[Terry Kiernan]

I am soon going to trailer my 650 Burgman, any suggestions on how it should be straped down. On the center stand or off? I plan to strap it side to side from the fork and the rear hand grips. Then a strap from the floor of the trailer across the seat and down to the floor on the other side.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks for you help,
Terry in AZ.

 

[pauljo]

Here is a forum discussion of that topic.

http://burgmanusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1340

 

[Jay Jacobson]

AN 650 TIE-DOWN

Hey Terry,

A timely question, as I just bought mine a week ago Friday, and traveled 200 miles with it in the bed of my pickup truck. What struck me is how heavy this bike is (about 500 pounds). I needed to properly secure this weight for the ride home.

I placed the front bike wheel/tire straight ahead, and firmly against the front bed wall of my truck. The bike was not angled--it was straight and dead center in the bed. I did not rock the bike back on its' stand--I kept it firmly against the front bed wall.

I placed a heavy cotton bath towel between the bed wall and the front tire-to keep the front fender from accidently hitting the bed wall and being scratched.

I placed one heavy duty racheting tie down strap on each side of the handlebars hand grips. The other end of the tie down hooked around each of the front truck bed tie-down loops. I tightened the straps until firm--and then one click more. These straps are available at Home Depot or Costco.

I then placed one strap around each side handgrip, to the sides of the rear seat. I placed a hand towel under each strap--to keep it from scratching the painted grips. I tightened these straps until snug--as the grips are bolted on and not as strong as the handlebars.

I placed a steel lock cable through the front wheel and secured each end to the front bed tie-down loops. This makes it impossible for the bike to roll out of the bed. Just for good measure, I placed a heavy duty bungee cable around the rear wheel and secured it to the rear bed tie-down loops. I finished by tying the loose strap ends back around the tentioned straps multiple times. This helped guard against the straps loosening.

The straps were up high on the bike--giving it good stability against tipping. After you finish tightening the straps, push on each side of the bike. There should be plenty of resistance and no possibility of tipping to either side.

I'm sure this is not the only way to do it, but it worked very well over a long haul for me!

You're looking at about 30 minutes to tie it down and about fifteen to remove it.

Due to the weight of the bike, it's a good idea to get a friend to help you place and remove it from the bed or trailer.

 

[jacvinson]

There is a very easy, very safe way to tie down. I got the suggestion directly from Suzuki USA. After I bought mine, I couldn't figure out a simple tie down so I call the main number in the owners manual.
Go online, do a search for "Canyon Dancer". I know it sounds strange, but that's the name of the best tie downs for bikes that are enclosed by plastic. I was told by a tech at the USA headquarters, this is what they use. I bought a set and love em. Do yourselves a favor. Not expensive, and safe for your bike.
jac

 

[Randy]

Just do a search for "Canyon Dancer " there are a number of threads.

 

[jacvinson]

uh, yeah, what I said..
<G>
jac

 

[Terry Kiernan]

canyon dancer

I checked with my dealer he has the "canyon dancer" product but is out of stock at this time, he will have them in next week he said. That works for me. He said the price is around $30.00.
Terry in AZ.

 

[Randy]

Terry wrote

I checked with my dealer he has the "canyon dancer" product but is out of stock at this time, he will have them in next week

The Canyon Dancer will work and the price is right,
just wanted to mention when tying down the scooter with the dancer do nor tighten it down to much just snug it up.
In other words don't look to compress the fork.
It puts a lot of strain on the handle bars if you over do it. :wink:

 

[ScooteRVer]

I've been taking my Honda Elite 80 along behind my RV on a No-Jak-Knife Trailer (single castering wheel) and it works great for a light scooter.
But, if (when) I get my Burg 400 that won't be adequate. So, I've been
researching alternative trailers.
I've found the Ultimate Motorcycle Trailer: http://www.discount-trailers.com/motorcycle_trailer.htm which looks pretty good, since it has
a shock-strutted tilt bed so it doesn't need a ramp. It isn't the cheapest trailer you can get, but I don't think I'd want an inadequate excuse for trailering a 400 lb scooter.
Question: Has anyone seen or used one of these trailers?

 

[burg650]

Terry I have a Hercules motorcycle trailer http://www.herculestrailers.com/ and it a great trailer for the price, well worth the money, its what I used a few week ago to trailer my bike to Florida and back from New Jersey. There price is going up in January 05 so if you like it then get it before the increase, you can also get it on eBay for the old price now Item number is 4509666665 or link is Hercules motorcycle trailer on eBay as well. The only thing I would like to have on this trailer is a wheel chock and they are coming out with one to fit this trailer as that makes it a lot easer to have the bike up right and not worrying about if it will fall off while trying to tie it down one good thing about this trailer is the bed is so low that the wheels finders sits up high and that will prevent the bike from completely falling off the trailer as it will come to rest against the fender as I found out the hard way. I have seen many more that I am sure are much better but also much more $$$$ and don't think they are worth the extra money.

The Diamond Back trailer is a great looking trailer, sure being able to ride right up on the trailer without a ramp is great but is it worth the extra $$$. I do like the floor and having a stone guard but as I said not worth the $700 it would cost me. I guess it come down to preference and how much you are willing to spend as I have also seen other trailer costing upward of $2700 and would not spend that on a $6000 bike maybe if I had a $25000 bike then $$2700 would be nothing.