Strapping down your bike for transport

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Getting your bike to the track is something eveyone has to deal with in one way or another, with transporting in a Pick-up truck or van or on a trailer being the most common. There are things you should know about tie downs that should make it a little easier and hopefully safer to get your bike to the track.

Cinch straps work by using friction created by a knurled cam type surface (located underneath the small 'lever' you push to release the strap) using spring pressure to bite against the wide surface of the strap while pinching it against another surface, it's supposed to work because the harder you pull the strap the more the cam applies pressure pinching the strap. The problem here is that while this type of strap is very quick and simple to use it can have a limited holding ability and the knurled surface that bites against the strap can wear out over time, some brands much sooner than others due to the quality of the metal used and how the knurled surface was made. As this knurled surface wears out it's holding strength will drop dramatically since the cam will no longer have little knurled 'teeth' to bite into the surface of the strap with. A big reason these straps can fail is due to people not keeping the release lever fully pushed in as they release the strap or pull a longer section of strap thru the mechanism to use. Why this causes failure is because if the lever is not fully compressed in the release position the strap will rub against the knurled surface with some pressure and act like sand paper as you pull the strap thru, over time this can wear off the high points of the knurled surface causing the 'biting' ability of the cam to drop dramatically and actually wear away on the surface of the strap as well. I used these types of straps when I 1st started racing and had many times they slipped and allowed my bike to start falling to one side, a common place they seem to slip is while taking on/off ramps on the interstate or sharper/faster turns. The last time I used this type of strap to secure my bike while towing is when a strap slipped and let my bike tip over so much that the front brake rotors hit against the sides of the metal wheel chock and actually bent the center aluminum 'spider' that supports the brake rotor. That was a real challenge getting that 'spider' straightened out at the track in time for me to make my races (the 'spider' was actually bent enough that it was causing the rotor to wobble which was pushing the caliper pistons back into the brake calipers and loosing the ability to grip the rotor with the brake pads). These types of straps are great for securing 'other things' you bring with you to the track, but using them to secure something that has a lot of weight to it is just asking for trouble if you don't have good high quality ones.

In my opinion ratchet straps are the way to go, I bought my 1st set the weekend I bent my brake rotor 'spider' and used them on the return trip home and have never had one slip EVER since then. These straps use a different approach to gripping the strap than the cinch straps, they feed the strap thru a slotted spindle then rotate the spindle causing the strap to start winding over the top of itself trapping the section of strap that was fed thru the slot in the spindle. A lever is provided on these mechanisms to rotate the spindle using a ratcheting action that provides a positive locking action each time it passes by one of the teeth on the ratchet gear. There is only 1 situation I have ever seen where one of these straps slipped while securing someones bike and that was due to not using the strap properly. What happened in that situation is they only had the strap wound once around the spindle which didn't provide enough pressure to trap the strap underneath it, YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 2 WRAPS OF THE STRAP AROUND THE SPINDLE when using ratchet straps. At the opposite extreme, if you have too many wraps of strap around the spindle it will start to push against the release mechanism and get bound up, but this is rather obvious when it happens and you can easily see it (this would probably take something like 5 or 6+ wraps of the strap around the spindle depending on the manufacturer - I generally try and get 3 or 4 wraps of strap around the spindle). These straps are easy to use once you understand them, they do require just a little more work to secure them, but the extra few minutes it takes to secure your bike will provide peace of mind in knowing that the chances of your bike falling over are very low. I saw a picture several years ago of a truck and trailer that went out of control and had rolled on the interstate, the picture was of the enclosed trailer upside down with the rear doors open showing the bikes still in the position they had been when originally secured, BUT NOW UPSIDE DOWN - now that's impressive after rolling the whole thing! One other situation to be aware of is if you don't have some tension on the strap, in some situations the bike could bounce when going over bumps and dips in the road causing an excessive slack condition on the strap and possibly allowing the wraps around the spindle to loosen slightly then when the bike suddenly returns to tension as it rebounds it could remove that excess slack allowing the strap to loosen slightly. You definately want to have SOME tension on the straps, but I'm certainly not saying to go crazy and over tighten the Hell out of them either (that's not good for the strap or the bike)!

I personally suggest buying ratchet straps due to their ability to lock the strap from slipping if used correctly, but if you do choose to go the route of cinch straps make sure and buy the good ones, preferably the heavier duty brand name ones! GOOD straps of either type cost more (sometimes MUCH more), but that cost is a 1 time purchase and is insignificant when comparing it to the cost of your bike, just buy the good ones you cheap skate! This leads to another issue with straps of either type: quality of craftsmanship and load rating. I have seen many different designs and IMITATIONS of straps that are both good and very bad. A HUGE problem in manufacturing today is much of the junk coming out of China, some of this is blattent copyright infringement and low quality imitations that LOOK LIKE the quality stuff, but are actually very poor quality in way too many cases made from inferior materials that won't last, but they sadly look the same as the good stuff. If you have the opportunity to actually use any straps in the store try and tighten them against something to see how well they work, see if they are easy to use and feel like a sturdy construction, also see how the release mechanism works and use it as well. Load rating is an issue as well with any straps, some brag of working load and others brag of how much load they can secure (which is deceptive). I would highly suggest the heavier motorcycle straps with a rating of 300 lbs minimum, but prefer the 400 and 500 lb. straps myself (this weight is the actual amount of weight this strap could hold if hanging in the air). You might think that your bike only weighs 400 lbs so why do you need so heavy of a rated strap? Well, the forces generated while cornering or braking hard multiply the weight of the bike several times and put a big load on the straps - believe me, the extra $10-$30 is worth spending on heavier straps!

As a final word of advice on tie down straps, DON'T OVERTIGHTEN ANY TYPE OF STRAP! This is a reason that some will suggest buying the cinch straps, just so you can't overtighten them very easily. Ratchet straps have a lever which is used for tightening, this provides LEVERAGE very easily and allows you to really crank down on the straps - THIS IS BAD!!!!! When I took the RaceTech 3-day long Suspension Seminar back in '98 they told us that one of the common mistakes people do to hurt their bikes suspension (and even tweak the frame in some cases) is to go ballistic when tightening down their tie down straps - especially on the front forks. What this does is put huge torsional loads into the forks and frame of the bike and can even damage your springs. The bike has suspension for a reason, all you need to do with either type of strap is compress the suspension slightly (1/4 or 1/3 of the suspensions travel should be more than enough (but that ultimately is your call as to what is adequate). If you have good straps that hold (and stay connected to the bike) there isn't any reason to have the straps overly tight!

[G97]

Strapless is the way to go. If not, secure bike by strapping it to the sides not down to the floor.

[fiveninerzero]

How many casual trackday enthusiasts here can afford chocks? AMA is one thing, but hit up a NESBA trackday and see what most people are using.

Yes, $10 Wal-Mart tie downs,and maybe a sport chock or two.

[G97]

Originally Posted by 5niner0

How many casual trackday enthusiasts here can afford chocks? AMA is one thing, but hit up a NESBA trackday and see what most people are using.

Yes, $10 Wal-Mart tie downs,and maybe a sport chock or two.

$250 hardly breaks the bank, It is a very affordable system and more people are starting to use them.

Plus how many bikes have you heard that have tipped over durring transport with tie-downs.

[bumblebee]

I've been using ratchet straps for 30 years...never had a bike fall over. Before I had wheel chocks, I used Two 2 X 4's and carriage bolts with wing nuts to hold the wheels straight. Pay attention to make sure things are secure before you start out, check them every time you stop, you should be OK

[jim schmidt]

4 quality straps, no chocks, no channels, no worries.

[KawTipping]

Hell, I made it from Milwaukee to Indianapolis and back with 3 straps per bike on 8 bikes with out any issue. Though on the way back I-65 was trying it's hardest to screw something up!

[generator]

Originally Posted by KawTipping

Though on the way back I-65 was trying it's hardest to screw something up!

Waht are you talking about? That was the smoothest stretch of freeway I had ever seen.

[sfninja]

Great article. Could you please write one up about actually tying down a bike - where the attachment points are, where to 'thread' them through, what it looks like when done properly, etc.