Small motorcycle on the front hitch

[wvabeer]

I'm thinking of hauling a Kawasaki Z125 (225lbs) on my trucks front hitch and I would have an extra mod of transportation. Does anyone have suggestions on what rack to get?

[Wo_ody]

IMO, the best front mounted bike carrier started with a Bodiak front mounted hitch which I believe was rated up to a 500 lb load. The beauty of the Bodiak Hitch is it mounted to the two front tow rings of a PU truck so it would not twist or rock when loaded. To the Bodiak, you mount a mechanical trailer tongue jack which had 15" of leg extension. The jack is used in "reverse"; lower the screw jack, capture the bike with a suitable fabricated bike frame capture foot, and lift the bike by cranking up the jack foot. A 20V, 3/8"battery powered impact wrench really makes the up and down quick and easy. Unfortunately, Bodiak webpage is not up and running and their Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Bodiak/ has posts about no response so they may be out of business. Bummer...its a neat front hitch.

[bka0721]

I have been carrying a HONDA 450 CRFX on the front of my truck, for over a year now without any issues. I ordered it off the internet. Not sure which one it was. But what was important to me was the weight capacity. I ordered one with significantly higher capacity than what my bike weighed.

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[Dave_Mac]

I have the Joe Hauler JH05. I love it. It's very well made. If you spend some time on their site, you will notice that the carriers built to carry heavier bikes are welded at the factory and require truck freight. So they're a bit more to ship. Mine has their cam-loc system which locks the carrier very tight to the hitch. No wobbling at all. It's as if the hitch and carrier are one unit. One thing to take into consideration. The longer the ramp, the easier it is to load. Some carriers come with very short (therefore steep) ramps making for a much harder loading. My ramp is 7ft long. It attaches right to the carrier with wing nuts. I have a Curt front hitch and have hauled my various scooters and motorcycles all over the east coast on the front of my truck. I have installed a Curt front hitch on several of my trucks and SUV's and recommend them. They are very easy to install. You and a friend can install one in less than an hour easily. Front hitches by themselves are great to have. All kinds of carriers available. And they make it super easy to maneuver trailers into tight spots also.

Joe Hauler carriers

Curt Front Hitch

[SoCalDesertRid1]

wvabeer wrote:

SoCalDesertRider wrote:
The center of gravity location of that camper is way too far behind the truck's rear axle if the camper is removing 200 lbs off the truck's front axle.

You need to figure out how to load it further forward, or remove everything stored in the rear of the camper and either store it in the overcab bed area, or in the cab of the truck.

That's rediculous for a camper that short to be removing 200 lbs from the truck's front axle.

I am wrong it added 200lb to the front.

That makes alot more sense 🙂

[wvabeer]

SoCalDesertRider wrote:
The center of gravity location of that camper is way too far behind the truck's rear axle if the camper is removing 200 lbs off the truck's front axle.

You need to figure out how to load it further forward, or remove everything stored in the rear of the camper and either store it in the overcab bed area, or in the cab of the truck.

That's rediculous for a camper that short to be removing 200 lbs from the truck's front axle.

I am wrong it added 200lb to the front.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

The center of gravity location of that camper is way too far behind the truck's rear axle if the camper is removing 200 lbs off the truck's front axle.

You need to figure out how to load it further forward, or remove everything stored in the rear of the camper and either store it in the overcab bed area, or in the cab of the truck.

That's rediculous for a camper that short to be removing 200 lbs from the truck's front axle.

[wvabeer]

This thing is little.

[TxTiger]

I tried this on my 2000 F250. On my truck, the hitch location puts it too high for me to see over the motorcycle (DRZ 400). I researched hitch carriers and chose a Moto-tote. Expensive, but great reviews. It is quality built and heavy duty. After loading my bike, which was really tough given the height of the hitch, and realizing it wouldn't work due to the height, I bought a light weight aluminum trailer. The trailer has worked really well. My TC extends beyond the bed by about 14", and the trailer has a 4' tongue which gives plenty of room for turning. Also, I'm able to carry other stuff on the trailer. Tongue weight is minimum.

I think the front hitch with a carrier on the right truck would work fine, but it didn't on mine.

[wvabeer]

whizbang wrote:
I share dirtpigs concern: the camper has pretty much maxed out the F150's payload capacity.

Can the truck handle the motorcycle and it's rack too?

As I mentioned in the first post, the front axle weight is reduced 200 lbs when the camper is loaded. I have a few hundred lbs in reserve on the front.

I am wrong it added 200lb to the front.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

With a half-ton truck and a camper, it is better to put the motorcycle on a small utility trailer and tow it. Alot less weight on the truck from trailer tongue than carrying whole motorcycle and carrier on truck. You can also transfer some outdoor use storage items from camper to trailer, further saving weight on truck.

[whizbang]

I share dirtpigs concern: the camper has pretty much maxed out the F150's payload capacity.

Can the truck handle the motorcycle and it's rack too?

[Dirtpig]

I've run an Xr400 Honda ~280lbs on a front hitch rack for many years. No problems at all on my f350 not sure how a f150 frame and front axle would handle the weight though. Nice thing about front mounting is i still could tow a boat and it was out of the way if I didn't tow.

[Jaseun]

I use a versahaul for my XT225 which weighs 260# or so. But I use it on the back. I don't think a front mount hitch would be able to handle the weight. You have to keep in mind that the 'tounge weight' rating on any hitch assumes the load is within a certain distance of the end of the hitch box where the coupler goes in. The versahaul effectively multiplies the tounge weight due to the distance it has to extend to accommodate the handle bars of a motorcycle. Long story short, why not use the rear hitch which is more likely to handle the weight safely? I have a 2000 F250 with a class 5 hitch and it still bounces and sways when driving over highway undulations and bumps.

[trail-explorer]

wvabeer wrote:
have suggestions on what rack to get?

http://versahaul.com/