Trailer hitch plans

[Rosie]

Did anyone build a hitch? Looking for some plans to build one,would save me time,time I could be ridinThanks

[PhredValk]

I haven't made these, but downloaded these plans from the board some time ago. I apologize that I don't know who to credit for the images.
Fred.

[GOOSE]

why don't you go to daryl at xf6-custom.com..... he has a beautiful stainless steel trailer hitch for the valkyrie.

[Mildew]

Did anyone build a hitch? Looking for some plans to build one,would save me time,time I could be ridinThanks

I built mine using those same plans. I probably have 20k miles on it. No problems at any speed. Paint it to match and it is hidden. Well, somewhat but it was cheap. I bought everything I needed at tractor supply. Nothing fancy but it works for me.

[Kymbo]

hope to get mine back from the platers soon and will post plans as soon as I do .

[tank_post142]

i'll measure up the cross plate a little later

[R J]

Did anyone build a hitch? Looking for some plans to build one,would save me time,time I could be ridinThanks

I'm not understanding your thinking here.

How can building your own hitch save you time and riding time?

I'd think you would be losing riding time if you are cutting up steel, getting it square and welded up.

Point me in your way of thinking please.   This old mind has lost track of this conversation.      

[bigfish_Oh]

 I'll make mine and save time by not reinventing the wheel thanks to you guys.

thanks for the info

[tank_post142]

RJ the trick is to work only when it's really raining hard!

ps: i'll measure up my 3 pole flag mount too.

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

The orginal plans are some that I drew up years ago. I did mine on a trial and error field fit type bases. Still the plans will get you close and you may want to adapt some changes along the way. My hitch is still  working as good as the day I built it some 8 yrs ago. If I build another I will swap the top rails so the flange would be turned to the outside and just make the bottom plate longer to make it work. My hitch is real close to the bottom of the fender and a very tight fit. My is painted black and is barely visible to the untrained eye.

[Mildew]

It really don't take long. I know mine is not pretty but I think it took 3 hours, maybe not that long. 5 pieces of steel. Measure and cut. Line it up and tack weld. Weld it all up. (about 30 minutes welding is all) Let it cool slowly because cooling it fast will harden the welds. Drill 4 holes while it is hot. (easier) Square up the reciever tube and weld it. Pant after it cools. Rattle can works for me. I know some here are profectionist and will take it somewhere to paint or have their shop. I also know some like the chrome $300.00 ones but my info is for the ones that would like to build their own. I also want to build a centerstand in the near future. The kind that don't stick out on the side and get ground off in the twisties. lol

[PhredValk]

Mildew; that center stand idea would be a great addition for any Valk. I'd bet a lot of us would love to see the plans that you come up with. $600 for a used Kuri is absurd!
Fred.

[Rosie]

RJ As I stated in my post abouy saving time,the time saved is not having to figure out how to do it ,copying is always easier,dont you remember anything from school. Thanks for the plans.

[olddog1946]

Did anyone build a hitch? Looking for some plans to build one,would save me time,time I could be ridinThanks

I'm not understanding your thinking here.

How can building your own hitch save you time and riding time?

I'd think you would be losing riding time if you are cutting up steel, getting it square and welded up.

Point me in your way of thinking please.   This old mind has lost track of this conversation.      

Some of the time saved is the amount of time spent working at whatever wage he earns to pay an outrageous price for a chrome or stainless hitch that will not do a bit better job than the home built one....not to mention the satisfaction of doing it yourself...

I for one am happy to see these plans,,,since I too was thinking about building my own, but putting it off so I could ride instead of trying to figure it all out...seems I'm just as lazy as the next guy and do not mind that someone else figure it all out already...

[old2soon]

I have been watching the hitches on flea bay(to my great dismay)go for some really obscene prices. I for one am happy as 4377 to see these plans. And old boy i had a lot of respect for(rest in peace kenny)told me a long time ago-chrome looks good but it don't make it go faster.  With the money i'll save makin it myself-dang sure buy a lot of gas for phat ghurl. RIDE SAFE.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

why don't you go to daryl at xf6-custom.com..... he has a beautiful stainless steel trailer hitch for the valkyrie.

Alot of the new folks to this site it would seem they could careless if the VRCC does down the drain. Only way to keep the lights on here is use the vendors, and attend  InZane ....Might be a couple more way's the owners make money but I'm pretty sure the vendors and InZane are near the top.

[GOOSE]

SMOKINJOE....i knew we had something besides big trucks in comon,,,,,you hit it on the head....if we are not careful, we won't have any vendors for our valkyries left, and the next to go would be the vrcc.  we all need to think about that one.  this is a good place, we don't want to loose it.

[Kymbo]

Yes I agree that manufacturers of products for the valkyrie should be supported but there will always be people that prefer to do their own work if possible .People have been customising their rides since the dawn of time before all these parts were available and will continue to do so.I for one get great satisfaction in making the part myself. Unfortunatley the avaliability of parts in Australia is slim at best and the postage cost for large items is over the top to say the least.May be we should all take our bikes to a dealer or the like for an oil change
P.S. Unfortunatley cant ride the Valk 24/4 so might as well make something whem im not polishing it.
This is the end result of my home made tow hich that I got back today from the platers

[MP]

Nice!

MP

[olddog1946]

why don't you go to daryl at xf6-custom.com..... he has a beautiful stainless steel trailer hitch for the valkyrie.

Alot of the new folks to this site it would seem they could careless if the VRCC does down the drain. Only way to keep the lights on here is use the vendors, and attend  InZane ....Might be a couple more way's the owners make money but I'm pretty sure the vendors and InZane are near the top.

Even though I am a newbie, and like to make some of my own items to save a buck or two I fully support the vendors as shown by my ultimate seat, valk patches for my vest, and many of the parts I have added to my bike..IF i can build something that is functional I will do that, just like making sockets for triple tree removal, or fork repair...I was raised to be thrifty (cheap to some) and I enjoy working with my hands so I'll make mine and like you I will enjoy my bike by putting it on the street with my tush in the saddle as often as I can..

[Earl in Pensacola]

Sure looks like both you and the "Plater" do beautiful work!!!!!!!!

[2qmedic]

Nice work folks!

I am making a trailer hitch now but have a question....
How thick should the medal be???

Thanks in advance 

[Scottwig]

With all due respect to any old timers, I (a newbie Valk I/S owner) just went to the xf6-custom.com page for Valk accessories and could not find a Valk hitch.

[blastedbugler]

In Australia a lot of touring bikes tow trailer & campers.
We have just had our Ulysses AGM where 2000 bikes turned up and at least 50% would tow trailers.
I have just towed my camper for 3500 km on this trip without any trouble.
We have a supplier who makes trailers & has tow bars for most brands of cruisers.
All of the tow bars have their main connection point at the bolts that hold the exhaust system to the frame with additional support brackets to the saddle bag top bolts.
The main pull is therefore along the centre of the bike at wheel hub level.
With brackets only mounted at the top wouldnt there be a fair amount of twist moment.
We use a weight on the tow bar ball of between 15 - 20 kg which seems to give the right balance.
Just a thought.
Don ( Aussie )

[2qmedic]

Very interesting, I have thought the same thing about the pulling brackets needing to be in line with the pulling forces. I read quite awhile back that someone felt twisting of the brackets just like your comment. It doesn't seem to be a wide spread issue though.

However, seeing that there were no other manufactured trailering brackets like this, I dismissed the idea thinking o-well, they know best.

Do you have any pictures of this setup?

[Willow]

With all due respect to any old timers, I (a newbie Valk I/S owner) just went to the xf6-custom.com page for Valk accessories and could not find a Valk hitch.

True enough.  Daryl didn't sell enough of them to continue them as a regular production item.  He did say that if he had enough interest he would do another run of them.  If you're interested, contact XF6 and ask him specifically about the trailer hitch.

[macdoesit]

What is this one worth,took off my I/S

[tank_post142]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/260995620282?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[tbone]

Sorry, don' t want to hijack your thread but since it was mentioned. I started a thread on the General to see if I could get enough interest for Daryl to make a special run. he said if he could get 3 or 4 interested he would. I think we have 2 or 3 possibles at the moment. I will call Daryl tomorrow to check. I fully understand the need to save money but I looked at his at inzane and they are impressive. Of course, I am not much of a fabricator.  Tbone

[2qmedic]

Chrome sho is purty...
for me, just a good hitch painted black would do me just fine. I don't have alot of time to devote to polishing chrome. I still have to work for a living and have to much going on so I try to do low maintenace things...

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

The 1/4in plate is a bit of an over kill but I'ld rather err to the heavy side than the light. The plans that are floating arround are of the first hitch I built many years ago. I used 1/8 plate but ended up going back and adding a 3/16X1 in stifferer to the brackets as the hitch had some sway to the left and right. I've have used this hitch for many years with no problems at all.
  Since then several people have used these plans as a starting point to build their own hitches. If I ever build another the flanges at the bottom will be turned to the outside to make it easier to remove the center section for tire changing.

[blastedbugler]

In response to enquiry re trailer & trailer hitches made in Australia.
Go to the web site.
Google is "classic trailers Yandina" ( small town in Queensland Australia ).
As you can see you select your bike & go from there.
For the Valkyrie, a plate is attached to the frame using the bolts that hold the muffler on.
I modified this connection slightly as I thought there wasnt enough thread available.
The hitch is then attached to the plate by a single bolt with supporting brackets going up to the saddle bag mounts.
Diameter of the hitch rod is 17 mm & is shaped to fit around hub.
Kit comes suppliied with 50 mm ball, wiring & trailer plug connector.
If you contacted the owner I am sure he would send you better photos & details.
Probably send one to the USA.
After checking the web site I found they do export to the USA.
When I tow my camper it trails that well I dont even know it is there.
There would have probably been over 1000 of this brand of trailer hitch at the rally I attended recently.
I have never seen a hitch that did not pull along the centre line of the bike at hub height.

http://www.classicind.com.au/

Don ( Aussie )

[warren]

I have not built one, but I bought one that fit my 2000 Valk Interstate from Hitch Doctor and I am very pleased with the product and the service.  We had to do some very minor alterations to their brackets to allow for my hard shell side bags.

[petemoss8023]

i'll measure up the cross plate a little later

tank, did you ever post the cross plate dimensions?

[MarkT]

I went ahead and bought a Hitchdoc as I wanted to get mine set up quickly to pull my camper to Inzane. Yeah it was spendy but I will say the chrome is very well done. On that trip, and followed up on the Darby Memorial Ride recently even more so (riding mountain twisties) the lean limitation imposed by the conventional hitch was found to be ride limiting if not a safety problem.  I considered making a swivel hitch but first looked online to see what was out there.  Found the following, so once again, preferring to not deal with the prototyping headaches I went ahead and bought one.  Overall, pretty happy with it, but they did make some mistakes in the fit I had to correct, and their welds are ugly.  I told them so, and that the welds appear to be the first of a brand-new stick welder apprentice.  They offered to refund my money but I declined, just admonished them to strive for better quality and sent them the link to www.weldingtipsandtricks.com .  I am confidant their welds will improve, and also I believe even now the welds on my copy are strong enough or I would grind them off and replace them. The chrome is top notch. Their link is http://shop.meadows-ent.com/

Anyway, my point here, is you might want to look into a swivel hitch - any work in the twisties and the need becomes immediately apparent.  This hitch swivels a full 360°, has a bearing and a zirk to keep it greased. Very nice chrome.  Comes w/o the ball.

[WintrSol]

MarkT is right - don't try to tow without a swivel, either on the hitch or on the trailer tongue, or you will regret it.

[MarkT]

MarkT is right - don't try to tow without a swivel, either on the hitch or on the trailer tongue, or you will regret it.

This is the only one I found on the hitch, the rest were on the tongue.  Since I have 2 trailers now the hitch swivel made more sense.

[Antony]

Greetings from New Zealand everybody. I realize this is a rather old thread, but I'm keen to make up this hitch. Does anyone know what the base plate dimensions are?

[gordonv]

Email sent.

You may also want to add your location to your profile, easier to meet up with others.

[ridingron]

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,92786.0.html

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,105226.0.html