My silk purse still looks like a sow's ear

[Runner]

This weekend I finished making a Travelrite motorcycle hauler to work with my TE-510. The Husky is a big, long dirt bike, barely able to fit inside the supplied aluminum channel. The task was made more difficult by the poor state of fabrication the Travelrite came in. I had to drill out two holes that the factory cut undersize. After getting the hauler to a state where it was functional, cranking down on all the straps and the supplied wheel chock left the 510 very free to move around while being hauled my my SUV. So I took a idea from the Ultimate MX Hauler and adapted two 1/2"-13 threaded rods, four nuts, washers and wing nuts to secure the foot pegs to the hauler. This required offsetting the aluminum channel six inches to align the 510's foot pegs with the steel crossbar and drilling two 1/2" diameter holes, 17" apart, in centered the crossbar.

I may add two PVC pipes concentrically located about the threaded rods to give the foot pegs something to bottom against, making the assembly more rigid. The excess threaded rod length will be cut down too.

It may not be pretty, but the bike is secure in hauler at freeway speeds. Oh yeah, I need to watch out for steep driveways.

I hope this helps somebody else in this situation.

 

[ghte]

Mate, that is a very well executed adaptation. Well done.

 

[Runner]

Thanks for the compliment, ghte.

Not shown in the photo is a 3' long loading ramp with a plate attached with 12 1/4" lug screws. Plate has a 13th hole to attach it to a like mating hone the carrier to prevent it from falling off when loading a bike.

 

[ghte]

Nice job. Is there much flex in the hauler itself. Does it feel safe and secure to you from a design concept. I use a trailer but I can see the real benefit of the special hauler you have and want to be sure thay really are up to scratch.

 

[Runner]

If I were to do it again I'd design the aluminum channel another 6" higher and reinforce the bottom of the channel. This is because the load is eccentrically located, as the long end of the channel bends slightly.

Another improvement would be match fitting the safety pin hole internal diameters in the crossbar to the safety pin outer diameter. Any slop at this interfaces allows the carrier mounted motorcycle to yaw while the vehicle is in motion. A Band-Aid would be to run tie downs from the ends of the channel to the chain hooks on the Class III hitch.

That reminds me, a Class IV hitch would be better still. There is little tongue weight safety margin. Since the load is offset from where a hitch ball is normally located, a torque is applied to the hitch, which is not desirable.

Last night I installed two M6-1 eye bolts from McMaster-Carr on the roof of my Honda Element that will allow me to run straps toward the front of the vehicle. At four dollars each, these are a lot less than an OEM roof rack.