pulling trailer

[jimnvalk]

I am thinking of adding a hitch.  You that have these what is your experience.  I do not have a trailer yet either so what are you opinions on these as well.
Thanks for your info

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

I have a home made trailer that I pull some times and pulling it is not a problem. You need to keep more weight on the tongue to keep it from wagging and also your stopping distance will increase some. I have large 8 in tires on mine and only run about 20 psi in them to keep the bouncing down some. I removed one leave spring on each side from the trailer to soften the springs up too.

[jimnvalk]

I have a home made trailer that I pull some times and pulling it is not a problem. You need to keep more weight on the tongue to keep it from wagging and also your stopping distance will increase some. I have large 8 in tires on mine and only run about 20 psi in them to keep the bouncing down some. I removed one leave spring on each side from the trailer to soften the springs up too.

thanks will add this to my file

[Joe Hummer]

I have a Harbor Freight trailer that I tow with my IS. 



Tows like a dream.  Hardly know it is back there. 

http://www.harborfreight.com/600-lb-capacity-78-inch-tag-along-trailer-66771.html

Braking is a little different...you want to make sure you leave plenty of room to stop.  You also want to ride a little more conservative in the corners because you are pushing more weight into the corner.  I don't have a swivel hitch on the trailer but can still lay the bike over pretty good. 

For the hitch, I have a Hitchdoc hidden hitch. 

Joe

[Gear Jammer]

I've been known to pull one now and then     It will affect your MPG, but then mine wasn't too high anyway.     I had a problem with wiggle/waggle, and found the problem was PSI in tires too low, allowing the trailer to start weaving and set up a self-perpetuating oscillation, forcing me to slow down to stop it    Going Darkside also did it's part in eliminating  "the tail wagging the dog" .    Making sure the tongue weight is around 30# helped too.  No problem with cornering, just make sure to allow ample room to curbside to account for trailer tracking.   And of course, make sure to stay far enough away from fuel pumps when you pull into fuel.  Backing a trailer hooked to a MC is somewhat problematic     I've got the Hitch Doc hidden receiver hitch like JoeValkIS    Go for it !

[jimnvalk]

where did you get your Hitchdoc hidden hitch?  did you install it yourself.  I am going to look on craigslist, but the one from harbor freight looks good, not quite as good as yours gear jammer 

[Joe Hummer]

I got mine from a good friend...but he got it from Hitchdoc. 

As for installing...yeah...done it myself...but there is a catch...(if you have a Tourer or IS...the hitchdoc comes with spacers that move the bags out about 1 1/2" (3/4" either side).  Because of this, the center bag support will not fit any more without pushing in the bottom of the bags.  I didn't like this so I put a 1 1/2" spacer (that a machinist buddy of mine made for me) in the support bar.  You can also make the spacer out of copper tubing and you could use coupling to hold it in place.  Sorry, don't have measurements.  But it would work. 

Oh, one more installation tip...hold off on putting the safety chain bracket in place until you get the bag support in place.  it will go much easier that way.   

Joe

[Gear Jammer]

Thanks,,,  And no, I didn't install it myself.  The paintshop did it when they did the bike.   I sent PM with ordering info for HitchDoc.  

[B]

+1 on the HitchDoc & Harbor Freight. (ck out their "tag-a-long" enclosed  trailer...the work is done for you.Don't let anyone tell you the 8" wheels are too small. Towed mine over 10k last year alone... Great trailer for the price. The advantage of the more expensive models are thicker shell and more solid locks.

[Wabbit]

Bought my hitch from Dauntless Motors in Enumclaw, WA.  Current URL is http://www.dmcsidecars.com.  Disclaimer: I bought my hitch for a VTX1300C, not a Valk.  That being said, I know Jay Giese has hitches for Valkyries.  When I looked at the specs as far as load, tongue weight, etc., the Dauntless hitch was clearly the way to go.  Physical installation of the hitch is NOT for the faint-hearted...  Be prepared to have to do a bit of work to compensate for manufacturing tolerances (both your bike and the hitch).  In my case, I had to do quite a bit of grinding on the hitch spacers to get the removable portion of the hitch (slide mount with retaining pins) to line up with the permanently-mounted portion.  The end result of all the work was definitely worth it.

Driving with a trailer...  Hmmm...  How to put this delicately?  Best advice I was given is to plan on triple the stopping distance required at any speed UNLESS you plan to buy something like the B&F Specialties "Bunkhouse" that has its own electric hydraulic disc brakes.  Needless to say, I didn't have that kind of budget to work with, so I went with a lightly-used trailer I found on Craig's List manufactured by Time Out Trailers, Inc. sometime around 1991.  The trailer is light enough I can easily one-arm it around my yard, campsites, etc.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't risk towing anything more massive with a motorcycle.

Safety chains...  Use 'em.  Cross 'em under the tongue, and keep the length as short as possible to avoid having the tongue bang into your rear tire if the trailer should break loose.  Sorry, but I don't see a good outcome if the trailer *does* come loose, so the best bet is to do whatever you can to ensure that never happens without your direct help  .

One last point for your consideration.  Some tire manufacturers (Dunlop, at least) will void any warranty on your expensive motorcycle tires if you tow.  That made me blink, and at least look into *why* Dunlop was taking that position.

[john]

negative tongue weight causes  ANY trailer to wobble         
 

[Gear Jammer]

negative tongue weight causes  ANY trailer to wobble         
 

+1  and also underinflated tires 

[bigdog99]

i put a hitch doc on several years ago. if you are really patient you can do it. the biggest issue i had was getting the bolt back in for the righ front side. i would have done it different knowing what i know now. i would have put it on the jack to keep everything level. i left everything in place also. i did not take anythimg off. i just removed the bolts and slid it in. i think that is where i had my problems. i was binding on the bag brackets.
i bought the harbor freight trailer kit. i narrowed it 4" including the axle. i had the brother in law weld a stiffner angle iron in the channel. this actually warped the channel. it was enough to cause the tires to toe in severly, not visible but ate tires like i eat candy.  i then purchased a new thule car topper and bolted it on. trimmed it with wood for my preference and have travelled the heck out of it. i did it that way because it is a 1 of a kind now. i think it will last me forever. unless it is really loaded down and it is very windy, you dont know its back there. i would do it all over again if i had to.

[Bugslayer]

I am thinking of adding a hitch.  You that have these what is your experience.  I do not have a trailer yet either so what are you opinions on these as well.
Thanks for your info

I have a Big Bike Parts reciever hitch. With the receiver hitch, you can change up what you pull.  I can pull my Unigo (one wheel) trailer, or slide in a conventional ball hitch for a two wheel trailer. Then on days when I don't need a trailer, but still want to take my cooler, my cooler rack works great!

[Garfield]

Just put my hitch doc on tonight