Sup Ronda Hiders

So I travel between Cincinnati & Indianapolis every weekend and when I'm back home in Cincy I hate not having my bike (99 F4) when I have free time. So I was wondering what kind of vehicles you guys use to trailer up your babies.

I have an 05 Chev Cobalt with a 2.2 & manual trans. Never really had anything behind it before but I can get a trailer hitch and a small trailer to tow my bike between Cincy and Indy.

My main question is if I tossed in some beefier springs in how would my 2.2 hold up towing an 800lb bike behind it & has anyone else used a 4cyl to tow their bike before?

 

just get a trailer where most of the weight will be centered on the axle, and not the tongue. and pulling a single bike like that wouldnt be much difference then having a car full of people, so beefier springs really wont be needed.

 

Yeah but I don't make that 120mi trip with a car full of people ever. I'd think just to prevent camber ware on the rear tires I'd have to bump them up just a little for the long run. Also any recommendations on trailers? I have one available that was used to haul lawn equipment that's light weight & just the right size I just don't know how well it'll do on long highway runs with not as much weight as usual. I'm not trying to get speed wobbles at 70mph

 

You don't get camber issues with loading the car down. But the point is a 800lbs trailor is only going to put a small percentage of that weight on the hitch and into the car, so its more like only having 1 person sitting in the rear seat while you drive. You car can does this stock no problem with no adverse affects.

 

I`ve towed all kinds of loads, including bikes, behind tiny 4 cyls, like a 1,6l Vw Passat, 1,9l Peugeot 405 etc. and can tell you there`s really no need whatsoever to make any kind of mods to your Cobalt when towing a small trailer with a fairly light motorbike. If it is loaded right (here most of the trailers have a sticker that says the maximum load to the tow hitch should not exceed 75kg:s (165lbs) it should not press the back end of your car down at all, or very little. When loaded right, you can easily forget you are towing anything, cause it doesn`t affect the car almost at all, pretty much the only situation when you notice the whole trailer is when you switch fast from one side curve to another.

Just take it slow, and find out if there is a speed limit where you live when towing stuff, here the maximum speed you can drive with a trailer is 80km/h (round 50 mph) and I strongly recommend not to exceed 60-ish mph with a trailer or it can start to bounce. I`ve experienced a pretty violent fishtail on an icy road with a trailer loaded full of long wooden planks, and can tell you for a while the cabin was full of hands...

Also make sure the bike is tied down GOOD with those ratchet things (dunno what they are called in english) cause the bike and the trailer WILL bounce a little and all rope/knot patents WILL come loose.


EDIT: 800lbs? That includes the trailer, right? It`s like 362 kg:s...

 

That does make me feel a little more confident. I appreciate everyone's input. But yes about 800 lbs total or less. I mean the bike is only 450lbs soaking wet. Lol. I'm now more concerned with my clutch though.
I don't know.

I'm going to give it a try once and see how everything plays out.

 

If YOU don`t burn it yourself by being over careful, your clutch is perfectly fine. That little load doesn`t make much difference on start off. It does a little but not much.

 

I'm not concerned with burning it up on the take off I mean I've towed way more stuff with a manual truck before. More so worried about it getting totally toasted in 5th gear

 

Your car should be fine. You should see some of the stuff they pull over here in Italy. A camper being pulled by a station wagon for example...

 

I towed my bike home with my Eclipse. You couldn't even tell it was back there. Younger weight shouldn't be more them 10% of the trailer so you're looking at 80lbs. You have more than that in fuel when full.
Get one of the Harbor Freight style trailers and chocks (see links below) and you can move the axle forward and backwards to center under your engine. If done right you won't even struggle to move it around by hand.


Wheel Chock

Utility Trailer 4'x8' - Heavy Duty Folding Utility Trailer

Cover the trailer with whatever you like, put two strong eyebolts by the axle to tie it down and wrap one tie around the front wheel/chock for that just in case (I don't do this and I've got about 6,000 miles pulling the bike) and you're good to go.

Here is a pic of how we tie ours down and I can pick up the tongue of the trailer and walk it around with no problems.