I left my key in the ignition !

[Quicksilver]

Perhaps I even left it turned on myself. In any case parked in a secure yard at work. Left yard and worked my 11 hour shift. When I returned at 3 am and was ready for home found key in the on position and no power at all from battery. Tried popping clutch, way too heavy and way too much compression. Another driver came in with booster cables, hooked up to his car battery, and with his car shut off boosted the bike. She started right up but ran a little rough. As soon as I disconnected the cables the bike stopped. Tried this 3 times with same result. Waited for 4 hours for battery store to open. Bought a new battery swapped the old one to save 7.00 care charge, tested old battery with meter reading 9 volts. $100 and 1/2 hour later left with new battery. I was concerned that the battery should have needed some charging prior to use. I explained to the clerk I would be needing it right away to ride my 50 miles to home. He assured me after he added the battery fluids it would be fully ready for use. Ok so I've been up 20 hours and I'm feeling a bit thick headed. The brochure that came with the battery said it should be charged at least 20 minutes. I read that much later.
So back to the yard and installed on the bike. No problem started right up and away I went. About 25 miles later heading down the 2 lane for home the bike dies. Very little power to the electrical system. It's about 10 am now, sun shining, folks flying by on motorcycles, a Sunday, Mothers day.
I'm sitting on the side of the road, looking at the bike, considering how dumb I am. One rider stops but nothing he can offer but condolences. I push the bike onto the lawn beside the driveway where I've stopped. A prominent sign says " no trespassing, video surveillance ". I called my wife using my cell phone 3 times, no answer, left a message, she's gardening. I called a local towing company buddy but his truck was down with hydraulic issues. Called the neighbour and was about to ask them to go over and get Carolyn to call me when she calls me. 20 minutes later she picks me up. In the mean time the home owner has come out and is admiring the Valkyrie. Fortunately for me he was a nice guy and understood my predicament. He didn't object to me leaving the bike while I went home and got my trailer. I have an 8 foot trailer with a ramp tail gate, that I set up 8 years ago for just such an emergency. I've only used it once for moving a motorcycle, a 1982 Goldwing when I sold it. So I return home, modify the trailer by dropping the front to a flat position and install a wheel chock I had made up years before. I assemble 4 tie down straps and throw my bike jack into the pickup. Once back at the bike location, I now have to roll my bike up onto the trailer and into the wheel chock. Fortunately the driveway has a bit of a slope so I put the trailer down grade from the bike. My wife is not a big woman, and I'm having a challenge getting the bike straight on the ramp and into the trailer. She's pushing and I'm straddling the bike rolling it back and forth to get it lined up. The home owner comes out and soon we've got the bike up into the chock. While he holds it up I get the bike jack and jack up the bike slightly so the majority of the weight is on the jack. I added the permanent bar underneath the bike for jacking it flat a few years back. So the bike is sitting there unaided nice and square. I ratchet down the 4 tie downs to the 4 eye bolts I'd installed on the trailer, tied the front wheel to the wheel chock, close up the ramp and off we go. I watch the bike closely as we travel looking for some problem but she seems to be ok. It is a windy day and the sound of the wind blowing sideways makes me a bit nervous. Half way home, about 10 miles I pull over to check my load. one of the tie down straps has come a bit loose and I gave the hydraulic jack a bit more pressure, I hadn't thought to set the lock on it before setting the straps so I was committed to running with it like it was unless I wanted to redo all the straps. I checked my connection at the ball of the truck and I see the lock I use to lock the ball sitting on the bumper and my key chain with multiple keys sitting on the bumper beside it. I got religious for a moment and locked up the ball, took my keys and headed on home. Getting the bike unloaded into the shop was no challenge. I put my new battery on the smart charger and hoped it would come back. The trailering system had worked well, hopefully my Valkyrie wasn't too ashamed when I drove by the group of 20 Harley riders stopped at a store along the route. I did feel somewhat embarrassed myself.
So this morning I'm considering my next move. I've checked the battery and it's green to go on the charger. I've looked at the various threads for alternators on the board and worst case I see I may need a new alternator. I'm hoping somehow that it's just a blown fuse from the boosting but chances are not good. All in all, it's an expensive lesson about leaving my key in the ignition .
Any comments regarding proper testing of alternator would be appreciated.
Dann

[Gryphon Rider]

Disconnect the charger and install the battery. Start the bike and let it run until no choke needed, then shut it down. Measure the battery voltage, which should be at 12.9-13.1V. Start the engine and measure battery voltage with engine at 2000 RPM. It should now be at more than 14V. If the voltage is the same or lower than when the engine is off, you have a charging problem.

[pancho]

Hey Dann,, first thing is to check the 55 amp alternator (main) fuse under the right side cover, it looks like a metal strap. If it is good hook your VOM across the battery and get a reading,, should be a somewhere around 12.7 -13 v,, start the bike and the voltage should go up to 13.3 or so if the alternator is working. If the voltage stays around the same as it was before starting or drips a bit, the alternator probably needs servicing.

Glad you made it home without any major consequences..

[Gryphon Rider]

Did I read that right, that you had the bike ON A JACK while you were hauling it on a trailer?

[Quicksilver]

Just got back in from checking the 55a fuse, yup blown.
Could not be happier about it either.
Thanks for the pointer.
As to the on Jack, yes figured it would be more stable with 5 points of contact with trailer than 2.

[csj]

Looking forward to a report on what could have opened
that 55A fuse.

Sorry to hear about that nightmare. I'm always braced
for a similar experience.

Going to start assembling more hardware, like yours,
to be ready.

[Bone]

Is your petcock on ?

[R J]

Just a word of advice on riding on a trailer.

Get that f**king jack out from under that bike when traveling.   Ya want to bend the frame?

You said you had a chock.  You also stated someone held the bike while you strapped it down.

If that chock is adjusted correctly, the bike should stand there no problem till you get the straps secured.

I always strapped low when I was into motor recovery in California for a side income.     Strap front 1st, and rear last.

Front:



Rear:



Full view:



If you hook the straps as shown, and pull them tight, the bike and the trailer should move as one on side to side testing.      The shocks will take care of the up & down movement.   The strap will not come unhooked in the up & down movement when applied low, yup, they will come unhooked on high mounting.

When ya go high, you drag the shock down and it does not like to be compressed that much and riding on a trailer.    It will and does BLOW seals real quick.

MGM currently has 243K on the speedo, and still running the same shock seals on the front.

Close to 15 years I had a recovery service, and never lost a bike tied this way.   Took me about 3 years to learn the above technique but that is how you learn.

[Quicksilver]

Ok! My wheel chock was made up for me by a local welding shop, It's not capable of keeping the bike up on it's own but it's what I have. The trailer is a modified yard trailer with a landscaping type ramp in the back. The front of the trailer is designed to be removed and flipped to lie flat. The wheel chock I bolt to the trailer bottom and the front of the trailer that lies flat. This extends the length of my trailer to the required 9 feet and allows me to raise the ramp. Again it would be nice to have your setup but its what I have. I promise I won't hire out my services to others for trailering their bikes. I'll look into buying a proper wheel chock, I'm thinking that it's essential if I want to have a proper setup.
And yes I leave the petcock on most of the time. Hydro-lock here I come.

[BF]

I can relate to working shifts.  After being up for more than 20/24 hours, my head is just a fog.  

Last Wednesday was a 12 hour shift, Thurs was 12, Friday was a 16 hour shift, Sat was a 16, Sunday was a 12 hour shift.  Today and Tuesday are only 8 hours (you read that right....my work week is 7 days long).  

I'm tired.  

Glad you're about to be up and running.  

Btw....listen to R.J.  He's right about that jack.  

Also.....check out the WheelDock.  I just bough one and love it.  Should've bought one years ago. 

[Marinakorp]

Q: - when strapping a Standard down...

1 - Use the front Engine Guards (yes...seems like that is what you did up front)

2 - Where do I attach to the frame on the Standard.. in the rear?

[hubcapsc]

You have the same jack adapter that I have... many of us have... make sure
you're not lifting your bike by the headers...



I've taken to placing a one-by perpendicular across the jack-forks... it works
great, got that hint from someone else here...

-Mike

[Gryphon Rider]

Q: - when strapping a Standard down...
2 - Where do I attach to the frame on the Standard.. in the rear?

Remove the side covers and use the part of the frame that was behind the back edge of the side cover.

[Quicksilver]

I know RJ is right. Imagine trying to trailer without a proper wheel chock. What would you do? I checked out the wheel-dock, looks slick, will likely get one, solve those risk issues. First time in 5 years I've had to trailer my Valk anywhere, even rode it home when I first bought it. Figure I'll need to spend about $400 to get a wheel-dock here. Sometimes it's wish-full thinking and hard to justify. I used the front guard like RJ but at the back I used the frame on right side and the passenger foot peg on the left. 97 standard.
The jack does not contact the headers, there is space although it doesn't show well in picture.
I will pick up a fusible link today on the way to work. They had 2 in stock so I'm buying both, 1 for spare. About 2$ each.
I don't know why it blew yet, perhaps alternator was working overtime to charge up the dead battery. I'll wait to hear from the Tech guys as to what to look for.
Dann  

[Chrisj CMA]

I know RJ is right. Imagine trying to trailer without a proper wheel chock. What would you do? I checked out the wheel-dock, looks slick, will likely get one, solve those risk issues. First time in 5 years I've had to trailer my Valk anywhere, even rode it home when I first bought it. Figure I'll need to spend about $400 to get a wheel-dock here. Sometimes it's wish-full thinking and hard to justify. I used the front guard like RJ but at the back I used the frame on right side and the passenger foot peg on the left. 97 standard.
The jack does not contact the headers, there is space although it doesn't show well in picture.
I will pick up a fusible link today on the way to work. They had 2 in stock so I'm buying both, 1 for spare. About 2$ each.
I don't know why it blew yet, perhaps alternator was working overtime to charge up the dead battery. I'll wait to hear from the Tech guys as to what to look for.
Dann  

I didnt see it mentioned....almost hate to tell you, but there is usually a hidden spare right there on your bike. 

That little box the fuse is in, look at the edge of the lid and you will see a slit in the plastic, there should be a spare fuse in there.........

[Marinakorp]

Q: - when strapping a Standard down...
2 - Where do I attach to the frame on the Standard.. in the rear?

Remove the side covers and use the part of the frame that was behind the back edge of the side cover.

THANK YOU.

I will need this information in 2 weeks!

[Gryphon Rider]

Q: - when strapping a Standard down...
2 - Where do I attach to the frame on the Standard.. in the rear?

Remove the side covers and use the part of the frame that was behind the back edge of the side cover.

THANK YOU.

I will need this information in 2 weeks!

Because It's pretty much impossible to thread a tie-down hook around that frame tube, what I do is use a short length of yellow poly rope, loop it through the frame 3 times, and knot the ends of the rope together.  Then my tie-down hook goes through all 3 loops.  A little thought could probably come up with a better method, but it's worked for me.

[nogrey]

WOW! Just got through reading this entire thread. Your story sounds like something that I would have happen to me. Not just one thing, but a dozen things going wrong in sequence. Oh, and add to that the fact that you've been up 20 hours. Yikes.
I'm enjoying the discussion on how to trailer as well. I've trailered multiple Valks, multiple times tying them down with the bikes on their kickstand. I don't really want to get "flamed", but is this a bad way to transport them?

[R J]

WOW! Just got through reading this entire thread. Your story sounds like something that I would have happen to me. Not just one thing, but a dozen things going wrong in sequence. Oh, and add to that the fact that you've been up 20 hours. Yikes.
I'm enjoying the discussion on how to trailer as well. I've trailered multiple Valks, multiple times tying them down with the bikes on their kickstand. I don't really want to get "flamed", but is this a bad way to transport them?

If ya want a bent frrame, keep up that tie-down procedure.

If ya don't, put the kick stand up and turn off the gas so as to not get hydro-lock.

[cookiedough]

Expensive lesson learned am sure you won't be doing that again anytime soon.

I know a few times at stores I have being a dummy left my keys in the ignition but not turned on.  I came out of store searching all over my pockets for my cycle keys nowhere to be found.  After about 2-3 minutes I look over to the right side and walla,  there the keys are in the ignition.  Just glad it wasn't stolen. 

Hope all it was a blown fuse and good to go now no more worries.

Thanks RJ for the tips on trailering the Valk or any other bike strap down low,  decent wheel chock, and choke turned off and of course common sense bike in gear not in neutral. 

[eric in md]

Q: - when strapping a Standard down...

1 - Use the front Engine Guards (yes...seems like that is what you did up front)

2 - Where do I attach to the frame on the Standard.. in the rear?

tieing down a standard put a soft tie around you rear shocks and leave your side covers alone because you will break them ..

[R J]

Expensive lesson learned am sure you won't be doing that again anytime soon.

I know a few times at stores I have being a dummy left my keys in the ignition but not turned on.  I came out of store searching all over my pockets for my cycle keys nowhere to be found.  After about 2-3 minutes I look over to the right side and walla,  there the keys are in the ignition.  Just glad it wasn't stolen. 

Hope all it was a blown fuse and good to go now no more worries.

Thanks RJ for the tips on trailering the Valk or any other bike strap down low,  decent wheel chock, and choke turned off and of course common sense bike in gear not in neutral. 

Not the choke turned off, it should already be off.

It is the petcock on the gas tank so as to eliminate a hydrolock.

Those little floats will bounce up and down and somewhere in there the petcock lets fuel run in, if enough runs in you got a hydrolock.

SO SHUT THE FUEL PETCOCK OFF, Also, put it in nuetral on the trailer.

[BF]

WOW! Just got through reading this entire thread. Your story sounds like something that I would have happen to me. Not just one thing, but a dozen things going wrong in sequence. Oh, and add to that the fact that you've been up 20 hours. Yikes.
I'm enjoying the discussion on how to trailer as well. I've trailered multiple Valks, multiple times tying them down with the bikes on their kickstand. I don't really want to get "flamed", but is this a bad way to transport them?

Yes.....very bad idea. 

Never ever trailer a bike with it on the kickstand.  Get a wheel chock.....there's plenty to choose from.  From expensive to cheap....just get one and put the bike in it.  Then tie the bike down. 

You want the bike to stand straight up when tying it down and trailering. 

[Quicksilver]

Well good morning! Just reading the latest bits of advice. The spare fuse was right where ChrisJ said it would be, I checked after reading ChrisJ's comment yesterday. It even says spare fuse on the side of the cover. I didn't know enough about it to make use of it at the time though but I will next time. I asked the chap at the desk what might cause it to blow, he suggested if when boosting the cables were crossed the fuse might blow. That seems to fit with the fact that it wouldn't keep running when the cables were removed, it was probably blown by then. It was dark and the fellow giving me the boost may have crossed the cables at the start without mentioning it. Just another thing on the list of what could go wrong.
So the plan today is to replace the fuse, install the battery, remove plugs to make sure no hydro-lock has occurred, turning it over a couple of times that way with the kill switch on. Battery is charged with 12.6 volts on the meter now. Will start bike and check for voltage at 2000 rpm, should be 13.5 to 14V.
Wish me luck, and thanks to all of you for the excellent advice.
Dann

[R J]

If his vehicle engine, truck/car, was running it can blow the fuse.

[Paxton]

Quicksilver;
I am sorry to hear 'bout your frustrating experience. Good thing you don't have a short fuse!

[Quicksilver]

Just got back in from shop. Did everything as described except kill switch, doesn't turn over if it's on. Did remove plugs completely from bike and rolled it outside before turning it over. No gas came blowing out, so reassembled and started her up. Checked across battery, 13.9v. at 2000 rpm. Runs smooth. I think I'm good to go. Lots learned on this one. $100 out of pocket but well worth it I think for all the information it provided.

RJ the car was not running when he boosted me. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge regarding trailering. Wheel chock, tie downs low, petcock off, in neutral, tied low with bike vertical.
Paxton , I do have a short fuse but the amperage is really high.

[Paxton]

How short is it?

[R J]

How short is it?

Paxton, now ya is a gettin personnal.

[The emperor has no clothes]

How short is it?

Paxton, now ya is a gettin personnal.

Quicksilver pay no attention to the Americans 

[R J]

How short is it?

Paxton, now ya is a gettin personnal.

Quicksilver pay no attention to the Americans 

You got that right Brother.

Shouldn't that be 'Tonto, no pay attention to the white man.'?

[The emperor has no clothes]

How short is it?

Paxton, now ya is a gettin personnal.

Quicksilver pay no attention to the Americans 

You got that right Brother.

Shouldn't that be 'Tonto, no pay attention to the white man.'?

[etiwandablues]

Q: - when strapping a Standard down...

1 - Use the front Engine Guards (yes...seems like that is what you did up front)

2 - Where do I attach to the frame on the Standard.. in the rear?

I thread my rear  tie down thru a section of bicycle inner tube and pass it thru the rear wheel at the bottom, pass it around the tire, and back thru the wheel and then secure the ends at the trailer corners on the floor. The inner tube keeps the tie down from marring the wheel and from slipping side to side. Very secure, has worked well for me quite a few times.

[Chrisj CMA]

Q: - when strapping a Standard down...

1 - Use the front Engine Guards (yes...seems like that is what you did up front)

2 - Where do I attach to the frame on the Standard.. in the rear?

I thread my rear  tie down thru a section of bicycle inner tube and pass it thru the rear wheel at the bottom, pass it around the tire, and back thru the wheel and then secure the ends at the trailer corners on the floor. The inner tube keeps the tie down from marring the wheel and from slipping side to side. Very secure, has worked well for me quite a few times.

This does not seem to be a good idea to me.  If you hit a hard bump or had to do anything that put stress on the cargo you are relying on the drive train for security.  Too much to lose if the alignment gets "pulled" off, you wont know until the splines are toast.  

Use the frame, the soft ties that come with a set of straps (usually) fit around the frame in  a couple places.......much less risk

[Quicksilver]

Just to clarify regarding the boosting. I should be able to boost my bike using a car if it is turned off. If the fusible link is ok and the alternator ok then my bike will run and at the same time recharge the battery. To have my fuse blow is an unusual event. When I saw that the bike would not run when the booster cables were removed, I should have checked the fuse then. Had I done that and replaced the fuse with the spare, then boosted the bike again with the cables in the correct orientation, I could have ridden home and all would have been good. I am thinking the guy crossed the wires when he initially made the connection. I haven't read any other explanation yet for the fuse blowing.

[weeder]

Just got back in from checking the 55a fuse, yup blown.
Could not be happier about it either.
Thanks for the pointer.
As to the on Jack, yes figured it would be more stable with 5 points of contact with trailer than 2.

nice lookin Honda Valkyrie

[weeder]

Just a word of advice on riding on a trailer.

Get that f**king jack out from under that bike when traveling.   Ya want to bend the frame?

You said you had a chock.  You also stated someone held the bike while you strapped it down.

If that chock is adjusted correctly, the bike should stand there no problem till you get the straps secured.


wow nice Honda Valkyrie ,  don't mess with R J
I always strapped low when I was into motor recovery in California for a side income.     Strap front 1st, and rear last.

Front:



Rear:



Full view:



If you hook the straps as shown, and pull them tight, the bike and the trailer should move as one on side to side testing.      The shocks will take care of the up & down movement.   The strap will not come unhooked in the up & down movement when applied low, yup, they will come unhooked on high mounting.

When ya go high, you drag the shock down and it does not like to be compressed that much and riding on a trailer.    It will and does BLOW seals real quick.

MGM currently has 243K on the speedo, and still running the same shock seals on the front.

Close to 15 years I had a recovery service, and never lost a bike tied this way.   Took me about 3 years to learn the above technique but that is how you learn.

[weeder]

Pics are on down the page...
OK, OK... I know many of you bikers will pound on me for even considering trailering my Valkyrie anywhere.  But, it makes a lot of sense, if you live in Houston and want to spend some quality time with the SO in Colorado.  We get to have a great run up to Colorado in our truck, make better time, have good conversation, then when in Colorado, plenty of time to really enjoy motorcycle riding in the mountains.  And, as you can see in the photos, I also trailer my motorcycle trailer... the department of redundancy department, no?

The pictures below show an example of the way a Valk can be trailered.  Proper tie down is essential if you don't want to lose your bike.  I hit some incredible pavement on the way to Colorado one year... the trailer leaped into the air, then crashed back down... I watched in horror just how much the Valk jumped around, but it hung on.  Whew!  A few notes are in order:
• use nylon loops around the lower triple tree.  They even work on the I/S with a fairing.  Available at any motorcycle shop.  Do not use the handle bars to tie down.  You want to be as near to the center of the bike as possible.
• screw down 2 x 4's onto the trailer floor, one on each side of the tires.  The purpose of the 2 x 4's is to prevent side to side motion of the wheels and tires.
• when tying down the front forks of the Valk, make sure they are compressed about 1 1/2 to 2 inches.  Anything less than this and you risk the possibility of having the front tire jump out of the 2 x 4 rails, which would cause the bike to fall.
• Make sure your front tie downs pull towards towards the front as well as to the sides.  Similarly, the rear tie downs should pull to the back in order to minimize fore/aft movement.
• Keep the kickstand up.  You want to trailer with the bike upright.  Never tie down with the bike on the kickstand.  The forces are sufficient to bend the kickstand mount.
• there are at least a couple of places to tie down at the back.  You can use the bag guards on a Valk with saddlebags.  Or, for any model, remove the seat, attach the S hooks to the frame crossmember and make sure they are forward of the cross member.  Replace the seat.  (this is obvious when you actually do it).
• I tie the front wheel to the frame to minimize left/right motion.
• A lot of people say you need to use ratchet tie downs.  I disagree.  The clamp type tie downs work just fine.  When I lost my motorcycle in a wreck, it was interesting to note that the nylon straps broke when the bike was thrown from the trailer, but the latches were exactly where I left them.  Just don't buy cheap ones... they need a minimum of 1200 lbs max load each.
• Be sure your gas petcock is off.  The vibration of riding on a trailer can cause a cylinder to fill with gas, creating a very bad situation.
• Make sure your bike is in gear.
• If you are using an open utility trailer, a piece of plywood across the front will greatly reduce the number of dings on your bike from gravel thrown up by the tow vehicle.  Just about mandatory for gravel roads.  I know.  I towed with the rig below across 40 miles of gravel road and got several dings in my fairing.
• Tying down the front end to compress the forks is hard on any motorcycle.  It places a lot of pressure on the fork seals for an extended time.  The ideal way to trailer a motorcyle is with a tire chock that securely locks the bike in an upright position, and keeps the front wheel from moving, side to side, or fore and aft.  My brother solved this problem by supporting his Valk on the crash bars before tying down.  He used a chainsaw to cut grooves in an old railroad tie to hold the crash bars.
 
 
 

Back to the Valkyrie Main Page

Back to Herb's Homepage
 
http://www.herberts.org/wayne/valk/tiedown.htm

[R J]

Pics are on down the page...
OK, OK... I know many of you bikers will pound on me for even considering trailering my Valkyrie anywhere.  But, it makes a lot of sense, if you live in Houston and want to spend some quality time with the SO in Colorado.  We get to have a great run up to Colorado in our truck, make better time, have good conversation, then when in Colorado, plenty of time to really enjoy motorcycle riding in the mountains.  And, as you can see in the photos, I also trailer my motorcycle trailer... the department of redundancy department, no?

The pictures below show an example of the way a Valk can be trailered.  Proper tie down is essential if you don't want to lose your bike.  I hit some incredible pavement on the way to Colorado one year... the trailer leaped into the air, then crashed back down... I watched in horror just how much the Valk jumped around, but it hung on.  Whew!  A few notes are in order:
• use nylon loops around the lower triple tree.  They even work on the I/S with a fairing.  Available at any motorcycle shop.  Do not use the handle bars to tie down.  You want to be as near to the center of the bike as possible.
• screw down 2 x 4's onto the trailer floor, one on each side of the tires.  The purpose of the 2 x 4's is to prevent side to side motion of the wheels and tires.
• when tying down the front forks of the Valk, make sure they are compressed about 1 1/2 to 2 inches.  Anything less than this and you risk the possibility of having the front tire jump out of the 2 x 4 rails, which would cause the bike to fall.
• Make sure your front tie downs pull towards towards the front as well as to the sides.  Similarly, the rear tie downs should pull to the back in order to minimize fore/aft movement.
• Keep the kickstand up.  You want to trailer with the bike upright.  Never tie down with the bike on the kickstand.  The forces are sufficient to bend the kickstand mount.
• there are at least a couple of places to tie down at the back.  You can use the bag guards on a Valk with saddlebags.  Or, for any model, remove the seat, attach the S hooks to the frame crossmember and make sure they are forward of the cross member.  Replace the seat.  (this is obvious when you actually do it).
• I tie the front wheel to the frame to minimize left/right motion.
• A lot of people say you need to use ratchet tie downs.  I disagree.  The clamp type tie downs work just fine.  When I lost my motorcycle in a wreck, it was interesting to note that the nylon straps broke when the bike was thrown from the trailer, but the latches were exactly where I left them.  Just don't buy cheap ones... they need a minimum of 1200 lbs max load each.
• Be sure your gas petcock is off.  The vibration of riding on a trailer can cause a cylinder to fill with gas, creating a very bad situation.
• Make sure your bike is in gear.
• If you are using an open utility trailer, a piece of plywood across the front will greatly reduce the number of dings on your bike from gravel thrown up by the tow vehicle.  Just about mandatory for gravel roads.  I know.  I towed with the rig below across 40 miles of gravel road and got several dings in my fairing.
• Tying down the front end to compress the forks is hard on any motorcycle.  It places a lot of pressure on the fork seals for an extended time.  The ideal way to trailer a motorcyle is with a tire chock that securely locks the bike in an upright position, and keeps the front wheel from moving, side to side, or fore and aft.  My brother solved this problem by supporting his Valk on the crash bars before tying down.  He used a chainsaw to cut grooves in an old railroad tie to hold the crash bars.
 
 
 

Back to the Valkyrie Main Page

Back to Herb's Homepage
 
http://www.herberts.org/wayne/valk/tiedown.htm

Yes sir Mr Weeder, if ya use the bottom of the triple tree, you will see that bike bounce around one way and the trailer the other.

If you tie down the way I told ya, the bike only goes the same direction as trailer.

I figure, I told ya how to do it and if ya no believe me, drop the subject, no need to argue or discuss further with ya.

I'm too old to argue, did enough of that with my 5 bull headed kids.

[WamegoRob]

I figure, I told ya how to do it and if ya no believe me, drop the subject, no need to argue or discuss further with ya.

There is nothing argumentative about Weeder's post.
The internet's full of information, and the way he passed some of it on so that adults can make an educated decision is a nice change of pace from "Do it like me or you're wrong!"