Custom Made Motorcycle Trailer?

[rudi49jr]

Hi all,

I live near Bo Sang and enjoy riding my mountainbike in/near the mountains. I am now pretty much limited to Doi Suthep, because if I want to go any further it will be too far to ride there, have a satisfying ride in the mountains and then ride back again.

So here's what I've been thinking. I don't have a car, just a motorcycle. So I need some sort of trailer to hitch behind my motorcycle that I can put my mountainbike on and transport it. That way I won't have the long slogs, on the mountainbike, from my house to the mountains and back again every time. The only thing is: where do I find such a trailer? It can be a trailer that I can put the entire bike on, or some contraption so that the rear wheel of my mountainbike becomes like the wheel of the trailer and the fork (after I've taken the front wheel out) will be where the bike can be attached to this contraption.

I don't imagine there's something like that for sale in Chiang Mai (or is there?), so I'll probably have to have it custom made somewhere. Anybody have any ideas where I can go to have this trailer made? Any sugegstions/ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Rudi

[T_Dog]

Hey, that is a great idea! Maybe a Mechanical Engineer out there could design one and we could fab up a couple. I used to tow my Honda 750 in the USA with a cup like deal that went into the bumper hitch on my car. Worked great and I drove thousands of miles with the bike behind my Malibu! (You put the front wheel in a small wheel well and then put two cinch cables on the handle bars to keep it there. Take the chain off and go.) Can't see why you could not build one for a motorcycle to tow a bike.

Since you live on the East Side of Chiang Mai, have you ever biked out to the Mae On district and gone up to Mae KamPong? Beautiful country and very steep. Some trails as well once you get to know the territory. (Go East on 1317 about 18 KM past Sankopaeng Hot Springs.) Right now, the Sakura are in full bloom on the top of the pass above Mae KamPong Falls. (Very steep climb to the pass.) Thought I would pass that along to give you some more MTB options.

[T_Dog]

Now that I think of this idea a bit, why not have a fab shop take some metal strap and connect it to a spare front hub with quick release axle. Then.... You can attach the strap to the top of the motorbike seat and the hub sticks out the back of your motorbike. Take your MTB's fork and put it on the affixed spare hub. Tighten the quick release and you are ready to go. Just need to make sure the strap attached to the hub is secure some way on the seat of your motorbike. (Sitting on it is probably not enough for long hauls!)

[p1p]

I have such a trailer, designed to carry two bikes and two passengers. In use for many years doing the school run and taking kids on jaunts.

[jackr]

Now that I think of this idea a bit, why not have a fab shop take some metal strap and connect it to a spare front hub with quick release axle. Then.... You can attach the strap to the top of the motorbike seat and the hub sticks out the back of your motorbike. Take your MTB's fork and put it on the affixed spare hub. Tighten the quick release and you are ready to go.

... or you could flag a songthaew

[chownah]

Trailers for pulling with a motorcycle must have a swivel so that the motorcycle can lean on turns while the trailer does not. The hitches used for trailers used in rice fields have this feature that the tractor can lean from side to side independently from the trailer which is necessary then going over the dikes which seperate paddies. These hitches can be bought at farm hardware stores and might be the basis for a trailor. You could have the hitch attached to a two wheeled cart which is a common farm cart, these carts are seen on the roads with all kinds of loads, and are usually painted blue around here. I've seen them going up to 80km/hr but never really looked to see how they were hitched. What we do around here when we want to pull a cart for a short distance is to use a plastic rice sack folded around the handle of the cart and then sit on the ends of the sack....the handle rests on top of the seat behind the motorcyle driver and since the driver is sitting on the sack it holds the sack and the cart handle in place....but if done correctly it allows the motorcylce to lean on turns because of the flexibility of the sack. I've carried all kinds of loads this way up to about 200 kilo and it works fine although the heavier the load the slower you will want to go. A bicycle is light enough that it would be no problem. The key is that the handle for the cart rides on top of the motorcycle seat and a flexible cloth attachment to the motorcycle allow for the motorcycle to lean while the cart does not.

You could replace the folded bag with a heavy canvas strap or maybe a couple of them and tie them to the motorcycle and you would be good to go.....but remember it will take alot farther to stop.

Letting the back wheel of the bike ride on the pavement will wear your tire alot....the hub mount for the hitching of the fork is a good idea but....I guess that the lean of the motorcyle on turns would also be the correct lean for the bike on the back....I guess....for the geometry to be right for the lean to be exactly the same the hub mount should be located so that it is the same height above the pavement that it would be when riding the bike (same height as rear hub) I think....so that the bike was riding level and not like it was climbing up onto the motorcycle.

Chownah

[Tinkelbell]

This reminds me of the best foreign film 1954...." LA STRADA", directed by the famed Italian director- Federico Fellini. Anthony Quinn played the roll of a vegabond who roamed the Italian countryside on his motocycle trailor all his life. In fact ' La Strada' means 'The Road'.

The film showed the vegabond lived his entire life on this tiny motor-trailor.

If you had seen this movie, then you know what I'm talking about,.... the looks, how it functions, then you might get the idea how to build one to suit your need.

[chownah]

Upon giving it further thought I think that when using the bike itself as the trailer (rear wheel on pavement, front fork on hub as attachament point) it is not necessary to make the front hub level the same as the rear and letting the bike "climb" onto the motorcycle would probably be ok as the rotation at the hub mount plus the rotation of the head set would probably give enough flexibility so that when the motorcycle leans the bike will properly follow.....you could test this out by making a temporary hitch out of wood or steel lashed to the motorcycle and trying it out at low speeds.

I still like the two wheeled cart idea...it would be heavier but you could easily carry enough stuff to do an overnighter or even a one week biking holiday all around the area....or carry two bikes to make the event a duo.

Chownah

[Boksida]

Here's a link that might help:

http://forums.makezine.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=451

[p1p]

I would be only too happy to have a trailer made, copied from the design I use, if anybody is interested.

[rudi49jr]

Hi,

Thanks for the offer. Can I come look at the trailer that you have so that I can see for myself what it's like? Or maybe you could send me a picture (or several pictures from different angles) first? How much did you pay for your trailer?

Thanks!

Rudi

I would be only too happy to have a trailer made, copied from the design I use, if anybody is interested.

[selftaopath]

I wonder if it is legal in Thailand to tow a bike? Someday I might want to use a trailer behind my bike, but currently I would like to know if it is permissible to tow a motorcycle behind a car/truck? Thailand being so "unique" I might be disappointed in hearing what is NOT allowed. But if towing a bike and trailer are allowed can anyone recommend a builder or outlet in BKK?

Cheers, and thanks to Thai Visa and all who participate.

Keoki

[fred2007]

Hi all,

I live near Bo Sang and enjoy riding my mountainbike in/near the mountains. I am now pretty much limited to Doi Suthep, because if I want to go any further it will be too far to ride there, have a satisfying ride in the mountains and then ride back again.

So here's what I've been thinking. I don't have a car, just a motorcycle. So I need some sort of trailer to hitch behind my motorcycle that I can put my mountainbike on and transport it. That way I won't have the long slogs, on the mountainbike, from my house to the mountains and back again every time. The only thing is: where do I find such a trailer? It can be a trailer that I can put the entire bike on, or some contraption so that the rear wheel of my mountainbike becomes like the wheel of the trailer and the fork (after I've taken the front wheel out) will be where the bike can be attached to this contraption.

I don't imagine there's something like that for sale in Chiang Mai (or is there?), so I'll probably have to have it custom made somewhere. Anybody have any ideas where I can go to have this trailer made? Any sugegstions/ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Rudi

Hi Rudi I don,t know if that is any help to you but I do manufacture all type of trailers including trailers for motorcycles, most people are not interestet in getting them licenced but if you like a licence

I can give you all the details how to obtain one ( such as approval signed by an engineer and so on )

The licensing department is a pain in the back side, but with all the correct forms you will have little

problems to optain a licence. Unfortunately I am down in Ratchaburi but I have had some clients

from up north a few times, mostly for larger trailers. Have a look at the attachment this is the last

one I made a few weeks ago.

Cheers

[fred2007]

I wonder if it is legal in Thailand to tow a bike? Someday I might want to use a trailer behind my bike, but currently I would like to know if it is permissible to tow a motorcycle behind a car/truck? Thailand being so "unique" I might be disappointed in hearing what is NOT allowed. But if towing a bike and trailer are allowed can anyone recommend a builder or outlet in BKK?

Cheers, and thanks to Thai Visa and all who participate.

Keoki

Try us, we make custom made trailers for motorcycles and also for all type of cars pick up's

and sedans

[ataloss]

I would be only too happy to have a trailer made, copied from the design I use, if anybody is interested.

Would you kindly post a picture please and your expected price. Cheers

[Kan Win]

To the OP,

What about a side cart like this one behind the girl

Cheap and available all over Thialnd in a few different shapes and sizes.

Yours truly

Kan Win