Tie-downs - Wasteland Style !!

I needed some way of securing the 12 properly in a normal 6x4 box trailer, for the trip up to Sydney last week. Normal tie-downs are a pain in the arse for bikes like the 12, there is always a possibility of damaging paint etc from the straps rubbing or flapping, fabric tie-downs fray and also lose tension............

anyway, it occurred to me that there must be some way of using the hollow axle at the front of the 12 for securing it to the trailer......so I knocked up the following axle tie-downs last week.

They work great, less than 2 minutes to fit once the bike is on the trailer, you do need a hand to hold the bike up straight in order to slide the pin through the axle.

The axle-pin used in these photos is a swingarm pivot from a GpZ1100 ( I think ) - it is a *perfect* fit in the 12 axle, which has a smaller ID on the RH side than the LH side.......some bikes may have the same size ID, so if you want to copy this method of securing your bike to a trailer, get a machinist shop to turn down an old axle or swingarm pivot to the specs needed to suit your bike.......

the other things needed are:

2x turnbuckles ($6 each) - I used gal, but s/steel would look *flash* - Use at least 10mm thread, the bigger the thread the stronger the t/buckle.

4x D shackles @ 10mm pin for attaching the turnbuckles; say $4 each

2 x D shackles @ 6mm or 8mm .....these 2 will depend on the size of the pin you put through the axle. I needed the LH side to be larger, but if your pin was a uniform diameter, then both these shackles could be the same size....another $4 each

2 x D-rings - these can be found in any SuperCheap or AutoPro, they are normally sold as ute-bed accesories, to be bolted into a ute-floor. I simply welded these to the A-arms of the trailer. Maybe $10 the pair ?

You can see from the photos that the whole arrangement needs a 'cradle' to hold the front wheel in, if you already have this on your bike trailer, then its just a matter of positioning the big D-rings and welding them in the right position, drilling a hole in either end of the axle 'pin' for the smaller D-shackles to attach to , then putting the larger D-shackle pins through the eyes of the turnbuckles......

....slide the 'pin' through the axle from the LH side, attach the second smaller D-shackle, attach larger D-shackles to turnbuckles, and tighten up.

Thats it. Its a piece of piss, it costs fuck all (about $50), and it works like a charm. The 12 did not move "an inch" on the trip up and back, over shitty roads, anywhere. It is "locked" into the trailer good and proper.

I did use some normal tie-downs at the rear of the bike, to stop the rear-end from moving across the trailer bed. It was probably a bit of 'overkill', but I did not want the 12 moving anywhere

It won't break your wheel or bust the axle or anything the turnbuckles themselves regulate how much pressure you can apply, and the front tyre does the rest of the work. The bike rides on its own suspension in the trailer, reducing wear and tear on fork seals, and its just a quick, cheap, effective way of securing your pride and joy.

Attachments

View from above.

Tiedowns1.jpg (45.07 KiB) Viewed 2384 times

Close-up on RH side.

Tiedowns2.jpg (44.31 KiB) Viewed 2382 times

RH side

Tiedowns3.jpg (42.24 KiB) Viewed 2379 times

Close-up LH side

Tiedowns4.jpg (35.57 KiB) Viewed 2379 times

looks tough Gos, steve would be proud!!

That's a work of art Gos

I LOVE YOU STEVE!

That's brilliant.. better quick patent that stuff

Oh and also looks like some kid stick a sticker on your bike !

great for a long distance trip

for $50 you can have something a whole lot better than your average tie down

i just bought a couple of items that use the handle bars as the pull down point , from there you use the ratchet tie downs to your points on the trailer

they should arrive in coming weeks as on the way from the UK

as to tie downs i have a whole box of the pull downs and also the ratchet tie downs

i have always had the prob of the hooks are not big enough or cant clip them anywhere on the bike or the trailer rail

so the other day i was at supercheap i bought a 4 pack for about $40 odd these have a small hook and D ring so can go over any size bar or round forks etc and then hook into the D ring

bright yellow and about 4 metres long tape so solves othe probs of too short when you move fridges and other stuff

Yup. Those were definitely worth interrupting my being passed out on that bike trailer out the back of the pits at EC...

I'm thinking of how much easier this would make it to pile gear around the bike...

You're not as stupid as you look Gos!

Good onya 4 being a tight arse. Some good thinking there Gos !

Good onya 4 being a tight arse. Some good thinking there Gos !

ummm u had sumthin else to help hold it right??



Johnnie- they are bastards those things...tried a few times to make em work on a gix600 and my blade, got the shits and threw em to the shit house....

......ummm u had sumthin else to help hold it right??....

Yes mate.........

......I did use some normal tie-downs at the rear of the bike, to stop the rear-end from moving across the trailer bed. It was probably a bit of 'overkill', but I did not want the 12 moving anywhere.....

the tie-downs weren't really necessary, but its just a plain old box trailer, no channel down the middle for the rear tyre to sit in.....so the tie-downs just helped to 'centre' the bike in the trailer, and stop any chance of the back wheel moving a bit sideways.

I know what you are thinking......that this simply doesn't look *enough* to hold a bike onto a trailer ? A couple of my mates thought so as well.....but it works really well. In fact, now that it has been tested on the barge (12), I can *guarantee* it will work fine for those light-weight sports bikes mate !!

You could grab the bars and give it a shake, and the whole trailer moves with the bike......

Also saves the potential popping the fork seals too.

Wicked Gos, thanks

i think u should patent ur clever design mate