Carrying a bike on your Ranger

[--weezl--]

the way i do my bike, it's an 85 yamaha virago xv1000 that weighs like 650 lbs wet, i load it into the truck, bring the rear tire right to the rear edge of the tailgate, put my ramp in the bed and then push the bike forward onto the the ramp, with the front tire, that way the bike is holding the ramp in (i also strap the ramp at the back)

the front is held down by 2 ratchet straps, tied onto the forks, and compress the shocks about 1/2-3/4" downwards. the rear is held on by another strap, it basically goes from one tie point to the rear tire, where it does a single loop around it and to the opposite tie down, this is not very tight, some jurisdictions will give you a hard time for not having the rear secured, as it could bounce upwards and the rear tire could move... better safe than sorry, and it's not that hard to put an extra strap on... with the tail of this strap, i run it through the d-ring on the ramp that i have (as my tailgate is down)

my ramp: my ramp is very simple, it consists of a 2"x10"x8', which has a ramp foot on one end, the ramp foot is designed specifically for this application, and i used 2 carrage bolts to hold it on... (see below) i also use a small d-ring type deal underneath the ramp, which i attach to my trailer hitch with a ratchet strap, so the ramp does not move while loading (see below)

additionally to the above stuff, i've heard of horror stories that people have had the bike on the back of the truck for a long trip, and the headboard of the bed has been bent by the tire pushing up against it, and braking and such, being that you're putting the tire in the spot that has the most leverage... in some circumstances it was dented so badly that the bed was making contact with the cab. to counter this, i went to home depot and i bought a 2x10 from the cull lumber, these are short pieces of wood, the undamaged sections of split, broken, warped boards, and a 4' piece of 2x10 can be had for like $1... i put that between the headboard and the front tire of my bike

ramp adapter thing:

d-ring thing: (not exactly like mine, but close enough)

my entire setup:

 

[RavoHimself]

The trick is not too over tighten then straps though. You could damage the forks. You want to make them tight but don't want to compress the forks more than an inch or so. The back will be fine. If the tailgate needs to stay down it will be fine

 

[LearjetMinako]

The trick is not too over tighten then straps though. You could damage the forks. You want to make them tight but don't want to compress the forks more than an inch or so. The back will be fine. If the tailgate needs to stay down it will be fine

Oh ya, forgot that point. The straps are mainly to keep the bike upright and standing. Light tension on the straps.

 

[--weezl--]

i don't agree with all of that... you want the strap tight enough that it won't become slack from the bike's suspension compressing when the truck hits a bump, if that happens, you run the risk of having the strap unhook from either end, and the bike falling...

what some people do, is they will use the cinch style straps, the ones with no ratchets, and have someone push the bike downwards, and tighten the straps as the suspension compresses, that way you're not putting a massive amount of force on it, but know it's compressed to a certain point...

 

[Blake.]

i haul my suzuki GS 550 bobber in my dakota (short bed with toolbox)
i get my tri-fold ramps from tractor supply,
park against a curb or other decent change of grade since the bike sits about an inch off the ground.
push it up there. either straight on or corner to corner. tail gate is down either way so it doesnt matter.
set it on kick stand
i dont have any front tie down points so....
i pass 2 straps through the back rim to my only 2 tie down points i have then 2 off the bars to the same point. the straps tension against each other.
i can grab the bike and shake it and the whole truck moves
i think it being a hard tail makes it a little easier also.

 

[bobbywalter]

sux when you have to worry about scratches.



i have hauled (my stuff) the eton 50, trx 200 klx 650 cr80 rupp lil indian and a goped in my truck before all at the same time....but i backed into a ditch and then buried it in 2wd to aid in that adventure. the tail gate was on the ground the first time i did it.

the eton was mostly on the roof and the big bikes wrecking the bedsides.


i have hauled two street bikes...a ninja and a smokin joe honda. that was a bitch to load and secure.

one harley fits, wont try two.




using two straps the ratchet in the front and some romex looped around the rim in the back is fine.



i regularly haul a 100, 125 650 and xr 50 in my truck. i love romex.

 

[94 lngbd]

his truck is a 95 so it wont have any factory tie down brackets ,but will have the holes up front & holes near the taillights to be used or just go pull factory tie downs from a 98 or newer ranger & bolt them in down low on the inside of your bed. Is the bed 6ft or 7ft,which could make a difference as to the bike being angled in the bed.

 

[--weezl--]

i wouldn't trust stake holes with a several hundred pound bike...

fwiw, i was doing 160km/h (bout 100mph) in my truck with my bike in the back, the day after the pic i put above... i drove 1000km, and went to overtake a semitruck and noticed one coming towards me a lot faster than i had thought, put the hammer down and went!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

his truck is a 95 so it wont have any factory tie down brackets ,but will have the holes up front & holes near the taillights to be used or just go pull factory tie downs from a 98 or newer ranger & bolt them in down low on the inside of your bed. Is the bed 6ft or 7ft,which could make a difference as to the bike being angled in the bed.

The 7' box is kinda rare/uncommon in anything 93+, it is very nice for hauling a bike though. Might sits in there straight with room to spare.

There probably is some sort of plate on the other side of the factory tie downs, those two little screws with just nuts wouldn't hold a whole lot.

I have the drop in liner in mine which would cover them up, but some trucks have round holes under the stakepockets which would be better than the stakepockets themselves.