Carrying a Motorcycle on a DP

lj2654 wrote:
I am interested in getting a Harley Davidson motorcycle to haul behind my DP. Do they make a carrier that mounts above the towbar so you can flat tow your car and a bike. Not going to be a big bike, probably 5-6 hundred #'s.

There are 2 that come to mind right off. The Hydra-lift and one from Cruiser-lift. I've seen both in the world and they definitely work.

Dave

The lift and bike are going to put 1400 lbs on your rear axle and take 500 off the front. Do have that much reserve on your rear axle?

For Rear Lifts have your front & rear axle weighted when loaded for travel. Then you can add on the extra weight of a lift by below.

Measure the distance from the center of rear axle to the center of the weight(Lift)

Divide that number by the RV’s wheelbase.

Multiply the result by 100 to get percent.
That percent of the load is added to the load and becomes the total load added to the rear axle.
That percent of the load is subtracted from the front axle weight and unloads the front axle by that amount.

800 lb bike, Lift 100 lb=900 lb
Center axle to rear 120” wheelbase 240”
120 divide by 240=0.50 X 100= 50%

Weight is 1350 lb added to rear axle
Front axle will be 450 lbs lighter

Ivylog wrote:
The lift and bike are going to put 1400 lbs on your rear axle and take 500 off the front. Do have that much reserve on your rear axle?

And perhaps more important than the axle is the tire limit.:h

Mighty Hauler

Running an Overbilt lift on my PHAETON. It handles my StreetGlide just fine but I started with a 10k towing capacity. The SG runs right on 800 pounds and the Overbilt has the optional bracket for a towbar. The only thing I have noticed is a slight rear end push on a curvy road.

I would be interested in the axle weights above?
Rarely on the rear of a DP do you need more than 100 psi in the tires so 400 more pounds per tire should not be a problem.

For the most part about the only DP's that can handle the additional weight of the motorcycle on the rear lift that you want to do is a DP with a TAG Axle to handle the extra weight.

I seen a couple of trailers on ebay someone had for sale that was made to haul a motorcycle and a car as you would on a tow dolly. The bike sat across the trailer and then the car was on the dolly.

The OP's 2001 Beaver is before DP's started to gain weight so my educated answer is he will have enough rear axle reserve. This is based on my putting 1500 lbs on the back of my 1998 Beaver... click on "how I tow" in my first post above.