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By p
#86420
I've seen some of those dollies that hold front wheel off ground in a vee frame, fitting on tow bar of car and in effect drag bike by it's front forks whilst rear wheel remains on the ground. Anyone any experience of them?
I have a device that clamps rigidly onto my tow bar and carries a box or other items on a frame; this is rated at 75kg and I am wondering if I was to remove RE's front wheel and clamp in a steel bar where the axle is removed from I could then secure this to tow bike.... mounting no problem as my device has a mounting that would take what amounts to an extended RE front axle.
I can keep the bike upright easily enough, and the tow would have articulation via the headstock bearing.
The geometry may lead to bike negative leaning when cornering, but this may be within acceptable limits as it will of course be unladen. I also thought that some strong bungees/spring between bike frame and tow bar may relieve some stress on forks?? I think front of Bullet would be within nose weight for car I have in mind.
Anyone tried it/thoughts/observations on what is just an idea at this stage,all welcome!
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By Wheaters
#86422
I don't know if it's legal to it but in any case I wouldn't want to tow a bike like that. It will put large left/right rotational twisting moments on the towing arm and mounting points on the car, due to the lateral inertia of the bike making it try to lean outwards on corners, as you have realised. If you've ever towed a bike on a fore/aft trailer you will probably have discovered how tightly the bike has to be strapped down by the handlebars to stop it leaning outwards.
By RoSy
#86427
Ansell Tow Dolly, they have been around for years, there are other types. Trials riders would turn up with these at events with their trials bikes on them.
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By stinkwheel
#86432
Should be pretty stable, there's lots of trail.

I imagine it will be near impossible to reverse.
By p
#86480
Upon weighing bike at either end I was surprised to find the unladen weight is pretty much 50/50, so 85+kg on the front. Removing the wheel will make it slightly lighter, but I think pushing the limits on nose weight as well as my adaptor device, so think a trailer will be safer way to go.
I realize that on a standard bike trailer suspension compression on bike will always lead to some slack in vertical fixing as pointed out by Wheaters; is there any benefit in blocking under frame/footpegs to make this more rigid?
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By stinkwheel
#86486
I generally ratchet them down onto the suspension so it's compressed to a little off full compression. The suspension then keeps the straps tight. I generally put a tie down round each of the fork legs between the yokes. If you have one of those tip-over chocks for the front wheel, that's pretty much all you need, certainly in a van. If I was putting one on a trailer, I'd tie the back down by the subframe rails with another two.
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By Wheaters
#86487
I agree with Stinkwheel. I compress the suspension and put ratchet straps on the handlebars pulled down tight to stop the bike leaning over, as well as more straps on the rear of the bike. I learned the hard way 43 years ago when my old BSA A7SS, (which had stuck a conrod out of the bottom end of the crankcase on the M1), leaned right over on a corner and almost came off my mate's trailer
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By stinkwheel
#86489
I'd further say the tipover front wheel chocks I was referring to are great, if you're getting a bike trailer, make sure it's got one of those. You can roll the bike up into it and when the front wheel tips it over, you can take your hands off the bike and it'll just sit there ready for the tie-downs. Some of them also have a lock which is a handy theft deterrent if you're parking it up somewhere.
By Beezabryan
#86494
Problem with a bike trailer is that it is just that, a single use piece of equipment, likewise the small trailers mostly used to haul family camping gear. And of course the added storage requirement and they may only be used once a year
Many years ago I had a trailer made to my spec. It fits in a corner of the front garden, it carries garden waste & trash to the skips, brings logs for the stove, has carried all sorts of building materials and occasionally a bike.

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By Wheaters
#86495
I had a small, covered car trailer which we found to be really useful. I kept it for almost 20 years. When we were about to emigrate one of the senior RAF chaps at my workplace approached me and asked if he could buy it. I said he could but he could only have it on the Saturday because we were clearing our RAF married Quarter and I would be making many runs to the tip. He paid up front, which was good. I was away on the Friday and when I got home the trailer had already gone. My wife said he had knocked on the door and asked if we had done with it yet. She thought so, so she let him take it. I had to laugh, because it was full of very wet and smelly garden rubbish! His first trip would have been to the tip. So I sold a trailer full of rubbish to a Wing Commander :lol:

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