How to carry motorcycle

[PRodacy]

We've been considering getting a lightweight motorcycle ( small trail bike to use on forest service roads, et ., not a road bike) to carry on the back of the camper. Don't really want to use a trailer if we don't have to, so how about a rack that fits in the receiver hitch? (I can weld one up if I need to.) The bikes we're looking at are only a couple hundred pounds so weight is not a problem. My question is how to tie it down so it doesn't fall over. Even with a fairly wide platform it seems like straps wouldn't be far enough out to hold it, especially on the inside by the camper. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[bob_nestor]

When looking at carrying a motorcycle on a bumper (front or rear), it's a good idea to run some calculations to see how the weight will be distributed. There's a fairly simple worksheet that you can find here.

The "460" in the first formula is the weight of the bumper carrier so you'll need to change this number to match the weight of your carrier. If doing the calculation for a front bumper just reverse front and rear in the worksheet.

I think it was Archimedes who said "give me a long enough level and I can move the world". So remember, even a small weight at sufficient distance from the axle can really mess up the loads on the other axle changing the handling characteristics of the vehicle.

[GeoBoy]

Take a look at the Versahaul's.

[805gregg]

Put it on the front, that way it won't block access to the camper, there are plenty of ready made receiver hitch carriers for motos