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 Post subject: Re: Bike rack, probably been asked before
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 1:59 pm 
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300 cc
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Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:39 pm
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Location: Herts / Beds / Bucks
I already had a two bike trailer but was fed up with towing so I bought a second hand Dave Cooper rack to go on my Defender (tow bar nose weight = 150kg so no problem there)! The bike at the time was my CCM 604 at about 130kg so just about in limit.

It was the scooter rack so had a loading ramp and a home made front wheel loop to fit a 21" wheel had been added.

However due to the vertical rear of the Land Rover, the bike had to be strapped down really hard and lots of foam padding used to stop it hitting the rear of the vehicle and most importantly to stop the handlebar punching through a rear window! The problem is you don't get much triangulation on the straps as the tie down points are very close to the bike and to each other, so the straps are almost vertical, not good for stability.

I first tried it on the way to race in a rally in Wales but only got about a mile.....

The front wheel loop snapped and the bike rolled forward off the end of the rack, luckily the tight straps and foam padding saved both bike and Land Rover from damage. I parked up the bike in the petrol station I happened to be passing and drove home, chucked the rack in the garage (and noted the support tubes under the front had bent too) and grabbed the trailer, collected the bike and went on my way!

I did eventually rebuild the rack with heavier duty support tubes and a brand new channel and wheel loop from an Erde trailer (£60 off eBay) but it now weighed a lot more than the 20kg margin I had to play with so sold it to a guy to go on the back of his mahoosive camper van where weight was not an issue!

These days I own a van..... much easier!

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Tony Ferrari
Roads Conservation Officer
Hertfordshire TRF


http://www.nomadracing.co.uk No Byways were harmed in the making of this blog!

2006 KTM 450 Rally
2011 KTM 990 Adventure
2015 Honda CB500X


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 Post subject: Re: Bike rack, probably been asked before
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 4:44 pm 
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125cc
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Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:11 pm
Posts: 199
I like the idea of those scooter ones. Looks a lot easier to load. Thanks for all the replies.

I hate to think what the American 2 bike rack does to the tow bar. Its about 5 foot away from the vehicle with 2 bikes on.

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 Post subject: Re: Bike rack, probably been asked before
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 12:56 pm 
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300 cc
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Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:39 pm
Posts: 574
Location: Herts / Beds / Bucks
Here's another one I looked at before i found my second hand one sale

http://www.armitagetrailers.com/scooterrackpage.htm

Expensive but does solve the problem of strapping the bike down due to the over the seat fixing arm

_________________
Tony Ferrari
Roads Conservation Officer
Hertfordshire TRF


http://www.nomadracing.co.uk No Byways were harmed in the making of this blog!

2006 KTM 450 Rally
2011 KTM 990 Adventure
2015 Honda CB500X


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