Is there a standard procedure for carrying a motorcycle in the bed of a truck. My shortbed has a cleat at the bottom of each corner. I am assuming you just use straps to each side. Do you put the bike on it's stand or kickstand, or do you just let the strap tension hold it up.

Any comments, suggestions.

 

I leave the stand up and compress the suspension while tightening the straps so that the bike is held to 4 corners of the truck with the suspension fully compressed. You don't want to hit a bump and have the straps come off!

 

I would agree with Ian, I normally compress the front suspencion on my bike, and whith the 4-wheel, try to compress the front suspencion and strap down the rear axle.

 

Thanks, I'll do a local test run before a do any long distances with my bike. Maybe I can bungee the front brake, to stop the bike from rolling too.

I still have to test getting the bike up the ramps. I figure that I will walk up one ramp while running the bike up the other ramp. Either that or have someone else to help me push it without using the motor. I am not sure if the ramps will slip out or not.

 

Ian N is right on the money !!

 

Make damned sure you strap that bike in tigh. Once a bike starts to fall over in a turn, it will most likely keep falling over until it flips right over the bedrails... Seen it happen once. It just flips right over and onto the road.

Being the **** retentive person that I am, I'd also strap the bottoms of the tires to keep the tires from sliding out from under the bike in a turn.

 

In addition to the tips (above) on compressing the suspension, Bolt in a nice piece of 1x5 hardwood across the front of the bed where the front tire rests. In a hard stop, you'll appreciate not putting a nice fold in the front of the bed.

Those blue 1.25" straps with the built-in ratchets work well -- and for frequent trips to the track -- put in some nice eye-hooks thru the bed for 'set-it-and-forget-it' hauling (rather than trusting those sheet metal screws on the tie-downs.

 

Speaking of straps, if you're buddies with the Harley Davidson dealer, you can get straps from them. Every crated Harley comes with nylon ratchet straps holding the bikes inside the crates.

 

as stated above, compress the front suspension. no rear straps needed while in truck bed, except to keep the rear from going one way or the other. i sometimes put them on from the swingarm to the bed sides, no downward pressure just sideways, and not very tight just snug enough to keep her from moving side to side.
leave the stand up. as far as strapping the brake, no need, just make sure the bike is in gear. no chance of rolling. put the bike in the center of the truck, that way there is almost no chance of it going over the bed. i regularly haul dirt bikes this way and my g/f's street bike gets hauled at least once a year from wis to tenn or n.c. no incidents so far.
tip above about hardwood is very good, although i've only done that to one truck and it was a chebby so it didn't matter
when done strapping the bike in you should be able to really shake it to check it. don't be afraid to use some force while shaking, think about the bumps on a highway at 60 mph.
hardest part is getting it in the bed, depending on what kind of bike it is. street bikes will need at least an 8 ft. ramp otherwise the bottom of the frame (fairing of a sportbike) will hit the edge of the tailgate, or use a 6ft.ramp and a small hill or even a curb. dirtbikes you can use a 6 ft. ramp no problem.

 

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it.