How To Safely Transport Your Motorcycle By Yourself

This problem will face any biker once or more in their lives; what steps must you take to safely transport your motorcycle by yourself? Whether you are going to a track day or moving house, you may not always be able to count on someone being able to help you load or unload your bike. Maybe your mate pulled out of going to the track day at the last minute. Maybe you know that no-one will be at your new home to help you unload. Safely transporting your motorbike by yourself isn't that difficult but you must exercise caution; we'll look at your two main options in this article, a van or a trailer.

Advantages of Trailers

As trailers as much lower to the ground, it is much easier to wheel your bike up the ramp. Vans (and trucks) are much higher off the ground which increases the likelihood that you'll drop the bike and cause expensive damage. Investing in a trailer with a wheel chock will save you money in the long run if you a lot of track-days, but not if you are just moving home. 

Precautions When Using A Trailer

You can buy or rent a trailer and must invest in a hitch for your truck or sedan if you don't have one. A trailer may not have the space you need for spare wheels and parts. It is time-consuming to cover a trailer with a tarpaulin. When hitching a trailer by yourself, carelessness may cause significant injury as the hitch has many ‘pinch' points. It's important to use the two locking devices. One lock should be used on the trailer hitch and the other lock must be used to present someone from popping the trailer off of the trailer hitch ball. Theft is everywhere and if you are transporting your bike alone and stop off somewhere, you may be a victim. Thieves stalk track-days and service stops for people who forget to lock their trailer. Can you imagine coming out of a service station, only to discover that your trailer and bike have been stolen? It happens, so be safe!

Advantages of Vans

If you don't have one, it's quite cheap to rent a van either for a track-day or to move home. A van is much safer than a trailer; there is less risk of theft if you are travelling alone and want to stop somewhere en route. A van can carry spare wheels and parts that a trailer cannot. You can drive much faster in a van than you can if you are towing a trailer, so a van saves you travelling time and fuel. Loading time is faster as you don't have to mess around with a tarpaulin in rainy weather. 

Precautions When Using A Van

I left trucks out of this discussion as they are too high for most people to safely get a bike onto by themselves. It may be impossible to safely get your bike up the ramp into the van on your own; it depends on your strength and the size and weight of your bike as to whether you can load it yourself. The last thing you want is to cause painful and maybe permanent injury to yourself. Whereas a trailer should have a purpose-built chock to hold your bike, a van may not and it can be much harder to safely secure a bike using the correct straps inside a van. 

Use What You Have

If you already own either a van or trailer, common sense dictates that you should use them. Unless they are specially kitted out for your work or business, they should be fine. You probably know someone who has a van or trailer, so asking to borrow them will save you a lot of money. There may be a towing company in your area that will get your bike where it needs to be quicker and cheaper. No track-day is worth injuring yourself or damaging your bike for.

If your motorbike or car has broken down in the middle of nowhere, you can call up a company offering car towing in Melbourne or anywhere else to transport your vehicle safely. Click here to know more.