"tow" a Vision without a trailer?

[Lucky]

I saw a guy at the bike shop with one of these, so I checked it out on the web, & called,  but had to leave a message.
Anyone ever use one of these? the site says the steel one will carry 500 lbs.. the V is 485 lbs wet...pretty close.
What do you think?
http://www.bdiracks.com/bdimx.html

[RobTx]

I'm sure you need a class III hitch.  This is like 500 lb tongue weight.  My car (Mazda Miata) would be dragging it's tail with the front wheels in the air with the V on a trailer hitch!  But if you have a suburban or something similar, it could be ok.  Then there's this:
http://www.motorcycleramps.com/motorcycle_caddy.htm
or a cheaper one here:
http://www.geocities.com/bikebit/newpage4.htm

Rob

[jasonm.]

Rob is right. You'll need a class 3 hitch. There is a thing that holds just the front wheel in near the hitch. While the rear travels on the ground. But I would only use this type on a short haul. Because the tranny bearings won't be under oil pressure. Even in neutral oil pressure is needed for the output shaft bearing.

[Rick G]

Lucky , your gonna get a hernia,trying to lift a V in to that thing !
 The others are ok if you can pull the chain off, but I have concerns with a shaft drive bike. back in the late 60's  there were a lot of these type of carriers , but I never saw anyone try to put a bike over 325 lbs in to one!

[Walt Miller]

I have a similar device called a Mototote and have used it to haul my YZ400 on my Jeep Grand Cherokee and I hardly notice that it is there. Haven't tried the Vision on it though but it would probably do ok. I believe some of the guys think the back tire is on the road but obviously it is not. The whole bike sets sideways at bumper height. I roll it up there with a standard loading ramp.

[ElectWreck]

I bought a dead Vision for something less than $100 (fried stator) and I wanted to get it home as cheaply as possible.  My daily driver is an old Porsche 944 (400k miles on it) and it has a fairly strong rear bumper so I bolted an aluminum plate to the under side of the bumper and bolted a couple of aluminum angles to the top side of the plate.  The angles had holes drilled for the front axle of the Vision (the axle is stepped down, so holes made to match (more or less).  I unbolted the front brake caliper and wired it to the handlebar (put a block of wood between the pads just in case the brake lever gets squeezed), then I blocked up the frame, took off the front wheel and fender and rolled the car back to connect the front forks to the "hitch" using the front axle bolt as the mounting pin.  Safety wire the nut on.  

I only needed to go about 10 miles, and it worked ok.  I got a lot of funny stares as people couldn't belive I was towing a motorcyle bolted to the bumper of a Porsche.  With some thought and time it could have been better (could make it so that the fender doesn't need to be taken off; reduce clearance on holes for axle; add bushings to locate the forks laterally; etc).

I have since put a ball on the plate and rented a U-Haul motorcycle trailer ($15 - $20 per day).  Towing the trailer with the 944 was about as jerkey as towing the naked bike.  It was bad enough just towing it, I hate to think what it would be like to support the whole weight of the bike on the back of a small car like a Miata or Porsche.

Good luck with your endeavor.

[Lucky]

Well,i'm driving a 93 Plymouth Voyager which is a nice all purpose vehicle for it's age, mom carts the kids around, We use it for work, etc, and i did use a U-haul-ass trailer to tow a dead V 400 miles home.  The problem is these things have a notoriously weak tranny. I've already replaced it once (and installed 2 dead junk yard trannys in the process) and don't want to do it again.  Plus it's front wheel drive.  I think towing is it's weekness, but it pulled the U-haul-ass trailer like it was butter. I'm sure for one of these "sideways" racks i'd have to install a set of air shocks.  What I want it for is to have just in case the bike ends up dead, and I need to get it home (lots of confidence in the bike huh? :)  really just to be on the safe side...

[Rick G]

No doubt you have the  overdrive trans. I've put about  600,000 miles on Mopar minivans  and the only trans I lost ,  ran low on fluid, (my fault)  One had 185,000 and  the origional trans . I will NOT buy any vehicle with an automatic overdrive, they have been a problem in many vehicles  from the Chevy S10 to the Mercury Sable to the Mopar Minivans. needless to say mine, are 3 speed autos.
 The owners manual states NOT to tow anything with a Mopar minivan UNLESS you have the Grand Voyager .

[Silver_Bullet]

Hey guys, I'm currently working on a design that would attach on a receiver-type hitch.  Don't know if it would help everyone.  It would have a rail parallel to bumper, lower to the ground, and would be raised mechanically, picking the entire bike off ground.  Just about finished with final details, will attempt to get copyright/patent.  Don't know final costs or assembly issues yet.  
Mark

[Lucky]

I've been looking for one that's simple & easy to make, If I copy it will you get mad? :) Although if it requires welding i'm SOL, lol
--Lucky

[Silver_Bullet]

Lucky, didn't get back to you right away, wanted to review the design first.  It's simple in design, but does require welding to build, can't have anything falling off the back of my truck, especially my Vision!  It uses a hand-operated hydraulic jack to lift and lower the bike, and the whole thing mounts on a class III receiver hitch.  My S-10 Pickup can carry it, as I have air bags to suppliment the rear suspension and tow a John Deere diesel tractor with it.  Should be no problem for a full-size truck or SUV to handle.  Try and provide drawing/Pictures when done.

Mark