Hauling two wheels without laying them down
A motorcycle does not sit still on its own, which is the whole design problem. Everything that makes a good bike trailer follows from that: where the chocks bolt down, how steep the ramp is, and whether you can reach the tie-down points once the bike is loaded. Current stock is listed below, and if you are hauling a single bike a few times a year, ask about renting instead.
What makes a motorcycle trailer different
Weight is almost never the constraint. Even a big touring bike is well inside what a light single axle trailer will carry. The work is all in restraint and loading angle.
Chocks do most of the work
A wheel chock holds the front wheel upright so the straps only have to stop the bike moving, rather than hold it up. Fixed chocks are the most secure and the least flexible, since the bike has to sit exactly where the chock is bolted. Track-mounted chocks slide along an E-track or L-track rail, which lets you carry one bike centered or three side by side without drilling anything new.
Ramp angle and where you load from
A low deck and a long ramp make a loading angle a person can walk a bike up. A high deck and a short ramp make one that requires a run at it, which is how bikes get dropped. If you load alone, look for a deck under twenty inches or a ramp of at least seven feet, and load from a curbside or a slope whenever you can rather than from flat ground.
Open deck or enclosed
An open trailer is lighter, cheaper and far easier to load from any direction, and you can see the bike the whole way. An enclosed trailer keeps the weather and the road grit off the paint, locks, and doubles as dry storage over a Michigan winter. Riders who tow to one or two events a year usually take open. Riders hauling a bike they have money in usually end up enclosed eventually.
Two bikes, three bikes and tongue weight
Bikes are heavy and they are all forward of center once you chock them at the front. Load two and it is easy to stack most of the weight over the tongue, which makes the trailer nose-heavy and the truck squat. Spread them out, put the heaviest bike in first and check that the trailer sits level behind the vehicle before you leave. Adjustable chock positions on a track make this much easier than a fixed layout.
Straps, and the soft loops that save your bars
Use four ratchet straps with soft loops around the handlebar clamps or lower triple, not around brake lines or plastics. Compress the front suspension about a third of its travel, no more, or you cook the fork seals over a long drive. Cam buckles are gentler than ratchets if you tend to over-tighten. We carry straps, loops and track hardware in the parts department if you are putting a setup together.
Motorcycle trailer questions
A single bike fits comfortably on a trailer with about eight feet of usable deck, and most riders go a little longer so there is room to stand beside it while strapping. If you might ever carry two, jump to a twelve foot deck rather than trying to squeeze them onto a short one.
No, plenty of people haul on open decks year round. Enclosed makes sense if the bike is valuable, if you travel to events and want secure storage, or if you want somewhere dry to keep it in winter. It costs more and weighs more.
A front wheel chock plus four straps is the standard arrangement. The chock holds the bike vertical while you strap it, and the straps stop it moving fore, aft and sideways. Never rely on the side stand.
We do run a rental fleet, and for a one weekend trip it is often the cheaper answer. Have a look at the rental page or call us with your dates and we will tell you what is available.
Frequently yes, since a small open bike trailer loaded is a light tow. Check your vehicle tow rating and hitch class first, and remember that heavier trailers need their own brakes and a controller in the vehicle.