Motorcycles, lets see em.

["A"]

Originally Posted by Baz

Like I said upstream, I'm anticipating picking up a new bike on Friday. Hopefully everything will work out. I'll explain later.

For now here's a pic of the new ramps I bought from HF. On sale only $50. I'm going to bolt them together to give me a wider track. Of course I will secure these underneath to my hitch brackets so they don't slid backwards on me. I also have one of those elongated work platforms I will bring to assist in the process. I also bought a new set of ratchet straps.

Put a milkcrate to the left of the ramp, use it as a step stool so you can walk next to the bike while it is being loaded onto the bed.

Strap the bike in truck bed via weight bearing points: tires, wheels, axles, centerstand, lower front fork.

Leave suspensions free traveling during transport.

Handlebars are designed for human strength to control the bike in motion, not 1000 lb. weight limit ratchets.

[ckcarr]

Convenient for you is that there is the oldest dedicated R1100S R1200S internet site right here on Pelican. These bikes are getting into "vintage" territory now and stuff goes wrong once in a while. Fortunately EVERYTHING has been discussed regarding them over there and if you master the "search" function you can find it all... Further, some parts are getting hard to find or unobtainium but there is also a separate "buy & sell" board here too:

BMW R1100S / R1200S Tech Forum - Pelican Parts Forums

Buy & Sell Board
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/r1100s-bikes-parts-sale/

Originally Posted by 908/930

I was really looking for a Ducati, but found this R1100s nearby, should be safer than the Duc for now.

[lindbhr]

Here is my 1975 Honda 750 Four. My first bike in 20 years, and probably my last. One too many close calls in Houston traffic. Lost my nerve I’m afraid. Oh well, I wanted one of these since I was 10 years old....Now it’s off the bucket list.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by "A"

Put a milkcrate to the left of the ramp, so you can walk next to the bike while it is being loaded onto the bed.

Strap the bike in truck bed via weight bearing points: tires, wheels, axles, centerstand, lower front fork.

Leave suspensions free traveling during transport.

Handlebars are designed for human strength to control the bike in motion, not 1000 lb. weight limit ratchets.

Thanks for the valuable and helpful tips, A!

Nice bike!

Gets a little tricky when you're working around fairings.

I have a nice work platform I am bring to aid with the loading and the seller told me his driveway has a little bit of slope so it should be fairly straight forward.

I usually use my single axle work trailer but it's too rusty now to trust for this kind of distance. Having the full size truck bed makes it a no brainer just to ramp it on in. There's built in hooks in my truck bed too I can easily access through the bedliner.

I think this bike has a center stand!

Previous transports:

[Tim Hancock]

I never use a side stand or center stand when strapping down any motorcycle. Always have loaded like "A" shows above for heavy bikes but lighter dirt bikes get simply hooked on each handlebar in close to the tripleclamps. I typically just stand beside bike with it running and slowly slip clutch to power it up ramp with a finger or two on front brake to stop and reposition if stepping up on milkcrate and then into truck bed. I bet I have hauled motorcycles thousands of times in the past nearly 40 years both on many types of trailers and trucks and have NEVER had an incident with bike retention once strapped down.

["A"]

No problem, I've been transporting bikes with my pickup for nearly two decades;
my own, friends' & for customers.
The last thing I want is any damage to the bike during transport.
Straps can work themselves loose during transport if you try to compress the suspension with them with straps.
Use straps on solid locations of the bike and you can leave the suspension free during transport.
The tires/wheels are the best place to secure the bike.
Leave bike transmission in gear for less wheel movement during transport.

[JavaBrewer]

Recently added this 2017 Super Duke GT to my garage. Already rolled over 3k miles of smiles on it. Amazing bike.





Regarding ratcheting straps just ensure you are using high quality ones. I had a economy HD strap explode while I was towing the bike in a open trailer. Bike landed on it's kickstand rather than going over the side as I was cruising 70 mph on the highway. All ended well but I had to toss my shorts when I got home.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by "A"

Put a milkcrate to the left of the ramp, use it as a step stool so you can walk next to the bike while it is being loaded onto the bed.

Strap the bike in truck bed via weight bearing points: tires, wheels, axles, centerstand, lower front fork.

Leave suspensions free traveling during transport.

Handlebars are designed for human strength to control the bike in motion, not 1000 lb. weight limit ratchets.

Outstanding advice! Thank you.

[flipper35]

Wife asked me to buy this for her so we can ride the state trails around here.

[Baz]

Well I must say - once again another vehicle purchase went 100% the right way.

It's a 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 500R (EX500).

- 13.5K miles
- Only filled up with non-ethanol fuel
- Kept stock
- Tires: Michelin Street Sport - Replaced 6/18
- Spark plugs: Replaced 6/18
- Carburetor: All gaskets, O-rings replaced and cleaned - 11/18
- Valves: Adjusted at ~10,000 miles - 9/19
- Coolant flushed when valves were cleaned - 9/19
- Fuel petcock gaskets and O-rings replaced - 10/20
-----------------------

Seller was younger than I thought - only 23. But had his act together! I arrived about 5 minutes early and he was in the garage with all the paperwork ready to go - plus a nice service manual and binder with a few receipts. He had also printed out official state of Florida bills of sale but I've never needed any of those. Just the title and tell the clerk the selling price. They have never asked me here for a bill of sale.

Went over the bike. Started right up and runs perfect. Looks perfect. Everything works.

Loading into truck wasn't hard. Feathered the clutch - he on the back end - me on the left side. Ratchet straps worked perfect. Never even stopped to re-tighten the whole way (1 hour each way). Thankfully no transport issues!

A few pics:

The seller - I told him he needed a pic of him and his bike on the last day:










Edit to include pricing info. Bike was listed at $1,900. I called and told seller I'd pay full price right now, over the phone, sight unseen, and no dickering. He said OK it's yours - but I can't meet you until Friday (this was last Sunday). I asked if I could send a deposit. He said he'd rather get everything in cash on Friday, but he'd hold it. I shared concern he'd get other offers and possibly cave in. He said make it an even $2K and he'd take the ad down. I said fine. Well he didn't take the ad down but he did raise the asking price to $2,500 and added a note "sale pending". Smart kid! He held up his end and I did too. I told the kid he was pretty savvy and may have a future in sales. He's in IT - fresh UCF grad and working in the medical field. I think he'll do good. There's always a back story - isn't there?

[Eric Hahl]

The Africa Twin...



and The FTR1200S...



and together...

[Eric Hahl]

Should not have sold this one.

Waited for this bike for a year when they first came out. Heard they might come out with a new RC Twin. Went to the dealer and asked about it. He hadn't heard of it yet but I said "Put me on the list to get if they make it".

Owner of dealership called me the day it arrived at dealer transport and asked if I wanted to go with him to pick it up...well, heck yeah!

Anyway, life got in the way and I sold it but did enjoy it for some time. What a blast!

[Superman]

Originally Posted by lindbhr

Here is my 1975 Honda 750 Four. My first bike in 20 years, and probably my last. One too many close calls in Houston traffic. Lost my nerve I’m afraid. Oh well, I wanted one of these since I was 10 years old....Now it’s off the bucket list.

Nice bike. I am fond of them too, due to the one I had when I was much younger. It was a '75, and I think yours might be a '75 also. That looks like a fine example.

[Baz]

Here's a better look at her.......

["A"]

Those middleweight Ninja are rock solid bikes, door knob like reliability.
Cheap to purchase, maintain, repair and insure.
Rock on!

[Rusty Heap]

Twice the tires twice the fun.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by "A"

Those middleweight Ninja are rock solid bikes, door knob like reliability.
Cheap to purchase, maintain, repair and insure.
Rock on!

Thanks! This one's a keeper. I may even keep it inside my home at some point, just to give it the ultimate climate controlled housing!

I just came back in from another ride. So nice here at night with almost zero traffic. Gave me time to listen to the engine as I rev it through the RPMs. It spins up real nicely. Many comments I have read stated the power doesn't really come on until you hit 7K and above. I get what they are saying but it's still fine for my needs at lesser RPMs.

I just looked under the seat for manual and tool kit but nada.

At least I learned how to open the seat up.

Shined a flashlight into the fuel tank and it's clear as a bell and no tarnish to be seen.

Rock on for sure!

[HardDrive]

Beautiful machine!

Originally Posted by lindbhr

Here is my 1975 Honda 750 Four. My first bike in 20 years, and probably my last. One too many close calls in Houston traffic. Lost my nerve I’m afraid. Oh well, I wanted one of these since I was 10 years old....Now it’s off the bucket list.

[HardDrive]

I'm a Duc guy, and not surprisingly, I've always lusted after one of these.

Originally Posted by Eric Hahl

Should not have sold this one.

Waited for this bike for a year when they first came out. Heard they might come out with a new RC Twin. Went to the dealer and asked about it. He hadn't heard of it yet but I said "Put me on the list to get if they make it".

Owner of dealership called me the day it arrived at dealer transport and asked if I wanted to go with him to pick it up...well, heck yeah!

Anyway, life got in the way and I sold it but did enjoy it for some time. What a blast!

["A"]

I've bought and sold at least half a dozen of those Ninja's little brother.
Made good profit each time.


Only the carb version, always cheap to purchased used.
Very easy to work on and get it running nicely.
Their engine is tuned nicely to operate at high rpm, and smaller engine displacement make them unattractive to thieves.
Plenty of cheap parts for them in salvage yard or online sources.
Insurance for each of them cost me $35 per year.
I used to ride them in the street of Brooklyn, Manhattan, etc.. and never had a worry to get the bike damaged, stolen.
The small, narrow profile of the bike made it perfect for going between car mirrors.