Doctor Trailer Queen here....
....let me see what advice old "TQ" can give on this 8)
on the wheel chocks, i have the removable Pingle chocks on my 6 1/2 by 12 ft utility trailer. they work well....but you have to make sure they are fitted into the slots they mount in properly....or disaster could strike! Also, with the REMOVALE Pingles (if you go with Pingles, you may want to get the 'permanent' mount kind. i have to use removable cause i use the trailer to haul motorcycles, farm tractors, hay, shavings, etc.)...you must ensure that ALL straps PULL FORWARD. otherwise, the chock could come out of the mount....and the bike "fall and go boom". Not good :evil:
If it were me, and you have the money, i'd get the LA Wheelchock. Now that i have one (as of Sunday....for my birthday!)....and see how versatile this thing is, i would recommend it if you don't mind dropping about 285 bucks. you just drive the bike into the chock...it secures it...you get off and strap the back, and that's it!
If using a more traditional chock like the Pingle, then i strap the front and the back. In fact, i 'double' strap the front. That way, if a soft tie or strap fails (i've had this happen TWICE....both times when bouncing up and down on rough interstate hiway)...if double strapped on front, the bike isn't going anywhere. I never worried about this trailering a smaller bike...but with bigger bikes, it's worth the peace of mind. i use soft ties, and CAREFULLY select a place on the front 'fork' or tube to mount to. i mount right above the turn signal with a soft tie. BUT PER MY POST ON THE TECH BOARD, you have to OF COURSE make sure you don't strap against/put any pressure on any brake lines, wires, etc. You'll be putting enough pressure on those ratcheting straps to bend or mutilate soft stuff like that. Ask RuneSki, he had an incident where some folks hauled his bike on a trailer and didn't watch where they put the straps.
in addition to the one set of straps on the front 'fork' or tube...i also use a "Canyon Dancer" on the handle bars for a SECONDAY point to strap the front. A word of caution here. do NOT over tighten on this strap...as you could literally bend the handle bars! i'm a firm believer in NOT strapping to the handle bars as a primary means of securing the bike. Just too much chance of bending the bars!
i have ALL....that's ALL, both front and back...straps pulling forward and about 45 degrees out from the bike. you want to get a good angle forward so you get some leverage to hold up the bike. if using the Pingle chock, you have to put some compression in the forks to remain stable/secure. if using the LA chock, you do NOT compress the forks any or much...depending on how you strap. where ever you mount the chock, make sure you mount it in such a position that you can have straps pulling forward of the bike enough to get leverage....my strap tie down points are several feet forward of my chock mount position. Another thing i did is replaced the bolts that came with my Pingle setup for mounting with Grade 8 bolts from the local hardware store. Maybe Pingle has gotten smart and changed the cheap bolts they used, but if they haven't ....both my original bolts....and a friend of mine with a trailer using Pingle chocks....both of us had one of the cheap low grade bolts that came with the chock shear off due to the pressure exerted when a big bike is strapped down. Luckily for both of us, nothing disastersous occured in either occasion. i went and got grade 8 quality and have never had a problem since. (if you search on this subject, you can find all sorts of info on identifying different bolt grades and there properties. I think the Pringle mounts come with Grade 2 or 3 bolts...or low quality bolts?)
I always use soft ties anywhere i come in contact with the bike. NEVER allow loose straps to blow in the wind in an OPEN trailer....as they could buffet against the finished parts of the bike and mess up paint jobs, etc. Not an issue in an enclosed trailer.
For the back, pull the seat off, then remove the two phillips screws (one on each side) that hold those little black plates on above the chrome side covers. Remove the black plates (and store them for transport)...then place a soft tie thru the now exposed frame. A pair of needle nose pliers is helpful in 'snaking' the soft tie thru the frame. AGAIN, make sure you do NOT let the soft tie wrap around any battery cables, wires, etc., for obvious reasons. When you put the seat back on the bike...if it is a Corbin, just put it on. If it is stock seat, look at the frame of the seat and you'll see a split in the 'posts' that support the seat on the frame in the middle/bottom of the seat. The soft ties must go thru that split in the seat frame for the seat to fit back on properly. i use some sheep skin cloth with velcro sewed on my wife made for me to wrap around the strap on the back...as it passes VERY close to the chrome cover...and may rub. it also passes close to the exhaust. In fact, many of the new bikes that shipped from Honda had some fine scratches on the tops of the exhuast covers from the strap rubbing against it in transport.
All my hardware, the tie down rings, the ratcheting straps, etc., are all rated for MORE than the weight i am supporting. My theory is to have piece of mind by using heavy duty stuff. i inspect my ratcheting straps often...replacing them if worn. My tie down rings are HEAVY duty....like rated for 1500 pounds. I haul my John Deere with the same tie downs....so a Rune or Valk is nothing for it :twisted: i use only ratcheting type straps. i tried some of the cheaper, non ratcheting ones on my Valk the very first time i trailered. Thank goodness i was looking in the mirror as i drove down my gravel driveway. By the end of the driveway, the straps had ALREADY loosened enough for the bike to start leaning over. It would have fallen in very short time! Use high quality ratcheting straps.
another thing on tightness. Always check your straps about 20-30 miles down the road. Often they will loosen up a bit after driving down the road as the bike 'settles' some after some intitial bumps and such. after this initial check, i then only check straps whenever i stop for gas.
in closing, here's some descripton on bolt types (copied from
http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcdirt/tra ... box97.html):
There are three common bolt strength designations used for fasteners. They are, from weakest to strongest; standard duty, medium strength, and high strength. Generally speaking, all flat, pan, fillister, phillips and slot headed bolts are standard grade. Socket or button head bolts are most often medium or high strength bolts, while hex headed bolts can be found in all grades. The strength designation of most fasteners is easily determined, shown by marks or numbers cast into the tops of bolt heads (or lack thereof). Common bolt strength designations are grade two (standard duty) which have unmarked heads, grade five, medium strength, shown by three oppositely opposed hash marks cast into the bolt head, and high strength, grade eight, designated by six hash marks. Standard duty, grade two bolts are manufactured from metals with a minimum tensile strength of 60,000-74,000 pounds per square inch (psi). Medium strength, grade five bolts have minimum material tensile strengths of 90,000-120,000 psi, while high strength grade eight bolts designate material tensile strengths of greater than 150,000 psi.
Doctor TQ is now done with this dissertation :wink:
