Transporting Bikes in a pickup

[ncrider]

I have an NC700X and was looking into getting a Totyoa 4x2 PreRunner, Long Bed (~95 inches).
I was thinking that I could put the bike in the back of the truck (vs. towing it on my trailer)

But I am also thinking of getting a CTX700. Wondering if anyone has ever transported 2 bikes like this in the back of a pickup bed.

I was thinking of using something like this to hold them in place:
Cradle Carrier Motorcycle Racks for trucks-no drilling-bed mount

 

[Fuzzy]

With the long bed you might do it by staggering the bikes so handlebars don't line up. In my short bed Honda Ridgeline I can get one MC in, but not two because of width. They do have an advertising pic with two smaller dirt bikes in it. With the Ridgeline the rear wheel of bikes I hauled is barely on the tailgate. Haven't put NC in it but wheel measurement is similar.

I have a 5X10 enclosed trailer and can squeeze a second bike putting one in rear first.

A wheel chock of some sort like your link definitely helps.

 

[buckshot]

The Taco will not hold two street bikes, and really isn't set up for bikes in general, despite the advertising. My Dad's got an '05 prerunner longbed (if you can call it that), and we use a trailer exclusively for all the bikes. The truck doesn't come with D-rings in the front corners of the bed (you can add them, the holes are there), and the sliding tie down system Toyota advertises does not inspire much confidence. Before I built the trailer for the dirt bikes we did cram them both in the back of the truck, and even just moderate tension on the tie-downs caused the bed rail system to flex. The tail-gate is also a little flimsy, and that's where the rear tires sat. Not trying to bash the Taco at all, but it's not really cut out for hauling motorcycles. It can be done, but there are better tools. If you want to put two street bikes in the back of a truck, it should be a half ton or larger.

 

[Old Can Ride]

I have loaded many, many, many bikes with just a few things. I have loaded many, many large bikes, and small bikes, every thing from gold wings, Harleys, Sports bikes and scooters. All these I have loaded by myself many times.

Things needed to load and carry every type of two wheel vehicles across the county.

1. Any brand pickup truck or trailer with 8 ft bed. (Put bike into bed of truck or trailer straight, not at angle, front tire makes straight up contact with front of bed of pickup or trailer)
2. Set of largest, longest canyon dancers made. You will never have a bike fall with Canyon Dancers! Larger ones clear all fairings..
3. 2 sets of soft tie cam lock pull straps
4. Set of Oxlite curved motorcycle ramps ( the longer the easier to use, I have 8 ft set).

With these tools anyone can load any bike by using the bike's own power and walking it into the rear of the pickup or trailer.

Never dropped or scratched any bike no matter how big or small using this method!

[video=youtube;kKlVC-pfbC0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKlVC-pfbC0[/video]

 

[Fuzzy]

I have loaded many, many, many bikes with just a few things. I have loaded many, many large bikes, and small bikes, every thing from gold wings, Harleys, Sports bikes and scooters. All these I have loaded by myself many times.

Things needed to load and carry every type of two wheel vehicles across the county.

1. Any brand pickup truck with 8 ft bed.
2. Set of largest, longest canyon dancers made.
3. 2 sets of soft tie cam lock pull straps
4. Set of Oxlite curved motorcycle ramps ( the longer the easier to use, I have 8 ft set).

With these tools anyone can load any bike by using the bike's own power and walking it into the rear of the pickup.

Canyon dancers are great if you don't have Barkbusters installed.

 

[showkey]

Canyon dancers are great if you don't have Barkbusters installed.

Plus there is a concern with heated grips too..............mentioned on other forums.

 

[Old Can Ride]

Canyon dancers can be used with soft ties through cub endings to get around the barkbusters. Also, the new Canyon Dancers with the cups are the only thing I know of that will protect heated grips.

 

[ncrider]

Thanks to everyone that replied. The Canyon Dancers new feature seems worth getting (as my bikes will both have electric grips).

 

[showkey]

Thanks to everyone that replied. The Canyon Dancers new feature seems worth getting (as my bikes will both have electric grips).

The new feature may help but........
There are so many other better choices (that do not load the handle bars) I would not bother or risk the damage.

NC.......... use a soft tie on the lower triple clamp and call it good (perfect)

Note ........the NC stock bars are not super strong and can be bent easliy.

 

[pahondafan]

The previously mentioned methods will certainly work but I prefer to use a wide ramp and ride the bike onto the bed. With the use of a wheel chock the canyon dancers do not need to be tightened to the point of bending the bars as they are only there to keep the bike upright, not to hold it in place.

Also I always tie down the rear wheel to keep the bike from flipping end-over-end in case of an accident.

A trick I learned from ATV transporting is to always bungie the hooks when using ratchet straps. Otherwise when the shock compresses the hooks can slip off and out of the tie-downs. This has saved me a couple of times.

(By the way, the center stand on this bike is down only for photo purposes, not for transport)

 

[TrackCage]

My opinion, get a serious wheel chock to use. I have one mounted to my trailer, and it is far more secure than when loading bikes into my roommate's pickup truck. I use the wheel chock and canyon dancer 2 straps (the ones with the cups pictured above) and have transported the NC700x many times. As stated before, no need to overload the tie down straps when using the wheel chock.

 

[mnooooa4]

I also use wheel chocks so I do not have to crank down on the tie downs so hard.

Haven't used the new versions of the canyon dancers, but the old ones ended up twisting my grips out of shape. Now I just use soft loops.

 

[Fuzzy]

I also strap my front wheel to the chock

 

[Old Can Ride]

Canyon dancers are great if you don't have Barkbusters installed.

Blew my clutch today, and had to have my wife bring the trailer. She was not a happy camper to come get me that far from home, but she did. With my hand protectors, I had to tie the Canyon Dancers a bit different, but there was no problems or damages to anything. She even brought the wrong tie downs, so had to use what I had. Have no idea what happened to the clutch. Will not be able to get to the clutch tear down until next week, as my wife had already promised my time for the next couple of days to my grandchildren.