Towing Harley Rear Wheel Down

[captain ron]

Can I tow my Harley with the rear wheel on the ground? I have to go to Iowa in 2 weeks and don't have a trailer yet, thought I might rig up a holder for the front tire to sit in on my hitch then just let the rear run on the ground.

[zimtok]

I have seen a tow device that does just what your talking about.

Here is one on e-bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COMPLETE-MOTORCYCLE-HITCH-CARRIER-CADDY-TOWING-TRAILER_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ10064QQihZ003QQitemZ130108878750QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[Chaz]

Man, that would be rather "ballsy" to do it that way behind a bus. I have been thinking about doing one behind my car/truck but I could keep an eye on it. (unless you got one of those cameras from the legendary "BJ's"!!!!!!!!!!!!  Been awhile, musta forgot.)
  Ain't ya got any bro's who can lend ya one??? Or all all your friends virtual.    I have one that I let buddie's use all the time. Ya should have gotten a 4108. I can put my knuckle in the cargo bay!! I think that is sooooooooooooooooooooooooo cool! Do ya mind if I "rub it in" a little ? LOL     HA!!
  I seen an interesting platform on the back of a coach that held a scoot sideways back there. That was kinda interesting too.
    Good luck!
          Chaz

[H3Jim]

If you do, before you get on the road, do a test run in a parking lot at slow speed with the the bus turning as tight as it can.  This is to check to make sure that the rear overhang does not make it move sidways too much.

Many years ago I had one of those I used to transport my Triumph from Stockton to San Diego, about 500 miles.  I used it on a small Datsun and it worked great.  Then a friend needed to transport his bike and I put on my 1955  chevy panel truck that had a long overhang in the rear.  Going around a corner at a traffic light caused the bike to turn partly horizontal.  It did not come out of the holder, but it did drag the bike sideways a short ways before it straightened out.  It did some damage.  Never saw the "friend" again. he was really upset / bummed.

[cody]

I think my biggest concern would be the weight of the bike, the one on ebay is maxed out at 550 pounds.  Any rocking motion that a road might create may overload the hitch at times.  One thing I saw in a campground was a converted boat trailer that a guy used to carry his goldwing on, he said it tracked perfectly and the tilt feature made it easy to load the bike.  All he had done was to remove the boat guides and add a rail for the tires to sit in along with tiedowns.  Used boat trailers are very inexpensive and might be a thought as an alternative to a higher cost item and they seem to last forever lol.

[Hartley]

U-Haul

You will forget and try to back up and crunch the bike. It happens...Or the bike will fall over.. Just not good idea to tow wheels down on any bike. what happens if the tire gives out... OUCH!