Motorcycle Hitch Carrier Setup & Experience

[CavRider]

I'm just taking lead from a certain world Leader

All jokes aside though, that Land Rover is beautiful. If I had a bottomless pit of funds, I'd build one with electric innards.

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[Tedmister2]

Great news!
We can just ‘claim ownership’ of stuff we see! You just have to be the first to call it!

Wasn’t that the original British way?

 

[Al_V]

Wasn’t that the original British way?

I suppose it is the original way of all...

 

[artificial_airspeed]

Wow I didn’t expect this thread to take off! Good to see so many other motorcycle fans with Lightning’s. This rack setup works really well with a Heavy Duty drop hitch. I lowered the rack by 7 inches with plenty of ground/departure angle clearance. This makes it much easier to load and unload at body height rather than head level.

It’s worth mentioning that I also have a 5x8 utility trailer to haul my Tiger 900 and dad’s Speed 400 when feasible. I prefer the trailer experience for 2 bikes or longer trips. The hitch rack setup is great for shorter weekender trips. If you have a heavier bike, trailer is likely the option for most. Bikes around 350lbs ride much more confidently on a rack.

 

[chl]

So this is an interesting thread! Certainly easier for loading.

While my Vectrix VX-1 is about the same kind of weight as your Tiger, I suspect its wheelbase would be a little much for this setup, which honestly is sad because loading my bike alone is always scary AF.

I have ramps, chock and CanyonDancers… and it just fits with the tailgate down.

That's about the way I trucked my Harley Sportster 883 in my old 2001 Ford Ranger, but the Ranger was a bit lower to the ground at the tailgate than the Lightning. Even so riding the bike up the ramp to the Ranger bed was always a 'rush' LOL.

I usually angled the bike into the left front corner of the bed, put the kick stand down and strapped it firmly at 4 points. The Sportster is about 86in long, the bed of the ranger was 73in long and about 45in wide, so at an angle the hypotenuse is 85in and I could actually close the tailgate because of the give of the shocks and the tires.

The Lightning bed is shorter at 66in so I'd have to have the tailgate down like you do to haul it that way

The Sportster weighs about 520lbs so I never really thought about using a hitch carrier but now I have to rethink that.

Thanks for the info.

1999 when I first got the Sportster and rode the wife around the backyard.

 

[chl]

Wasn’t that the original British way?

My 6th great-grandmother (a native American) would say so...

 

[Aminorjourney]

My 6th great-grandmother (a native American) would say so...

Alas true. My ancestors in Canada would also agree (I’m a mix, and my mother’s side goes back to First Nations).

 

[chl]

Alas true. My ancestors in Canada would also agree (I’m a mix, and my mother’s side goes back to First Nations).

My ancestor according to the story anyway, was the daughter of a local tribe's chief.
The European side was a Protestant minister named Price (originally a Prussian name Preisz I believe) whose son married her when he was 17. Probably one of those arranged marriages to ensure peaceful coexistence. They had at least one son, some say two sons, but after her husband died, she went back to her tribe and the child apparently lived with European relatives. This was in what is now Delaware.

She was of the Lenni Lenape tribe (meaning the 'men of men' or 'original people') and apparently of the Unami (turtle) clan/nation of that tribe. She was born around 1706 and had one son born in 1723, meaning she was 17 years of age.

The Unami were located in the modern state of Delaware, with their immediate neighbours being the Susquehannock to the west, the Unalachtigo to the north, and the Powhatan confederacy to the south.

From the early 1600s, the European settlers called the Lenape people 'Delaware Indians', although there was never a single tribe called either Delaware or Lenape. Overall though, they formed the most important collection of Algonquian-speaking groups in the region along the mid-Atlantic coastline, and once had occupied the Lower Hudson river valley, the western part of Long Island, the whole of the modern state of New Jersey, and as far south as Delaware Bay. They spoke two Algonquian dialects - Munsee and Unami (or Wename before 1682) - the 'people down river.'

The Lenape had three clans (or phratries) - Wolf, Turtle, and Turkey - which traced their descent through the female line. For example, if a mother belonged to the Turtle Clan, then each of her children also belonged to the same clan. The sons had to marry women from other clans, and their children belonged to their mother's clan. Thanks to this system, affinity with any one clan was no guarantee of affinity with any one tribe.

The Price family has maintained a written history since first settling in North America, and this is where the info came from, as well as other historical sources.

Although I have had DNA ancestry done, the Turtle Clan DNA has not shown up, but then all that shows up is what is in the DNA data base and Native DNA data is not complete.

I also found I have a lot of Neanderthal DNA, although 'a lot' is still under 2%. I have more than 83% of other 23andMe customers - it's all relative.

 

[MotoGary]

Here is my 60HP ELECTRIC Stark Varg on my Lightning hitch carrier.
I love all 3 (the bike, the truck and the hitch carrier), they are all the best I've owned of each!
The hitch carrier is a JoeHauler, which I purchased used on Marketplace ($50!), and it has a wedge system that clamps inside the receiver to prevent rocking.
I added the wheels to make it easier to move the carrier around, and also helps when doing wheelies with the truck!
I can charge the bike from the truck on 240v on the rare occasion that that I need more range.

I love the EV Truck/Bike setup! Truly an early adopter combo. Which is why I'm surprised to see your old-tech garage light bulb! Dude, time to bring that garage lighting into the LED era with something like this:

 

[Al_V]

I love the EV Truck/Bike setup! Truly an early adopter combo. Which is why I'm surprised to see your old-tech garage light bulb! Dude, time to bring that garage lighting into the LED era with something like this:

Thanks!
But it IS an LED bulb, and there are 2 of those plus the led buIbs in the door opener.
I was my own general contractor and built my house in 2017-2018.
Every light everywhere in my house and out building are LED.
(except probably the microwave, oven, and fridge).

 

[MotoGary]

Sorry. My bad. Didn’t mean to bulb shame. (But I’m tellin’ ya, you’ll love one of those multi panel LED units. PM me and I’ll send you one for your birthday)

 

[Al_V]

Sorry. My bad. Didn’t mean to bulb shame. (But I’m tellin’ ya, you’ll love one of those multi panel LED units. PM me and I’ll send you one for your birthday)

No offense/shame taken.
My bulbs don't look like LEDs.
But sure, sending PM, I could use one of those in my outbuilding...

 

[Tedmister2]

Sorry. My bad. Didn’t mean to bulb shame. (But I’m tellin’ ya, you’ll love one of those multi panel LED units. PM me and I’ll send you one for your birthday)

Where did you find a bulb like this? I am interested for my garage…

 

[Al_V]

Sorry. My bad. Didn’t mean to bulb shame. (But I’m tellin’ ya, you’ll love one of those multi panel LED units. PM me and I’ll send you one for your birthday)

Thanks for the Bearthday gift @MotoGary!
I put them in the basement where I will get the most benefit, and yes, they're great!

 

[MotoGary]

Where did you find a bulb like this? I am interested for my garage…

Amazon has a lot of different options like this for about $25 for a 2-pack.

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