Thinking about a Trailer Hitch

[LL]

OK, thought I would post this here instead of the national board cause........well cause.
I am considering putting a trailer hitch on my I/S with the possibility of adding a trailer. I have no idea what to look for as far as fit and finish, new, used, chrome, not chrome, ball mount, receiver mount (for extra storage as in cooler type or....).


Any thoughts?   

[Thalas'shaya]

Rose and I got our hitches from HitchDoc and are very happy with them.  Mine is chrome and meant to fit a Valk Standard or Tourer.  You might need to get the Goldwing hitch for an I/S, not sure.  At any rate, we've been extremely happy with those hitches.  They installed pretty easy, although Rose claims that wiggling the bags back into place on my bike was a challenge.  I'm not sure that's the fault of the trailer hardware, though.

We bought our trailer from MotorcycleTrailer.com and are likewise happy with it.  We bought their SUPER-basic, build-your-own trailer base.  It consists of a metal frame (which I like a helluva lot better than comparable models sold at National Tool, Home Depot, etc. because it uses rectangular steel instead of u-channels) with wheels/tires and lights and wires.  We provided our own plywood base and bolted a big plastic dog carrier to the top of it, and we take our dogs with us on trips.  They have several versions of these do-it-yourselfers with varying cost and features, along with plenty of finished trailers and some used ones, I think.  They were pleasant and honorable people with whom to do business.

I found that we needed an adapter to make the trailer lights work "properly" because of how the Valk (and Rose's Yamaha) are wired in the brakes/blinkers department.  It was this thing which we put inline between the bike and the 4-way flat connector so that blinkers and brakes worked as expected.  My memory is hazy now, but I think that without the adapter, both blinkers on the trailer flash at the same time, regardless of which way you've thrown your turn signal.

Anyway, YMMV, but that's what I've found and enjoyed.  And recently, someone posted the following summary of lots of different trailers, which might help your shopping process: http://www.bidouilles-on-my-wing.fr/gb_remorques.html

[Houdini]

I'm not sure who made my trailer hitch because it was on the bike when I bought it and there are no tags.

Personally I would buy a chrome one if I was buying new because I am a chromaholic and I would buy a receiver hitch because of the versatility.

Here is a company that offers more than one style hitch for the Valk's.

http://www.trailmasterinc.com/hitches.html

I love this boat on a trailer

http://www.bikebuddys.com/

Or a '57 Chevy

http://goose127classic.com/index.html

And here is a long list of companies that make bike trailers.

http://www.bidouilles-on-my-wing.fr/gb_remorques.html


Throw a wrench party when you are ready to install the hitch becasue they can be a real pain to install by yourself.

Have fun... Chuck

[Old Geezer Richard]

Hey Double LL I had a Receiver type on my 98 Valk standard and it worked great but with the receiver type its a little noisey back there but other than that there great and when not towing you can fit a carrier tray where you can put an ice chest or anything you might need for a day trip ... now mine was not chrome and I just sold it and I ordered a chrome hitch from Hitch Doctor  a non receiver type and they will ask you what model bike you have so they can match up the hardware .... mine cost about $ 280  and with shipping it was about $ 305 for a non receiver type and if you want the receiver type its about $ 50 more ... now the receiver type will extend a little past your fender , where the other is just outside the fender tip .... either way they both work fine

[Old Geezer Richard]

Oh by the way I built my own trailer with the kit from Harbor Freight and it comes with everything you need except the spare tire .... I went bought a Sears car carrier a 20 cu ft car top carrier ( comes in blk only )  used in from the paper for $ 50  or at some garage sale  their out out there , because they cost about $ 200 new ... now the smaller carriers ( 15 cu ft comes in white ) work good and it depends on how much junk you plan on taking ... the neat thing is you can customize your rig the way you want .... as long as you put most the weight on the axel , it won't fish tail on you .... once loaded right you won't notice the trailer at all ....Thanks Old Geezer

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

I built my own  hitch and trailer. Hitch is flat black and mounted on an I/S  almost invisible between bags and fender. It's a reciever hitch so nothing sticking out under fender. The trailer was a harbor freight 4x4  (we cut it down quite a bit) given to me by a friend down the street. I stayed with the 8in wheels but mounted bigger tires on them and the overall height is just about as tall as the 12in tires that some go to. I used some 1x10s and 1x12s and 1/8 plywood to built the cargo box. It came out pretty good but needs a new paint job now as I changed bikes and it doesn't match anymore.

[Houdini]

the receiver type its a little noisey back there

That's odd!  My receive hitch makes no noise whatsoever.  OTOH, the chrome boat propeller I stick in the hitch can get quite noisy when it gets to spinning.   

http://www.tonnocover.com/php/watermark.php?code=pe-402_-2.wct&src=pli&id=873

now the receiver type will extend a little past your fender

Mine sticks out about an inch, a lot less than a regular hitch will.

Chuck