Trailering:

   When I have my trailer behind my bike I constantly get asked what it’s like to pull a trailer with a

motorcycle. I say “it’s like pulling nothing at all”. If you have the right size bike and a trailer that is

capable of highway speeds you should have no problem.

   Let’s talk about hitches for one quick second; first and foremost, there is no motorcycle manufacturer

that makes trailer hitches for their bikes. I believe some manufactures will void a warranty if the

issue is related to the hitch. I have a standard 1-1/4 receiver hitch (custom made of course) that has

a 2” ball on it. It does not swivel nor does the tongue of the trailer. My bike has laid over to the

floorboards with the trailer on and both trailer tires have stayed on the ground. This is very important

to make sure that you have complete uninterrupted leaning of the motorcycle. Having all the extra

storage doesn’t do anything if you can’t lean into the turns.


   The second thing to take into consideration is the chains. Make sure that you use the ones that come

with it. I know someone that has replaced the steel ones with those decorative plastic ones. He feels

that if the trailer should come off, he wants it away from the bike. Not me. I want to know where it is

rather than have it crash into me broadside. If the chains are too long remove one or two links from

them. ALWAYS cross them under the tongue. The purpose of this is to catch the tongue in the event of

a mishap, as not to contact the road surface witch would cause a very bad day.

   Another consideration is the electrical. You might want to install an isolator device. This draws power

for the lights directly from the battery instead of the bike’s electric. The reason for this is that the

wiring to the taillights is sized only for the stock lights. If you add more load to the circuit, you could

cause the wires to overheat and melt the insulation and cause a bad day. Weight distribution is

important too. You want to make sure that the tongue weight is limited to only 25 pounds. This keeps

the weight in the trailer where it belongs and really don’t change the handling characteristics from

what you’re used too. BE CAREFUL stopping and highway off ramps. The trailer will be pushing you as

you try to stop. Take it easy at first and always remember that it’s behind you. ALWAYS use and

escape route plan incase of an emergency stop.

Ernie