It was time to haul the Bonneville to Pure Triumph in Fort Lauderdale for the major service that is due every 12,000 miles for the Bonneville. The motorbike is actually at 26,000 miles which is due to the fact that after the break-in period it got it's first proper service at 2,000 miles, so I am pretty much on top of the appropriate service intervals. This one was a doozy involving replacement of fluids filters and a top to bottom check. Cable lubrication, fuel hose replacement, you name it, they did it and the bill reflected their involvement. $1080 later, I have my Bonneville back and I am confident it is in tip top shape, or will be after I fork over another $300 for a new front brake rotor which is scheduled for replacement in early June. I used a non-Triumph brake pad which was hard enough to dig grooves in the disc. I am sticking with Triumph parts from here on, live and learn:
At least the rotor replacement job will be a matter of an hour so I will be able to ride the motorcycle up to Fort Lauderdale which I will enjoy a good deal more than driving the trailer.I noticed a couple of expensive Harleys on a trailer being towed instead of ridden. I noticed them because they were trundling down Highway One on their side stands which I learned a few years ago is the worst way to trailer a motorcycle..
I first got into trailering when my Indian-built Stella 150cc kept breaking down, and I'd borrow a friend's trailer to take it up to AA Moped in Miami. Not knowing any better I stood it on it's stand and tied a spider's web of lines to keep it in place:
It swayed horribly over every bump but it survived the journeys. One thing I learned from Vespa Fort Lauderdale was how to trailer my GTS, because when I first went to pick it up (in my own trailer) they sold me a rig to trailer it properly, balanced on it's front wheel and steadied from the handlebars:
I first got into trailering when my Indian-built Stella 150cc kept breaking down, and I'd borrow a friend's trailer to take it up to AA Moped in Miami. Not knowing any better I stood it on it's stand and tied a spider's web of lines to keep it in place:
It swayed horribly over every bump but it survived the journeys. One thing I learned from Vespa Fort Lauderdale was how to trailer my GTS, because when I first went to pick it up (in my own trailer) they sold me a rig to trailer it properly, balanced on it's front wheel and steadied from the handlebars:
It was a good thing I learned because the GTS kept crapping out on me and had to be towed back and forth so often I got a letter from the Sunpass people asking me if i wanted an upgrade for a trailer pass on the turnpike (no joke). Happily the Bonneville is proving to be more resilient but when it goes for a service it does have to suffer the trailering indignity. At least now I know how to do it right. 
The handbar strap I got for the GTS from the Vespa dealer still works on the Bonneville:
The loops go over the ends of the bars and extra loops stick out to which you attach the straps:
The straps compress the forks and press the front wheel hard against the front of the trailer holding the entire bike balanced and in compression:
Somehow this balancing act works perfectly if the bike is lined up properly and you tighten the straps evenly. The magazines assure us the forks suffer no damage from being compressed thusly. Using tis extremely simple system I can squeeze the 500 pound Triumph into my four foot by six foot utility trailer which was a perfect fit for the Vespa 250.The trick to loading the Triumph is to get everything prepared ahead of time. I lay out my straps and rags, which I use to cushion the straps against the sharp edges of the trailer. I usually put the machine into first gear and roll it up the ramp as fast as I can.
I laid down the plywood floor to give better support to the motorbike, but also to the side stand which I pull out once the Bonneville is in the trailer and blocked by first gear:
Then I start attaching the straps, which can be annoying as they can drop out of their anchor points if there isn't tension on the strap so I devised yet another use for bungee cords, to secure the hooks while I line up the straps:
Then it's a matter of applying tension evenly to the straps and as they take up the motorcycle I lift the side stand and-look ma! No hands!
Then I use the right hand strap to tighten the front brake for added security and the bungees come back into their own to stop the straps vibrating in harmony with the wind:
On arrival Lucho, Pure Triumph's mechanic takes my Bonneville into his care:
And just to prove to Jack riepe that my motorcycle and I aren't one and the same here I am waiting urgently for the doors to open so I could use the facilities:
For my money it looks fine on it's own:
And indeed I do prefer riding to trailering, but self sufficiency is a great thing.
And just to prove to Jack riepe that my motorcycle and I aren't one and the same here I am waiting urgently for the doors to open so I could use the facilities:For my money it looks fine on it's own:And indeed I do prefer riding to trailering, but self sufficiency is a great thing. 
11 comments:
$1000+ every 12000 miles? Eeep.
D
Owning a motorcycle as a daily rider is not a way to save money. The rear tires wear over every 8,000 miles and the front every 12,000 miles and they cost $110 or mor edollars each, plus $50 to install them (or buy the tools which aren't cheap). I got 55,000 miles out of my last set of tires on the Nissan Maxima...I ride the Bonneville about 1500 miles a month so it need s fair bit of attention. The 12,000 mile service cost around $500 but this one needed 6 0f 8 valves adjusted on a double overhead cam twin. Plus the rear ramp to my trailer hopped out on the way home and disappeared. i couldn't find it roadside the next day when I went to pick up the bike.
Dear Sir:
You have some balls going out of your way to show your own bike on a trailer! But great technical post will solid moto content.
You are quite correct in that trailering a bike on the side stand is a good way to need a new side stand in very short order.
I bought a two-rail Kendon motorcycle trailer when Leslie (my squeeze) had her Honda. The idea was that we would take vacations (and the bikes) avoiding the need for Leslie to ride the slabs. (I know. I know.)
The Kendon trailer is equipped with two locking chocks that will easily hold a 1000-pound bike upright, while it gets strapped down.
I last used the rig in January, when Fireballs (1995 BMW K75) went in for a "big" service, that also ran $1000 plus. (The shop does get you, coming and going.)
I have most recently used the trailer to haul Mike Evans's Suzuki off its broken down ass and riding partner Dick Bregstein's BMW into the shop. What makes the Kendon trailer so cool is that it folds in half, and stores vertically, reducing space in the garage.
The handlebar ties downs are interesting. I couldn't use them on the previous bike because of the Napoleon bar mirrors. What does the Triumph weigh? The Beemer tops the scales at 560-pounds. Technically the job of jockeying the trailer around in the garage and loading the bike onto it is a one-man deal. Well, I used to be that man.
I like how your trailer can easily be used for carrying lots of other stuff.
Here's to not using it for another year.
By the way, I was at a bike show in Atlantic City last year, and found myself gazing at a gorgeous Harley, which had Pennsylvania plates on it. I met the owner and said:
"Nice bike. Where in Pennsylvania are you from?"
"Philly," he replied.
"How was the traffic," I asked. :Did the bike run hot in the stop and go sections?"
"Naw," he replied. "I trailered it. That's a long stretch." It's 80 miles.
Great technical post. Lots of good stuff. Trailering looks simple enough, but it can cost you a lot if not done properly. Tie downs can eat paint.
Fondest regards,
Toad
Twisted Roads
PS: I just read your comment...
You are so right. Nobody saves money riding a motorcycle. It's like owning a WWI airplane. Tough break with the trailer ramp. By the way, U-Haul rents motorcycle trailers, they are crap.
Riepe/out
Just had my 1980 Shovelhead checked over from top to bottom and all the priority stuff (bent push-rod tube, starter relay, etc) taken care of for $225. Of course it was done in a home shop by a guy who finally got fed up with working at a Harley dealer who didn't want to admit that anything without an Evo engine still existed.
Of course this wasn't in the Keys, and the bike isn't used daily by any means. But it does have a LOT of miles on it, and has been reworked substantially over the years. Glad it's now sitting in a place where I can find experienced mechanics to work on it at reasonable rates.
This summer I'll probably get him to yank out the tranny and replace the seals there. Would probably cost a couple of grand at today's Harley dealers. Doubt he'll charge me more than a few hundred, and he'll do the job RIGHT.
The lack of such service is the main reason this bike doesn't stay in the Keys. (More fun to ride it in the mountains, anyway.)
Keep it between the ditches....
I suppose a thousand dollars is a lot of money, and indeed I bet most Bonnevilles don't get that kind of attention but every five years or more. On the other hand the top to bottom check gives me peace of mind.I know people who spend that kind of money in a month drinking on Duval. I buy my six pack and take it home there to make it last a week. I'd rather ride every day.
There is an article entitled "The case for working with your hands" written by a motorcycle mechanic published by the NY Times. It's more or less an ode to the virtues of busting one's knuckles while turning a wrench. I couldn't read it without thinking of conchscooter.
I used to do my own wrenching and I bought motorcycles with an eye to simplicity- shaft drive, single overhead cams, electronic ignition. But those were also the days of 2,000 mile oil chnages 7,000 mile chain life ( when I didn't have shaft drive) and 3,000 mile tappet adjustments. My self sufficiency these days is having my own trailer and being able to load my motorcycle by myself to get it where it's going to get wrenched by a trained tech with all the diagnostic tools. I prefer to ride than wrench. If the economy sinks and I do have to go back I'm getting a Vespa P200 the ideal self sufficient ride.
In regards to gas economy, I wonder if you are even with the Nissan on gas+maintenance costs?
43 mpg of mid grade for the Bonneville. 28 mpg of low grade for the Nissan. Both lost ten percent since they started force feeding us 10% ethanol. It cost about $1200 for the Nissan to get a 100,000 mile service. Including $250 to change the rear three spark plugs in the inaccessible part of the V-6. The plus cost $13 a piece on top of that. All very weird except plugs last 60,000 miles these days in cars...!
I don't like to drive vehicles I don't trust. A burp in the middle of a passing maneuver (like my Vespa 250 became prone to) would mean annihilation.
The way to save money is to drive an Aveo, a Yaris or similar and be bored to tears droning along Highway One at 35 mph while visitors stare at the pretty waters and adjust their GPSs.I am an infernal combustion fiend. My betsetting sin.I will be dead in a few decades ( at the outside) so the planet will recover.
oh, I am one to talk. For all the green tech around the house - solar panels, windmills, rain barrels, small veggie gardens - I still drive my v-8 pickup and love it when I can tromp the gas to pass the Yaris or Sentra with the geriatric or lost tourist clogging the highways and byways.
The only semi-saving grace is working from home, we drive it average 800 miles a month, most of which are highway trips around the state. It is still 10K a year.
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