Just ordered

[Double D]

:dancefool:MY PIGGY BACKER XL! Nice lady to work with, she said it would be delivered TOMORROW!!. They have them is stock ready to ship. I also ordered the swivel hitch from Black Tie Accessories. The Piggy Backer has a strange tube and Black Tie makes a special swivel for the Piggy Backer. Is there anything that I need to do before I assembly it? Some have put plywood in the bottom and added eye hooks. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[RoadKill]

Is there anything that I need to do before I assembly it?

 

Add a plug in for your coffee Pot.

 

OR

 

Have it shipped directly to my place You know the address

 

Seriously, I bet you will really get some good use from it.

 

Jay

[BigD]

NICE!!

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Hey congrats...have you ever pulled a trailer with a bike before? Once you get it all assembled and hooked to the bike (did you order a trailer lite module?) take it out for a practice spin.

 

Put a couple of bags of potting soil, fertilizer, gravel, ( evenly loaded over the axle, slightly forward biased) or whatever will weigh it down about 100 pounds, and then take it out slowly and get used to it before you actually take it on a trip.

 

The tongue weight should be about 10% of the total loaded trailer weight. A small amount of 'free play' in the hitch is normal...never grease the ball or coupler socket! Hook up the chains, lock the coupler with a padlock or locking bar, (not a bolt and nut!) When its all road ready stand next to the trailer hitch, bend over and reach under the drawbar, right behind the coupler, and lift only with your fingertips, it should come up just an 8th of an inch or so, and make a slight click, or 'clank'. If it doesnt, either the trailer is tail heavy, or you have TOO much tongue weight, or the coupler is too tight. With the trailer loaded and you sitting on the bike, have an observer stand 20 feet to the side and look to see if the drawbar is either level, or, slight downward tilting towards the bike...if it tilts up towards the bike, thats not good... If you haul a passenger, this may help lower the drawbar. Test all the lites and it should be ready to roll!

 

Practice starting, stopping, turning, and lane changes on the highway. You will have to make adjustments to your riding style, most of which involve just slowing down, and taking it easy. Backing up is not easy, so try to find pull-thru parking spaces. Take the turns wider and slower. Use the tranny for engine braking, when possible, save those brakes for the end of the stops. Never 'speed shift' while pulling a trailer. You may know all this already.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Edited May 5, 2008 by tx2sturgis

[Double D]

Hey congrats...have you ever pulled a trailer with a bike before? Once you get it all assembled and hooked to the bike (did you order a trailer lite module?) take it out for a practice spin.

 

Put a couple of bags of potting soil, fertilizer, gravel, ( evenly loaded over the axle, slightly forward biased) or whatever will weigh it down about 100 pounds, and then take it out slowly and get used to it before you actually take it on a trip.

 

The tongue weight should be about 10% of the total loaded trailer weight. A small amount of 'free play' in the hitch is normal...never grease the ball or coupler socket! Hook up the chains, lock the coupler with a padlock or locking bar, (not a bolt and nut!) When its all road ready stand next to the trailer hitch, bend over and reach under the drawbar, right behind the coupler, and lift only with your fingertips, it should come up just an 8th of an inch or so, and make a slight click, or 'clank'. If it doesnt, either the trailer is tail heavy, or you have TOO much tongue weight, or the coupler is too tight. With the trailer loaded and you sitting on the bike, have an observer stand 20 feet to the side and look to see if the drawbar is either level, or, slight downward tilting towards the bike...if it tilts up towards the bike, thats not good... If you haul a passenger, this may help lower the drawbar. Test all the lites and it should be ready to roll!

 

Practice starting, stopping, turning, and lane changes on the highway. You will have to make adjustments to your riding style, most of which involve just slowing down, and taking it easy. Backing up is not easy, so try to find pull-thru parking spaces. Take the turns wider and slower. Use the tranny for engine braking, when possible, save those brakes for the end of the stops. Never 'speed shift' while pulling a trailer. You may know all this already.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

Thanks for all the info. No I have not pulled a trailer with a bike yet and your suggestions are helpful. As far as the lights, I already have the Modulite modual wiring kit installed for my cooler rack.

[Double D]

Add a plug in for your coffee Pot.

 

 

Jay

 

Jay you know me, I never go anywhere without my coffee. BTY I already have an auxilary plug behind the drivers seat.

[Spitfire0049]

:dancefool:MY PIGGY BACKER XL! Nice lady to work with, she said it would be delivered TOMORROW!!. They have them is stock ready to ship. I also ordered the swivel hitch from Black Tie Accessories. The Piggy Backer has a strange tube and Black Tie makes a special swivel for the Piggy Backer. Is there anything that I need to do before I assembly it? Some have put plywood in the bottom and added eye hooks. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Congrats! Do you have contact info for Black Tie Accessories please. I did a search and nothing is coming up for hitches.

[Spitfire0049]

Never mind I think I just found it. No web-site though.

 

Thanks

[Brake Pad]

Thanks for all the info. No I have not pulled a trailer with a bike yet and your suggestions are helpful. As far as the lights, I already have the Modulite modual wiring kit installed for my cooler rack.

 

with a swivel hitch, you can still throw it into corners, but, once your into a turn your dedicated, don't try to apply hard on the brakes. if your on roads you've never been on, take it slow. and if riding with other, make sure your the last in the column. It will take longer for the to start and more time for you to stop, so, give yourself, a lot of room to do it in.

 

load your trailer, with most of the weight, infront of the alex.

watch your turns, just alittle wider then your used too.

your trailer weight is about 190 Lbs.

so gas milage will drop about 6 miles to the gallon.

Have fun with it, and please send pictures.

 

[ATTACH]17706[/ATTACH]

[Condor]

Found this posted on a Wing board.

 

It came from Black Tie Accessories (440) 988-7233

 

Total Cost was $164.95 including shipping.

 

$130.00 for the swivel

$20.00 for the coupler

$5.00 for the shims

 

$9.95 Shipping

 

Seems pretty steep. I picked up a swivel hitch from http://www.neoshotrailers.com/options.html scroll to the bottom of the page.

[Double D]

Got my Piggy Backer all put together. They forgot to include the lug nuts and they are sending me a new set of fenders. The paint was flaking off of the one that came with the trailer. The personnel at Piggy Backer are good to work with. When I told them about the missing parts and the fenders, they told me that replacements would go out that day. Now -- should I put a thin sheet of plywood in the bottom of the trailer and replace to bolt with eye hooks? Or would carpet do the trick?

[sarges46]

Some have firmed up the base that way. I was going to, but after running to Colorado and back loaded to the hilt with no issues I decided just to leave it alone for now.

 

Nothing wrong with doing that though and its still in the back of my simple mind.