How to Tie Down a Harley Davidson Motorcycle on a Trailer Lift

How to Tie Down a Harley Davidson Motorcycle on a Trailer Lift

How to Tie Down a Harley Davidson Motorcycle on a Trailer Lift, placing a motorbike on a trailer isn’t tricky. Still, proper procedures and equipment must be wont to prevent damage to the motorcycle and injury to the user.

The techniques are similar, although the styles and types of trailers can vary, and people tend to develop their own methods. Once a technique is learned and understood, a person can perform it in just a few minutes.

Proper trailer preparation is a must. Hand tools and power tools are incredibly vital to many job sectors and industries as the following list.

How to Tie Down a Harley Davidson Motorcycle on a Trailer Lift

How do you tie a motorcycle to a trailer without a chock

Use soft straps on the bike, then hook each of them to a ratchet strap. Compress the shocks a bit so the straps won’t loosen if you hit a bump in the road. Choose your anchor points carefully; two at the front, two at the back, one at the side. Do not leave slack in the straps.

How to Tie Down a Motorcycle in an Enclosed Trailer Lift

1. Check the trailer for permanent tie-down locations. Find two within the front and two within the back. Have a professional install permanent tie down hooks on the trailer if they don’t exist.

How to Strap Down a Motorcycle to a Trailer

2. Attach an adjustable ratchet tether strap to each of the front brackets using the attached hooks. Adjust them so that they are approximately long enough to reach the handlebar of the motorcycle.

Place them where the ratchet adjusters will be in the handlebar area and easily accessible for tightening or loosening.

How to use Motorcycle Tie Down Straps

3. Place the straps where they are easily accessible, but out of the way of the motorcycle when placed on the trailer. Roll the motorcycle onto the trailer. Place the front tire against the front of the trailer or in the area of ​​the front wheel chock if the trailer has one.

Motorcycle Tie Down Straps

4. Use the stand to support the motorcycle if you cannot reach the straps while keeping it. Place the hooks of both belts on the handlebar. Place one on each side without crossing them and without tying or pinching any cables.

Tighten both straps with the ratchet adjusters until the motorcycle stops on its own without using the stand. Raise the kickstand.

Harley-Davidson Tie-Down Straps

5. Place the wedge behind the rear wheel and fix it to the tire with its short strap. Attach a tether hook to either backside of the motorcycle to a point as high as possible. It is usually at the rear of the frame behind the seat.

Place the other end in the trailer’s rear tie-down location. Do the same for the other side of the back of the motorcycle.

Motorcycle Lift Tie Downs

6. Adjust the front strips one at a time till the front forks shorten or compress. Retighten the rear wedge and rear tether straps until snug. Check that the motorcycle is not leaning in either direction. Adjust the straps as necessary until the bike is perfectly upright and no straps are loose.

Try rocking the motorcycle from side to side and push it up and down until you are sure that none of the straps is loose. Close the gas petcock and make sure the gas cap is tight. Secure the long ends of the belts that are loose by tying them to themselves.

Transport of a Motorcycle with Moorings

How you tie up your bike largely depends on the model you own, but everyone agrees to use the frame or a solidly mounted part of the structure as a point of attachment.

Two tie-downs in the front and two on each side are adequate for most street bikes, but if you’re paranoid, six ratchet tie-downs, four at the front and two at the rear, will offer maximum security, even for a Boss Hoss.

The first order of business is to get your trailer or truck as level as possible. Hook the tie downs to your floor or frames and extend them as far as you need to attach them to your motorcycle and where you can reach them.

If you are using extension tie straps around the lower triple shaft, have them ready as well (the lower triple shaft is the safest location for this setup).

How to Tie Down a Harley Davidson Motorcycle on a Trailer Lift 

Set your ramp so that it is aligned with the wheel chock in your truck bed, and push your bike into the truck or trailer bed directly into the chock. Motorcycle wheel tie-down,

when the front tire is secure or touching the front of the bed if you are not using a wheel chock, attach the S-hooks of the straps to a structural member of the bike, grasping the loose end and pulling hard, or pulling straight down.

When using straps, conventional wisdom says to tighten the left front tie-down (placed high on the bike) first, just enough to loosen it. Repeat with the front right tie; at this point, the kickstand should be off the ground, with the bike in an upright position.

When the tie-downs are tight, check the sides of the front tire and brake rotors to make sure they are clear of the wedge. Give the ties a final tug to ensure they are tight and the bike is upright.

How to Tie Down a Harley Davidson Motorcycle on a Trailer Lift 

If you are loading two motorcycles and their handlebars or fairings interfere, try reversing one of the bike’s positions on the trailer. It is generally best to load the giant bike in the forward position to distribute the load properly.

Once you’ve locked the front end, it’s time to grip the rear for added stability. Choose a high area on the chassis to attach tie-downs for prying.

The ties should pull down an inch or two forward from their connection point; make sure the bike does not roll forward, backward, or sideways. With cam buckle ties, it is best to have someone compress the rear suspension while tightening the tie-downs. Check that the tie-down points are tight; the straps should form a 45-degree angle between the bike and the ground.

Recommended Tie Down Points on Larger Motorcycles

Some contributors to the Honda Gold Wing and Yamaha Venture online owner forums recommend using a soft loop around the triple axle and tying the circle with two ratchet straps: one pulling forward on the chock and the second pulling forward and back.

For the rear of those bikes, the same sites recommend tying a soft loop around the passenger grips, passenger footpegs, or rear frame.

For some Harleys and other inverted fork bikes, we have noticed that some sites advocate putting tie-downs at the front of the engine where the frame meets the crash bars and repeating the four strap tie-down method.

The bottom line is that you should feel free to experiment with the tie-down points, as your bike may have parts that interfere with the strap or cut it off. And there is also a long list of what not to do.

When Transporting Your Motorcycle, Do Not

Use back bag protectors as attachment points; will be removed. Tie-down at the end of long handlebars. Some dealers agree with this, but it is not kosher because some handlebars are rubber-mounted and can compress, causing the tie-down to slip.

Go for the cheapest straps. The price of your bike repair will be much higher than the money you spent buying inexpensive straps.

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