Anyone Loaded a Sport bike in there long bed yet?

Unfortunately, even with a long bed, I could not close the tail gate--which doesn't really bother me. There is actually a small disadvantage to the 2nd gen long beds if you load sport bikes, the rear tire will sit right at the inner edge of the tail gate (where they are most prone to bend)

On my 2nd gen, I got a tail gate plate immediately.

 

Also, for anyone who bought the Taco for motorcycle hauling duty, do yourself a big favor and get these:

https://jpmetalfab.com/product/hook-ups-custom-tie-down-brackets/

They will make life much easier for you

 

i have those too, they have been great

 

Sweet! I thought about getting a tie down bar, but it interferes with all tonneau covers. Didn't know about them until I found them here. turns out they were down the street from my office! Absolutely love the quality -- i'm a picky sob.

 

Would you be able to move that piece of wood forward towards the end of the bed and still fit the tire on top of it?

Then you wouldn't have to worry about having any weight on the tailgate.

 

you mean place it vertically instead of horizontally? i don't see why not but it wasn't terribly easy to wedge that underneath as it was. i just wanted it to be distributed wider since it was going to be on the truck overnight.

 

I didn't even think of doing it vertically, I'm sure that would work though. My idea was just to put the piece of wood in the back of the bed and getting the wheel on it if possible. Just to prevent any weight getting onto the tailgate, but I'm sure you are fine.

 

i don't think i follow? the weight of the bike is where it is. if i could put the piece of wood in the bed and still take the weight of the back of the bike, then i wouldn't have to worry about the tailgate without the wood in the first place?

 

My idea was just to get the rear wheel off the tailgatete by moving the piece of wood up alittle further to over the bed mat while still having it under the rear wheel. Horizontally if you could fit the rear wheel on top.

What you did is definitely better to move more of the weight into the bed than not having any wood on it at all.

I'm sure there isn't much weight on the tailgate to begin with, was just looking to see if you could avoid having the wheel sit on the tailgate. I'm not sure how strong the tailgate is but like i said i am sure you are good.

 

I think what he's saying is that the tire would sit on the height of the wood, negating any weight on the tail gate altogether. Unfortunately, the SB is too short for this, and placing the wood block on the bed itself would no no good as the tire wouldn't clear it.

 

ohhh yeah no there definitely isn't enough space for that. and usually i don't even do the piece of wood, but it was only because it was going to be there for a while. i also undid the straps so i wasn't compressing the suspension overnight. what scared the crap out of me though was my friend helping me unload and stepping right up on the tailgate, with the bike, and he's well north of 200lbs haha

 

Yeah, like I said, was not sure if it would fit.

 

this is my bike im taking down

 

I had a yz125 in the back of mine... I put it on an angle.. and the tailgate just shuts with about 4" to spare. I don't have a picture.. but grabbed this off the web just to show the angle.

This is a 5.5 foot f150 box for reference.

 

Have you thought about seeing if you can fit pitbull trainer restraints since you're going so far? My ex blew his fork seals bringing his bike from Florida to Boston

 

havent thought about that but ill look them up. thats the main thing im worried about once its in the truck lol id be so pissed if i got there and cant ride

 

Not quite a sport bike.
Supermoto.
I had a neighbor helping me balancing the bike from the other side of the ramp as I was loading up.

 

iv put my ninja 636 in my standard bed first gen at an angle and can shut the tailgate as well, unfortunately i dont have any pictures

 

Now is a great time to get yourself a baxley sport chock (don't buy imitations - they don't work as well)

It makes securing the bike down super easy, and stable. I used it when I raced sportbikes (no kickstand) but now use it for every time I load the bike onto the truck. No need to crank down the tie downs either. Only drawback is your bike needs to sit like 3 inches further back.

 

Many times, no issues, that's why I bought the LB. I have seen short bed tail gates bent AF too.

Edit: Suggestion for longer trips, use a baxley wheel chock. The piece of mind is worth it.