Motor bike trailer

Roger S

Roger S

Joined
Oct 31, 2017
Posts
661
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1,509
Location
Kent
Funster No
51,209
MH
Carthago T149
Exp
Since 2016
Hello All,

I am thinking about purchasing a bike trailer but am unsure which to go for. I have a Tiger which weighs about 200kgs also a 310 GS which is a fair bit ligther.

I am tempted by the transverse type but they must be awfull to reverse, I knoiw the Hydra trail is good for reversing but there does seem to be some stories about them.

Any imput would be useful.

Thanks

Roger
 
I have seen somewhere a picture of a trailer that connected to the motorhome by two tow balls. It had wheels like very large casters in so far as they swivelled through 360 degrees. I cannot remember where I saw this but it did look like a great idea.
 
glenn2926 said:
I have seen somewhere a picture of a trailer that connected to the motorhome by two tow balls. It had wheels like very large casters in so far as they swivelled through 360 degrees. I cannot remember where I saw this but it did look like a great
1620239486373.jpeg
1620239486373.jpeg Not quite what your after but you may be able to trace the manufacturer to see what other models they do.
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yoremorques.fr

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I am a fan of the Hydratrail. Comes apart into relatively easy to store parts. Very easy to reverse with. Good strong tow point. Will take my BMW R1200gs which is a heavy old beast.
Not much not to like really.
 
Id get 1 with a strong cage on it if your going round the country with a tiger on the loose
 
What chassis does your m/h have and how long is the overhang? If it's the AL-Ko light chassis and has a long overhang I wouldn't recommend a Hydratrail. This is from experience.
 
I have had a Hydra-trail for 3 years now,have been all over France and Spain with no problems whatsoever. I carry a Honda sh300. I think it weighs bout 160kg from memory. The only thing you need to be aware of when reversing is to give the trailers wheels time to turn the 180 degrees ie for the first few feet go slower.
 
I have a transverse trailerI have used for scooters and bikes.It isn’t easy to reverse but in most circumstances it is so easy to detach,lower the jockey wheel a little so the bike is leaning slightly towards you and push it around.I am 71 and can push it by hand. On tarmac or concrete of course.Will carry over 200kgs.
Ferries cheaper and only going to sell as because of injury bought an mp3.

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Roger. There's not much difference reversing a transverse trailer to a normal one.
If you go for a transverse, I have a brand new, unused, CMF trailer that I collected in March to put my Bonnie on. I then bought an electric scooter which can live on a rack. So I plan to sell the trailer. It cost about £1350 with the spare wheel and storage wheels to store it in my garage. A grand would be a big loss but save me advertising it!
It tows brilliantly btw. Its only trip being from the maker in Ross on Wye to Bath, where it is now.
 
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One thing to consider with any trailer is how easy it is to load - the height of the bed, length and angle of the ramp are all factors when loading it on your own without help.

Mine is not too high but riding the bike up the ramp means that halfway up your feet are well above ground level. Fine if you just go for it but....... I now have a pair of lightweight ramps either side so I can stop halfway up. Reversing back was never an issue - just put it in gear and use the clutch as a brake.

In hindsight now I would go for either the sort where the bed lowers to ground level or where the bed tips at an angle to load and then tips back level as the weight of the bike goes forward.

Taken quite a few pictures of mainly French trailers with this system and have the name of a few companies who sell these. Not particularly cheap but certainly the most stress free way to load a heavy bike. Having watched a guy just ride his Honda Gold Wing straight on I was convinced.
 
I had a transverse trailer and loved it. I used to start the engine on the bike and carefully open the throttle and it went up easy. Ver easy to manoeuvre when removing it. I also fitted an aluminium storage box to the towing frame which was aboon.

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stevewagner said:
I had a transverse trailer and loved it. I used to start the engine on the bike and carefully open the throttle and it went up easy. Ver easy to manoeuvre when removing it. I also fitted an aluminium storage box to the towing frame which was aboon.
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I have to winch my MP3 up as there is a pressure switch under the seat to stop it being "driven" whilst not sat on it. It is a safety feature which stops the vertical lock which keeps it upright when stationary from being released. The winch is very straightforward though.
 
I would agree with the comments on angle of ramp etc. I have a 1250 GSA and in my opinion it is not safe to ride up a ramp aiming for a wheel clamp. Hence the Sawiko Wheely. Another one I considered was the Cochett UNO as below:

With the larger bikes I do think they are better being winched up a ramp. I saw a Gold Wing fall off a trailer onto the rider. Not a pretty sight!
 
Chrisvh said:
I would agree with the comments on angle of ramp etc. I have a 1250 GSA and in my opinion it is not safe to ride up a ramp aiming for a wheel clamp. Hence the Sawiko Wheely. Another one I considered was the Cochett UNO as below:

With the larger bikes I do think they are better being winched up a ramp. I saw a Gold Wing fall off a trailer onto the rider. Not a pretty sight!
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Presumably, unless you had an electric winch and R/C this would have to be a two person operation. My wife was never happy watching me ride up or helping to stabilise which is why I would go for the cochette type or similar now. With the jockey wheel down on that example it should be a pretty stable platform to ride up.
 
Thank you all for your thoughts. Pretty impressive the Hydralift will take a GS, The Remorque does look like a nice trailer but bloomin expensive, I need to uprate the suspension on the van which is going to cost upwards of £1500, plus a tow bar which will be another £600, then the trailer, eek. The Motolug looks good and Tiger proof ! I had a look at the Sawiko but couldnt find a price. Thanks for the offer Peppadog, looks a nice trailer my concern would be loading the bike height wise as when it goes up the ramp it will be quite a reach for a shorty.

Thanks again (y)(y)
 
I think you will find the load height of transverse trailers similar. I have not loaded my Bonnie as its garaged down in Poole. So I tried the new Electric scooter on it. I just walked it up the ramp with a gentle throttle. Easy and felt ok.

The Sawiko with winch and running wheel clamp looks brilliant.

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I believe Armitage offer the Sawiko easy load on their standard side loading trailer. I think the price quoted was about £1600 and a fair increase in weight.
I have the Armitage trailer and fitted a manual winch to it. I'd look at the Motolug now but it's powder coated and will probably rust whereas the Armitage is gatvanised and more substantial.
 
Looking at some of the options mentioned above I notice the Sawiko is a trailer. I used to have the Erdi bike trailer, same principle as the Sawiko. The cost on the ferry to France was the same as a caravan. The Hydra- trail was classed as addictive length to the van. The difference in cost £20 for the extra length, £170 classed as a caravan. Needless to say that’s when I sold the Erdi and bought the Hydra- trail.
 
Ill have another look at Armitage. Do any of you park on aires with trailers ? I know you are not meant too.
 
I have travelled in France and Spain with the Hydra-trail and only use aires

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ChrisL said:
Armitage do a low loading transverse motorcycle trailer, some versions of it can carry up to 340 kgs.

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This looks good, although small wheels/tyres, but the 95kg nose weight, and it's impact on rear axle loading would rule it out for me. Armitage a good company to deal with and very helpful if you need adaptations.

The YOremorques option looked better because the weight seems to be directly over the double wheels.
 
Roger20 said:
This looks good, although small wheels/tyres, but the 95kg nose weight, and it's impact on rear axle loading would rule it out for me. Armitage a good company to deal with and very helpful if you need adaptations.

The YOremorques option looked better because the weight seems to be directly over the double wheels.
Click to expand...
If you get the version that has the box on the back you can reduce the nose weight by storing heavy stuff in the box, i.e. tools etc. I do agree that the YOremorques is a better solution but it's also twice the price.
 

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