Towing a trailer with your NC? How about a canoe?

[ST13Fred]

My first thought is a tank slapper from hell if you get hit by even a mild cross wind.
The relatively light weight vs frontal (side) area would be my concern. But it would certainly be an adventure! Be safe.

 

[Pikester]

Do a search for "Goldwing Tow Truck". Because of limited space in Japan they use them to tow vehicles. Pretty crazy stuff!

 

[Nofear2trek]

Little late to the party, but here is my towing setup! Just got it together and tested around the neighborhood today.

View attachment 34286

Good luck with your testing and be careful as you increase speed and weight. You may be in store for some increasing swaying/fishtailing as the amounts increase. Lack of lateral reinforcement of your hitch configuration has given me shivers just looking at your setup. Let us know how testing goes.

This is my latest RV deployment setup, a work in progress to decrease time and effort to deploy while enroute on the road.

Ready to roll down the interstate.



Deploying at a rest stop or somewhere I stop for some quick zzzz's...



TETON Sports Outfitter XXL Quick Tent; 1 Man Pop Up Tent; Less than 1 Min Set Up. (Amazon.com : TETON Sports Outfitter XXL Quick Tent; 1 Man Pop Up Tent; Less than 1 Min Set Up; Free Rainfly Included : Family Tents : Sports & Outdoors)
(Teton XXL Quick Tent - YouTube)



With extended rainfly for inclement weather.



Fully deployed with everything camouflaged when covered with my Nelson-Rigg Defender 2000 XX-Large Motorcycle Cover and me snoring inside...



Ray

 

[jimmy da vig]

Since this has been brought up again I thought I'd jump in. For ten years I pulled a Bushtec trailer with my 1800 Wing, No problem. Then I pulled it with a Harley Electra Glide Classic. A pretty damn big bike. Now I know thousands of Harley riders pull trailers and think they do it just fine. But as far as I'm concerned the EG is nowhere near as capable as the Wing. The frame is not stiff enough, nor the engine strong enough to do the job right. And yeah, I've pulled it cross country. No accident or break down but just not as comfortable. The Wing makes a HUGE difference.

I could see maybe a very small trailer to carry some extra clothes or to pull your dog along with you. The thought of the wind shear caused by a canoe wagging your rear with even a light side breeze would stop me cold. This is a bad idea. Just because you can do it, does not mean you should.

As that saying goes, "Here, hold by beer and watch this"

 

[jacobsteele96]

First real use of the trailer today, about 150 miles round trip with the new setup to pick up another little project. On the way there I rode twisty state routes, much slower at first but after 30 miles or so I became pretty comfortable and had no problem keeping up with others at 55mph-ish. The trailer definitely hops around a bit on bumps when unloaded, which was a bit troubling but never made me feel out of control. Loaded with the moped it was much smoother. On the way home I took the interstate and had no problem cruising 70-75mph in 5th. Highway riding was much smoother. I'm just using a regular ball and hitch coupler and didn't have any issues with binding or anything. I'm really happy with this setup so far!

 

[lue42]

Hey Jacobsteele96... there is just enough room on that trailer for your....

 

[Deleted member 5383]

I used to pull a 4x8 trailer on leaf springs with my ATV. But I must admit this scares me with a motorcycle a bit ; }

That and it would cramp my style. But more power to you.

 

[TJW]

Hi there, sorry for being too late, but I'm quite interested in this topic. Anyway, I'm wondering if you are not concerned about the various forces being on the frame of your bike when towing a trailer?

 

[TJW]

Hi, sorry for being late with this, but I'm very much into building stuff myself and recently started to think about building my own trailer. The problem I'm facing at the moment is where to attach the hitch to the bike. Having had a look at your picture you seem to have attached it to the chain tensioner, which I think is brilliant but also might be a bit daring. Are you not concerned about the various forces put on it - especially in corners! I mean in the end it leaves you with a rather long and straight assembly of multiple joints (swing-arm, axles, chain-tensioner, trailer-hitch, ...) which might have quite a bit of strain put on it when leaning the bike into a corner ...