Transporting Bikes with Motorcycle Trailers

Many people own dirt and/or street bikes and have a need for a trailer to safely transport their bike to and from their favorite riding areas or events.  Whether it be transporting your dirt bike to your favorite off road riding area, or moving your custom chopper cross country for a bike show or event, motorcycle trailers can be very helpful in transporting your machine safely and conveniently.  While it may be possible to transport a motorcycle in the back of many pickup trucks, this uses up available cargo space and may not be a practical solution for many people.  Trailers that are specifically designed for transporting motorcycles can offer a much more convenient and safe means of getting the job done.         

There are two main categories of motorcycle trailers: open and enclosed.  Open trailers are generally lightweight and easier to tow, less expensive, and more compact.  In fact, some open bike trailers even fold up and take up very little space when stored. 

On the other hand, enclosed trailers take up more space to store, they are usually heavier and may require a bigger tow vehicle, and they are typically more expensive.  However, enclosed motorcycle trailers offer some strong advantages as well.  Because your bike can be locked away in an enclosed space, they offer better protection for your bike from weather, road hazards, theft, and vandalism.  The person with a very expensive bike might want to seriously consider investing in an enclosed trailer.  The extra protection it offers may be worth the extra expense in order to better protect your investment.  In addition, an enclosed trailer can offer much more storage space for tools, gear, and other supplies. 

No matter which type of trailer you choose, tie downs are a very important part of ensuring the safe transport of your bikes.  It doesn't matter how great of a trailer you may have, if you don't secure the bike properly, it could tip over and be damaged.  It is very important to have strong tie down anchors and proper tie down straps.  This is true for both enclosed and open trailers.

If a trailer was specifically made for hauling motorcycles, then it will probably have some good anchor points already designed into the trailer.  If you are using a more generic style trailer that doesn't already have good anchor points, then it's not that hard to add some.  There are many different tie down anchors available that can be attached to a trailer.  There are surface mount type anchors which are probably the easiest to install.  Then there are recessed tie down mounts that require a recess to be cut into the flooring in order to mount them.  Both types of anchors can do a good job.  The recessed type of motorcycle trailer tie downs mounts provide a little neater looking installation, and they don't protrude much over the surface of the trailer deck. 

The question then remains, "Which trailer is best for you?"  Generally speaking, if you can afford an enclosed trailer, then there can be many advantages of going that route.  On the other hand, if storage space is at a premium and if you don't have as much money to spend, then an open trailer may be a better match for your needs.  If you are transporting your dirt bike to your favorite riding areas, then chances are that an open trailer would serve just fine.  Since a dirt bike typically sees a fair amount of abuse riding off road, then transporting on an open trailer should not be a problem.  No matter which choice you make, motorcycle trailers can help you to safely transport your bike and focus more on enjoying your destination or ride, rather than worrying about your bike being damaged during transit.  A good motorcycle trailer can be good insurance to help protect your investment.  Below you'll find a video showing how one motorcycle owner used some ingenuity to convert a normal trailer to a motorcycle trailer.               

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Paris Rétromobile 2012: Review

Once again, Rétromobile was a mixture of glossy manufacturer stands with seldom-seen, previously hidden-way exhibits, coupled with a quality trade presence and more automobilia than you can shake a starting-handle at.
Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Citroën, Peugeot and Renault excelled themselves with a selection of immaculate cars from their historic departments. At Mercedes, the theme was ‘Le Mans’, with a pre-War SSK, a wonderfully 1950s early 300SL racing car complete with wing, and the very last Mercedes to win the 24 Hours, the Sauber Mercedes C9.
Over at BMW, a BMW 2002 Turbo shared stand-space with a 1960s F2 car and several enduro motorcycles, while Renault showed a multi-coloured array of rallying Alpine A110s and R5s. The presence of two road versions, one pale blue and one lime green, showed that there is more to life than regulation wide-wheeled, French-blue-with-Elf-stickers faux rally machinery.
They looked stunning – a highlight of the show.


Citroën was celebrating some of the avant-garde models that have wowed and infuriated in equal measure over the years. I liked the psychedelic GS, an example of ‘Citroën et L’Art’.
Porsche, on the other hand, lacking a suitably ‘flower power’ 917 Langheck, chose sober grey (a delightful 356 coupé) and metallic blue (a chrome bumper 911) as balance to an all-new, 991-series 911 that also featured on the Porsche Classic stand.




Elsewhere, the Mullin Collection dominated one end of Pavilion 3, with the metallic blue, ex-Williamson Collection 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic a stunning centrepiece amongst typically ‘Pebble Beach’, extravagantly styled cars from the 30s and 40s.
Greeting visitors on arrival were two original Ferrari 250 GTOs, a foretaste of this summer’s activities when the model’s 50th anniversary will be celebrated in style. Across the aisle on the Peter Auto stand was a Porsche 917 that will be taking to the track at this summer’s Le Mans Classic, joined, one hopes, by a brace of 250 GTOs. In 1962, Noblet/Guichet finished second overall in a GTO, just five laps behind the winning Ferrari prototype.
And then drove the car back to Paris for dinner on Sunday night. Class, sheer class.


And if the Le Mans Classic, or any one of a raft of other classic events takes your fancy, the trade stands at Rétromobile were the place to be. London mews dealer Fiskens employed French GP driver Olivier Panis to help Gregor Fisken unveil three sensational cars, all with French connections. The ex-Ford France GT40 and 1980 Grand Prix-winning Ligier JS11/15 were joined by a titan of the pioneering age of motoring, the 1908 Panhard-Levassor, a veteran of the 1908 French Grand Prix at Dieppe.



Hall & Hall’s stand once again wowed spectators with another display of blue-chip racing cars. For 2012, Bill Harding and the Hall & Hall team had brought along a stellar collection of cars that included the first ‘Ecclestone’ Brabham F1 car from 1972 and the 1970 De Tomaso-backed Williams driven by Piers Courage. With their pre-1973 construction, that’s this year’s Monaco Historics entries sorted out.
And for the Le Mans Classic? Well, Hall & Hall was showing the last-ever factory-built Porsche 962, a Jaguar D-type and a Mirage M3 BRM Coupé.



With other top-level dealers such as Lukas Hüni, Marreyt Classics and Klaus Werner on hand, the standard of cars was astonishing.
And of course there were books, models, piles of headlamps, horns and headlining. Plus auction action on-site (Artcurial) and a little way away (Bonhams).
In other words, a typical Rétromobile scene. And long may it continue.

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Renault do Brasil anuncia recall para 10.578 unidades dos modelos Sandero, Sandero Stepway e Logan

A Renault do Brasil está convocando os proprietários dos modelos Sandero, Sandero Stepway e Logan para uma verificação da caixa de direção hidráulica. A convocação aplica-se a 10.578 unidades, conforme grupos de chassis detalhados abaixo.

Esta campanha de recall tem como objetivo a verificação e, se necessária, a substituição da caixa de direção hidráulica eliminando assim a possibilidade de travamento da direção, o que pode ocasionar, em casos extremos, eventuais acidentes.

A Renault inicia amanhã (25/01/2012) uma ampla campanha em televisão, rádios e jornais de grande circulação. Além de tomar conhecimento pela imprensa, todos os clientes envolvidos nesta convocação, receberão uma comunicação da empresa, convidando-os a comparecer a uma concessionária da Renault.

A empresa também coloca à disposição de seus clientes o telefone e o e-mail do Serviço de Atendimento ao Cliente - 0800-0555615 (ligação gratuita) e sac.brasil@renault.com -, além do endereço da Renault do Brasil na Internet http://www.renault.com.br.

A relação completa dos veículos envolvidos nesta campanha é a seguinte:

Modelo: Sandero
Ano/Modelo: 2012
Final de Chassis: CJ840383 a CJ932550

Modelo: Sandero Stepway
Ano/Modelo: 2012
Final de Chassis: CJ856414 a CJ917170

Modelo: Logan
Ano/Modelo: 2012
Final de Chassis: CJ893124 a CJ 937030

Fonte Renault

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Volkswagen Amarok automática

Volkswagen Amarok conta agora na versão Highline com câmbio automático, que já faziam parte do pacote de suas concorrentes Toyota Hilux e Nissan Frontier.

A Amarok automática deve chagar ao mercado brasileiro já em abril. A transmissão foi desenvolvida pela empresa alemã ZF e tem 8 marchas. O motor será o 2.0 biturbo com 180 cv.

A Amarok Highline com transmissão automática deve custar entre R$ 125.000 e R$ 130.000.

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Volkswagen Up! revelado

A Volkswagen revelou oficialmente a versão de cinco portas do compacto Up!. O modelo foi apresentado com modelo cross no Salão de Frankfurt.

Ele tem o mesmo tamanho da versão 2 portas com porta malas de 251 litros, tem um diferencial nas portas traseiras que se abrem em um ângulo de 90º.

O motores também são as mesmos da versão duas portas o 1.0 de três cilindros um a gasolina, de 60 cv ou 75 cv de potência. Com tecnologia Stop/Start. O a gás natural que tem 68 cv e um outro 1.2 turbodiesel de 75 cv.

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