[blues]

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I know, I know, you're saying "trailer my ass, drive her home", but I've put a downstroke on a bike and have to go get it by myself and rent a trailer to bring it 275 miles home. So I get to look at it in my rearview mirror for 5 hours.

To find out what size trailer I need, can someone tell me the overall length of the '87 Aspencade? I mean from the very front of the front fender to the back of the trunk.

Here is the link to the scoot...

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/mcy/2617100849.html

A BIG THANKS to all of you guys who laid info on me to help me get this far. The deal is contingent on it passing an eyeball inspection, but I have requested and received about 50 closeup photos of the bike, so I'm feeling pretty good about this one.

Only thing I need right now is to make sure I get the right size trailer. Any tips on trailering a bike are appreciated as well.

edit: Although the ad says '86, it is really an '87. He didn't realize he had messed up until he looked at the title.

 

[exavid]

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Overall it's just a wee bit short of eight feet. I've carried my '86 in the back of my full sized pick up and had a couple inches or more clearance with the tailgate shut. My 1500 fit in the back of the same truck with barely an inch between the tailgate and the rear of the bike with the front wheel against the front of the truck box. Any 8' trailer should do the job. I rented a U-haul utility trailer to haul my 1500 along behind one of their trucks when I moved down here. I used one of their open utility trailers, the galvanized ones. Worked great and had plenty of places to tie the bike down in. Those are also pretty slow slung trailers making loading the bike pretty easy. Much easier than the truck. If you can find a shallow depression to back the trailer into you might be able to run the bike right up with no ramp.

Looks like a pretty decent buy, good luck and let us know how you're doing on your retreival.

 

[blues]

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@Exavid, Thanks for the speedy reply. That tells me what I need to know. The local Uhaul place has a low-slung motorcycle trailer that measures 8'3" including a wheel notch in the front that is about 10" or so deep. It comes with a hefty ramp and I can pick the trailer up here and return it here for less than 20 bucks for the day.

 

[SidecarMike]

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For future reference, my son brought his GL1100 home in the back of a 97 GMC S-10. Parked corner to corner, he was able to close the tailgate behind it.

 

[blues]

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Hey Sidecar, Thank you for that info.

Here's the link to some more photos of the bike. Wish me luck!

87 Aspencade

 

[Bike...and Dennis]

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A clean '87 is a rare animal these days. That one is near stock and that's real good. Remember, next to nothing from the other years interchanges with the '87 and you will be OK.

 

[blues]

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Bike & Dennis,

Thanks for the heads-up on the parts. I didn't realize that.

I rode an '87 last weekend that was very nice, but not as nice as this one. It was an Interstate, which I *think* I would have preferred because of the analog gauges vs. the digital dash on the Aspy. That one also had a good bit of surface rust on the bottom that made me suspicious of rust in the frame, which is why I had this guy send me a ton of photos of the bottom of his bike.

The one thing that grabbed me was how well the 87 handled. I had a 78 Wing and remember it being much harder to handle than the 87. At low speed, the 87 feels almost nimble, at least not a pig.

I was out your way last week where I looked at an 83 in Prescott (JerryH says the 83 is the year to get), but it didn't pass the smell test.

I'm stoked and ready to get on this baby and be a for real member of the club.

 

[jdvorchak]

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My 85 Aspy is an absolute dream to ride.. and it's for sale as well for $3500!

 

[blues]

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JD, Thanks for letting me know. I'm hoping this deal makes and I don't have to keep shopping. $3,500 was our starting point.