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.