Securing Ultra Classic on NL Ferry
 

We will be crossing the Gulf of St Lawrence in a few weeks to tour the Island of Newfoundland for a few weeks. The newer boats are much better stabilized than they were years ago but still could experience rough seas. As far as I know there will be no wheel chocks or other motorcycle-specific securement, just cleats in the car deck to which you can attach straps (I'll be taking my own). Can somebody advise how best to secure an Ultra Classic (lower fairings) so as to prevent damage?

Never had to do it on a ferry, but, I can give you how I strap the bike down in the trailer. I run soft hooks around the down tubes of the frame and around the crash bar where they intersect. Attatch straps and pull. I also run straps around the fork legs where the fender bolts on. All of this will depend on what the setup on the boat will allow. Without a wheel chaulk to hold things not sure if this will work.

Enjoy the trip. Never been to Newfoundland but I spend a few weeks every summer on PEI. God's country up there. I can only imagine whet Newfoundland is like.

Neil
RDMC

First, you can pretty much toss out the way that you would like to do it.

We did the Atlantic Provinces in '08 and did 5 ferry trips. We took the Cat out of Portland ME. They grouped all the MC's in one spot and had us positioned at the 9:15 (9-3) horizontal to the axis of the ferry, the scoots on the jiffy stands leaning towards the front of the ferry. We were between heavy D rings in the deck. They had big 1.5-2" straps available and told us to have at it. The only way to secure the scoot was to lay the strap over the seat, D ring to D ring and cinch it tight. It was a 4.5-5 hr ride to Yarmouth NS.

Then we did the ferry over to PEI and it was pretty much the same thing only we were positioned Diagonally (1-7) to the axis of the ferry so we were pretty much facing forward. Same deal as the Cat. Strap over the seat to 2 D rings on the deck. Both times the scoots were pretty secure.

The other 3 ferries were short jaunts and actually no tie down was necessary.

you will liley be on the jiffy stand last time i did it,was able to use their straps,2 down from the rear floorboard and 2 from the front frame right were the crossmember for the regulator is.really only needed the 2 on the left side to keep it tight on the stand.

I was in NFLD 2 years ago by bike.Get the soft hooks,makes things much easier and quicker to set up/take down.I just installed the straps on the lower fork brace before getting on,then just parked the bike between the floor hooks,strapped it down and one strap on the swingarm.Quickly done and effective.BTW,it's a very good idea to have your own straps as theirs are not that clean.Welcome to my part of the world,and do yourself a favor and ride the Cabot Trail!

I have these on my bike.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/g...bmLocale=en_US

Took 2 separate ferry trips in the outer banks a few weeks ago. Put it on the stand and it was fine. Front was facing about 2 oclock.

1HarleyGuy1

If you have security on your bike, look at your manual on putting in transport mode. Long boat ride could run the battery down a little bit.

Thanks for everyone's replies. Reading on the 'net, it seems the preferred method on the longer runs in Europe, ie North Sea, is to put the bike on its jiffy stand and then one strap from deck to deck over the seat and cinched down to compress the suspension. I crossed the gulf years ago (early 80s) on a cruiser but didn't have the fairings to worry about then. Those that say just leave it on the stand don't realise the Gulf of St Lawrence is open sea with sometime huge waves and high winds. 6 hrs North Sydney to Port aux Basques; 13 hours Argentia to North Sydney. Even with the huge stabilized ships in service today, things can get rough.

Thanks again.

You could to a practice trip this weekend to Atlanticade in PEI.