Hey guy's picking the bike up tomorrow at 9 am.. So the question is i was at the shop trying to buy gear today, which didn't happen.. too many people requiring assistance. So i am thinking about putting the bike in the back of the truck and carting it up here.. question is, how long are these bikes?.. i have a little VW Rabbit truck (sad i know) with a 6 foot bed.. Would a 929 fit in the back?.. Second part of the question.. it'll be mainly freeway travel.. how would you guys go about securing the load to make sure it doesn't fall over.. reccomendations would be appericiated.

thanks

 

I put my 929 in the back of my f-150 with a 6.5 ft. bed and it would not quite fit. I had the bike in there straight and the bike was about an inch too long for me to get the tailgate closed. No problem though, I just transported it with the tailgate open.

The best way to transport a bike in a truck is to put in in straight (not at an angle if possible). Use 4 tie downs - 1 to each side of the handlebar area and one off each side of the bike where the passenger footpeg is. Having a canyon dancer bar harness is really nice for hooking the tiedowns to the handle bars without having to worry about damaging the plastic bodywork.

 

By the way, the bike's specs claim it to be 81.3 inches overall length, so it's a tad over 6'9". Have I got that right...?

Good tiedown advise from redrr.
I use ratcheting tiedowns. Remember the bike's suspension will be live while your driving, meaning it will be reacting to bumps just as it would if it were being ridden - so good tight tiedowns from the bike to the deck is important - make sure the front and rear suspensions are fairly well compressed. You don't have to crush em, of course, but you want it to be secure.

You'll be surprised how well it all goes - a well-secured bike ain't goin anywhere. Nothin to it.

PS - If the bed of the trailer or truck is smooth, meaning it doesn't have grooves front to back for the tires to rest in, running a couple of tiedowns from the lower frame to the sides of the bed will prevent the tires from sliding sideways should the upper tiedowns be a bit too loose.