Pull a trailer with bike
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 157,525
Likes: 57,081
From: Michigan 15 Minutes East Of Hell
I was just going to post this video ... I've put on some long hard miles miles on a scooter with a trailer ... 2up 800 mile days at speeds @80 mph ... Still here and still riding
Cruiser
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 158
Likes: 41
From: Missouri
7 dead and 3 injured motorcycle riders in New Hampshire this past week. Accident caused by 23 year old driver of pickup and trailer. Lots of people quoted saying they sold their motorcycle because of the risk of accident. How many people do you think said I would never pull a trailer with my truck? Pulling a trailer with any vehicle involves more risk than without, but in our society some things are more accepted than others. My wife and I just got back from Eureka Springs, Arkansas riding the Pig Trail and the Ozark Highlands scenic byway. On Saturday we came up on a bad Semi Truck wreck on Hwy. 21. It had traffic shut down for 3 hours. We didn’t pull a trailer on this trip, but sometimes do. Honestly, I worry more about someone crossing the line or running a light than my trailer causing an accident. I don’t know the stats, but I would bet 99.999% of motorcycle accidents don’t involve a motorcycle trailer. Most of us pulling a trailer are mature experienced riders who exercise great caution and awareness. Most so called accidents are really caused by negligence: riding to fast for conditions, drinking, poor bike maintenance, inattention etc. Pull a trailer or don’t, it’s your choice, but either way please use good judgment.
Banned
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 7,406
Likes: 834
From: Straight Jacket Memories and Sedative Highs
Not sure if you mean bike rider or auto driver, with respect to negligence. Bikers did nothing negligent in this, to my knowledge.
Cruiser
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 158
Likes: 41
From: Missouri
I didn’t mention deer. The cause of the accident in NH is still under investigation. I was not attempting to assign blame, but merely stating most of what are called accidents are in reality due to negligence. This applies to all “accidents” auto, bike, gun, etc. In the case of the incident in NH it is my understanding that the bikers did nothing wrong. The driver of the truck apparently crossed the line. I was just using the incident in NH as an example. People who don’t ride look at bikers as crazy and say they would never ride because it’s to dangerous. Some bikers who don’t pull trailers look at those who do and say the same thing. That was my point. I was not trying to derail the thread. However, if a paid class A driver swerved into a group of bikers to avoid a deer that would qualify as negligent. As for the fellow biker, who lost his life while pulling a trailer, I hope he was not being negligent and it was just a tragic accident.
Last edited by HDman13; Jun 23, 2019 at 11:17 PM.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 2,900
Likes: 4,509
From: N.E. WA.
Somebody said Deer in a bike trailer thread? Been there, done that. We both survived.
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I was coming over Lincoln Pass, around dusk. Furry meat ran across the road out of nowhere, like they do. I swerved to miss and cleared the bike but not the trailer fender. As I regained control from the hard, jerk, tail-waggin'... I looked back in the rear view and saw the little Bambi spinning on the road like a break dancer on crack. I was maybe 10 minutes from the gas station, where I snapped those damage/deer hair pics... after swallowing my heart and pulling my bike seat out of my clenched ***.
Just one of the many reasons I insist on having a swiveling ball/hitch on the bike trailer.
I was coming over Lincoln Pass, around dusk. Furry meat ran across the road out of nowhere, like they do. I swerved to miss and cleared the bike but not the trailer fender. As I regained control from the hard, jerk, tail-waggin'... I looked back in the rear view and saw the little Bambi spinning on the road like a break dancer on crack. I was maybe 10 minutes from the gas station, where I snapped those damage/deer hair pics... after swallowing my heart and pulling my bike seat out of my clenched ***.
Just one of the many reasons I insist on having a swiveling ball/hitch on the bike trailer.
Banned
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 7,406
Likes: 834
From: Straight Jacket Memories and Sedative Highs
People die in cars all the time. Bikes are more dangerous. Bikes with trailers, more so. It depends where you want to draw the line. For me I drew it at bike. I've rode more places than most here, so I don't feel I have missed out on anything.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 157,525
Likes: 57,081
From: Michigan 15 Minutes East Of Hell
"I've rode more places than most here" ... Okay, I'll play ... Been in 46 of the 50 states ... Every county in Michigan ... Whole borderline of Michigan ( Upper and Lower Peninsulas ) ... Around every one of the Great Lakes ... Tetons, Smokies, Rockies, Ozarks, Adirondacks ... East Coast from Florida to Maine ... All ( at least most ) of the "Must Do" rides :>)
