From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel
Subject: Re: Motorcycle Trailing System
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:25:06 -0400
Message-ID: <troh84d9sl3bvhp5pesul27oo96gplfti8@4ax.com>

On Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:00:53 -0700, "Kevin W. Miller"
<i09172@strudelyahoo.com> wrote:

>I wonder if this thing is considered a trailer? I wonder if this might be a
>way to tow both the car and the bike behind the RV, legally? The link takes
>you to a video showing a motorcycle "trailing system".
>
>http://tinyurl.com/5c56rj
>
>This is their website:
>
>http://undertakermts.com/

That old idea resurrected.  Those were popular for awhile in the 70s.  The
major problem is that with the bike wheel on the ground in the center of the
lane, it takes a hell of a beating.  Everything that you straddle with the RV
makes a direct hit to the bike.  Arriving at a destination with a tire-less,
ground down wheel was common.  As was serious destruction resulting from some
road debris hoping up and knocking the bike into gear.

I saw a neat one on the back of a large coach last week.  The bike loaded onto
the carrier sideways as with most bike carriers.  The difference was that the
carrier is attached to the frame or maybe hitch receiver (didn't get a close
look) through a parallelogram hinge mechanism.  A small winch mounted on the
roof pulls the carrier up over center so that the bike is up at about
rear-window level, far out of the way of road damage or dragging.  A couple of
struts drop down from the carrier to the bumper to hold the weight once the
bike is winched into place.

I followed that rig for a few miles admiring the setup but I couldn't see a
brand name.  It might have been home-made but if it was, the guy did a jam-up
good job.

John

From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel
Subject: Re: Motorcycle Trailing System
Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:08:00 -0400
Message-ID: <ttjj84t8jlp97ej2ehcpnu1kvgevcv2cnf@4ax.com>

On Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:45:45 -0700, "Kevin W. Miller"
<i09172@strudelyahoo.com> wrote:


>> That old idea resurrected.  Those were popular for awhile in the 70s.
>> The major problem is that with the bike wheel on the ground in the
>> center of the lane, it takes a hell of a beating.  Everything that
>> you straddle with the RV makes a direct hit to the bike.  Arriving at
>> a destination with a tire-less, ground down wheel was common.  As was
>> serious destruction resulting from some road debris hoping up and
>> knocking the bike into gear.
>>
>
>Shoot. That don't sound so good...

It's not.  When I worked in the bike shop during high school and college, I
saw many victims of this tow method.  And, being the junior mechanic in the
shop, got to lace up new rims to the hubs and mount new tires.  I saw enough
casualties of this tow method that I'd NEVER EVER subject my bike to one, as
attractive as it seems.

John