Motorcycle in the bed

I know people do it all the time with no issues. My reservation about it, founded or not, is a significant amount of the bikes weight on something as unsupported and flimsy as the 2nd Gen tailgate. That and a large portion of the bike hanging out over the back in the case of being rear ended. I am not knocking anyone for doing it. I'm just not keen on the idea personally. Doesnt matter a lot to me as I generally ride my bike wherever I wanna take it. It's only ridden in the truck when it was stripped down for service at the dealer that's a little ways away.

There are definitely issues with hauling on a trailer too like storage as OP stated. Or the rocks, my BFGs chuck rocks like crazy!

 

Thanks, I was just curious what issues there were with hauling in a short bed that I may have overlooked. With a heavy cruiser, I'd never leave it hanging over the back like I do with my sport bike. The good thing about sport bikes is the front end carries most of the weight so I don't get too nervous about having the rear tire on the tailgate. A full dresser, not a chance!

 

this is a good topic as i plan on taking my R6 on a 9 hr trip in my DCSB i dont think the tailgate will be as much as a nissue as tieing it down in my 12' (gotta get the tiedown ratings for the new points) i plan on fabbing up some sort of platform suing plywood and some 2x4s or something to chock the front wheel.... i think the plywood will A) prevent the bike from sliding around with the stock bed liner. and B) prevent the weight of the bike to be focused on one single point on the tailgate.

 

Here's how I hold mine in:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/motorcycles/120955-loading-motorcycle-dcsb-pics.html

With an R6, I wouldn't worry about the tailgate. The rear end of that bike is very light, it won't bend the tailgate. If you do use plywood, or a chock setup like I did, make sure you secure it, otherwise, when you're backing the bike off and you go to use the front brake to slow the decent down the ramp, the whole platform can slide with the bike. Ask me how I learned that lesson...

 

Yeah man i think my bike is around 5-550 lbs and its all front end weight haha yeah ill figure out what to do im gonna buy ramp(s) maybe next time home as i will need one for the WR450F aswell but im very happy with the capability of my taco (first) i do wish i could have got the DCLB in a 6spd M/T and i would have grabbed one of them haha

 

I'd be surprised if your R6 was even close to 500 lbs soaking wet! I think my 750 Katana is only 460ish, usually those 600's are built pretty light.

Edit: 2012 Wet weight for the R6 is only 417 lbs, most of it being forward, you're good to go
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelspecs/8/0/specs.aspx

 

What if you made a platform that just slid into you reese hitch? Make it wide enough so you ramp sits nicely on it. Then the rear tire of the bike would just sit on that. Then it can be easily removed when not in use. A side view would look something like this:
................................________
......................................I
......................................I
......................................IIIIIIIIIII

 

I think we have a winner, that's not a bad idea at all

 

I wonder how stable it would be if the platform were up that high. Maybe you could rig some brackets to attach to the rear tie down bolts to stabalize it? Looks like it could work though. The Versahaul is the one i use when i need to keep my toolbox in the truck and tow my bike:http://www.ziptripracing.com/Sport-Motorcycle-Carrier-with-Ramp-Option_p_298.html
Not sure how the laws are out where you live, but in CT and NY and NJ,you're restricted to the right 2 lanes of the highway when towing a trailer. They're not exactly cheap but you get what you pay for and as a bonus you can easily load and unload by yourself...

 

Yea, the Hitch carriers just make me super nervous. My fab guy keeps trying to talk me into him making me one, which I'm totally not going to do as he has no way of really weight testing, and he can claim all he wants, but when it snaps on a bump in the road and my beautiful bike goes tumbling behind me, I'm gonna be pissed lol. I do like that idea of getting something that goes into the hitch and then out and up behind the tailgate as sort of just a back tire cradle though. From what i was reading up on, 2/3 of the weight of the bike is on the front tire. especially if i put this tire cradle about an inch or so higher than the tail gate. SO many posibilities!

 

Could even just make it like a 1 square foot piece of plate with holes to attach tire restraints to, so I've got plenty of room for the tire, and put the ramp up on

 

Not sure if it helps, but I have rented the motorcycle trailer from Uhual a couple of times. I think it was less than $20 for 24 hours. Super easy to load, has a wide long ramp. Its kind of awkward to back in as the length is pretty short so its suuuuper responsive. But it may suit your needs, and keep you from having to take out the box.

 

Oooo! i'll have to look into that!

 

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Alot of times I'm coming up for different reasons, where I need my truck, but my friend want's to go for a canyon ride, So i'll haul the bike up for that quick ride, and then use my truck all weekend. While riding alot is fun, when I'm up in OC I am constantly picking people up or going places at night with friends, and having a bike just doesn't cut it.

I just looked up the Uhaul trailor, Looks like with insurance its 24$. My question though, is if i were to rent it on a friday and return it on a sunday, do I have to pay for 3 days? or would it be cheaper to try and rent friday, drop off friday in OC and then rent and drop off on sunday...

 

Cool Cool, good to know. Yea i looked up those trailers a bit, and alot of people say they are crap. Luckily I've got a 500 lb+ bike so it should weigh it down a lil more.

 

Yea, I'm kicking around a couple Idea's. The L shapped hitch adapter things like the best/strongest application I can have fabbed up. I feel like If I strap enough of the front of the bike It'll take alot of weight off the back end and the hitch adapter will merely be just a pad to hold the rear wheel in place, not super load bearing. I'll talk to my fab guy and see what he can come up with, and post to you guys

 

Yea, I just quick googled Uhaul and went through their rental thing really quick. Will def be looking up other companies and see if they have a 2-3 day special or something, like a pick up friday, drop off sunday or monday type of thing