Trailering

[Chris]

Hey all I am wondering what type of motorcycle wheel chocks you use.

I am looking at getting a Bike Pro[linky] type    <-- fixed linky

any thoughts recommendations?

[Cam]

Hey all I am wondering what type of motorcycle wheel chocks you use.
I am looking at getting a Bike Pro [linky] type.  Any thoughts recommendations?
--> Fixed Linky to Wheely Chocky

My trailer has rails that bend up at the front, creating built-in wheel chocks.  In the past I have used the removable kind (like this one), as well as simple bolt/screw down types (like this one), even a hommade one I welded together and bolted in my pickup (hmmm..no Amazon link for that one).  They all seem to work equally well.  They do make things more secure and I prefer to use one if possible, but they probably aren't absolutely vital unless you have no other way to keep the front week from moving forward (i.e. front wall of a pick-up truck bed, front rail on a trailer).  They do make it easier to load a bike by yourself, though.

Word of caution: some of the styles with the "grabber" that comes up from the back of the wheel can hit the lower fairings on sportbikes and cause a fair bit of damage to plastics.  So don't just shove the front wheel into the chock until you're sure you have clearance.  Don't ask how I know...

[flyinlow]

Baxley sport chock, expensive but the best there is. We've towed bike on an open trailer all the way to Daytona and back with nothing but the front wheel in the chock and a tie down from the back of the bike forward on each side. Went down in the ditch on a slippery road, mud flying everywhere, and the bikes didn't move.

[jleosnow]

I have a couple of Condor Pit stop PS-1500's and am extremely satisfied with them.  One of the best purchases I have made regarding bikes/trailers and highly recommend them.  They do everything just as advertised and then some!

-John

http://store.condor-lift.com/products.php?product=Pit%252dStop%7B47%7DTrailer%252dStop-%26-Trailer-Adaptor-Kit

[flyinlow]

I bought one of the harbor freight ones for $39.95. The only way I have found you can use them is they have to be mounted to something. If its free standing, I had a hell of a time getting the bikes out of it.

Or is there a trick I'm missing to it? The thing I like about the Baxley is I can leave it free standing on my garage floor for working on the bike, then put it in the corner when I'm not using it.

[Chris]

go to harbor frieght, buy them there( It is a knock off of the condor). When they are on sale and if you google their coupons, you'll be 39.95. As an added bonus, you can use it as a bike stand in the garage or driveway when you arent trailering.
I have two of them and use them whenever I am setting up suspensions etc...
They are a little big and cumbersome when not in use, but...

Lloyd this one[linky] does this require you to tie it down or is that an option?

As far as for trailering, for decades all I did was put the bike in the back of the truck and put a tie down on each fork leg (on most of the bikes, in such a way to not compress the forks). I have been to CA, Florida and every other major racetrack this way and never had a problem.

the not compressing the forks is what I am after, that's why I want the wheel chocks that grab the bike and hold it there.

[Chris]

Thanks Lloyd, the price is right on those ones, what I really wanted was one I could just drive\push into and leave it with no tie downs on the trailer, but those seam out of my price range right now, so I might just get these ones. Looking at this I don't think I would need to compress the forks hardly at all and if I tied the back down, the bike should not move at all, right?

[Chris]

I don't care what kind of wheel chock you buy, you would have to be completely clueless if you were going to trailer your bike without tie downs.

Maybe in a perfect world, where you accelerated super smoothly and braked just as smoothly and went around such gentle bends in the road, you couldn't even feel them, and no-one ever made you change course or brake hard, and you never had any chance of a flat tire or deer or anything else going wonky...maybe then you could manage to trailer your bike somewhere without tie-downs. But the world is not perfect, it is filled with idiots, the roads are littered with potholes and obstacles, there are sharp turns and blind driveways.

Tie downs are a must, even the law says so, unsafe load and all that. ( and I hate the rules and laws)

Agreed, thanks for the advice.

[flyinlow]

This Pit Bull system is about the only one you could possibly use to tow without tie downs, but I think I would still put tie downs on

http://www.pit-bull.com/trailer-restraint.shtml

[MinnDuc]

I use that Baxley sport chock with success.  So much so I bought another one.