{"id":23258,"date":"2014-08-28T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2014-08-28T15:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/?p=23258"},"modified":"2019-08-01T11:27:36","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T18:27:36","slug":"options-for-transporting-a-motorcycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/28\/options-for-transporting-a-motorcycle\/","title":{"rendered":"Options for Transporting a Motorcycle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Owning&nbsp;a motorcycle almost&nbsp;guarantees that you will, at some point, have to haul or tow it. Whether you&#8217;ve broken down on the road or you&#8217;re in the process of&nbsp;moving, you should know what transportation options are available.<\/p>\n<h4>Truck<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-23275 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Panhead-in-Truck-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"HD panhead secured in the back of a Chevrolet truck\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\"><\/h4>\n<p>Probably the most common method, and certainly the most economical, as many times you or a friend already have the truck and if not, you can easily&nbsp;<a title=\"Rent a pick-up truck\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/Truck-Rentals\/Pickup-Truck\/?utm_campaign=uhaulsm&amp;utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=trucks&amp;utm_content=20140828-optionsfortransportinga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rent one<\/a>. A few things to keep in mind when using a truck:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/MovingHelp\/?utm_campaign=uhaulsm&amp;utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=movinghelp&amp;utm_content=21040828-optionsfortransportinga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Get help<\/a>! Extra hands on the bike will keep it stable and safe while transitioning from the ground to the back of the truck.<\/li>\n<li>&nbsp;If you don&#8217;t have a dedicated loading ramp handy, a long board will do. Backing up to a curb will also help to&nbsp;lower the height of the truck bed relative to the ground.<\/li>\n<li>Secure the bike upright but do not use the kickstand. The bike will move&nbsp;up and down and you risk damaging the kick stand if deployed.<\/li>\n<li>A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/MovingSupplies\/Motorcycle-towing\/Motorcycle-Towing-Kit?id=6223&amp;utm_campaign=uhaulsm&amp;utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=movingsupplies&amp;utm_content=21040828-optionsfortransportinga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">motorcycle wheel chock<\/a>&nbsp;will prevent the front wheel from &#8220;walking&#8221; or moving and will hold the bike upright while you secure the straps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>&nbsp;<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-23277 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Motorcycle-Trailer-300x160.png\" alt=\"Options for Transporting a Motorcycle 4\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Motorcycle-Trailer-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Motorcycle-Trailer.png 344w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Trailer<\/h4>\n<p>A very simple way to move your bike without the use of a truck is by loading it into a small trailer. There are dedicated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/Trailers\/?utm_campaign=uhaulsm&amp;utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=trailer&amp;utm_content=21040828-optionsfortransportinga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">motorcycle trailers<\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">&nbsp;<\/span>that feature built-in ramps, tie downs, even built-in wheel chocks, but even the most basic trailer will work with the&nbsp;appropriate tie-down points. The&nbsp;advantages to using a trailer are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lower deck height. This makes loading and unloading easier and safer.<\/li>\n<li>Fuel savings. If you&#8217;re heading out for a fairly long trip, towing a small trailer with&nbsp;a car is&nbsp;more economical than driving a truck.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Hitch Carrier<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Motorcycle-Hitch-Carrier.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-23276\" src=\"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Motorcycle-Hitch-Carrier.jpg\" alt=\"Options for Transporting a Motorcycle 3\" width=\"236\" height=\"182\"><\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Hitch carriers allow you to load and carry a motorcycle off the rear bumper of your vehicle. These are great for SUV&#8217;s and vans, as they take advantage of these vehicles&#8217; higher cargo weight capacities without requiring you to load the bike inside the vehicle. I&#8217;ve mostly seen dirt bikes hauled this way, as they are&nbsp;much lighter.<\/p>\n<h4>Cargo Container\/Portable Storage<a href=\"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Early-HD-Pallet.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-23278 \" src=\"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Early-HD-Pallet-300x229.jpg\" alt=\"An early HD hill climb bike fastened to a pallet prior to shipping.\" width=\"290\" height=\"221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Early-HD-Pallet-300x229.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Early-HD-Pallet.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/><\/a><\/h4>\n<p>If you need to <a title=\"U-Box Portable Storage\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/UBox\/?utm_campaign=uhaulsm&amp;utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=ubox&amp;utm_content=21040828-optionsfortransportinga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ship or store a bike&nbsp;<\/a>over long distances or&nbsp;long amounts of time, this is the better option. Before shipping&nbsp;you should:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Contact your the company&nbsp;well in advance. They may be able to advise you on money-saving options such as best times of year to begin the process. If you&#8217;re going overseas, they may advise you to arrange transport to a port city versus picking it up at your door.<\/li>\n<li>Motorcycles are full of hazardous and flammable fluids that should be drained beforehand. Be sure to tape or wire-tie&nbsp;notes to the bike reminding you that there is&nbsp;NO gas, oil, etc. for when you go to fire it up afterward.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Do you have any tips or questions about hauling bikes? Feel free to drop a comment below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Owning&nbsp;a motorcycle almost&nbsp;guarantees that you will, at some point, have to haul or tow it. Whether you&#8217;ve broken down on the road or you&#8217;re in the process of&nbsp;moving, you should know what transportation options are available. Truck Probably the most common method, and certainly the most economical, as many times you or a friend already [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":23274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[213,1367,548,7,999,195],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-portable-storage-storage-2","category-postsept10","category-safe-trailering","category-tips-tricks","category-towing-trailers","category-trailers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/198"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23258"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51707,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23258\/revisions\/51707"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}