they have some "preferred" carriers some of which might just do packing/prep even if they do not ship.

If that does not work. You may want to see if you can get someone to ride it for you. Might just cost you a plane ticket. Hmmm LA is a hub for United, so is Chicago, so is Denver:idea

[docb]

AMA AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST lists at least two carriers.

Federal Motorcycle Transport (Allied Van Lines)
www.funtransport.com
800-747-4100x217

Griffin Moving and Storage (Allied Van Lines)
www.alliedagent.com//griffin//
800-843-6048

Not sure about the double slashes but that's the way it's printed in their ad in the June '04 issue of AM.

[sgborgstrom]

I had two bikes in the truck on our Chicago to Seattle move. The "beater" was more or less lashed to the side with a lot of padding, the "good one" was loaded last, center of the space. tied forward/backward/side to side, in gear and on it's own tires. I screwed some chunks of wood along the tires to keep them from sliding out over the bumps. Check the load once in awhile, make sure nothing else in the cargo space is going to get loose and smack into the bike.

During my Boston to Chicago move I only had one bike, flying back to ride it home was a lot less stress....

Steve

[basketcase]

Ditto on the fluids. If nothing else, drain the gas tank. In addition to the funky smell, a leak in the fuel system over days on the road in a confined space could result in a big "whoose" and fireball. Very uncool, if you catch my drift.

Next, if at all possible, find a way to transport the bike sitting on the wheels, at a vertical position such as they are shipped to the dealer. (As opposed to parked and strapped down on the sidestand).

Transported vertically in that manner, the shocks will work for you in terms of handling vibration, and the frame and running gear will not be subjected to werid stresses.

A pallet is the best arrangement for accomplishing this. If that is not possible, a wheel chock that will hold the bike upright is not that hard to construct.

[rocketman]

Considering the distance involved I wouldn't worry about cratting it etc. Running a good pair of tie-downs from the handlebars to anchor points on the floor in front of the bike at a 45 degree angle with the front wheel pushed up against the front wall of the moving van and the front forks depressed with one or two addtional tie-downs from the back of the frame to keep the rear from hoping around should work just fine. The trick is to depress the front forks, using tie-downs with ratcheting devices will acomplish this. I have transported many machines up to and over 500 lbs, this way back when I was involved with racing in the 70's. Make sure though that the anchor points are designed for this type of transport, you don't want them ripping loose in transit!

RM

[gambrinus]

Cheers from Denver! The bike and I made it in one piece. 6 heavy duty ratchet straps and then surrounded the bike with soft things and boxes filled with books. The thing didn't move a millimeter during the drive (thank God)
Now just to get her to the local dealer for a little (scheduled) love and attention.

Cheers

RW

[kbasa]

Nice riding around there, eh Gambrinus?

Glad to hear you made it safely!

[GeoffMiller]

Now get that thing unloaded and head toward Crested Butte! You won't regret it! Glad the move went well! geoff