Motorcycle on Trailer Bumper

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by Joe MacDonald

do some looking on the Honda cub if you have doubts about it, that is the go to bike for most of Asia, there are many pictures of them with not just 2 adults, but 1 or 2 kids as well
they are also used extensively for hauling a lot of goods around.

I had a CT70, but it was heavy for the size of bike, it weighed in at over 300#

You will also see massive loads on bicycles in Asia and Africa. Does not make it safe. It not only has to go, it needs to stop. The Super Cub is more like 240 pounds. I've also seen two up on mopeds. To each their own. Its a personal decision.

All that being said, I like the Super Cub! If I carried one, it would be on the front of my truck. There is a bolt on after market receiver hitch available for my F150 with a good weight rating. Could handle a Super Cub with ease.

[Rzrbrn]

Carry on the FRONT of the truck. Have not considered that method.

[Rzrbrn]

This winter, that is after we return form a couple of months towing the BF, if I need to step up to a 3/4 ton or 1 ton, I also may then buy a scooter. Assuming I have any money left: $70K for a new Ram 2500...man, oh man... After this discussion I have ruled out electric scooters. Right now it looks like the Honda Super Cub fits our needs. The biggest problem will be convincing the wife 1 that I need it and 2 that she should ride behind me. I know she will not ride it solo.

Thanks everyone.

[ARVZ]

Here are some pics of my wandering friend's Burro with motorcycle. This rig has many 1000's of miles and decades on it and they go off-road almost daily. He used a diesel Passat wagon TV previously and damaged a head gasket going 80 mph across the desert all day. They camp more than they live at home.

The trailer has had C-channel steel frames added to the original Burro frame, and is sitting on new leaf springs and a higher capacity axle with brakes. The frame is extended front and rear, making room for motorcycle, storage box, propane tanks, etc. There are usually a couple of bicycles tied onto the storage box. He kept adding taillights as the stuff mounted on the back frame increased in size.
He just added a PV panel and now has 180W for the first time. Biggest single improvement was adding a compressor fridge that makes it possible to keep food fresh longer in hot weather.

[Raspy]

Alan,

That is impressive! Huge weight on the back and towed with a Passat. No problems. That is quite a setup.

The tongue looks much longer than stock and that probably really helps stability.

Thanks for the post.

[Rzrbrn]

Thanks Alan, what an inspiration!

[John in Santa Cruz]

the bumper hitch reciever on my Escape 21 is rated for 150 lbs. I've got about 100 lbs of bicycles+rack on it, and it has made the trailer very tongue-light, like under 400 lbs, which seems to make the trailer+truck combination a little more prone to 'dolphining'

[mszabo]

Just bought a pair of these 28mph 20-40 mile range

https://lectricebikes.com/

[John in Santa Cruz]

be aware, those specs are pretty exaggerated. that has roughly half the amp*hours of the battery I put in my wife's ebike, and 28 MPH on small diameter tires like those will scare the daylights out of you, thats probably max speed down a steep hill with a tailwind, with you spinning the pedals as fast as you can in top gear.

that said, it will probably cruise for up to 20 miles on the flats at speeds up to maybe 20 MPH with you pedal assisting.

[ARVZ]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

the bumper hitch reciever on my Escape 21 is rated for 150 lbs. I've got about 100 lbs of bicycles+rack on it, and it has made the trailer very tongue-light, like under 400 lbs, which seems to make the trailer+truck combination a little more prone to 'dolphining'

Sounds like you need to add tongue weight by doing something like confining water jugs on the floor in front of the axle, moving heavy food items, water tanks, batteries, or tools, or electronics forward, etc. Just get more heavy stuff forward of the axle and farther towards the hitch, balanced on the center line if possible. Put only light stuff in the back.

[John in Santa Cruz]

yeah, we're trytin g to. catch-22, the front 1/3rd of an Escape 21 is the bed and bath, so short of piling heavy stuff up on the bed, there's a limit to how much we can put up there. the black tank is under the front of the bed.

[Bborzell]

I installed a front hitch on my Class C Tioga (Ford E450). We used it for several trips with a 150cc scooter. In general, it worked out OK, but the real limitation was driving on those days that suddenly turned to dusk and then dark.

There might be some configurations of rack height, bike/scooter height/width and headlight position that would allow unobstructed headlight beams, but successfully pulling off a clear headlight path with a front rack is a low probability in my view.

Despite our best intentions to avoid driving past daylight hours, stuff happens and not being able to see down the road is not the hot setup; not to mention being illegal.

[Karen in CO]

We had Bigfoot add the 2” hitch receiver to the back bumper and then we purchased a Yakima rack made for RVs. We loaded our two hybrid bicycles on there. Being able to keep a close eye on them via our Bigfoot rear camera I can tell they can take a beating on rough roads. Be careful

[Peter10]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Does anyone carry a smallish motorcycle on the back bumper of their trailer? I'm thinking about 300 to 350 lbs. I have a Big Foot 25RQ. If I take the back tire and fiberglass tire cover off the bumper, I might be able to save 35 to 40 lbs. A gas or electric bike or motorcycle, just big enough to hold both of us (we weight total about 350lbs maybe a little less). I am starting to obsess over breaking down in the back country. Not interested in bicycles or satellite radios.

I use a motorcycle rack from prinses auto and it works very well with my Yamaha 250

[Rzrbrn]

Peter10 I ck'd out Princess Auto in Canda on the we b. The rack weights 51.9 lbs. Add the Yamaha 250 and that is quite a lot. Is your hitch welded on the trailer or bolted? Do you tow the trailer and Yamaha very far?

[Rzrbrn]

Originally Posted by mszabo

Just bought a pair of these 28mph 20-40 mile range

https://lectricebikes.com/

mszabo this looks interesting. August is the earliest shipping date so I will have to wait until November or so before I get serious about this. Hopefully you will have time by then to give us an update on how yours has worked.

So as of this moment the Honda Super Cub or possibly this ebike.

[Peter10]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Peter10 I ck'd out Princess Auto in Canda on the we b. The rack weights 51.9 lbs. Add the Yamaha 250 and that is quite a lot. Is your hitch welded on the trailer or bolted? Do you tow the trailer and Yamaha very far?

The hitch is welded to the trailer and we have gone from Ontario to Alberta and back !

[Rzrbrn]

Thank you Peter10. Very good to know. When we get back from camping I will look into having a hitch put on the back of my BF 25RQ. Probably won't be until Nov or so.

[BushWacker]

I use one that goes between the trailer and the TV. It's heavy duty which makes it very heavy itself. It puts most of the weight load on the TV which can be an issue but it's better to have that weight on the TV rather than the trailer. I carry a bike that weighs 250lbs wet and it seems to be about the limit for my vehicle tongue weight which is a Toyota Tundra.

[MTRCYCMAN]

Hey Rzrbrn

That is a question you should direct to the Bigfoot manufacture. I have the same trailer. I called them about towing my motorcycle on a small trailer behind the Bigfoot. I have a 1000 pound Harley. They are very helpful and they will be honest about it. They said I could tow a light weight trailer behind the bigfoot with no trouble.

You are just getting opinions on here. You get fact from the manufacture.

Good Luck
MC