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. 
andi - 
