Unloading My XS1100 Special

[Larrym]

No....I'm not Selling my bike.

Like the Thread title said: I'm Unloading it.





I do this a lot when my XS and I go touring state-to-state while using the web to find roads worth riding. I've sorta beefed up the hardware in order to make the entrances/exits a little safer and easier.

Here's a Teaser:




Way too many pics to put in one post so here's a link to the slideshow:

The Slideshow...

Selling my Special???
Don't be ReDonkulous!!!!

[GARTHXS]

nice one

Very cool rig

[bikerphil]

Larry, you know that's cheating using those two extra boards for your feet, lol.

[scoot]

real nice set- up!

I have a wooden ramp made of 2x6's and plywood, 3 ft. wide that I use to get my bikes up in the pickup bed. I always get a little " Trust in G-d" moment when rolling down backwards. The front brake easily locks the tire due to loss of friction, so only light trailing brake is possible. Thankfully, it only lasts a moment, then it's over. Bike's on level ground.

I did improve roll control by mixing a bunch of sand into some old paint and slopping it all over the ramp. Much better for tire and boot grippage. Maybe even run that paint strip onto the tail gate, as the front tire starts the friction loss around there.

scoot

[Larrym]

Very cool rig

Garth,

Thanks.

It's a rig with a mission: To safely X-port my special (and me...) to where I want to go. It also carries the stuff to do what I want to do when I get there.

BTW, I missed riding with you by a cat's whisker last year. I had to leave beeyootiful Simi Valley before 3Phase and y'all could get together. (Darn those "deadlines and time constraints" I had on that last trip...)

Larry, you know that's cheating using those two extra boards for your feet, lol.

Phil,

I agree totally. It's a humbling experience to duck walk backwards, down an incline, and in front of a crowd.

But on the way up into the truck those "outriggers" are purely ornamental.

I have a wooden ramp made of 2x6's and plywood, 3 ft. wide that I use to get my bikes up in the pickup bed. I always get a little " Trust in G-d" moment when rolling down backwards. The front brake easily locks the tire due to loss of friction, so only light trailing brake is possible. Thankfully, it only lasts a moment, then it's over. Bike's on level ground.

I did improve roll control by mixing a bunch of sand into some old paint and slopping it all over the ramp. Much better for tire and boot grippage. Maybe even run that paint strip onto the tail gate, as the front tire starts the friction loss around there.

scoot

Scoot,

Ya caught that, eh? That "slipping" front tire means the PONR (Point Of no Return). For me there's only two factors in play from then on: the equipment and my actions. As you can see I've done about all I can do to reduce the chance of equipment failure. My skills/actions are truly the weak link here.

The last time I used the ramp to get in the truck (under power...) the rear wheel started slipping at about halfway up. I was feathering the clutch at the time so from my side it felt like the clutch was slipping. I released the clutch fully and my Special left a racing stripe from there on up. I figure that the wood "sweated" out its oils onto the surface and that was the reason for low traction. (Couldn't be "moisture" cause I'm here in Tucson=Desert.)

I WIll be adding some paint/non-skid to the surface like you did.

[b.walker5]

Dunno, might be something to do with being in a small country but i generally prefer to ride where i'm going and reserve the trailer for when my bike is broken. I understand that your distances are considerably more vast than mine, but I would still rather ride than trailer to ride...

Looks like some nice engineering going on there though.. you've obviously thought about it.

[3Phase]

Nice slideshow, Larry, but for some reason I hear the old '70s Levis jingle when I watch the GIF!

"Good mornin' world
Good mornin' to you, you-hoo-hoo hoo hoo-hoo hoo
I'm wearin' my Levi's, Le-he-he-he-he-vi's!"

[Larrym]

No Quarrantine Necessary...

Nice slideshow, Larry, but for some reason I hear the old '70s Levis jingle when I watch the GIF!

"Good mornin' world
Good mornin' to you, you-hoo-hoo hoo hoo-hoo hoo
I'm wearin' my Levi's, Le-he-he-he-he-vi's!"

3Phase,

Thankfully I have no memory of that jingle nor am I gonna Google it so I can get EXPOSED to it.

[3Phase]

You missed those commercials? You lucky, lucky man....

Choppy stop-action video with an unforgettable jingle ... hey, it was the '70s! and the first animated GIF I ever saw reminded me of those old ads for Levis.

[DGXSER]

Everyone knows, if you can recall the 70s you were not there!!

Brian, I think Larry is like me, having to travel for the job all over God's green earth by vehicle. Have to have my wokr vehicle to do ym work, but be really nice to have my bike wiht me for when I spend three nights in a town with nothing but a hotel room to look at and nice weather wishing I could saddle up and ride.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Larry,

THat's why I built my trailer with the loading/hauling rail quite low to the ground. And I also applied the non-skid paint to the rail and loading ramp. Going up the ramp no problem. And it sits low enough that I can just unload and drop it off the end of the hauling rail without even putting the loading ramp ON, and that's even with my Elevated bike.

My favorite stop action commercials were the SUNOCO gas ones that were shown with the Disney program....where people sat on the ground and they "drove" their bodies like cars. Geez, I feel old!

And I do remember the 70's cause I didn't do the drugs....wasn't old enough!

Brian, I don't travel for work, but like you implied, quite a few hundred/thousand miles on some of the Rallies I attend, and with my age, my back/neck, and the crazy cagers out there, it's just SAFER to haul it, along with I'm able to eat, drink, listen to tunes, etc. for the 12-14+ hours it may take to get to the Rally location, and not be dog tired or saddle sore when I get there, a good nights sleep and ready to ride the "fun" roads of the Rally!

T.C.

[Larrym]

Everyone knows, if you can recall the 70s you were not there!!

Brian, I think Larry is like me, having to travel for the job all over God's green earth by vehicle. Have to have my wokr vehicle to do ym work, but be really nice to have my bike wiht me for when I spend three nights in a town with nothing but a hotel room to look at and nice weather wishing I could saddle up and ride.

It's way worse when you just know there's a scenic road nearby with lots of sweepers...

Hey Larry,

THat's why I built my trailer with the loading/hauling rail quite low to the ground.
T.C.

So.... You thinkin' I should take this to the shop and make it a low-rider?





I would blend in better where I'm living at the moment...

[DGXSER]

Now that Larry is one contorted combination of some mighty fine machinery!! And might I say, your missin the dingleballs draped all around the roof edge, along with the half moon windows. Then you could REALLY blend with a good air shock system to slam it on the pavement.

Let me asure you Larry I feel your pain. I had a crew cab pickup truck until July 4th when my daughter forgot how to drive it in the rain and the back end slid out and it slide sideways, the SUV in the next lane politely forgot about his brakes and slammed into the front end from the side. So the frame member was bent a good ten inches and clean back behind the front suspension, causing it to be totaled. A 20 MPH accident that totals a F150 Crewcab. And here I am July 18 going with the boy scout troop on a week long camp out now in the Smokey Mountains. So I am there with neither my truck nor my bike. It was a great trip, but I sure did miss both of them!!!

[Larrym]

Patches and Badges...

DGXSER,

So none of the little tykes got a chance to earn the "Carb Sync" Merit badge???

Seriously though, The Smokey Mountains are on my "To Do" List. It's just that there's so much to see/ride West of the Mississippi it might take a while to get East of the River.