Ball vs Receiver hitch

[Ramie]

I have a ball hitch on my I/S and have seen a few bikes with similar looking receiver hitches and don't see much difference in the structure or support. 

I can't help but wonder why one couldn't convert a ball hitch to a receiver hitch.  I've looked around and there are no such conversion kits and I keep wondering what I'm missing. 

Is there really that much difference in the structure and support between the two types of hitches for a motorcycle?

[WintrSol]

I suppose that, if you are a good welder or know one, you can weld a receiver in place of the ball mount; it wouldn't be a bolt-on kit. Hitches have strength ratings, and bolting a receiver in place of the ball may not qualify. Or, and more likely IMO, insurance companies wouldn't approve of supplying such a kit.

For the record, my receiver hitch was custom made by someone who knows how to weld, and made it from stock that is a lot stronger than your average commercial version.

[MarkT]

As a fairly experienced MIG welder (21 yrs, but not certified)  I'll agree with Wintrsol.  (I have stick, TIG, gas, MIG-aluminum, & brazing equipment but much less experience with it.)  My Jade has a Hitchdoc receiver hitch, with obvious strong quality welds.  Look like MIG to me.  I wouldn't want a bolted receiver kit instead but if it was properly designed and overbuilt - it would depend on the execution I suspect.  I bought an aftermarket receiver swivel hitch for it online - the welds were stick and looked suspect and I told the seller so.  That he needed to upgrade his welding before making more of them.  This hitch failed - broke in two when I turned a corner - my tagalong trailer continued straight.  Fortunately it was at the slowest point in my ride, a right turn at a traffic light controlled intersection - what luck.  The swivel-receiver part was designed with a single point of failure so the chain hooks were on the ball side of the break.  I have since changed that - put the hooks on the Hitchdoc instead - and welded it back together but I'm now adding 1/4" reinforcing plates to make it overbuilt compared to the swivel part's original design.  Meanwhile this hitch is no longer available online - and his web site is gone.

[Challenger]

There are commercial grade 2" bolt on receiver hitch tubes with 500# tongue weight and 10,000 tow capacity available from several hitch suppliers. With grade 8 hardware mounted to your existing hitch plate, I see no reason why it wouldn't work for a motorcycle.

[Avanti]

Yes, proper fabricating is second only to the engineering of a part.  If you look at the engineering of a receiver hitch you will notice that almost all automotive receivers are bolted to the vehicles frame with the proper bolts that are load designed for, tension, bending and shear. The bolts transfer the vertical weight to the frame and also the horizontal load of pulling and stopping.  The hitch in the receiver is held in place with a pin that is in double shear. The pin is not carrying any weight but is pulling and stopping the trailer in tow. Sometimes this process is revered , pin carrying weight and receiver in the vertical position doing the pulling, I built mine in this second configuration because it allows the hitch to be hidden.  
You can find many who weld, find the ones who do it right. A nice looking weld does not mean it is proper weld, but a proper weld will always look nice.    

[MarkT]

The size Hitchdoc uses is 1" inside box tube.  Which has considerably less strength rating than the 2" used for automotive.  I read online, trailer weight rating for bike trailers is generally 500# - that's trailer not tongue wt.  My Timeout camper exceeds that when I add camping / cooking / clothes / AC etc gear.  Seems the hitch and all parts need to be sized for bike use - like Hitchdoc does.  I still wouldn't buy just any bolt-on receiver kit - depending on it's design / execution.