Anyone recognize this?

[WintrSol]

The hitch that came on my '98 Tourer. I'm trying to find any information, especially tongue weight limits.
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/WintrSol/Valkyrie/hitch1_zpsvjnq1zvx.jpg
http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/WintrSol/Valkyrie/hitch2_zps1ymvpbcx.jpg

[Steve K (IA)]

Man, that just doesn't look right.  Looks homemade.  Also looks like it is upside down.   ???  Mine is somewhat similar, but it is in 3 pieces and the sections are bolted together.  On mine, the receiver is under the chrome cross member for the bag rails.  Yours appears to be damaging the bottom edge of the fender.   

[WintrSol]

It is tight against the fender. Being welded, from heavier material than many I've seen, I think it can handle more than the usual 40lb tongue weight. I just need to know how much more.

EDIT: I just got a response from the PO. Seems he did make it himself, from heavier stock than most commercial hitches. He think it can handle, at least, 100 lbs. I only need about 70 lbs, so I'm good with that estimate.

[Bighead]

The real question is will your suspension handle that much extra? Talk about tire wear

[The emperor has no clothes]

The PO did some interesting mods on the bike. Is that a homemade belly tank ? And looks like he chopped the front fender back a few inches. I'm not sure what you have mounted by the petcock switch ?

[John Schmidt]

That receiver should exit UNDER that rail crossmember, not sure why he built it that way. There's plenty of commercial hitches out there to use as a reference and none are like his that I recall. As for that much tongue weight, Bighead is right re. your suspension being able to handle it. And, with that much tongue weight you run the risk of the rear end being "pushed" sideways through downhill curves, not a nice feeling and you can lose control. Tongue weight limits are there for a purpose, these are jus a couple of them. 

[Farther]

I would think he ment trailer weight and not tongue weight.  I hope.

[PAVALKER]

Never seen saddle bag racks that huge either.

[WintrSol]

The belly tank is from these guys: http://rmworksinc.com/Information.html

The trailer has its own brakes, electronically controlled by input from the brake light switches; if I need a little drag, all I have to do is pull the lever enough to light the lights, and the trailer brakes turn on through a delay ramp, up to a preset level. Because a trailer tends to wag if the tongue weight is too low, I need to increase the tongue weight enough to balance it. At just under 50lbs, the wag is almost controlled, so we're going to repack, to get it up to about 60-70lbs. There are no commercial hitches I've found that can hold more than 40lbs, and the trailer wags pretty much at that weight.

That thing next to the petcock is the air pump for the rear suspension; setting the air shock to about 40psi balances the trailer tongue weight pretty well. The trailer tongue at 70lbs puts less equivalent weight on the rear suspension than a 200lb passenger, in any case. The short ball adapter I have puts the ball about 50" from the swingarm bearing, and the passenger seat is just about half that. I just can't carry a passenger and pull the trailer at the same time.

[The emperor has no clothes]

The belly tank is from these guys: http://rmworksinc.com/Information.html

The trailer has its own brakes, electronically controlled by input from the brake light switches; if I need a little drag, all I have to do is pull the lever enough to light the lights, and the trailer brakes turn on through a delay ramp, up to a preset level. Because a trailer tends to wag if the tongue weight is too low, I need to increase the tongue weight enough to balance it. At just under 50lbs, the wag is almost controlled, so we're going to repack, to get it up to about 60-70lbs. There are no commercial hitches I've found that can hold more than 40lbs, and the trailer wags pretty much at that weight.

That thing next to the petcock is the air pump for the rear suspension; setting the air shock to about 40psi balances the trailer tongue weight pretty well. The trailer tongue at 70lbs puts less equivalent weight on the rear suspension than a 200lb passenger, in any case. The short ball adapter I have puts the ball about 50" from the swingarm bearing, and the passenger seat is just about half that. I just can't carry a passenger and pull the trailer at the same time.

Its an interesting bike The belly tanks I've seen looked different, but my memory does fail me from time to time. Would lengthening the tongue on your trailer alleviate the sway, instead of increasing your tongue weight ?

[WintrSol]

Would lengthening the tongue on your trailer alleviate the sway, instead of increasing your tongue weight ?

Not according to the trailering experts - they say you need 10-15% of the total weight of the trailer on the tongue for stability; some say as little as 7%, but this trailer is marginal at that weight. I'm pulling the Aspen Ambassador, BTW, the largest of the brand. We are looking into moving some of the load to my friends C90T Suzuki, so I don't have to carry as much, but I think I'll still need over 60lbs on the tongue.