slick wheelie wr250r

I have my wr250r geared down, which is great off-road, but some areas I want to ride are 100+ miles from home. I find no joy riding at 65+ mph on the Interstate getting to distant places, and have been looking around for a way to haul my bike, unload and ride. I don't have a pick up but do have a 2" hitch on the family van. Hitch haulers might work but have issues with one person loading/unloading. Trailers are expensive.
I came across the Slick Wheelie, and while it gets some negative reviews from folks using it on heavy bikes, I wonder if it might not be the solution for our 300 lb machines.
The manufacturer claims you don't have to part the chain to avoid transmission damage, just put the bike in neutral and zip tie the clutch lever to the left grip. Sounds feasible, but I thought I'd ask y'all if you have any experience with it or comments about its use.

http://theusatrailerstore.com/the-original-slick-wheelie.html

keetmanaa wrote:

... but have issues with one person loading/unloading.

Can't answer your Q about zip tying clutch to avoid damage but am curious why single person loading is a problem with a hitch carrier? A small step stool or MX bike stand makes this a piece of cake.

Loading a hitch hauler is a piece of cake, I've never needed a stool or any assistance. For your 1st time, have an assistant to allow you to figure out your tie downs & after that you'll have them laid out in advance. I pre attach the handlebar tie downs to the hauler, roll the bike up (either using the motor to pull itself up or not depending) & attach the tie down nearest the vehicle letting the bike lean away from the vehicle until I attach the other & snug them up. I use another set for insurance.
Using the terrain/driveway slope or a curb to minimize the distance to the ground makes it even easier.

The Wheelie makes backing up a bugger & complicates parking. It also put wear & tear on the bike that is not necessary IMHO.

gatorfan wrote:

keetmanaa wrote:

... but have issues with one person loading/unloading.

why single person loading is a problem with a hitch carrier?

I have no experience and just going by what reviewers have said.
Do you or 4Play have any recommendation for a hitch carrier?

I have this one & it works well. There are several that have more features & cost more.

http://www.discountramps.com/motorcycle-carrier/p/AMC-400/

keetmanaa wrote:

Do you or 4Play have any recommendation for a hitch carrier?

They're all very similar. Start with the weight limit-- 400lb max should be a nice fit for the R2 -- then just look at which features you like. Particularly as it pertains to the storage of the loading ramp. Discount Ramps is a good place to start.

As above, first couple of times you load the bike it might be awkward but it's a shallow learning curve. 3-4 times and it will be a cinch. A lot depends on the height of your hitch receiver. A small 2-step closet stool from Wally World will make it easy. Have someone spot you the first couple times.

I also own and use the hitch mentioned previously. In fact, if you search you'll find at least one existing thread dealing with trailer hitch carriers.

There's no way I'd even consider the wheelie thing, for several reasons, but that might just be me.

Whether or not you have problems loading to a trailer hitch carrier depends on a couple of things, most of all the vehicle it's on, I think.

When I put the hitch carrier on my wife's Jeep Liberty, loading on flat terrain isn't too big a deal. But at 5'8" and with short arms, it is a bit of a stretch to reach up to the bars as it comes off the ramp onto the carrier. Not a real big issue, just have to be paying attention so you don't lose control of the bike and drop it while loading.

The Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 is another matter. You don't load that by itself with this trailer hitch carrier; full stop, end of story. I think there's a picture on the site here somewhere that shows the problem better than words. The truck's trailer hitch is 21" above ground at center, the bike is about 46" from ground to bars, and the trailer hitch carrier rail is about 2.5" above hitch center. So that's about 70' - in other words, that puts the bars about 2" over my head, and now you're trying to reach from the side to hold them while you're pushing up a steep ramp? Don't work.

The other thing is that, as the height of the trailer hitch rises, the angle of the loading ramp to the carrier increases dramatically. A nice easy slope becomes quite a pitch, as well as quite a transition over the top.

So the solution with the truck is to find a place where I can back up to a steep hillside, or back into a ditch, etc, to drop the height of the hitch to the ground or increase the height of the ground I'm standing on in relation to the carrier. With a 3/4 ton 4x4, driving off the road to find what I need is not a problem. Lacking that (i.e. loading on the driveway outside the garage with somebody else handy), the wife or a friend to help push and a much longer ramp takes care of the pitch of the ramp and controlling the bike once it's on the carrier.

I don't trailer much unless I'm taking the bike with me somewhere i.e. hunting, fishing, camping a few hours distant, so dealing with the high ramp isn't much of an issue.

My guess is that people wanting to use a carrier hitch on "normal" height cars, SUVs, etc aren't going to have much of a problem loading the bike on the carrier.

Jäger wrote:

The Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 is another matter.  You don't load that by itself with this trailer hitch carrier; full stop, end of story.  
I don't trailer much unless I'm taking the bike with me somewhere i.e. hunting, fishing, camping a few hours distant, so dealing with the high ramp isn't much of an issue.

Good info..thanks. I ride a lot mid-week when less lucky folks are at work and not around, so it is important to me that it be a reliable one-person load and unload, especially the second unload/re-load when I'm in the distant boondocks, solo.
Thanks again for your advice.

Unless the family van trailer hitch is anywhere near 21" above the ground like my truck's is (which I doubt), or you're a midget, I wouldn't expect you to have a problem with the trailer hitch carrier.

And worst comes to worst, with a little bit of searching I can always find a bank or a ditch or something to deal with the height issue, so I assume you could too if necessary.

They're an inexpensive and reliable, safe way to move your bike around when not riding it.

Jäger wrote:

Unless the family van trailer hitch is anywhere near 21" above the ground like my truck's is (which I doubt), or you're a midget, I wouldn't expect you to have a problem with the trailer hitch carrier.

It measures 11 inches from the floor to the bottom of the 2 inch square with the heavy rear seats out so it should be easier to load than your truck, I suppose. Realizing the van will probably sag a bit with the WRR's 300 lbs do you suppose the carrier will have sufficient ground clearance on "normal" roads (I'm looking at the AMC 400 carrier suggested earlier)?.

You should be fine for the roads, just pay attention to steep business entrances like you would with a trailer.
The Colorado I started with was about the same height & I never had any issues, my F150 4x4 is a bit taller but still no worries.
Did you watch the video on the link I posted for the hitch? Once you've done it a time or two in the driveway, you won't have any issues doing it alone.  With a Van, I would think you could throw a rag over the end of the handlebar & gently lean the bike against the back of the van while you attached the straps.

I don't think you'll have a problem with public roads except where there's places with sharp transitions. Steep ramps and stuff like that. Depends on how far the end of the hitch is from your rear tire - run a string from the bottom of the tire to the back of the hitch and you'll have a pretty good idea what kind of angle to be thinking about. Consider rear shock compression while driving over such a feature as well. I doubt you'll have an issue, but I don't know what the roads are like in your area. Worst thing is you might have to exercise a little prudent caution once in a while in spots that should be obvious.

Vans are generally suspended to carry a pretty good load. The bike's weight is somewhat amplified by it's leverage due to being located behind the vehicle and hitch on the carrier ramp, but it still isn't going to be any worse than having people and their stuff loading up the back of the van.

My guess is that isn't going to make much of a difference either.

I use the discount ramps carrier, it's awesome.
Make sure you have the straps ready before you put the bike on.
I have an E-150 van that I camp with, and the bike motors on easily. I'm 5-10.
I had a hitch shop weld the ramp mounts so there is less flex in the whole thing (I go off road with the van sometimes) and I use both the hitch stabilizer and a silent-hitch pin to keep it from moving even a millimeter. It is rock solid.

Absolutely the best way to haul this bike. And with a standard length van you can park in almost any spot and not stick out too far.