R3 + shortbed = what the hell are you doing?

Big (possibly Spain's best) trailer builder is near my mates bike-shop. They have loads of options but are not cheap. We have VAT to contend with.
My current trailer is a Dutch made open box trailer but with a high bed. I would not even try to get the R3 in it. And these days I would rather not push the Guzzi up there either.
A series 1 Discovery will tow pretty much anything. Even up a 1 in 4. Pulled my neighbours Suzuki 4wd out of a 45° incline.

But I am going to take a photo of the U-Haul to the trailer guys - see what they say. My gut says (here) 3500-4000€
is it made with gold ...
 
I find it hard to believe how many of you guys are absolutely terrified of loading your bike in a truck. I use a trailer too, it's way faster and easier. But make no mistake, loading into a truck is not exactly hard either. Each to their own, but I wouldn't post publicly about how terrified I was to complete a simple task without even trying. If you tried to load a refrigerator and couldn't do it by yourself, most would just get a couple of friends and load it with help, simple. Why not get help to load your bike. I loaded mine at the Triumph dealer in Vegas with a ramp right in the parking lot, 5 guys came out to help and it didn't take 20 seconds to get up the ramp. So that 20 second episode saved me from towing a trailer 4200km.
 

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I think the word "terrified" is not correct but being rather being extremely wary is more accurate. YouTube is loaded with videos of disastrous attempts.

Prior to buying my ramps after seeing Elcanaco's, and since the 80s, I used a 2x12x8 ft board with ramp tips on both ends. I was hauling mostly vintage Triumphs but I also mentioned in a previous post, an Electra Glide. That was a two man job with one guy on each side of the ramp. With the arched ramps however no assistance is needed, although it is worthwhile to have a safety observer to ensure one stays centered while backing down. To me that's when things can go wrong, especially because for a very short distance, my feet are off the ramp. Riding up it is easy, especially with a Condor chock to ride into.

For me personally I've found that as I get older (am pushing 70) things get a bit more difficult and dumping a bike while backing down a steep ramp becomes more of a possibility. That's just me though.
 
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Just discovered this trailer. May need to pay them a visit with the Rocket and see if they will add sides - bigger wheels are an option.
plataforma-transporte-quad-motos-trike.jpg
 
I think the word "terrified" is not correct but being rather being extremely wary is more accurate. YouTube is loaded with videos of disastrous attempts.

Prior to buying my ramps after seeing Elcanaco's, and since the 80s, I used a 2x10x84 board with ramp tips on both ends. I was hauling mostly vintage Triumphs but I also mentioned in a previous post, an Electra Glide. That was a two man job with one guy on each side of the ramp. With the arched ramps however no assistance is needed, although it is worthwhile to have a safety observer to ensure one stays centered while backing down. To me that's when things can go wrong, especially because for a very short distance, my feet are off the ramp. Riding up it is easy, especially with a Condor chock to ride into.

For me personally I've found that as I get older (am pushing 70) things get a bit more difficult and dumping a bike while backing down a steep ramp becomes more of a possibility. That's just me though.


See, you took your time, had some help, used your head and had great success. I use my trailer too, it's faster for shorter trips. But I'm sticking with terrified. This isn't the only thread on this topic and you can see comment after comment on "how I might do it" or "this might work" or buy this and all those comments are are guy's sitting around thinking themselves into oblivion instead of just getting to the job. The same can be said for fixing or modding your Rocket. There is such a wealth of information here and lots of tips and tricks, but some guy's still struggle with the simplest jobs. It's not because they aren't capable, it's because they sit around and read sooooo much they overthink the job instead of just trying it and seeing how simple it is. Look up the threads on removing the rear wheel. Conversation after conversation. Sure there are detailed instructions, tips and tricks to make it easier and what tools to use. So now that you have the info, just go and do it for yourself and see how easy it is, instead of working yourself up to failure before even trying.
 
See, you took your time, had some help, used your head and had great success. I use my trailer too, it's faster for shorter trips. But I'm sticking with terrified. This isn't the only thread on this topic and you can see comment after comment on "how I might do it" or "this might work" or buy this and all those comments are are guy's sitting around thinking themselves into oblivion instead of just getting to the job. The same can be said for fixing or modding your Rocket. There is such a wealth of information here and lots of tips and tricks, but some guy's still struggle with the simplest jobs. It's not because they aren't capable, it's because they sit around and read sooooo much they overthink the job instead of just trying it and seeing how simple it is. Look up the threads on removing the rear wheel. Conversation after conversation. Sure there are detailed instructions, tips and tricks to make it easier and what tools to use. So now that you have the info, just go and do it for yourself and see how easy it is, instead of working yourself up to failure before even trying.

True that....
 
See, you took your time, had some help, used your head and had great success. I use my trailer too, it's faster for shorter trips. But I'm sticking with terrified. This isn't the only thread on this topic and you can see comment after comment on "how I might do it" or "this might work" or buy this and all those comments are are guy's sitting around thinking themselves into oblivion instead of just getting to the job. The same can be said for fixing or modding your Rocket. There is such a wealth of information here and lots of tips and tricks, but some guy's still struggle with the simplest jobs. It's not because they aren't capable, it's because they sit around and read sooooo much they overthink the job instead of just trying it and seeing how simple it is. Look up the threads on removing the rear wheel. Conversation after conversation. Sure there are detailed instructions, tips and tricks to make it easier and what tools to use. So now that you have the info, just go and do it for yourself and see how easy it is, instead of working yourself up to failure before even trying.

Struggling is OK. It's part of a process. Someone in this group had to show me how to get the tank off the bike and connect it to the PC. That was a good day.
 
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