SOMEONE HAS TO GO FIRST - Motorbike and trailer choice

I recently sold my Phoenix 2/3 bike trailer, brilliant bit of kit, very well made but no longer needed.
Just made a slide out bike rack for the back of the 5'er, might be a bit tight getting on & off ferries/Eurotunnel etc. Will probably do a dry run to Europe without a bike to check first!

Broken Link Removed

Couple of minutes & it's all packed away

 
GaryBDawson said:
I have carried a 50cc for years but for the last couple I have a Piaggio yurban 300cc with the two front wheels it's fabulous I never passed a motor bike test but ride this on my car licence. I carry this on the easy lifter hydra trail this is fantastic it drops to the floor for loading ect, and has two wheels to take the weight. It's attached to the so reversing is no problem and it's not classed as a trailer for ferries ect works well.
Gary
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Hi Gary,

Do you have any photo's or details of the tow bar/carrying rack that you use. Your description sounds exactly like what we are looking for .
 
To Maison
Just had a Easy Lifter put on my motorhome last weekend easy to use went a way last weekend to try with a honda 650 Transalp 191kg very well made takes getting used to but a great help with motor bike not cheap but worth it
hope this is of help
ps is on u tube but I took longer
Adrian
 
Thanks Adrian1

Will be looking at doing the job on our return from France in October.

We currently have a Fiamma bike rack on the rear of MH. If we remove the rack itself, leaving just the mounting bars do you think there will be room for the motorbike on the Easylift, without fouling, or am I likely to have to remove all the Fiamma leaving just blanking plates at the fixing point?
 
Hi maison
I think that you would have clear all the bike rack out the way to allow the Easylift to travel up and down and allow the width of the motor bike .I will be loading my bike on the back of my motorhome when we go away in a couple of weeks to salisbury for the weekend I will load some shots of it then and report on longer trip.
Adrian

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If you have recently purchased the latest/current version of the Easylifter Hydra Trail, I would be interested in seeing the pics. A French registered van on the Aire at Honfleur recently had a very sturdy looking motorcycle carrier, similar to the Easylifter Hydra Trail but with dual dolly wheels (2 wheels each side) and with suspension between the wheels and the carrier (does the Easylifter still not have this?). Stupidly, I did not take a photo or get the name of the manufacturer.
 
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We're lucky our 650 Kawasaki Versys just fits in the garage of our Hymer B694 tag.
So nice powerful bike for two up touring wherever we are in the world.
Gonna have a serious look now to see if my new BMW will fit in.
Ooohhh that would be amazing.
 
To ROLEYBIRKIN QC
The Hydra Lift fixes on a bracket that replaces the tow ball the main unit travels up and down then the motorcycle bed travels side to side no suspension that I can see, we live in a house with a drive on a steep hill so the unit has to twist to get out no problems then speed humps as long as taken at safe speed no problems as the designer said when I spoke to him treat it like a trailer.
Please keep looking on this post I will within 3weeks add photos or my start a new post
Adrian
 
I used a hydra trail with a fiamma bike rack and have not had any problems so far with them coming into contact with each other. (y)

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Adrian1 said:
To ROLEYBIRKIN QC
The Hydra Lift fixes on a bracket that replaces the tow ball the main unit travels up and down then the motorcycle bed travels side to side no suspension that I can see, we live in a house with a drive on a steep hill so the unit has to twist to get out no problems then speed humps as long as taken at safe speed no problems as the designer said when I spoke to him treat it like a trailer.
Please keep looking on this post I will within 3weeks add photos or my start a new post
Adrian
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Mines a early version but on this you leave the tow ball on the mounting and drop the easy lift over the top of it. There is then a security fixing that you can put a pad lock or bolt in my case through to reduce the possibilities of it being nicked.
 
MikeD said:
I used a hydra trail with a fiamma bike rack and have not had any problems so far with them coming into contact with each other. (y)
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Thank you MikeD for the info.
 
Just got back for first trip Hydra Trail worked very well make sure well tied down Check and here are some photes of tranalp 650 loaded
 

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Hope last post helps

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Just some advice to those with a HydraTrail.

We brought a new Hydra Trail in December 2014 just before our first trip to Spain in our then new Autotrail Delaware. I purchased a complete spare wheel as well as another wheel just in case (bit over kill tbh). All went well till we got back home and i noticed the HydraTrail on a slant (i.e. one end closer the back of the MH than the other). Once I unloaded the bike which was only a 97kg 125cc scooter, i noticed the actual Towbar had been bent. This was a professionally fitted witter towbar on a 2015 model AT Delaware. I could not recall anywhere in the journey which would of maybe caused this. I managed to get the towbar replaced under warranty thinking it must of been a fault with it and all was good again. I then sold the scooter and brought another one this time a 300cc 189kg from Manchester. Drove up all ok, loaded scooter and tie wrapped down all secure. I drove out the close approx 200 yards took a right, went over a couple of speed bumps slowly then took a left turn. Looked in the mirror and found the bike looked crooked. Got out inspected and found bent towbar again. I am assuming this bent easier this time as the scooter was a lot heavier but under the 250kg that it can take. Some of these towbars are just not strong enough to take these trailers, spoke with hydratrail and arranged to take MH up to see what can be done. He straightened it with just a bar (very flimsy). He then welded some extra supports onto it to ensure it doesnt move again. To be honest he didnt know why it happened as there should be very little load on this as the wheels take most when they turn. I could see how flimsy these towbars are though with no support. Ok for straight towing but need to be careful with using something like this.

I still like the Hydratrail but there is quite a bit of maintenance to undertake to ensure all works as it should, had a couple of times where the wheels when left has seized and need to be undone and greased. Probably just general maintenance but for someone like me who doesnt have a clue it has been a learning curve. I now also have a ramp which saves me jacking it up to get the bike on and off which for me makes it a lot easier when not on flat ground and the wheels dont quite clear enough to take off. I would still recommend it even with the issues as it is far better than taking a full blown trailer. All in all it has been very expensive with all the extra's i have, just over 2k but i believe it is a lot easier than the alternatives. You can hire a lot of cars/bikes etc for this kind of money whilst away :)

Just keep checking it whenever you can especially if you dont have a camera at the back which can be left on when driving.
 
My reasoning for why I would not choose this method.

I had a scooter rack for some years for my Gilera 200 (both recently sold) but being as I also have a BMW GS1150, riding the scooter was only for shopping errands and did not encourage pleasure rides. The scooter and rack were great for ease and being low weight (and within the axle limits).
I looked into all of the options for the BMW including the Hydratrail but decided on a regular trailer for two main reasons.
1.
A sideways loader needs to have enough support for the weight of the bike sideways and I do not like the push pull loads this imposes on the handlebars or the seat. Even tying only with the bike frame leaves a lot of weight above the straps to increase the leverage and therefore load on frame and strap. As a trailer the idea is a solution for keeping the train length lower.
2.
A Hydratrail adds the second issue in that the load wheels are in fact castors (albeit large castors). This means that all of the lateral loads from the castor wheels are transmitted to the bracket behind the tow all that is designed to keep it in line with the back of the m/h. On good surfaces and even speed bumps driven over squarely this all works great. The problem will arise if ONE castor becomes stuck against an obstacle such as a deep pothole or a kerb. This then will cause the frame to try to pivot around the towball bracket causing the damage described by zzzzac.

As said at the start, these are only why I was not keen to use but everyone's needs are different.
Mechanical sympathy is something I believe saves a huge amount of money in the long term and as far as I can see, the transverse methods are not able to achieve it unless the bike is very light.
 
Derbyshire wanderer said:
My reasoning for why I would not choose this method.

I had a scooter rack for some years for my Gilera 200 (both recently sold) but being as I also have a BMW GS1150, riding the scooter was only for shopping errands and did not encourage pleasure rides. The scooter and rack were great for ease and being low weight (and within the axle limits).
I looked into all of the options for the BMW including the Hydratrail but decided on a regular trailer for two main reasons.
1.
A sideways loader needs to have enough support for the weight of the bike sideways and I do not like the push pull loads this imposes on the handlebars or the seat. Even tying only with the bike frame leaves a lot of weight above the straps to increase the leverage and therefore load on frame and strap. As a trailer the idea is a solution for keeping the train length lower.
2.
A Hydratrail adds the second issue in that the load wheels are in fact castors (albeit large castors). This means that all of the lateral loads from the castor wheels are transmitted to the bracket behind the tow all that is designed to keep it in line with the back of the m/h. On good surfaces and even speed bumps driven over squarely this all works great. The problem will arise if ONE castor becomes stuck against an obstacle such as a deep pothole or a kerb. This then will cause the frame to try to pivot around the towball bracket causing the damage described by zzzzac.

As said at the start, these are only why I was not keen to use but everyone's needs are different.
Mechanical sympathy is something I believe saves a huge amount of money in the long term and as far as I can see, the transverse methods are not able to achieve it unless the bike is very light.
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With reference to Point 2 - The hydratrail has a pivot between the motorcycle frame and the tow bar and if you hit a kerb it will just lift its wheel. There is not a rigid fixing between each individual wheel position and the tow bar. For me the one problem of the lift is its lack of suspension so all the shock loadings are taken into the bike and its lashings. (y):)
 
MikeD said:
With reference to Point 2 - The hydratrail has a pivot between the motorcycle frame and the tow bar and if you hit a kerb it will just lift its wheel. There is not a rigid fixing between each individual wheel position and the tow bar. For me the one problem of the lift is its lack of suspension so all the shock loadings are taken into the bike and its lashings. (y):)
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It's the suspension, or lack thereof, which puts me off the hydratrail. But I quite like the robust look of that French version posted earlier (but it's not cheap). Not sure if it supports the weight of my KTM 1190 Adventure, or how the wind-on loading would cope with such?

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MikeD said:
With reference to Point 2 - The hydratrail has a pivot between the motorcycle frame and the tow bar and if you hit a kerb it will just lift its wheel. There is not a rigid fixing between each individual wheel position and the tow bar. For me the one problem of the lift is its lack of suspension so all the shock loadings are taken into the bike and its lashings. (y):)
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It is not the vertical movement but the lateral that is the problem. Imagine looking at it from above and then travel forward or backwards while one castor is prevented from rolling. The stresses are then transferred through the cantilever to the towball fixing pins that are there to keep the cantilever at 90^ to the tow bar
 
Derbyshire wanderer said:
It is not the vertical movement but the lateral that is the problem. Imagine looking at it from above and then travel forward or backwards while one castor is prevented from rolling. The stresses are then transferred through the cantilever to the towball fixing pins that are there to keep the cantilever at 90^ to the tow bar
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There is not a rigid fixing betwen the lateral movement of the wheels and the tow bar. One wheel could be a significant height above the other wheel and would not cause a twisting load on the towbar.

There is a pivot below the track/frame that supports the motorbike. The pivot spins 360 degrees.

If you hit a kerb the wheel will just lift, it will not transmit a twisting motion to the tow bar.

I will try to post some photographs over the next couple of days. It may help with the explanation and understanding. (y)
 
MikeD, I have seen them and do understand what you are saying about the ability of the wheels to lift independently of each other. My concern was that the loading rail (including the wheels ect) is fixed at 90^ to the cantilever and the cantilever is fixed to the towball (cannot move left or right like a trailer). The lateral stresses are those where the track of the rack attempts to move to the left or right of the cantilever. This could easily happen if you parked the m/h on the pavement and have a castor wedged against the kerb as the track width of the castors is less than the m/h axle. The frame then transmits these sideways forces into the tow bar if you turn back into the road as the overhang WILL move the towball towards the pavement which is a possible cause of the damaged tow bar described by zzzzac. Yes the castor will have to turn and then climb the kerb but only after the pivot point is pulled over the wheel axle centre.
As I originally said, each to their own but I do not like the design and therefore use a conventional trailer because of this. You obviously have one and have no problems with it. I am certainly not trying to persuade you that your decision is flawed, only that it isn't one I would make.
 
I'm still looking at a bespoke carrier for my honda sh300. I don't want a towbar mounted one, just a nice rack/ramp jobby that I can remove at mot time. I suppose I'll have to go down the air suspension route aswell, just so Mrs B can have her fresh baguette every morning:)
 
Derbyshire wanderer said:
MikeD, I have seen them and do understand what you are saying about the ability of the wheels to lift independently of each other. My concern was that the loading rail (including the wheels ect) is fixed at 90^ to the cantilever and the cantilever is fixed to the towball (cannot move left or right like a trailer). The lateral stresses are those where the track of the rack attempts to move to the left or right of the cantilever. This could easily happen if you parked the m/h on the pavement and have a castor wedged against the kerb as the track width of the castors is less than the m/h axle. The frame then transmits these sideways forces into the tow bar if you turn back into the road as the overhang WILL move the towball towards the pavement which is a possible cause of the damaged tow bar described by zzzzac. Yes the castor will have to turn and then climb the kerb but only after the pivot point is pulled over the wheel axle centre.
As I originally said, each to their own but I do not like the design and therefore use a conventional trailer because of this. You obviously have one and have no problems with it. I am certainly not trying to persuade you that your decision is flawed, only that it isn't one I would make.
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This was not my case on the 2nd occasion where my towbar bent as i only drove for 2 minutes and no where near any curbs just straight road. I am pretty sure my issue was the way the towbar is on our Autotrail. It is not enforced at all, just 1 plate each side where the towball attaches in which when you look at it you can see why this has bent. Of course towing normally this is fine as i had been towing the car for approx 4 months after i got the first one fixed before buying another scooter. The first time it bent it could of been a curb problem although it would of been on the last stretch coming back through tunnel to home as i always check on every stop.

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I have an 2012 Autotrail tracker with a "type approved" tow bar fitted by PWS towbars in poole.

This spring we towed around 2500miles around Spain and home via France.

A friend who has a Alco chassis mounted towbar that if I remember correctly was fitted by Watling Engineers has towed approaching 6000miles and neither of us have had problems with the towbar.

If you do a search on Easylifters on Google you will get a lot of results saying it is no good. But I don't remember a single one that says they have had a bent/distorted towbar.

I really feel you have a problem with the fitting of the towbar and not the method of the Easylifter fitment to it.

Which Autotrail do you have and age and who fitted the towbar? (y)
 
Carthago Opus with Honda CB500x in the back. As an aire user wouldn't feel comfortable dragging a trailer in one, also would add a bit to the 7.8 metres length I already have.
 
200.jpg
42.jpg

Platform + 2013 Lexmoto 125
air suspension on 1994 Frankia i590
 
I love my valkyrie but at 370 kilos it's not going to fit into my Mh garage ,
 
MikeD said:
I have an 2012 Autotrail tracker with a "type approved" tow bar fitted by PWS towbars in poole.

This spring we towed around 2500miles around Spain and home via France.

A friend who has a Alco chassis mounted towbar that if I remember correctly was fitted by Watling Engineers has towed approaching 6000miles and neither of us have had problems with the towbar.

If you do a search on Easylifters on Google you will get a lot of results saying it is no good. But I don't remember a single one that says they have had a bent/distorted towbar.

I really feel you have a problem with the fitting of the towbar and not the method of the Easylifter fitment to it.

Which Autotrail do you have and age and who fitted the towbar? (y)
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When we purchased our HydraTrail in Decemember 2014, the owner said that this is the first one he has come across on a Autotrail Delaware 2015 Model. I had to leave the MH with him so he could make up the fitting that the Hydratrail slots into.

When i took it back to him to show him how it bent knowing this time that this was nothing i had done apart from drive a couple hundred yards down the road. He agreed it was easy to see why it had bent the way it did. When i get home i will post some pictures of it if interested. This was fitted by approved witter fitters. Normal towing was not an issue but towing with the hydratrail was until it had been strengthened. Not tried it since it has been done apart from driving home. I will be testing it shortly but dont see any issues now as i can see what has been done and it wont bend again without bending the chassis which on an Alko is highly unlikely.

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