Hey fellas,
Was riding over to my girlfriend's place yesterday when my '99 M600 made a clunky whirring sound then cut out and died. It now won't start or show any signs of life apart from electrics turning on.
So I have 2 questions I was hoping people could help me with:
- is a clunky whirr before the engine cutting out and dying suggestive of anything in particular?
- what's the best way to get a bike up on to a regular trailer, and secure it for transport?
Any help would be much appreciated.
I have a feeling this is going to be a painfully expensive experience.
Ah bummer to hear of your trouble!
The short answer is: you need help from someone who has "been there, done that" with regard to their bike stopping on the side of the road and needing help... But I'll make a few comments and hope others fill in any holes.
Trailering/towing:
- Some trailers have a ramp. If it doesn't, you'll need a ramp to push the bike up into the trailer.
- "Whilst" tells me you are not in America ... so you likely don't have 6 friends with a form of pickup truck. They might even have a ramp, too.
- Once in the conveyance, the front tire needs to be pushed against the front and then the bike tightened forward and down so that the motorcycle is locked into position and held by the frront tire. Then add a lot more straps pulling the bike down and forward more.
- NEVER ever tie the bike resting on its side stand!
Possibilities:
Who knows? The fact that it seems electrical tells me you will pay less than if it were purely mechanical. A tech will need to look the bike over and sort out the issues.
Good luck!
Chris
Thanks Chris,
Would using my bike stand on the trailer to hold the rear tyre off the floor of the trailer (and provide some stability) make sense? Or is it best to have both tyres touching the ground?
I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to secure the bike upright on the trailer, the bike stand is the most obvious method I can think of.
Well the fact that your electrics turning on tells me its not your battery. Maybe check your belts to see if they are in tact. You sure you have fuel?
Quote from: Grug on February 17, 2010, 12:09:55 PM
Thanks Chris,
Would using my bike stand on the trailer to hold the rear tyre off the floor of the trailer (and provide some stability) make sense? Or is it best to have both tyres touching the ground?
I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to secure the bike upright on the trailer, the bike stand is the most obvious method I can think of.
Having sidestand touch floor means that when you hit bumps, the shock is transmitted to the sidestand. Since the sidestand is bolted to the engine cases, this normally results in broken engine cases.
Yes, that's why I mention needing someone with a little experience. It's hard to describe how the forces work...
See this:
\|/The red lines are the straps coming from handlebars... center line is the bike. When the bike is pushed forward into the bulkhead/ wall/ upright at the forward portion of the trailer/pickup bed, the tire can go forward no more. NOW, the tie straps will compress the suspension and apply force to the tire, both forward and down. The tire's friction with the floor and front of the trailer keeps the tire in place.
As the ties also are routed DOWN from the handlebars whilst going forward, the forces triangulate on the front tire and the bike stays put. Having additional straps is great, so long as they also pull down and forward. If you add straps from the rear of the bike to the BACK of the trailer/pickup truck, then the rearward force on these straps removes force from the front straps and destabilizes your bike.
Quote from: uclabiker06 on February 17, 2010, 12:11:56 PM
Well the fact that your electrics turning on tells me its not your battery. Maybe check your belts to see if they are in tact. You sure you have fuel?
Cheers, the bike is still on the far side of town, but I'll bring my toolkit with so I can check the belts when I head over there this afternoon to collect the bike
Quote from: chris on February 17, 2010, 12:46:56 PM
Having sidestand touch floor means that when you hit bumps, the shock is transmitted to the sidestand. Since the sidestand is bolted to the engine cases, this normally results in broken engine cases.
Sorry Chris, I was refering to this style of bike stand (for the rear of the bike):
(http://www.sharpracing.com.au/files/images/products/rearStands/SP-rearStand.jpg)
Quote from: chris on February 17, 2010, 12:46:56 PMYes, that's why I mention needing someone with a little experience. It's hard to describe how the forces work...
See this: \|/
The red lines are the straps coming from handlebars... center line is the bike. When the bike is pushed forward into the bulkhead/ wall/ upright at the forward portion of the trailer/pickup bed, the tire can go forward no more. NOW, the tie straps will compress the suspension and apply force to the tire, both forward and down. The tire's friction with the floor and front of the trailer keeps the tire in place.
As the ties also are routed DOWN from the handlebars whilst going forward, the forces triangulate on the front tire and the bike stays put. Having additional straps is great, so long as they also pull down and forward. If you add straps from the rear of the bike to the BACK of the trailer/pickup truck, then the rearward force on these straps removes force from the front straps and destabilizes your bike.
That does make sense, thank you.
Ah, yeah, like a paddock rear stand. That makes sense, thanks.
My experience of those is that you would not want to use the ones which have flat pads that the swingarm rests upon. I think it's ok with single sided swingarm stands and also on dual sided swingarm bikes which have spools fitted.
I was able to make a bike jump off a rear stand with spools and that wasn't the finest of my moments. [bang]
:) Chris