Trailering Question

steveved · Jul 1, 2015

I am trailing my 2014 1199 tomorrow for the first time.

I remember reading a thread a couple of years ago about these having a fork seal issue if you tighten the straps too much.

Has anyone recently experienced this? I tried my best to make sure that I didn't compress the forks more than an inch, but I don't want it coming loose.

Wish me luck... 593 miles to my Aunt's house in NY...

jarelj · Jul 1, 2015

steveved said:
I am trailing my 2014 1199 tomorrow for the first time.

I remember reading a thread a couple of years ago about these having a fork seal issue if you tighten the straps too much.

Has anyone recently experienced this? I tried my best to make sure that I didn't compress the forks more than an inch, but I don't want it coming loose.

Wish me luck... 593 miles to my Aunt's house in NY...

Yeah just don't crush the front way down, use the rear straps to stabilize the bike so you don't have to tighten the front down so much.

Buliwyf · Jul 1, 2015

Tighten away. F the fork seals. I think my bike gets cranked down about an inch and a half when i strap it in. Just don't over do it. I've had seals fail, but never because of strapping the bike down.

Transport straps always gets blamed for the seals failing. No one ever blames sand or mileage.

fireman1251 · Jul 1, 2015

Pitbull forever!

The 2012 base model fork issues were not related to restraining. I personally blew 4 sets of forks, 3 of them were with pitbull restraints.

Slowdive2 · Jul 1, 2015

The 1299 has about 4" of exposed stanchion, bottom of travel leaves approx 1.3" of stanchion so net 2.7" of travel. General wisdom is to crank down 1/2 the travel which is ~1.3" Enough to provide some suspension, not enough to come loose.

No expert but no need to completely crank it down IMO.

mito gp · Jul 1, 2015

Before I got the pitbull TRS, I always just used canyon dancers and strapped it down...never had a problem. Like the others said, just don't go overboard on tightening it down. Just have the forks compressed enough so that the bike is stable.

I suggest NOT using ratcheting style straps, as they make way too easy to over do it.

bp7178 · Jul 1, 2015

Buliwyf said:
Tighten away. F the fork seals. I think my bike gets cranked down about an inch and a half when i strap it in. Just don't over do it. I've had seals fail, but never because of strapping the bike down.

Transport straps always gets blamed for the seals failing. No one ever blames sand or mileage.

Or wheelies...

Badlarry · Jul 1, 2015

You can also crank up your preload then strap the front end down; itll resist compressing a little more...
The new style cupped canyon dancer is better on that ride by wire throttle tube than the traditional I've heard. I bought one; works well...

flobrandx · Jul 1, 2015

I used the canyon dancers and just crank it down till the it feels nice and snug with minimal movement. I would usually through a strap around the rear tire to help keep it from hopping. It made me feel better anyway.

Now I have a trailer and the Pitbull TRS system and I rest easy trailering the bikes. I highly recommend getting one.

rcube · Jul 1, 2015

canyon dancers II and sato racing hook for the back.

nvetro · Jul 2, 2015

The sato racing hook is a great product, I have one on my R. Makes it really easy to secure the rear. I use the Pitbull TRS now but you never know when you need to secure the bike down somewhere.

slickwill · Jul 2, 2015

Also using CanyonDancer and straps with no issues. I've trailered the bike to and from SLC from Idaho 3 times now for track days with no issues. As soon as I get a longer trailer I'm getting the Pitbull TRS though.

Styler · Jul 2, 2015

rcube said:
canyon dancers II and sato racing hook for the back.

+1 on canyon dancers 2 and sato racing hook for the back; canyon dancers helps to protect the RBW throttle tube, which can be damaged if you tie down directly to the grip.

steveved · Jul 5, 2015

Didn't want to waste $2k of my vacation money on a trailer and pittbull system. So, I bought a canyon dancer and rented a Uhaul motorcycle trailer.

Got up here fine and enjoying the twisty roads up here.

No fork seal leaks.

Next year, I will have my own trailer. But you cannot beat $15 a day from Uhaul.

Badlarry · Jul 5, 2015

steveved said:
Didn't want to waste $2k of my vacation money on a trailer and pittbull system. So, I bought a canyon dancer and rented a Uhaul motorcycle trailer.

Got up here fine and enjoying the twisty roads up here.

No fork seal leaks.

Next year, I will have my own trailer. But you cannot beat $15 a day from Uhaul.

Nice!! Yeah, when my friends trailers are unavailable I rent uhaul too.. Last enclosed box trailer I rented someone had taken it upon themselves to secretly install heavy duty dRing tie downs; the little ones I dont trust.. I also use my Pitbull rearstand to stabilize the bike. I soft strap it to the rear tire with a clovehitch then lightly strap the two ends of that fwd to the smaller drings in the trailer... The sato rear tie down is good for race bikes but I have a CW fender eliminator so thats a no-go for me..

AKKutz · Jul 6, 2015

Baxley Sport Chock. I can use it in the garage, back of pick up or I mount to the floor of my trailer. Supports the bike, even without straps (don't recommend, but found out the hard way).

Chaotic · Jul 7, 2015

First choice - Pitbull TRS. Best invention ever. I have 3 of them mounted in the toy hauler. Even have one for the Grom.

Second choice would be to use a Baxley sport chock, then a Canyon Dancer (or soft ties around the grips, which I have done a lot too). There is no need to strap it down so far the suspension is compressed. That is overkill and unnecessary. I pull mine down so the forks compress about 1-2", that is it. After driving for about 20-30min, I like to stop and check the straps because the straps will settle out, things will move a little, etc. Then after readjusting them the first time, I normally don't have to mess with them again.

I also put straps on the back, either from the rearsets or the swingarm. I like to keep the back from bouncing around.

Probably have almost 100k miles hauling bikes around to different tracks and have never once blown a fork seal.

ChrisE · Jul 14, 2015

Here's the method I use, it doesn't compress the forks.

mark419ny · Jul 17, 2015

i love it when my friends or someone says you spent 279 for that pitbull thing. i said yea 30 seconds best thing ever. they say canyon dancers and straps only take 5 min i say ok whatever you want to do i dont care. then im done in 30 seconds. next thing you know they have a pitbull

shakazulu12 · Jul 17, 2015

mark419ny said:
i love it when my friends or someone says you spent 279 for that pitbull thing. i said yea 30 seconds best thing ever. they say canyon dancers and straps only take 5 min i say ok whatever you want to do i dont care. then im done in 30 seconds. next thing you know they have a pitbull

Or when you screw up and put a hot tire into a chock and have to pry the damn thing off.

Trailering Question

Help Support Ducati Forum:

steveved

jarelj

Buliwyf

fireman1251

Slowdive2

mito gp

bp7178

Badlarry

flobrandx

rcube

nvetro

slickwill

Styler

steveved

Badlarry

AKKutz

Chaotic

ChrisE

mark419ny

shakazulu12

Similar threads

Register CTA

Recent Discussions