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This article was taken from the forum archives and was originally posted 9/4/2005 by BobW.
How to trailer your RSV
1) Ratchet strap on each side front fork tube, with a soft tie just above the lower section of the triple tree. Tighten the straps until the shocks compressed about 1". (As you tighten the ratchets - simultaneously! - you will get to a point where the shocks compress abruptly 1", that is where I stopped.)
2) Ratchet strap at middle on each side with a soft tie on frame under seat (immediately to rear of the holes for the seat studs. Straps pull slightly toward the front of the trailer. (simply remove seat to attach the soft ties)
3) Ratchet straps on each side of the rear with soft tie on outside corner of the black rails underneath of the saddlebags. Be gentle when tightening these straps. These rails are only attached to the frame by bolts. These tie outs are only to provide lateral stability for the rear tire. The front 4 really do all of the securing. (In the picture you will see cam straps but I switched to ratchet straps, after taking picture, because they are more secure.)
A view from rear of trailer wth bike secured.
You most definitely should be using a wheel chock for the front wheel and all of your major tie outs should be pulling the bike forward into the chock. No need to have any straps pulling toward the rear of the trailer. This tie down method had it rock solid with just the front and middle straps - the rear straps are more peace of mind than anything else.
Bob W
Update from BobW posted originally 9/13/2005.
While trailering my RSV for about 1200 miles this week, I noted two tips to add to my tie down technique.
1) Once you attach the tie downs to the frame under the seat, leave them there. They are easy to tuck up and out of sight when riding and easy to pull out to hook to when tying down.
2) Tighten the center (under seat) tie downs FIRST. Ratchet them simultaneously (or one click left, one click right) while you sit on the bike. You will come to a point where you feel the suspension drop about an inch. This compresses both the front and rear slightly. This leaves much less for the front straps to do and it didn't require any adjusting while on the road. The nice thing about this is you can do it while sitting on the bike right after you pull it in the trailer. Sooo, when you get off the bike, it is already secured upright.
After all of the bumpy roads we went over, I would NEVER be satisfied with anything less than the front triple tree tie down points AND the under seat frame tie down points. I can only imagine what would have been happening back there without these.
Trust me, this is as rock solid as you get and the 15-20 minutes it takes to accomplish it is well worth it.
Another nice thing about the under the seat tie down points (and leaving them in place) is that each night when we got back from riding, I would pull it in the trailer, reach down and hook these center tie downs, and simply snug them down. There the baby was secure for the night.
Bob W
Here are some picturers of a first gen Venture being towed on an open trailer. Note the modified tailgate supports to allow the long bike to be hauled on an 8ft trailer.
If you use an alternate method of securing your bike on a trailer, please send photos and a description to the Venturers tech library for possible inclusion in this article.
Last update: 01:56 AM Sunday, November 25, 2007
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