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1500 towing

2K views 18 replies 13 participants last post by  pcfix_3 
#1 ·
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About how many lbs max will a 1500 tow "comfortably"?

Thank you
 
#2 ·
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2/3 to 3/4 of the total weight of bike + riders.
That includes the trailer weight.
And less when traction conditions are reduced.
You still need to be able to stop.

When I tow I try to keep it closer to half or less.
 
#3 ·
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I know many people tow trailers with bikes, but I am not one of them. I have never towed a trailer with a bike, and don't plan to. You are riding a single track vehicle, and towing a double track vehicle, which to me is just plain not a good idea. Now if it were a trike, I think it would be safer, but it sure would put a whopper of a load on the driveshaft and engine output shaft.

On the other hand, I do admit to liking sidecars, and they are also a handling nightmare, especially in an emergency situation. When someone pulls out in front of you or turns in front of you, you stand a much better chance of surviving on a stock bike, than you do with a trailer or sidecar. Both seriously mess up handling.
 
#4 ·
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I know many people tow trailers with bikes, but I am not one of them. I have never towed a trailer with a bike, and don't plan to. You are riding a single track vehicle, and towing a double track vehicle, which to me is just plain not a good idea. Now if it were a trike, I think it would be safer, but it sure would put a whopper of a load on the driveshaft and engine output shaft.

On the other hand, I do admit to liking sidecars, and they are also a handling nightmare, especially in an emergency situation. When someone pulls out in front of you or turns in front of you, you stand a much better chance of surviving on a stock bike, than you do with a trailer or sidecar. Both seriously mess up handling.


Also, NO vehicle will tow anything "comfortably" other than a semi-tractor, and they are designed specifically for the purpose. The less load you put on ANY vehicle, the better it will handle, and the longer it will last. Even with a 3/4 ton pickup, which WILL tow quite a bit, it will last longer if you don't tow anything with it. Extra load simply wears out the mechanical parts faster. I have never bought a used car that had or looked like it had ever had a hitch on it. While towing a reasonable load is not too hard on a truck, cars are simply not capable of towing without causing excessive wear.

I was surprized to find out how low the load limit on a Goldwing (any Goldwing) is. This is supposed to be a big 2 up cross country touring bike, with bags and a trunk to carry stuff in. Yet my 750 cruiser has about the same load limit. I know the Goldwing engine will pull more than that, but I would be worried about the frame, suspension, wheels, and tires.
 
#5 ·
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Well,

I'm one that does tow behind my 1500.
A "Piggyback" trailer with a cooler on the front, camping gear in the trailer.
Weighed it all once, don't remember the exact weight was.

As with any towing, you have to adapt and use your head.
It takes longer to accelerate and longer to stop, high winds can play some funny games too....:cheesygrin:

Pulled like a dream, tracked straight.

Got back a few weeks ago from a 3700 mile trip, pulling the trailer....no problems.
 
#6 ·
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Simply put, any bike is NOT "designed" to tow anything, however it can be done and is done quite often. Earlier today I saw something very funny. It was a small ford escort towing a large pop up camper. The car's suspension was maxed out. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight and wonder what the repair bill would be down the road. The big issue with towing is when you run into heavy tongue weight. You want to have enough weight on the tongue of the trailer to make it stable, but not enough to overload the bike's suspension. Most trailers for bikes kinda make this happen already with the design. Oh, and having a negative weight on it CAN be just as bad as being overweight on the tongue. If you put more weight in the back of the trailer than in the front, it has a tendency to make the trailer wobble (I learned that the hard way :( ) Other than that, I would say no more than about 250-500 lbs which would include the weight of the trailer. I don't know how much a bike trailer weighs but it couldn't be much more than 100 lbs. After all, my tandem axle 18' utility trailer only weighs about 1500 lbs and it's made with thick steel. I'm sure you can put more than 500 lbs on the trailer, but I personally wouldn't try it. Oh, and as with all other cars/trucks the more weight you put in/on/behind it the more it's going to take to stop and start.
 
#7 ·
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I tow a Timeout dart behind my 93 Aspy... It's about #160 empty and probably no more than #250 loaded with a few suitcases and cooler...

You can definitely feel it back there and mileage decreases by about 5MPG, but the extra room is definitely worth it... My granddaughter and I just finished a trip down Skyline Drive and the BR Parkway with it and it was really nice to have the extra room...

You have to give yourself a bit more stopping room and it tends to push the bike a bit which can make slow speed maneuvers on the downhill a little tricky but I still like it... I have had the Dart almost as long as I have had my 93 Aspy - think I bought it in 95 IIRC... Here's a shot of the bike and trailer and my cute 16 year old granddaughter...

Les



 
#8 ·
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Trailers are easy to pull, a 2 wheeled trailer follows the tongue, pulling a trailer and load the proper size for the vehicle will not harm any vehicle.

If I can roll a trailer around the yard by hand, it certainly is not going to hurt any decent vehicle pulling it.
 
#9 ·
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Chromo wrote:
Trailers are easy to pull, a 2 wheeled trailer follows the tongue, pulling a trailer and load the proper size for the vehicle will not harm any vehicle.

If I can roll a trailer around the yard by hand, it certainly is not going to hurt any decent vehicle pulling it.
+1 The key there is to have a "proper sized" trailer for your bike. That and keeping in mind the whole thing of what dadztoy said in that the trailer will want to keep the momentum when you want to stop especially going down hill, and it will take more throttle when going up hill. It shouldn't hurt anything though as long as your not pulling too much for the vehicle as in the story that i said earlier.
 
#10 ·
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Yup- takes a little more time and distance to get up or down in speed. Otherwise, I have an older trailer that is probably around 150 lbs empty (I guess) and I probably put 50 lbs or less in it (though I have hauled a few bags of wood fuel pellets in the past). I took a two-up trip with my daughter and our mileage was normal, about 38-40 mpg. More weight may affect that, but we only carried enough luggage for 3 days.
Towing put more load/wear on parts, yes, but that can be addressed with premium fluids and frequent PM.
 
#11 ·
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I towed a trailer behind a 1978 GL1000 for many, many miles & years. I had a sidecar and the trailer, and I felt the sidecar was more stress on the bike than the trailer.
I have an Escapade now, and I love pulling it with my 1500. I haven't had any problems, and I don't expect to have any problems.
 
#13 ·
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Well, I towed a 1980 Goldwing stripped down on my little HF trailer behind my 93 1500A several hundred miles from south of Houston to Harker Heights Tx. and never had any problems, it wasn't complete, but still with trailer and all, about 600 lbs. Also towed a 7800 watt generator on ther same trailer for a friend one time, three of us barely got it on the trailer.

The point I'm making, the bike will tow a lot more than you think, and if you know what your doing, and take your time, watch your speed, and insure both the bike and the trailer are in proper working order, it should not be a problem. I have towed trailers behind motorcycles and cars, and trucks, and 18 wheelers for well over 40 years in all kinds of weather, and on all kinds of road surfaces (except Ice Roads like in Ice Road Truckers)and it does take a little skill, and a whole lot of extra attention to do it safely.:smiler:

Gene:action:
 

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#14 ·
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Here is what my trailer looks like presently:

Gene:action:
 

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#15 ·
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#17 ·
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Oregonwinger used to tow a camp trailer while riding two up with his old 1500. His trailer was somewhere around 500lbs empty, maybe 600lbs loaded. It's not the pulling you have to be careful with it's the stopping. Braking distances are going to be a good bit longer especially in a panic situation. It can be done safely there are many who do it with no problem.
 
#19 ·
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looks awesome. where can I get one for cheap? lol
 
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