I have to get a 98 FatBoy out to my brother in law in Colorado i'm hauling it from Jersey...BIKE IS NOT RIDEABLE...after a good bit of pondering..i'm leaning heavily towrd putting in the back of my truck...
Here is the issue.. the bed of my truck is only 5'6" and the FatBoy is roughly 8' long... that puts one of the wheels out of the bed about midway on the tailgate..
So my question is..whats the best way to load the bike...? frontward? backward? i'm planning on putting some type of 2x10 with some side rails to build a channel for the bike to stay centered in...and i have plenty of tie down points..
Any ideas? experiences? recommendations?

Thanks boys..be well...ride safe..

 

diagonally if you can, longest amount of room.. Or if you're ballsy, take the front end off the bike, then it'll fit..something like this:




put some wooden blocks for the frame to sit on, get some friends to help you out, pick that thing up and slide it in to the truck, strap it down, then reassemble the front end when you get there.. really it's just a matter of sliding the axle out, removing the tire, loosening the pinch bolts on the tripletrees, then unscrewing the top two bolt/filler caps on the top triple tree..the forks slide right out, takes only a few minutes to do. then just strap the thing down good and tight to keep it from sliding around.

 

Hey Sgt. thats a good idea, i don't know if i'd go that far but that definatley got my leaning toward trying to load the bike backward (was kinda leaning that way already) and putting a bolck under the front of the frame to supposrt the weight with the bed of the truck instead of having the front wheel pressing down on the tailgate.
thanks man....

 

On an angle is best you'll get it in there corner to corner probably need the tailgate down though. But when you strap it to the cargo holds in your bed sides it shouldn't move side to side so you won't need to build a channel. Just be sure to compress the suspension down so the bike doesn't move and straps shift.

 

You must like your brother-in-law. Just sayin.
But don't hang around too long out here: You'll end up staying!
Which is okay. Good luck with the trip.

 

Indeed, (Springs Native here)

 

Is that bike in your house???

 

I do the same thing, drives my DW insane. Also have a bad habit of washing parts in the dishwasher.

 

My Ninja in the 'yota at my dad's in TN. 2x8 with a chock bolted in the front. cut to length from the front to the end of the tailgate. short piece of 1x2 on each side in the back to keep the rear centered. 2x8 takes most of the load off the tailgate.

 

Spend the money and get it shipped. With the cost of gas it would be cheaper.