630lb motorcycle in truck bed?

6cyl 5VZ-FE extra-cab

When I bought my ‘98 Harley Fatboy (630lbs) I was able to carry it in my Tacoma’s bed. I’ve only done it once, and I want to know if this weight is terrible for the truck? I would like to do it on a road trip.

 

No problem, only an issue if you have 4 adults with you. Pretty much all tacos have 1500lbs pay load.

 

Awesome, one day I would like to be able to tow my bike AND run my hi-rise camper

 

carried a gxr in a single cab 4cylinder.

 

You're good o.p. When I had my first gen my bike was just shy of 700lbs. Never an issue

 

Do you have any tips on tying down the bike?

 

Ratchet strap towards the top of each fork leg down to the bed anchor points. That is all you need to do. The back will stay put

 

I'd run 1.5" wide tie down straps. I personally avoid ratchet straps, too easy to break something. Run 6 straps off the bike using 2x tie down assists on the handlebars. Each tie down assist has one tie down going to the front ring on the truck bed and a separate tie down running to the rear ring on the bed. I do the fronts first and then tighten the rears. Then I put two more tie downs usually on the rear passenger peg tubing attachment points and compress the rear suspension to the rear truck bed rings. This is extremely stable for heavy motos and the mountain curvy roads I deal with in Colorado.

I'll try to find a picture.

I have https://performancecycle.com/performance-cycle-1-5-standard-tie-down-wide/

https://performancecycle.com/performance-cycle-tie-down-assist/

 

I've had the back slide around on me personally with just the front's tied down. YMMV.

 

Victory Vegas....680lbs never had it slide. If o.p. is worried he can always strap the rear as well.

 

I guess with ratchet straps it is all how much experience you have .

you just can`t put tension on fragile parts .

I always strap things with wheels tension to the front and to the rear something over the top .

I haul as much as 1200 hundred pounds on a regular basis

 

Bungee cords solve problems in tieing down a bike.

 

Everyone has an opinion, mine's mostly that if you see my motorcycle in the
back of a truck, it is being stolen ...



I tied down my 1500 eBay Valkyrie in a Cheyenne to get it back to SC from Pennsylvania, and I
hauled my 1800 Valkyrie over to the Traxxion place in Georgia in my wife's f250 so I'd have a
vehicle for the overnight stay there...

These work great, I like them 1000 times more than ratchet straps...



The closer to a 45 degree angle you can make your straps the better.

As you study the available places to hook the tie downs in the front, consider that
if you use the handlebars, there's bad places where the leverage force of the
tie down would tend to make the handlebars want to spin in the risers, that could
end badly.

The tie downs should touch the place you hook them to your bike and the anchors
in your bed and not any other place... also avoid letting the loose ends
of the tiedowns flap in the wind, after a while that can leave a mark...

-Mike

 

No

 

Yes.

 

I took a GSXR 600 from Tampa to Tennessee in the bed with no issues. Pretty sure the back tire was a little bit on the tailgate too, because of my toolbox.

 

I'd be more worried about the tailgate folding as you ramp the bike up and down.

 

I use a rear wheel tie down when I haul my gsxr. Secures the rear from sliding around prevents wheel hop. Similar to this:

 

Should be fine
Look how much spring left yoiu got in your rear leafs when it's loaded in.
Even then the overload leaf should hold. Maybe just a stiff ride.

The tires would probably be the first to fail if anything. But 630lbs is not much

 

Tailgate going to be a problem when loading/unloading?