Towing a Trailer with an ST1100

[Streak]

Ok girls and boys I am looking at getting a trailer, and I want advice and thoughts on towing,

what do I need to look for,?

what do I need to know about towing?

What your experiences good and bad?

It is only going to be a smaller trailer for carrying camping gear for trips with Teela and I.

[scarp]

Trailers are fun & convenient, 1st get the tyre pressure right I run about 15 PSI others bout 25 PSI.
You need to experiment also make sure you distribute the weight so there is a bit over the tow bar, to make it Tow better.
When I first got mine it got twitchy over 100 kph, now with tyre pressures & weight distribution right I've had it 140 when overtaking & no stress at all.
Tho of course fuel consumption will go up

[alans1100]

Have a look here.

Pulling a trailer with a motorcycle http://selil.com/archives/33


Hints: towing & loading trailers

Loading your motorcycle trailer

Loading a trailer is not totally unlike packing a suitcase. It sounds rather obvious, but pack the trailer evenly to distribute the weight, with heavier items at the bottom, and put items you may need easy access to at the top.
Fill any spaces with softer items, to achieve a uniform load and stop items shifting around too much.
Don't put heavy items on the lid of the trailer, and make sure everything on the rack or Esky tray is securely fastened.
From a technical standpoint, you're aiming for an evenly balanced trailer with a slight (10%) weight bias onto the bike tow ball. That means you need slightly more weight at the front than the back. Too much weight bias rearwards will be trying to lift the back of the bike, and too much weight bias forward will be trying to push the back of the bike onto the tarmac! It's all common sense but very important to bear in mind to ensure you tow your trailer safely.

Using your trailer

When towing a trailer, make allowance for the extra weight, length and width when manouevering, pulling out into traffic or braking. That sounds all too obvious, but you don't want to forget the trailer is there - doh!
Allow extra braking distance if towing a heavier load
Adjust the trailer tyre pressure to suit the load. Typical tyre pressures are between 20-25 psi, so if you have a very light load a pressure closer to 20 psi would be suitable
If towing an empty trailer, try putting something in it if possible, to settle the suspension for a smoother ride.

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The tyre pressure will depend on the type of suspension as well. Classic Industries (1st post picture) uses a torsion bar and the tyres act as shock absorbers as part of the set up so they recommend 12-15 psi for theirs.


If you've towed a trailer with a car before then you're half way there. The basics apply regardless.
The towball/coupling height from the ground should be the same height as the rear axle is when you are sitting on the bike.
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I haven't had any bad experiences with the two trailers I've towed with my 1100.
Most of the time you won't even notice you have one except when moving off.
Filtering, don't even go there but keep your escape route options in mind while in traffic.
You will use more fuel but I find the 90 to 100 kph range gives me about 16 km/L average.

[Brock]

Remember no lane Splitting, and no sudden lane changes..

[WendyL]

Trailers are fun & convenient, 1st get the tyre pressure right I run about 15 PSI others bout 25 PSI.
You need to experiment also make sure you distribute the weight so there is a bit over the tow bar, to make it Tow better.
When I first got mine it got twitchy over 100 kph, now with tyre pressures & weight distribution right I've had it 140 when overtaking & no stress at all.
Tho of course fuel consumption will go up

Fully agree, I had a Shadow trailer, if not packed right, it would try to chuck you off the bike, when packed right I forgot it was there at 160-170km/h.  With mine you needed about 8-10kg on the drawbar.

[Williamson]

All good technical advice so far (IMHO), and some thoughts from me.

As mentioned elsewhere, the current Elite camper trailer has been a slow evolution for the guy (me) who once said that I'd never, ever get a trailer.  Small tent, to medium tent, to large tent.  All was good until Mrs W wanted to come on some of the overnight camping trips and two nighters.  Trying to get the extra stuff (extra chair, sleeping bag, mattress, personal gear) on the back of the Mighty CB1300 ....... just too much. 

My mates said, "....get a trailer....you won't notice it".  Well, they are bloody liars, because you do notice it, but not too much.  Probably even less noticable if it's got brakes.

Hence, the Classic trailer.  This I found in the Ulysses classifieds.  Probably more trailers (and campers) for sale on that site than any other.  At $1,200 some mates reckoned I paid too much, but after a couple of years and many 000's km, I got my $$ back.

The Classic trailer was enormous, space for two chairs, two sleeping bags, double air bed, folding table, esky (on draw bar), three plastic tubs (the ones you get from the Reject Shop) one for cooking cleaning & gear, one for pots & pans, etc., one for food, a market gazebo, a folding gazebo, two LPG stoves, and then some personal gear - all inside.  On the roof, was usually a slab or two and a couple of bags of ice for the last 80km into a rally site.  You need all of this stuff if you are going to spend three or four days 80km form the nearest town.

If you are going to have all of this stuff, you need brakes (IMHO).    I wouldn't have a large trailer without 'em.

Touring with all of the extra gear in the trailer made touring a lot more pleasant.   We've three weeks on the road, happy wife, happy life, less stressed me, happy me. 

You can talk to me more about this at Ballarat in March, if you have not already got a trailer buy then.

[Tipsy]

  py
Here is something I keep forgetting to ask about our trailers is the safety chain...
Now if it was the same as a car my question would to mr plod..what part of my body should I attach it to.
Tipsy

[Streak]

Thank you to everyone so far! The information has been fantastic, keep the posts coming I am writing notes so I can ask more questions once I have the info together :)

[Williamson]

py
Here is something I keep forgetting to ask about our trailers is the safety chain...
Now if it was the same as a car my question would to mr plod..what part of my body should I attach it to.
Tipsy

On my ST1300 the safety chain attaches to the lower side of the tow hitch around where the arrow indicates.

[Brock]

That safety chain looks too long to me, it the trailer should un-hithch, it looks like the hitch will hit the ground. With crossed chains, the hitch should be caught just below the towbar.

New regs only require one chain, wonder why they came up with that one.

[Lionel]

Hi Michael,
It may be an optical illusion but the photo indicates to me that if the trailer "bounces" off the tow ball, the front of the A Frame will plough into the ground because the safety chains seem to be longer than they need to be.
A quick test is to take the trailer off the ball and rest the cup on the crossed chains to ensure there is plenty of ground clearance.
cheers,
Lionel

[Williamson]

That safety chain looks too long to me, it the trailer should un-hithch, it looks like the hitch will hit the ground. With crossed chains, the hitch should be caught just below the towbar.

New regs only require one chain, wonder why they came up with that one.

Hi Michael,
It may be an optical illusion but the photo indicates to me that if the trailer "bounces" off the tow ball, the front of the A Frame will plough into the ground because the safety chains seem to be longer than they need to be.
A quick test is to take the trailer off the ball and rest the cup on the crossed chains to ensure there is plenty of ground clearance.
cheers,
Lionel

Well spotted, that fact was pointed out to me before we headed off from this stop.  Quick fix was to re-attached them to the hitch with the D shackles a few links shorter.

In the meantime, found this one on eBay: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Motorcycle-Trailer-Homemade-/281204269960?pt=AU_Motorcycles&hash=item417914a388

Needs a scrub, and then might be okay.

And this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Motorbike-trailer-/181252469367?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item2a337d3277

Ugly, but functional.

[Lionel]

Not everyone's cup of tea but one of my main requirements for a trailer is to be able to carry a 40 litre Engel fridge and 70-100 amp/hr deep cycle battery inside the trailer. This gives me great flexibility when camping, though I need to find a 240v power source every three days, unless I get back on the bike.
Less of a problem is to carry a small jack for changing tyres. Some years ago, near Blackall, I had to borrow a jack from a passing car to put the spare on. Then I had to ride up to Barcaldine and east to Rockhampton before I could buy a replacement for the 10" shredded tyre.

[alans1100]

Not everyone's cup of tea but one of my main requirements for a trailer is to be able to carry a 40 litre Engel fridge and 70-100 amp/hr deep cycle battery inside the trailer. This gives me great flexibility when camping, though I need to find a 240v power source every three days, unless I get back on the bike.
Less of a problem is to carry a small jack for changing tyres. Some years ago, near Blackall, I had to borrow a jack from a passing car to put the spare on. Then I had to ride up to Barcaldine and east to Rockhampton before I could buy a replacement for the 10" shredded tyre.

Maybe you should be looking at getting a solar panel. Just a thought.

http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-energy/solar-power/solar-panels-camping.php

Bit pricey but looks like they use these for their Waeco fridges http://www.waeco.com.au/cfx/accessories-solarps120.asp

[Lionel]

Solar is the way to go but still a bit heavy for the trailer, given all the other luxury items that I carry.

[Tackleberry]

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned what I thought was the biggest change to riding that I made when towing my trailer.  Don't corner too bloody close to any object cause the trailer will hit it.  Going around round-a-bouts and curbing you need to allow a little extra instead of taking nice close lines to allow space for the trailer. 

You WILL notice the trailer when you start and stop, and if you have a well weighted trailer with a good suspension setup you shouldn't notice it when cornering.  For the first 1000k's or so you will keep looking back to see what is happening and after that it will be a natural thing and you won't remember it's on when you're travelling because you will automatically ride as if you have it on. 

A little piece of information for everybody that will now run a tape measure over their trailer.  The AS only allow a motorcycle to tow a trailer NO MORE than 1m wide.  Not many comply with that measurement either.  Strange when a wider wheel base is safer, but that's the standards for you.   

[Brock]

Its actually hard to make a trailer under 1 meter, cos then the wheel base is too narrow.  I never did find where a bike trailer was limited to 1 meter, it wasnt mentioned in the trailer standard that I can recall

[winston66]

Winston66,

With my recent trailer builds the information that I gleaned led me to understand the  Australian Standards Information Bulletin IB 12A  Says. For a two wheeled pull along motorcycle trailer, they limit the height of the trailer, "Must be less than the track width" Ie. the distance between the centers of the trailer wheels.
There does not seem to be any mention of any width limit.
I have two trailers recently over the pits and registered here in W.A. in the last two years and they both had a wheel track of 1200 mm.

See my blog about , My Teardrop Trailer Build. Somewhere in the tech section.

Cheers, Winston66

[atoyot]

Mines 1143mm wide, guard to guard.