More than 125cc less than 114cm tall

[Vic]

Good morning. Need of some help.......in more ways than one......
Anyway, getting a new van with a garage, now looking for motorcycle/scooter to fit in it.
The garage door is 114cm high and not much more inside. It has a load weight of 450kg.
I am looking for a machine than is 150cc or more so I can use it Italian motorways. Less than 114cm in height and ideally no more than 200kgs for ease of moving it.
It must be able to seat a big bloke and small (she will like that bit) pillion.
My weapon of choice would be a Honda SH300 but they are 122cm tall and I feel that 8cm is too much to keep the suspension compressed.
I do not want to tow a trailer due to ferry costs and to keep me as short as possible when I get lost in medieval French towns etc.
What do the the collective suggest?
Vic

 

[Langtoftlad]

The garage might have a load limit of 450Kgs... but do you have the spare payload?

 

[Vic]

Oh yes. Did a lot of research on this one. Alko Heavy chassis, 2500kg rear axle weight. 1400kg payload.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Suzuki GS500?

115cm tall, 199kg wet.

Loads of them around and the older ones are pretty cheap.

A 600 Fazer might be another one you could squeeze in, it's a little bit taller and a little bit heavier but is a better ride.

 

[Vic]

I had considered the gs, but I will have a look at the Fazer. Thank you.

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[Wagoneer]

You may find the Honda SH300 is 117cm high without wingmirrors.

Most garage door entrances have something like a 4cm lip down to the level of the floor. The handlebars (critical height) are 40cm back from the front wheel. So, once you get the front wheel in, resting on the garage floor, you've got sufficient clearance for the handlebars. Also, the inclination of the ramp helps to reduce the effective height at the handlebars.

The only downside is getting the bike out over the 4cm high lip. You could build a 1 in 10 short ramp inside the garage between the lip and the garage floor. Also you need to check for grounding the underside of the bike on the lip.

Only real way to test is to get Honda to try and load the bike in your garage. That's what I did when contemplating buying a PCX 125.

 

[mustaphapint]

We are on our 2nd trip away with a Honda Innova 125, chosen for its light weight (100kg) and ease of loading in the garage. It's too small. OK for shopping trips but rather uncomfortable for the longer trips we want to make. When we get back I shall be checking if we can get my 350 Enfield (170kg) in the garage alongside the 2 cycles for future trips. Unfortunately I've no chance with the Harley.

 

[awg]

My Carthago has a garage door of 114cm and is 118cm inside. It takes (just) a Vespa 300gts minus mirrors and topbox without compressing the suspension. Weirdly the topbox can be refitted for transport once the scooter is loaded.
The Vespa was more my wife's choice than mine but it's more than up to the job abroad and easily keeps up with traffic on UK dual carriageways.

Allan

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Unfortunately I've no chance with the Harley.

I have the same problem with my Bandit and my Victory Kingpin. I've been toying with the idea of getting a bike trailer and towing one or the other but 'er indoors refuses point blank to get on the back of either of them so there's not really much point at the moment

 

[Vic]

Thank you to all that have replied. I am doing the circuit of local dealers tomorrow with a tape measure. After considering my pillion's bad back, I think a slightly heavier bike with more compliant suspension may be the way to go.

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[jongood]

Ive got one of these

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/aprilia/sport-city-300/2008/

I can just fit it in 1180, but have to remove the front bit with the screen on, originally 6 screws - 2 now.

Goes really well, on large wheels and proper suspension with double discs on front so pretty comfy and much better handling than most scooters. Mine is in Aprilia Racing colours.

 

[Wagoneer]

Good morning. Need of some help.......in more ways than one......
Anyway, getting a new van with a garage, now looking for motorcycle/scooter to fit in it.
The garage door is 114cm high and not much more inside. It has a load weight of 450kg.
I am looking for a machine than is 150cc or more so I can use it Italian motorways. Less than 114cm in height and ideally no more than 200kgs for ease of moving it.
It must be able to seat a big bloke and small (she will like that bit) pillion.
My weapon of choice would be a Honda SH300 but they are 122cm tall and I feel that 8cm is too much to keep the suspension compressed.
I do not want to tow a trailer due to ferry costs and to keep me as short as possible when I get lost in medieval French towns etc.
What do the the collective suggest?
Vic

Which van are you getting. Might help if others have got a similar van.

 

[Vic]

Wagoneer, yep, its a Hymer Tramp 678cl-t.

 

[mustaphapint]

I have the same problem with my Bandit and my Victory Kingpin. I've been toying with the idea of getting a bike trailer and towing one or the other but 'er indoors refuses point blank to get on the back of either of them so there's not really much point at the moment

I'm still resisting a trailer, mainly because of the security aspect and inconvenience.

 

[A S R]

When you do the round of dealers make sure you go to a KTM one and check out the 690 Duke! Plenty of poke, good looks and not bad 2 up on short to mid trips. The bonus is that when the mirrors are removed it's only 44" / 110cm tall!! It's fairly light at about 150kgs and thin too cos it's a thumpy single.

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[Wagoneer]

Nice van. I like the way they have raised the cargo rails above the floor of the garage. It should make the bike more stable when strapping down.

It looks like there is a small lip at the garage door, probably about 2cm. From the brochure pics it looks like the internal height is about 120cm. The top door strut could reduce the clear loading height a tad.

You'll probably find that the ramping effect will reduce the effective height of the handlebars by at least 6cm as they pass through the garage entrance (assuming you front load and reverse out the same door).

 

[PhilG]

You may find the Honda SH300 is 117cm high without wingmirrors.

Most garage door entrances have something like a 4cm lip down to the level of the floor. The handlebars (critical height) are 40cm back from the front wheel. So, once you get the front wheel in, resting on the garage floor, you've got sufficient clearance for the handlebars. Also, the inclination of the ramp helps to reduce the effective height at the handlebars.

The only downside is getting the bike out over the 4cm high lip. You could build a 1 in 10 short ramp inside the garage between the lip and the garage floor. Also you need to check for grounding the underside of the bike on the lip.

Only real way to test is to get Honda to try and load the bike in your garage. That's what I did when contemplating buying a PCX 125.

This..

My bike is too tall to fit in the garage , yet goes in through the door that is smaller than that .

GS500 is a nice bike, twin cylinder, rather than the Fazer that is 4 , which is bigger and heavier. Be aware that height usually includes mirrors.

And reverse loading is far easier .

 

[Poutie57]

Hi there, i currently use a KTM 390 Duke, it only weighs 139kg so well within the weight limit of the garage and easy to push up the ramp. It has plenty of poke and a beauty to drive. A new one costs 4.5k versus 7k for a 690

 

[Gina M]

Hi Poutie
Sorry to but in been looking at the 390 and 690.
How does your 390 handle 2 up on hills.

 

[Poutie57]

Well we've had it for 3yrs now and been up the Alps, up mont Ventoux, alp Deux, the Sierra Nevada mountains in Spain, Pico's d'europe. Etc etc. With no problems. It's got 44bhp and pulls really well and handles like sh... I can easily keep up with 600's round the bends and would say best bike I've ever had

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[Gina M]

Well we've had it for 3yrs now and been up the Alps, up mont Ventoux, alp Deux, the Sierra Nevada mountains in Spain, Pico's d'europe. Etc etc. With no problems. It's got 44bhp and pulls really well and handles like sh... I can easily keep up with 600's round the bends and would say best bike I've ever had

 

[Gina M]

That's encouraging to know .
Think we are going to weigh van loaded when we have easter break in Abergele, first time out in new van.
Armitage have quoted Subject to info from weighbridge that I can have a bike 170kg on a rack

 

[Popeye]

and thin too cos it's a thumpy single.

It's the thumpy single that has put me off looking at it, I'm sold on a twin, so please extol its virtues.

 

[PhilG]

Hi Poutie
Sorry to but in been looking at the 390 and 690.
How does your 390 handle 2 up on hills.

390 wont pull a greasy stick out of a dogs arse... hills will be a problem , you will have to thrash it, but offset that against cost, weight and size, and its a tough call. Having had a 690 at home for a few weeks, i would not want to be putting that on a rack or in a garage.

I would say that if you are going to use the bike ONLY for the MH, 390, if not , look elsewhere.. 690 is a nice bike in its own right, we picked a 58 plate up for £1900

 

[bigtree]

It's the thumpy single that has put me off looking at it, I'm sold on a twin, so please extol its virtues.

Wait till next year when the 790 comes out then.

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[Poutie57]

Tried a rack on my previous van (easylifter then a PWS rack) I hated it. I found myself always looking in the rear view mirror worrying whether it was going to come off especially over those pesky sleeping policeman.
On the subject of 390 versus 690 if you've got the money i agree go with the 690 it's only 10kg more and exactly the same size, twin cylinder bike nearly always come in at 170 to 180kg which really eats into your payload

 

[peterc10]

To get back to the OP's question. Just because the garage can take 450Kg does not mean that you can put that much in it!

Our motorhome has a 4500kg MGW and a garage that is supposed to be able to take 450kg. We carry a small scooter (100kg) in it, along with another 100kg or so of stuff. Our rear axle is within 100kg of its maximum weight when we are fully loaded and ready to go on tour. That means that, taking into account the cantilever effect, we can probably only put another 75kg in the garage at most, making a total of 275kg.

 

[A S R]

It's the thumpy single that has put me off looking at it, I'm sold on a twin, so please extol its virtues.

Seriously go try one at a dealers! Think you'll be pleasently surprised! They are superb bikes.

 

[Poutie57]

Yep I would agree with that, I had a Harley before so so from one extreme to another but once on it I was sold, handling is fantastic and it's so light, it is a little lumpy below 4k rpm but you get used to knocking it down a gear to even it

 

[bigtree]

Seriously go try one at a dealers! Think you'll be pleasently surprised! They are superb bikes.

I have already converted another forum member to the KTM life,have done a bit of tinkering to mine with electronics and drive train.

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