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Old 06-18-2019, 02:18 PM   #1
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Name: Henry
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Motorcycle on Trailer Bumper

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.
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Old 06-18-2019, 02:53 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by Rzrbrn View Post
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.
It is possible if you keep it tight to the body and watch your tongue weight, but with a bumper tow if you want a third vehicle why not load it in the bed of the truck?
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Old 06-18-2019, 03:40 PM   #3
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Thanks Jim. I have a camper shell on the bed and it is full of stuff. We go out for 4 to 6 months at a time so take a lot of stuff.

Just to clarify, I don't mean to pull the cycle, I meant to have it off the ground, on the bumper, like what some folks do with bicycles.
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Old 06-18-2019, 04:26 PM   #4
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The question is not really answerable in a meaningful way. We are all concerned with stability and who can say if you have enough reserve stability, that that would not give you a sway problem. I know carrying a bike there is tempting, but I'm not sure I want to do it. In thinking about it on my new rig, I've thought I could remove the two large truck tire spares and the large rack that supports them, removing 200 lbs or so, put the spares in the truck bed, and go for it with a bike rack. Every other place, for me, is out of the question for a motorcycle. I won't seriously consider putting one on the front of the truck either.

A nice little Yamaha TW 200 would be very handy with it's fat tires, simplicity and relatively light weight. The two of you could putt along on a desert trail just fine. Is this the kind of thing you're thinking of?
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Old 06-18-2019, 04:43 PM   #5
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I am thinking of motor bikes like these:
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Old 06-18-2019, 04:51 PM   #6
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Both of you on one of those, on soft ground, would be tricky. But they are very light. That Rukus would be fun for other things too.
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Old 06-18-2019, 06:01 PM   #7
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I'd check the load ratings on the two above. I doubt they can handle two adults. Neither of the bikes you pictured are made to seat two.
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Old 06-18-2019, 06:03 PM   #8
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Top is a Honda Super Cub (125cc), bottom is a Honda Ruckus (50cc)
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Old 06-18-2019, 06:06 PM   #9
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Owners say they haul two adults on both. I doubt for very far, but it would be used in such a way very infrequently. I am still looking, these I suppose are just to give you an idea of what I am considering. Found a couple of electric scooters about the same size.
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Old 06-19-2019, 09:24 AM   #10
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I have a 300# Kawasaki KLX250 dual sport bike that I would love to take to Arizona with us. Unfortunately, a 4Runner pulling a Casita doesn't leave much capacity. We have a front hitch receiver, and I am going to try putting the bike on the front, but only as an experiment, and if it works, probably only for trips less than 100 miles. There is spare axle capacity up front to do it, but I have no idea how handling and engine cooling might be affected. I'll report back in a couple of weeks with results.

E-bicycles seem to be fairly light, and would give you emergency transportation. A pair might be fine on a Bigfoot 25, or maybe one or both could go up front.
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Old 06-19-2019, 09:30 AM   #11
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A couple of things here:

1) An electric "scooter" is not going to take you very far in the back country if you break down if that is the major concern! I have a Rebel 250 and it's only good for 150 miles on a full tank riding single. But it's HEAVY for a bumper.

2) I would DEFINITELY check the "tongue weight" of the trailer before doing all of this. You can test it by putting a "dummy" load on the bumper and having it weighed. IF the tongue weight isnt still a MINIMUM of 10% of the total trailer weight, I would NOT do this!...even if you add sway bars. I personally wouldnt want to stress my trailer frame, axles and tires with this added load. If you're not careful, you probably WILL need the extra transportation for a breakdown induced by the emergency transportation that caused it!
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Old 06-19-2019, 10:17 AM   #12
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Thinking about a used 230 pound Honda Grom for my Wife, she's 5'2" and most Dual Sport motorcycles are just too tall for her, they can be set up for Dual/Sport riding.

https://powersports.honda.com/2019/Grom.aspx

We have had a couple used smaller Dual Sport bikes, Honda CRF230L and Yamaha XT225, both under 275 pounds pounds wet, can go 60MPH and little Billy Goats off pavement, too.

Honda CRF230L and XT225:
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Old 06-19-2019, 10:18 AM   #13
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Have you considered, if you're really worried, maybe, possibly, not going so far backcountry that you cannot walk out?


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Old 06-19-2019, 10:19 AM   #14
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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#
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Old 06-19-2019, 10:44 AM   #15
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You need to look at what the bike will do to visibility of your tail/stop/turn lights. and license plate. Best if you have, or can add, high mounted lamps, and a high, centered brake light.
As far as just carrying the bike, you may need a welder to beef up the rear bumper and mount the bike carrier.
As to balance… how's your high school physics? look at as a lever. The weight of the bike plus carrier x their distance behind the axle divided by the distance from the axle to the hitch ball will be how much hitch weight is reduced.
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Old 06-19-2019, 11:34 AM   #16
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Darral T. You are spot on with #2. On the other hand some electric scooters are capable of 40 to 50 miles range. Not far but enough to get to a place with cell service. One big negative for me is that the electric scooter companies don't seem to exist for long, so batteries and spare parts are minimized. Unless some company like Honda gets into electric cycles I will probably go with gas.

I would really like a Roxor, but they are way too big and heavy.
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Old 06-19-2019, 11:38 AM   #17
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Thanks Wayne.
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Old 06-19-2019, 07:59 PM   #18
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Hi, I would carry the bike on the rear truck bumper, I advise against hanging anything heavy on the rear of the trailer. I use an Econoline Van tow vehicle and have two hitches on the rear, one the 2" frame hitch for the RV trailer and the other attaching the bike rack to the bumper. I would only do it on the back of the tow vehicle. My motorcycle carrier is two parts which attaches to the bumper via hangers and you secure the cycle to the door handle and hinges. Try to see a motorcycle shop and see if they have them. Good luck with that.
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Old 06-19-2019, 09:12 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by jokra View Post
Hi, I would carry the bike on the rear truck bumper, I advise against hanging anything heavy on the rear of the trailer. I use an Econoline Van tow vehicle and have two hitches on the rear, one the 2" frame hitch for the RV trailer and the other attaching the bike rack to the bumper. I would only do it on the back of the tow vehicle. My motorcycle carrier is two parts which attaches to the bumper via hangers and you secure the cycle to the door handle and hinges. Try to see a motorcycle shop and see if they have them. Good luck with that.
The problem here is you have to remove it at every stop to get stuff out of the back of the pickup if you have a camper shell, or if you need to lower the tailgate. And it will interfere with the turning radius.
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Old 06-20-2019, 04:12 AM   #20
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Thanks for the great discussion. It seems the best way to carry a motorcycle is in the bed of the truck. For us this means we must wait until a new truck is purchased. I will not try to carry a motorbike on the trailer bumper because I don't want to have issues with the chassis of the trailer, or on the truck bumper between the truck and trailer because of the reduced turning radius, which for us is critical. This will be our first camping season in the larger trailer and will determine how circumscribed our meanderings will have to be: The short Casita vs the much heavier and longer Big Foot.
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