Trailer pulling pre-ride advice needed.

[G-Man]

As the Mrs and a trailer will be behind me on the way to Inzane, I was thinking about any precautions and adjustments I might need to make to the Valkyrie.  She's a 2003 with 20K miles, tire tread is good (ME880s), progressives in the rear, stock suspension up front,  Engine, carbs, trigger wheel are all stock.  Using Amsoil 10W40.  Will probably be carying/pulling about 625lbs (includes trailer and hitch weight).

[ptgb]

Valk should be fine... I pulled a Harbor Freight near 10,000 miles, with no problems on an un-modded Valk. Expect bad gas mileage. Also, would set the shocks at their highest setting.

If it is a harbor freight, couple things... the recommended pressure in the 12" tires (I think it is 50 psi) is way too high. That high and the trailer might tend to bounce... I ran 20-25 psi which ran smooth with no weird tire wear. Second, tongue weight is important... too little and you could be a bit squirrelly... about 35-40 lbs should be good.

Now I can never say this for sure, but, in 2008 my rear tire wore out and went flat in Montreal (700 miles from home & a $600 dollar day). Probably wore at an accelerated pace because of the added weight of the trailer/passenger. The tire looked good when we left home.

When we went to Colorado last summer I carried a spare rear tire strapped underneath the trailer. Ended up using it, not because of tire wear though (thanks, Yellowstone NP dirt/rock/root/gravel/crap under construction roads).  

[Bob E.]

625lb is alot of weight for a trailer.  Or are you talking about rider+passenger+gear in bags+trailer weight?

I pull a trailer from time to time.  One of the main things to remember is the slow speed parking lot stuff.  That is where I tend to feel the trailer the most.  Like...remember when pulling up to a gas pump to stay away from the island a bit to keep from hooking the trailer on the curb.  And be careful when you pull out from a driveway making a sharp turn into traffic.  The trailer, especially if heavy or going uphill, will tend to pull the bike down to the inside.  Aside from that is to just remember that it is behind you when travelling down the road.  The Valk pulls so effortlessly that it is easy to forget.  But pay attention to leave enough room when changing lanes and allow for extra distance when stopping.  And finally, as mentioned, keep the tongue weight on the hitch to about 10-15% of the total trailer load to avoid swaying.  And if the trailer does start swaying at higher speeds (mine will tend to when lightly loaded), just ease off the throttle and slow down a bit until it stops, then ease back up to speed.

[G-Man]

Thanks for the info.

Just to clarify....the tongue weight is the weight the trailer places on top of the hitch ball?

[Chrisj CMA]

Thanks for the info.

Just to clarify....the tongue weight is the weight the trailer places on top of the hitch ball?

Yes that is right......just pick up the tongue by the coupler and its its effortless like th trailer is balancing then its too light.  If its a  struggle its too heavey.  I keep it around 20lb or so

[ptgb]

Just to clarify....the tongue weight is the weight the trailer places on top of the hitch ball?

Correct. I got a $4 fish scale from the Evil Empire (WalMart) and just hook it to the end of the tongue. Hold it kinda level when you weigh it.

[sandy]

That's a lot of weight for a Valk. I pull a tent trailer at 425 lbs. In the rain it's near impossible to stop. Allow LOTS of distance behind other vehicles. At 65 MPH I got 25 MPG. If I went faster it dropped to 20 MPG. I have a hitchdoc and the hitch ball is 3" higher than the axle height. On my Wing, the ball is exactly the same height as the axle. The Valk wants to pull you over in very slow speed turning, such as parking lot maneuvering. The Wing doesn't do this. I believe the axle height is the reason.

[G-Man]

That's a lot of weight for a Valk. I pull a tent trailer at 425 lbs. In the rain it's near impossible to stop. Allow LOTS of distance behind other vehicles. At 65 MPH I got 25 MPG. If I went faster it dropped to 20 MPG. I have a hitchdoc and the hitch ball is 3" higher than the axle height. On my Wing, the ball is exactly the same height as the axle. The Valk wants to pull you over in very slow speed turning, such as parking lot maneuvering. The Wing doesn't do this. I believe the axle height is the reason.

What size wheels are on the traile that the axel height is so much lower that the hitch?  The traile I picked up has 12 inch wheels. 

I guessed a bit high on the weight to account for anything we may "pick up" along the way.  For sure I will have to adjust my riding style with the trailer, thanks for the tips.

[sugerbear]

and...........watch your butt when ya pull away from a gas station pump. yep

[R J]

ALLOW twice the length you are used to stopping in.......

As some one already said, wet pavement is a SOB.  Especially stopping or trying to maneuver around a parking lot or business driveways, or turning into traffic and trying to go uphill...............

Allow extra width when turning, you can and you will, trust me, run a wheel over the curbing.  Might only do it once, but you will do it.

The worst gas mileage I ever got with MGM and a trailer was 12 MPG.  We left Sturgis, stopped to adjust something on my buddies bike, some A'Hole stopped asked if he could help, said thank you, and discovered his buddy in the bitch seat stole my buddies helmet.........

I ran the triple digits to Wall's Drug......   He stopped for gas and I nailed his arse, with some help of the SD Highway Patrol.........

Thats a long story on how he found out and caught up with me........  I pulled up to the vacant pump and put in close to 4.6 gallons for less than 60 miles.  I never realized the squad car was behind me till about 5 miles from Wall....

We got the helmet back, they both went to jail and the bike got impounded.  It wasn't even their bike....... 

[HayHauler]

"As some one already said, wet pavement is a SOB. "

I can attest to this...  Last year on the way to Inzane CO, we were riding on the Million Dollar Highway in the pouring down rain, lightening everywhere, pea-sized hail, AND I was pulling a trailer.  There was nowhere to stop, so we just rode on.  The switchbacks were.... let's just say "exciting" with traffic coming down the other side. 

Hay 
Jimmyt

[sandy]

That's a lot of weight for a Valk. I pull a tent trailer at 425 lbs. In the rain it's near impossible to stop. Allow LOTS of distance behind other vehicles. At 65 MPH I got 25 MPG. If I went faster it dropped to 20 MPG. I have a hitchdoc and the hitch ball is 3" higher than the axle height. On my Wing, the ball is exactly the same height as the axle. The Valk wants to pull you over in very slow speed turning, such as parking lot maneuvering. The Wing doesn't do this. I believe the axle height is the reason.

What size wheels are on the traile that the axel height is so much lower that the hitch?  The traile I picked up has 12 inch wheels. 

I was comparing the axle height on the rear tire of the bike to hitch ball height. Not the trailer.

I guessed a bit high on the weight to account for anything we may "pick up" along the way.  For sure I will have to adjust my riding style with the trailer, thanks for the tips.

[Jeff K]

"As some one already said, wet pavement is a SOB. "

Hay 
Jimmyt

Hmm? I've put tens of thousands on miles on my valk and trailer, I've never noticed any issues with wet pavement.
I don't measure the tongue weight, but I do know that both trailers I have owned had a tendency to be too tongue heavy so I'd have to put all the heavy stuff behind the axle.

That said I did have a "low speed get off" in Denver due to too much hail on the road. I was trying to get off the highway and by the time I got to the top of the ramp the hail was so deep the bike couldn't pull the trailer anymore and the rear let go.

[HayHauler]

"As some one already said, wet pavement is a SOB. "

Hay 
Jimmyt

Hmm? I've put tens of thousands on miles on my valk and trailer, I've never noticed any issues with wet pavement.
I don't measure the tongue weight, but I do know that both trailers I have owned had a tendency to be too tongue heavy so I'd have to put all the heavy stuff behind the axle.

That said I did have a "low speed get off" in Denver due to too much hail on the road. I was trying to get off the highway and by the time I got to the top of the ramp the hail was so deep the bike couldn't pull the trailer anymore and the rear let go.

It wasn't only the wet pavement that was a SOB, if it was only wet that would have been fine.  It was the streatch of road we were on.  Million Dollar highway would have been challenging enough with the trailer, but combine that with rain, hail, altitude sickness (bike, not me), and darkness and it was exciting to say the least.  I would like another chance at it with ideal weather conditions.

Hay 
Jimmyt

[Oss]

Gary  I have two nice scales so dont worry about being able to calculate the tongue weight

Main thing is keep most of the weight ahead of the axle

Otherwise she will unload (bounce your ass off the seat and start swaying etc) on you crossing the 3 mile long TZ bridge and momma will be most unhappy

In fact we can take a little ride with the trailers before the trip so you can get used to their weight etc

remember we cant take the parkways with trailers (well we just cant get caught)  so I was thinking 9 to 17 then west

[bigdog99]

i dont think i pull near that weight, however there are 2 valuable things i will let you think about.
1. what size are the tures? i started with 4.80x8" and smoke the tread completely gone fro chicago to Seattle. put 5.70x8's and have at least 1/2 again the miles.  taller profile too.
2. Swing wide when getting gas. the trsailer bouncing off the pump island is not pretty, especially when there are other more experienced, "laugh at you" riders. 

[larryh0841]

I have been pullling trailers with motorcycles for since the mid 70's and agree with most of what has been said here.  Remember one basic thing from physics class.  A body in motion tends to stay in motion etc.  The trailer will always want to go where you don't.  It will hold you back when you want to go, push you when you want to stop, and try to go straight when you want to turn.  It affects you the most on downhill, off-camber curves and will tend to push the rear of the bike out.  In wet conditions this is a problem.  Keep the distance from the axle to the hitch at least one and one half times the width of the wheels center to center.  This is more important than tongue weight.  Keep the trailer lower in the front or at least level.  Maintain the wheel bearings.  See you in Michigan.
                                                                            Larry

[scoot]

here is a interesting web site for bikers with trailershttp://forums.delphiforums.com/MCTrailertowing/messages/?msg=7566.1

[Old Geezer Richard]

  Hey G-Man , I have a Harbor freight trailer I built and love it ...... I made sure I extended the tongue when I put it together and DO NOT use those chains , because if the trailer gets away from you at least you won't go with it ..... here in Texas the chains only apply to cars and trucks ...... and the one big thing is how you pack that trailer ..... be sure you put the heavy stuff over the axel because if you don't your trailer will fish tail at or around 55 mph , I know and its spooky to see your trailer in the mirror dancing ......  me and the wife pulled over re-arrange the heavy stuff over the axel and it pulled like it was not there from then on ...... G-Man when its packed right you will forget its behind you , I was going to Hotglue's BBQ and found myself going 75 and 80 until my wifey brought it to my attention ....... and another thing read the side wall and put the air it calls for and my 12 inch tires and it is a little bumpy with all that air but you can make adjustments for the hot months by backing off a couple lbs ......now I  had a 12 inch tire come apart on me because it was under inflated at 35 lbs.... I have been running the smaller diameter tires and no problem, but I chose to go with the 12 inch to level off my trailer and for ground clearance and thse tires I got from Harbor Freight say not to excede 55 mph ....so I 'll see this summer how those 12 inchers work ..... Last rule of thumb , have a spare tire !!!!!!! this has worked for me and just start out slow until you get used to that weight behind you , the packing is what I had to practice on .... Thanks the Geez