Hey everybody, I'm thinking about selling my car and buying a nice pick-up truck so I can take the bike with me. I have an 06 f4i and I was wondering if anybody else totes their bike around on a nice big truck? I'm new to this whole scene, so I don't even know how to get the bike up into the bed?? And once it's up there, what's the best way to strap it down?

I was just looking for info / advice / pictures.

The reason I ask is because I live about 5 hours from "home" so when I visit my parents I would like to stay more than just a day or two which means i need some luggage, and riding that long i assume can be rather uncomfortable :-p

thanks!

 

im in about the same boat as you. I cant afford to get a truck so i did some research and found out that uhaul rents out motorcycle trailers but apparantly only for round trip. good luck

 

I have a 2002F-150, regular bed and my 01 F4i fits perfectly in the bed. All you have to do istake two tow straps and wrap them around each fork/handle bar and connect the other end to thehooks in your bed. It doesnt sound overly stablebut as long as you compress the front forks then tighten the tow straps down the bike isnt going anywhere. Hope this helps.

 

BigTX - do you have any pictures of this? Also, how do you actually get the bike IN the truck...?

 

If i go on long trips and i want my bike... i ride it. f4is are the most comfortable sports bike ever

 

^^^^^ If f4i's are the most comfortable sport bikes ever, i feel really sorry for riders with different bikes...... They make straps that wrap around your grips, and then you hook ratchet straps to them and then stap it down to your truck/trailer. You can use a ramp to put it up in you truck, but you have to be careful and dont get scared halfway up and let off or you will drop your bike. Or you can back you truck up to a hill so that the tailgate hits the ground and then just ride it into the back. They sell the straps at O'reilly auto parts, and im sure most other parts stores would have them. I bought mine when it was cold outside, and had to tow it back, but i had a motorcycle trailer.

 

Same here!! My bike has been through 11 states now, and never once been in a truck or on a trailer! The journey is half the fun of the trip

Anyways, bike should fit in the back of pretty much any pick up truck, though you may not be able to close the tailgate with a smaller truck/shorter bed. I've put a Gixxer in the back of an Avalanche before and we had to leave the tailgate down, but it stayed just fine. Or a small trailer... I have a 4x8 utility trailer that I got a couple years ago from Harbor Freight for $180, and if I needed to haul the bike it would fit on the trailer perfectly

 

I have a similar issue. I have a Lincoln Town Car and I plan on moving to Orlando pretty soon (about a 15 hour drive). My car has a V8 so I know it can handle it. But I don't have a hitch on it or a trailor. I'm not sure which is the best plan of action because I need to haul my bike and my stuff (not too much) at the same time. Any suggestions?

 

Uhaul you can get a hitch and rent a trailer... it'll tow it no problem. One of the guys I work with has a Town Car too, and he drove up to New York (from SoFla) a couple months ago with a decent sized enclosed trailer to pick up his Goldwing and haul it back. Didn't have any problems (well except the piece of crap trailer... wheel bearings kept seizing up, tires blowing out, etc), but the car towed it just fine. That's what I would do, just find a decent sized trailer to rent. Either that or just rent a big truck and put all your stuff + bike in the back, and tow the car behind

 

Yeah..Uhauls are good. My bike fits in my Ranger good...you dont necessarily need a full size truck[8D]