For the near future, I will be renting a U-Haul trailer to get to track days. For a fully faired bike, until I get a trailer and TRS setup, what's the best way to tie down the front end without damaging or removing bodywork and blowing up fork seals?
Can't use the lower triple as it's too far up inside the bodywork to make the angle to the tie down points.
I used canyon dancers with success before I got my TRS. You don't have to crank them down for them to hold. This reduces stress on the bars and suspension. Instead of just hooking the strap to the canyon dancer, I ran it though it and back to the tie down point. This kept me from ever having the hook slip off.
I liked Canyon Dancers too. I don't haul any big bikes now, but I bought this rear tire hugger setup from MotoTote. Haven't used it yet, but I've seen others use it at the track before. https://mototote.com/collections/mo...ng-ratcheting-tie-down?variant=46068887355706
I used canyon dancers with ratchet straps and never once had an issue Just make sure to compress the fork a tad and keep the rear end centered with another strap
You can tie the left strap to the right side of the lower triple and vice versa for even more room. This is another way the Bailey helps because it spaces the bike away from the “wall”, giving more angle to the hook points.
Rhino straps. I've got everything (TRS, canyon dancers, ratchets, mototote, etc.) and love my Rhino straps. They've got the soft ties aspect built in, but to me the biggest deal with them is the carabiner end instead of hooks. Because there's no concern of them ever popping off with a bump, etc., you don't need to tie them down as tightly as you do with others. I'll take a pic of my truck bed tomorrow which will show you how much I love them As mentioned upthread, a Baxley chock in addition is never a bad thing........
Remember this is a U-Haul and the tie down rings are widely spaced which mostly eliminates access under the fairing and even Canyon Dancers will rub on the bodywork, tank, and upper triple.
Sometimes you hear something thats a great idea, and so simple, that you have to ask why didn't I think of that. This is one of those times.
Also, I stopped using ratchet straps and switched to cam buckle straps. They help prevent the tendency for people to over-tighten like with ratchets.
I’ve gonna the opposite direction. I was transporting a bike a couple of years ago with cam buckle straps, and they loosened up almost causing to the bike to fall over in the bed of my truck. I promptly bought a set of quality ratchet straps.
It's funny how that works. I've never had a cam buckle losses on any load. Bike, building material, brush and yard waste...
I'll second this. Same thing happened to me, but bikes and toolbox were cam buckle strapped in the trailer. Now its good ratchet straps. .
Lol, once I realized the brilliance of carabiners on the end vs hooks, I promptly overhauled my entire collection so now everything (bungees, etc.) has carabiner ends. Such an improvement.
It’s the first time that happened, for years I used them and they worked fine. Maybe I had a faulty set, but after that incident I decided to just go with ratchet ones going forward. I don’t see a downside to using them.