Motorcycle Trailer

[charles scozzari]

Hello again, like to show you a two bike all alum. motorcycle trailer during the build last summer with bikes loaded for D-ring placement/tongue weight. Its 11' x 7' wide and rides on 3500lb. torsion axels. I bolted this trailer together rather then weld after seeing a name brand trailer fresh from the dealer with broken welds. As you can see from the pictures all the hardware is 1/2" grade 5. The ramp is mounted under the bed and slides out on delrin liners. Its not a light weight trailer by any means coming in at 980lbs (empty). The tongue is detachable to aid the trailer from being stolen by a novice. I know there could be a problem with the steel bolts against the alum. frame, but will keep an eye on that possibility. The Condor wheel chocks are set for side by side bikes, and a third position in the center for a single bike. Some changes were made to the original ramp attachment due to its weight and size making it hard to handle by one person. The second design ramp is a little smaller and lighter and can be positioned L/C/R to accommodate loading. Both fenders are removable, and makes loading much easier when loading two Big Twins with lower fairings/engine guards allowing the bikes to be ridden straight into the wheel chocks without issue. All the chassis members were jig drilled and all bolts were torqued to bolt spec. All the alum. work was done in house including the bending. Thanks for looking.

[DIYer]

Thanks charles scozzari! We've added your Motorcycle Trailer to our Trailers and Towing category,
as well as to your builder page: charles scozzari's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Motorcycle Trailer by charles scozzari

tags: trailer, motorcycle

[will52100]

Nice! I hate having to trailer a bike, but being as my dealer is 90 miles away and I may or may not need to leave it overnight like I did for the exhaust upgrade, I'd love a trailer like that to haul them on.

[Toolmaker51]

I am uber-impressed, both design and execution. Oxidation and/ or electrolysis is likely, but controllable. My 3500lb tilt bed occasionally would wish to be loaded via ramp; your L-C-R locks and Delrin pads are just the ticket. Going out to measure clearance right away. May store them ahead of axle on pivot beam, or outside of vertical frame to get balance negative when empty. Original manufacturer wouldn't recognize his product anymore, so why not?

[Pa1963]

First off, much respect for your building skills. But I've got to wonder, is it worth the time and expense to build a trailer anymore? In other words is it much cheaper to build than to buy a good used trailer and mod it to your needs? I ask because I want a flatbed trailer, but I occasionally see decent looking used examples on Craigslist for reasonable money.

[Toolmaker51]

...is it worth the time and expense to build a trailer anymore?
...is it much cheaper to build than to buy a good used trailer and mod it to your needs?
...I want a flatbed trailer, but I occasionally see decent looking used examples on Craigslist for reasonable money.

It's worth time and expense to build anything when features desired are not commonly offered at an attractive price. The satisfaction of self built is not available otherwise. If planned correctly it can be done in stages and used in the meantime.

Modding is a good alternative if the 'bones' are worth acquiring in the first place; i.e. can rusted/ broken/ missing areas be cut out - replaced to match strength of the original? Feature I'd look for is tubing top rails, not angle iron. Typically the frame would be I beam. Still offers satisfaction with success and modding can be done in stages too.

And you'll find here on HMT, craigslist is well used by many, prefaced with a single phrase. Caveat Emptor. It never matters what something costs - if what is paid is proportional to that received. Warren Buffet I think says "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get"

[charles scozzari]

First off, much respect for your building skills. But I've got to wonder, is it worth the time and expense to build a trailer anymore? In other words is it much cheaper to build than to buy a good used trailer and mod it to your needs? I ask because I want a flatbed trailer, but I occasionally see decent looking used examples on Craigslist for reasonable money.

after buying a new alum. trailer we found it would not pass under the raised deck in my driveway leading to my backyard we were forced to design and build this trailer. we never expected that so we returned the trailer to the dealer who lucky for us was understanding. prior to that we were using a borrowed trailer that fit between the legs of the overhead deck.