Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

im looking to buy a ute in the next couple of months. a want to know what the laws are regarding having the tailgate down while the bike is on the ute.
im asking as i am wanting to consider all options, would prefur a XR6 but a VU/VY is also a option. i am thinking a crewman is out of the option but has any one tried to fit a z9 on a crewman??? do they fit with the tail down??? and if they do will the fuzz ping me for it.

There is some such law that says the rear of any vehicle must not extend more than %50 of wheelbase beyond the rear axle.
Maybe.

Argh you can post now, goody.

Could get my 9 on an XR6, diagonal though. You may be better off just getting a dedicated trailer.

yeah im thinking that way.if i can find a cheapy it will prob be a better option.

yeah it worked when i tried it tonight, have not been able to post for over a month nows but it sorted itsself out.

Crewman, no way! Its too short a tray...

As for the tailgate down its not legal in NSW! And yes they do ping you for it stating the numberplate is obscured from scene. You can however fit a bike in a VY/VU Ute but then have to angle it to get it to fit with the tailgate up. Better option, listen to Damon and buy a trailer!

I have an VZ SS Crewman and the tray is 4'5" with the tailgate up and 6'11" with the tailgate down, so to fit a bike in you would have to have the tailgate down and even then the rear wheel would be on the tailgate not the tray. Also, the crewman has very upright backseats with limited legroom, so if you have regular people in the back seats, they could get the shits with it very quickly

I think the law relates to the number plate being obscured with the tailgate down, but you could use one of those little plates they use with those tow ball mounted push bike carriers I have my tailgate down when I'm doing most of my deliveries, haven't been pulled over yet (now I've gone and jinxed myself )

I use a trailer as is far easier to load by myself than a ute and the tray can then be used for all my gear, generator, tool boxes etc etc.

You do realise that when they say "obscured numberplate" they mean from the 'road safety camera'.

I've transported various bikes (including a ZRX which would probably be longer than a ZX9) in an XR6 ute with a trailermate. I just put a ratchet strap around the tailgate which lifts it up to around 45 degrees - been past heaps of cops between Canberra and Sydney with no issues.

Daisy wrote:You do realise that when they say "obscured numberplate" they mean from the 'road safety camera'.

Yeah, or from the cyclist you've just knocked off his bike on your way home in a drunken stupor. Or from the witnesses who have just seen you plough into a baby in a pram as you've mounted a footpath, after going to fast around a corner. Oh no, wait..... just the camera.

If I bowled over a cyclist with the tailgate down, would he not be in an ideal position to see the number plate? Anyway, the feckers are untouchable. If I did hit one Judge Dredd would climb out from under the tarmac and cart me off to the re-education facility.

considered a rodeo or (preferably) the hilux? sure it's a lot taller, but it can fit a heap of crap in there as they have a really long wheelbase.

Missus used to have one as a work car and as much as i love the forester she's got now i loved the luxie. Oh and red_dave, your a carn',

Oh wait, that's my TRD Jealousy showing

I bought a 7 x 5' trailer for $500 bucks on flea bay with a cage, cost me $140 (approximately) to register it. It is solid as, I had to do weld in some angle iron to stiffen it up and cover two rust holes, repaint it and beatiful.

I have set it up to take two bikes with petrol holder and lockable box to carry the tyre warmers etc. I can still use it to cart crap to the tip or like over the last two weekends aid in moving house.

Yes you do need room to store it, but it is the better option IMO.

Nick

Panel Van, ratchet straps, job done

Guy who recently bought my ZX9 came over from victoria to adelaide to pick it up, he loaded it into a VY Crewman, rear wheel was sitting on the tailgate, lm not sure if those brackets and nuts that hold the tailgate strap are designed to hold that weight over sustained periods of time, and apart from the rear seats in a Crewman being absolutely useless for anyone but midgets, not to mention the actual tray being shorter than a commodore ute, you would be better off with a ute, or even still a trailer as the load height is lower. And of course like others have mentioned there is the tiny matter of 'number plate obstruction' with the tailgate down. Go for the XR6 turbo!

saw on New Inventors, some guy makes a kind of tube steel corral-type thing that mounts to your ute to enable you to transport your bike with the tailgate down. I think (from memory, but have had a lot of drugs so might be wrong) that there is a mount plate on it for a numberplate.