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for those of you who tow............
Check the nut on your tow ball. I must have done nearly 10,000 miles of towing on my current 1800. The previous owner towed with it and in the time I have had the bike, the ball and its nut and lock washer have never been disturbed and never come loose.
On Friday teatime, having covered 200 miles and just 8 miles from the RBLR National Rally, my trailer detached itself at motorway speed. Fortunately, it travelled straight and didn't do any aerobatics. No other vehciles were nearby and no one was injured. (I had just come off the M42 which was wall to wall cars - how lucky is that).
Anyway, I pulled over, recovered the trailer and found the ball still locked into the trailer hitch. The nut had disappeared and there was nothing to indicate it was happening until it went clunk and disappeared.
So, check those nuts are tight boys and girls.
On another note, it has been suggested to me that this happening is virtually unheard of and that it could be that because the trailer was locked onto the ball, someone may had loosened the nut a bit in an attempt to steal the trailer when it was briefly parked unnattended in motorway services. Did it come loose on its own? Was it tampered with?
I guess I will never know, but will be checking it much more regularly in future.
We rode over to Tudor Rose and got a new nut and a lock nut from Steve (Stainless) and I was able to tow the trailer home today.
I think I have been very lucky.
for those of you who tow............
Check the nut on your tow ball. I must have done nearly 10,000 miles of towing on my current 1800. The previous owner towed with it and in the time I have had the bike, the ball and its nut and lock washer have never been disturbed and never come loose.
On Friday teatime, having covered 200 miles and just 8 miles from the RBLR National Rally, my trailer detached itself at motorway speed. Fortunately, it travelled straight and didn't do any aerobatics. No other vehciles were nearby and no one was injured. (I had just come off the M42 which was wall to wall cars - how lucky is that).
Anyway, I pulled over, recovered the trailer and found the ball still locked into the trailer hitch. The nut had disappeared and there was nothing to indicate it was happening until it went clunk and disappeared.
So, check those nuts are tight boys and girls.
On another note, it has been suggested to me that this happening is virtually unheard of and that it could be that because the trailer was locked onto the ball, someone may had loosened the nut a bit in an attempt to steal the trailer when it was briefly parked unnattended in motorway services. Did it come loose on its own? Was it tampered with?
I guess I will never know, but will be checking it much more regularly in future.
We rode over to Tudor Rose and got a new nut and a lock nut from Steve (Stainless) and I was able to tow the trailer home today.
I think I have been very lucky.
.
