Every motorcycle owner, from weekend off-roaders to competition riders, knows that sometimes the only way they’ll be able to move a bike is if it’s loaded on the back of a truck or trailer.
Let’s be honest: you’re not going to ride a screaming 100dB superbike to the track just because you want to put in a few laps on the weekend, and the only way you’re going to bring your dirt bike along on holiday is if it’s strapped in with your luggage.
Assuming you already have a vehicle to load your bike onto, you still need a dependable ramp or carrier that you can use to load and unload from without hurting the bike or yourself. Luckily, there’s an excellent lineup of heavy-duty Aussie-made loading equipment available that can help you with the heavy lifting, but choosing the right one can be a daunting task in itself. Let’s take a look at a few of the options, and see just how easy it is to get your bike lifted without breaking your back or your budget.
Choosing the Right Ramp
Regardless of where or how far you need to transport your bike, you’re going to need a way to get it safely on and off of your trailer, ute or RV. That’s where having either a set of durable motorcycle ramps or a high-quality motorcycle carrier is going to make your life easier. You don’t want to get just any ramp or bike carrier, though. Ramps aren’t expensive, but they’re expected to support some extremely expensive pieces of machinery – possibly over long, tough distances. It means that the lifting equipment you choose has to be just as suitable for your transport vehicle as it is for your bike; so you’re going to want to take your time with selecting the right ramp.
All Aluminium Bike Ramps
If your main bike transport vehicle is a trailer or an ute with a bed liner, then a pair of classic motorcycle bike ramps is what you need. But there’s much more to a good classic ramp than just making a way up or down: it’s about convenience. As a minimum, you want to take advantage of the superior qualities an aluminium motor bike ramp is going to offer, including:
· Strength. With load ratings available up to 550kg, alloy ramps are as strong as steel but won’t bend or rust.
· Lightweight. Typically weighing less than 10kg a pair, alloy ramps are easy to lift and won’t put your vehicle overweight.
· Foldable ease. When not in use, multi-panel alloy ramps stow away discreetly along a floor panel or behind a seat.
A no-frills aluminium motorcycle ramp keeps loading a bike, trike, or a quad ATV onto an open top, or pantech-type transporter simple; but what do you do if you’re headed cross country with an RV and want to bring your motocrosser along? This is the time to think about having a heavy duty bike carrier as your perfect solution.
Steel Framed Bike Carriers
A motorcycle carrier ramp can be attached to the 50mm x 50mm trailer hitch of any appropriately rated RV, ute, or pickup, and it’ll let you to fasten a single bike directly to the rear of your vehicle, without any costs or headaches of using a trailer. With their steel tubing support and aluminium carrier and ramp assemblies, top-quality carriers rate up to 270kg carrying capacity, and value for traits like:
· Easy installation. Carriers not only install and uninstall in seconds, but will let you secure your bike quicker than in a truck bed or trailer.
· Extra stability. Anti-tilt bracketing prevents the carrier (and the bike) from oscillating when you’re turning corners or driving on uneven roads.
· Road-ready wiring. Built in plug and play trailer plug harnesses simplify compliance with mandatory rear light and number plate visibility when you’re carrying a bike.
Carrier ramps are the clear choice when the classic folding motorcycle ramp won’t work with your transport vehicle. However, after you’ve decided whether a folding ramp or a carrier is going to be the best, you still need to consider the ramp’s basic mechanics. Remember, a ramp is still just a piece of equipment, and regardless of the type of ramp you choose, there are a handful of factors that can’t be overlooked when it comes to using one safely and effectively.
Confirm the Ramp’s Capacity
Whenever you’re ready to buy motorcycle ramps, you want to be absolutely sure that they’re sufficiently rated for the weight of the bike you’re transporting. Not only do you risk damaging your bike by exceeding the ramp’s designated capacity, but the risk of personal injury when overloading stepped ramps also increases dramatically. Ultimately, you always want to use a ramp whose capacity exceeds both your, and the bike’s combined weight.
The Ramp With the Right Width
Your ramp’s width may not be a major issue if you’re using it exclusively as a dirt bike ramp, but for customs, ATVs, competition drag or GP bikes with wide tyres, the width can be a big issue. A 330mm tyre would have been a rarity on a lot of bikes a decade ago, but they’re a smooth-riding standard now. Trying to tightrope-walk a heavy bike up a ramp that’s too narrow is as dangerous as using one that doesn’t have an adequate weight rating, so make sure the width is adequate.
Ramp Stability is Crucial
A motorcycle trailer ramp may not have a slippery surface, but it does have the potential to shift or slide away from your vehicle’s loading deck and cause as much damage to the transporter as it will to the bike. Keeping the ramp stable is paramount to safety; that’s why you only want to buy motorbike ramps that have urethane deck contact points, and can be securely strapped or pinned into position. Consider the height of your bike and your towing vehicle’s deck here too, as you want to ensure that the length of your ramps will let you to keep your angle of incline for loading under 16°, or 30%, to eliminate the risk of the ramp kicking out.
The Final Word
At the end of the day, your ramps are as integral to transporting your bike as the transporter itself. And make no mistake: investing in a ramp that isn’t strong enough, long enough, or durable enough will eventually lead to a costly failure.
A pair of well designed, top quality motorcycle ramps or a motorcycle carrier are going to make all the difference in how safely you load and transport your bike. It’s an inexpensive peace of mind that you’ll quickly realize is worth every dollar.