What is the best way to tie it down in a pickup?

I didn't realize all you dudes worked for the government.

 

I agree. Whenever possible have a paid crew on hand. I know I always have them drive me, cook for me, and even some who are so inclined hold help me dress. At the end of the day a steam and a massage are included. Whatever would we do without a few serfs about to do our bidding.

 

When I lived in NY, I trailered my diesel tractor and John Mower occasionally and found a small hill about same height as bed of truck, trailer to drive on level (push bike). That's how I loaded my son's Suzuki, no ramp.

 

If you watch for sales, a pair of folding aluminum ATV ramps are always on sale and not expensive at all. Hell they may only be twice the price you would pay for those two 2x12 which like mentioned, are subject to fail.

Tink had lots of help loading so that we could get him the hell out of Atascadero with his Frankenbike. Seriously though, he had the nicest set up I have seen so far. I would really look at that set up for my truck, if I were inclined to do more transport, which I am not.

 

I had a Kendon and it was all you just stated but I found that it was very noisy as it rattled along behind my car. It drove me crazy with all the noise it made. In fact, due to the fact that it has little to no suspension, the license plate actually cracked and fell off somewhere in Michigan. No problem getting another but it didn't make it any quieter. I use a 4x8 box trailer now which isn't as pretty but it's stronger and quiet as it glides effortlessly along. Oh and it's Canadian made too.....which means that unfortunately it rusts

Here is the Kendon with my first 5th gen as the owner said goodby.



Now my second 5th gen making good use of a basic wheel chock and some canyon dancers.

 

First off, I wouldn't haul in the bed of a truck because I have seen way too many drops when trying to load and unload. Trailer would be my preferred way if I couldn't ride it. If you have no choice but to use the truck, I agree that the bar straps and drive-in wheel chuck is the way to go. Also like has already been said, don't put the center or side stand down. Tighten the straps enough to compress the suspension and it should ride fine. Also when loading and unloading, either do it alone or have lots of guys there to help. I say this because I knew a guy that tried to load his Honda ST in the back of his truck with his wife and teenage son there to help. It went wrong and sent all three of them to the hospital when it fell off the ramp and they tried to catch the bike and him and obviously were unable to and it basically crushed them under it when it fell. So either do it alone so you only hurt yourself or have enough guys there that they have no problems catching the bike and you if it goes south. Just my opinion though, and you know what they say about opinions.

 

I use Cycle Cynch. They use to be better than Canyon Dancers but the new Dancers are supposed to be very good too. The old ones would twist your grips badly. The cycle Cynch is easy to get in a pinch from Cycle Gear. Everything else was covered nicely above, especially as low an angel as possible for load/unload.

http://www.cyclecynch.com/

 

+1 to tink, I use canyon dancer strap also and no center stand. works awesome

 

You are correct the dancers do tend to twist the grips but I like the look of the cyclecynch! I can see how it would be a better system. Thanks!!!

 

I have the year old dancers with no issue on a 4k trip

 

Ramp loading a motorcycle is like any other motorcycle skill – you have to practice to get good at it. It is just like taking a tight u-turn - you need to practice. Or you can just avoid the skill and hope you will never need it

I ramp load all of my bikes into my pickup for transporting including my VFR. I am in my 40’s and 5’9”. A trailer is definitely way easier but I don’t have the space for one nor did I want to incur the expense of one. People posted a lot of good info already so I will try not to duplicate too much – but I admit I did not read all of the posts word for word.

First off, the lower the pickup the easier it will be to load. I have a Japanese 4x4 and it is a little high for me so I park it at the base of my driveway (which has a slight incline towands my my garage) where it meets the street. This will make the angle less steep. Less steep = easier especially if you are short. No matter what type of ramp you use, secure the ramp to your truck with a strap. I use the tow chain fastener holes to do this. If you don’t do this there is always a chance the ramp will slip away - trust me I know this from experience. The easiest ramp to use is one you can walk next to while loading your bike but they are also bulky. aluminum ramps are good but try to get one with narrower slats. As most people stated DON’T TRY TO RIDE IT INTO THE TRUCK! I power walk mine in, in first gear. Practice first on flat ground. Stand on the left of the bike holding both handlebars and let the clutch out to walk it. Lean the bike against you. It is pretty simple. This is a pretty good video to watch: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nElHAJqfrjA) Practice with friends. I would recommend three. Put one on the right side of the bike and one in the truck. If you don’t want to power walk it, don’t try to push it up the ramp in neutral. Put it in first and use the clutch. If you can’t get it up the ramp, all you have to do is let the clutch out and the bike will stop rolling backward. Reaching for the front break is difficult b/c it is on the other side of the bike. BUT it is much easier to walk it up the ramp under power. I use a narrow ramp to load my bikes (like in the video) but have a lot of practice. For a short person like me it is almost impossible to get the bike in the truck standing on flat ground b/c by the time it is bed height the clutch will be too high to reach and hold the bike. I walk up a stepstool (this is how most short dirt bike riders do it -like in the video) but it is way more difficult to do this with a taller heavier bike (like a VFR) and there is a lot more room for error when you are new at it

Once in the truck, leave it in gear and strap it up. I have a bed buddy (http://www.ccrsport.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=246) mounted to secure the front wheel. The nice thing about it is that is does not interfere with you using the bed of your truck and you don’t have to remove it. On a short trip you really don’t need a front wheel support especially y if you don’t have a bed liner or have a spray in bed liner. I have a plastic bed liner and the bike likes to slide so that is why I bought the bed buddy. I suggest that you do not use ratchet straps as you can easily over tighten and break or bend something. I use cam buckle straps and then tie them to make sure they won’t slip if they release. On longer trips I secure the rear via the swing arm or rear wheel. Don’t over tighten the straps just make them tight enough so the rear wheel cant slide.
Unloading - you can roll it out backwards (while off) in first gear using the clutch as a break to control the speed
Again it is pretty easy as long as you practice. I was lucky enough to have a small cruiser and dirt bikes to practice with.