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914Driver
914Driver HalfDork
8/18/08 1:32 p.m.

I bought an enclosed trailer to put my bike in while touring around the country. I painted the inside, waxed the outside, put in new wheel bearings, all new wiring, blah, blah, blat.

THEN tried to put the bike inside. I knew I would have to remove the windshield; but it won't go in under the door jamb! It wil fit inside once it's under the door, but there's not enough wiggle room to lay the bike down and then stand it up inside. Rats. What a pinhead.

Soon to be featured in the classified...... the trailer.

"Honey, it doesn't fit, can we get a new bike?" Uh, yeah.

nickel_dime
nickel_dime HalfDork
8/18/08 1:40 p.m.

Just put a Gurney bubble on the trailer

914Driver
914Driver HalfDork
8/18/08 1:44 p.m.

What is that?

Josh
Josh Reader
8/18/08 1:50 p.m.

They added a bubble in the door/roof of the GT40 so Dan Gurney could fit his melon in it.

nickel_dime
nickel_dime HalfDork
8/18/08 1:55 p.m.

Dan Gurney was too tall to fit in the Ford GT40 back when it ran the 24hrs of LeMans. So they cut a hole in the roof and put a bubble on top so his helmet would clear.

Redesign the trailer doors and put a hood scoop on top. Hey this is Grassroots, we'll come up with all kinds of cockamamie tricks for something like that. Stay tuned.

GlennS
GlennS HalfDork
8/18/08 1:57 p.m.

looks like it might fit if your rolled it up into the trailer on a pair of junk wheels with no tires on them.

nickel_dime
nickel_dime HalfDork
8/18/08 2:01 p.m.
GlennS wrote: looks like it might fit if your rolled it up into the trailer on a pair of junk wheels with no tires on them.

Take the front wheel off and put a scooter wheel on it.

seann
seann Reader
8/18/08 2:08 p.m.

cut off the top, hinge it on one side and put on some sturdy quick-release fasteners on the other sides so that it can still be structuraly sound when the top is down. You could even add a gurny bubble. I would think (although I am quite lazy) that it would be a big plus not to have to modify your bike every time you took it in and out of the trailer.

You would also have better access so it would be easier to get the bike in the trailer and easier to securely tie it down.

Nashco
Nashco Dork
8/18/08 2:09 p.m.

I can't see the pictures right now, but have you tried compressing the suspension with ratchet straps before rolling it in? That should earn you a few more inches.

Bryce

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
8/18/08 2:11 p.m.

Sorry. Had to do it.

914driver, I will be up in your neck of the woods later this week. I am attending in Keene valley, with the ceremony on top of Whiteface near Lake placid.. If you want to give me a kick square in the nuts.. I think we'd be even. :-)

Per Schroeder
Per Schroeder Technical Editor/Advertising Director
8/18/08 2:40 p.m.

BFH.

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
8/18/08 2:49 p.m.

Yeah, BFH.

If you already planned on pulling the windshield, then that is a very solvable problem. Make a mini-door at the top part. Sharpie, Yard stick, Sawsall, hinge from the hardware store and a latch or two on the inside. Or, cut a channel for the tire in the bottom at the back. Looks like you only need to drop it a little.

Man, one little issue and you give up. Just get the bigger hammer out.

bludroptop
bludroptop Dork
8/18/08 3:01 p.m.
Dr. Hess wrote: Or, cut a channel for the tire in the bottom at the back. Looks like you only need to drop it a little.

Hess beat me to it by a few minutes, notch the floor and recess the ramp. You only need the notch to be slightly wider than the tire, and it makes the ramp less steep too!

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
8/18/08 3:20 p.m.

Blue wrench, sawsall. Cut out a tounge in the floor. That bike looks like it has plenty of ground clearance, so that shouldn't be a problem. So, cut a strip say 6-8" wide by 2' long, bend it down, weld in some triangular braces for the sides, a little reinforcing underneath. Rig up a little removeable flap for the door. Done.

grtechguy
grtechguy SuperDork
8/18/08 3:31 p.m.

oh, just give me the bike. looks much nicer than what I'm riding now.

mines lower and will fit the trailer

ckosacranoid
ckosacranoid HalfDork
8/18/08 3:46 p.m.

besides, modding the trailer should be easy...this is the same guy who bourght us the bat van right?

confuZion3
confuZion3 HalfDork
8/18/08 3:50 p.m.

Just try deflating the tires on the bike. If you remove the windshield, it looks like you can make it fit with flat tires. Bring a compressor along and inflate when needed.

Cost $0.00.

Coolness factor (scale of 3-13): 3

While sawing the trailer to bits and adding a bubble may yield you a much higher Coolness factor (maybe an 11 of 13 if you do it right), the tire deflation thing might be easiest.

confuZion3
confuZion3 HalfDork
8/18/08 3:57 p.m.

Or put casters on the back of the little board and leave it like that. Should be secure. If you are in doubt, add some velcro to the bottom of the board and to the top of the trailer floor. That should hold it.

DILYSI Dave
DILYSI Dave SuperDork
8/18/08 4:01 p.m.

Agreed - lower a tire channel into the floor.

Jensenman
Jensenman SuperDork
8/18/08 4:14 p.m.

Or next time take a tape measure along when going to look at a trailer.

(ducks and runs for cover)

You could also loosen the bars and rotate them one way or the other, I assume your bike is set up that way?

EDIT: On second thought, the Gurney bubble is the way to go. You could probably get enough room between removing the windshield and clamping the suspension down, but it will be a PITA. You'd have to disassemble/reassemble the bike every time you wanted to take it out. Not to mention, think what would happen if you clamped the suspension down and then accidentally released the ratchet strap inside the trailer! Tom Wolf (used to write for Dirt Rider) did that in a Chevy Astro with a CR250 Honda. He published a picture of the van roof, it was uggy.

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
8/18/08 4:35 p.m.

Or, pick up the bike and put it in sideways. Shoudl be easy with them little bikes like that.

Woodyhfd
Woodyhfd HalfDork
8/18/08 10:09 p.m.

Before you get involved with a channel, can you unbolt the sides, raise them a foot or so and make a pivoting extension for the bottom of the door?

44Dwarf
44Dwarf New Reader
8/19/08 6:04 a.m.

Thats to funny!

Easy fix too. Cut the floor joist from the side walls. then cut a pie shape out of the frame 5 or 6 inches behind the rear shackles and bend floor down so the pie closes up then weld the frame and re-attach the walls.

My buddys WellsCargo bike trailer has it just for that reason........

44

John Brown
John Brown SuperDork
8/19/08 6:55 a.m.

Better idea yet:

Put trailer hitch on bike and place Hyabusa powered Berkeley in trailer.

aeronca65t
aeronca65t Reader
8/19/08 7:00 a.m.

Skip the whole trailer-deal.

That's a Ridin' Machine!

Ride it!

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