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Hey all, so finally getting myself one, found a nice '05-er about 2 hrs drive from home... Gotta pick her up with my truck in 2 weeks. I have to buy a ramp... any of you use these? I found a couple but not sure what is good? Motorcycle Ramps: Lowest Prices & LargestSelection Of Ramps , also need to strap the bike down in a good way. Any tips on easy loading up a ramp without entering funniest picture/video of the week contest? Thanks! :confused:

Take a friend or two. Don't try to ride it up unless you are 100% certain you can. Take a step stool also.

I wouldnt cheap out on a good ramp, I like a ramp with a radius to it. I have a stock 95 F-150 and I will walk it up by feathering the clutch and solid contact with the front brake. I use 2 straps to hold it in place. I have some I bought at a Honda Dealership, The are a standard strap but the hook that is solidly attached to the adjuster, has a extra loop stitched in that wraps around the clip-on perfectly. I drove from WA to CA and had no issues. Hope this helps, Im not all that great at describing things.

I personally like to use 2 ramps, 1 for the bike the other for me to walk up, buy a good ramp for the bike, cycle gear regularly puts them on sale if you have 1 nearby, then either another ramp or make one from wood they have the metal ends at home depot to make it secure. I like to use 4 straps so if one fails for whatever reason your bike is not laying on your truck bed. I use 2 in front on the bottom triple tree and 2 on the rear subframe. I've transported my bike too many times to remember and have never had a problem and have seen too many other pretty bikes look not so pretty after a broken strap. IMHO

+1 on using 2 ramps. I always use 2, makes it so much easier to load by yourself being able to walk beside the bike all the way onto the truck. Invest in good straps too...a good ratcheting set. I have buddies who trust their bike loaded with the cheap pull-to-tighten straps and i always cringe seeing them haul. Those ones always seem to lose tension, especially over rough roads.

And tie the ramps to the truck. The tuition for my lesson was dear, may yours be less so.

There is a strap that goes to the clip ons i have then rachet straps it keeps the straps from hitting fairings ...

This is how Harley riders do it
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VcuZvpxMAes

Before I started using a trailer for my bikes, I built a ramp from three boards, 2x10's, and used door hinges to keep them together. Very heavy, didn't have to worry about it moving or shifting if the bottom was in grass. Cheap. Opened wide enough to walk up with the bike. If you load on concrete, you will want some way to secure the ramp to the vehicle to avoid it slipping back and falling off. Be careful riding up a ramp if you have a rubber bed cover, brakes don't work so good when the whole bed protector is sliding forward. Almost somersaulted my whole ducati and me over the roof of my truck when I rode it into the truck and ran smack into the front of the bed. Looked pretty cool doing a nose stand stoppie in the back of my truck, but bent it up pretty good, lol.

Who needs a ramp? Not my buddy...
http://a1.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/i...d68d71d0/l.jpg

10 years ago when I brought my bike home for the first time in the back of a 4x4 Toyota pick up I had some high centering issues. I had to unload it from the bed of my truck into my buddy's 2wd toyota and then onto the ground. To this day I have no idea how I didn't drop the bike.

For the strap that Maniac was talking about google Canyon Dancer Bar Harness II. Great product! My bike will not move with it on and the straps come no where near touching any part of the bike.

Hope this help and good luck with the bike purchase.

I rented a U-Haul trailer specifically made for hauling motorcycles. Cost me the grand sum of $15. I also used 4 straps as described above. Good thing too because one of my fork straps let go about 15 miles from home. The trailer is low and has a wide fold down ramp attached. Easy peasy.

+1 on the Canyon Dancer, I brought my bike home to MA from NJ only using that. Since then if I have to get it in the truck, 2 ramps (I needed arched ones with the lower fairing),
walk up one and idle the bike up the other. I also cut a piece of plywood to fit between the sides of the bed and about 2 feet back, and screwed on a couple of 2x4s on edge with a couple of braces to roll the front wheel into. I get nervous about the front tire kicking out and slamming the bike down. The plywood just rests between the sides, the bike holds it down. Works perfect, also TIE THE RAMPS TO THE TRUCK!! I almost lost mine unloading it at a trackday, when I started backing it off, the ramps were damp with dew, and the front tire started to slide, when it cought, it pulled the ramp off the truck. Luckily it was only about a foot off the ground and I held on to it - but it could have been much worse.

;););) Thanks for all the advise guys, I got a better clue of it now. That Harley loader in the movie sure looks nice but I think way over my budget, lol

I guess I'm going for this one.
Bi-Fold 6 Foot Aluminum Folding ATV Ramp $115

IMHO it's too short and straight, I have a feeling you're going to hit the front head pipe. Look for one that has an arc to it I like 8ft personally.

what he said,,,way too short..even an 8ft pc of plywood is too short dent the pipe. hence the arch type (unless you are loading from a ditch hill or deck). fortunantly for me I have a cemnt front porch that I have ramped up to and its about 1' high and I use a pc of plywood from it to back of truck works fine...same for unloading as plwood is 4' wide allows me room to walk with it. but only works because I have this slab porch thats high enough. Oh and unload as I stated I simply look for ditch or hill where I can enload some places even have ramps for doing that where I go.

+2 on the canyon dancer. We used those all the time when I was working at the bike shop if we had to go pick up a bike from somewhere. They work great. I don't think they're very cheap though. I'll usually hook the strap to the lower triple clamp and it will usually clear the bottom of the fairing this way.

As for the straps I hate ratchet straps, especially for a bike. They work great for tieing down something with no give or suspension but they can be a pain to use and especially if they are older and don't get used a lot they can get corroded and sticky. I only use the pull tight ones. They are MUCH quicker, which is the biggest reason I like them, to use and they never go loose, even when on rough roads. They are also easier to get on the bike while you’re trying to hold it with one hand and install the strap with the other. I also only ever use 2 straps on the front of the bike. If you use quality straps and they aren't tattered or torn to start they won't break unless you have them running over a sharp edge somewhere that cuts them. Also when you tighten the straps down make sure the suspension is good and compressed. Maybe not against the bump stops but way down there. That will prevent it from compressing and a strap coming unhooked if you hit a large bump or say someone runs you off the road and you drive over a curb or something. Two more straps on the rear are not a bad idea and will mainly just serve the purpose of keeping the rear of the bike from sliding back and forth if you have to make any evasive maneuvers to avoid an accident or hit some big bumps while cornering hard.

For ramps it's going to kind of depend on what kind of truck you have. If you have a lower 2wd compact truck that ramp you linked to would probably be fine. If you have a full size especially 4X4 and lifted then you'll need a longer ramp and preferably with an arc to it. Also try to get the front up in the air more such as pulling the front tires up on a curb or if there is a good dip where the driveway meets the road get the back tires right in the middle of the dip and the front wheels out in the road, similar to the pic of the white Chev in the ditch but obviously not to that extreme unless you have a truck like that. This will give you lesser of an angle at the top of the ramp and less chance to bottom out.

I use my large rubbermaid toat that I keep in the back of my truck as a step. It's taller than a milk crate and it's a flat solid surface. If you do use a ramp to walk up next to the bike make sure it's got something on it for traction. If it's a smooth board and you slip the bike is going to come right down on top of you.

Also if you do have someone helping you tell them to push from the back and DO NOT try to hold the bike up straight. When you're pushing it up the ramp, most likely feathering the clutch and having it go on it's own power as described above, you naturally will want it to lean toward you some. If they try to stand it up straight it's going to try to pull you up where it's more likely to pull you over the far side of the bike where you don't have as much control of it.

If 6ft and 8ft are way too short, might as well go for 10 ft like this one... not sure.
10 ft. Folding Arch Ramp Single Runner $158

I have a pair exactly like these and they work excellent. I didn't pay that much though!

Here is another link. 10' would be a huge PITA IMO!!!

Honestly I use an 8' 2X10 or 2X12 and it works fine. I use my tote to stand on while walking the bike up the ramp. I take the tailgate off my truck and set the board on the bumper. This puts it almost level with the bed so when unloading you don't have to try to go up and over the end with it sitting on the tailgate. Due to haveing a full size truck, '96 F-250 4X4, with a 4" lift I will usually put the front tires up on the curb to help with the angle a bit. I haven't tried to load my VTR yet but I'm guessing it's going to take a bit more of an angle correction to get it up and on as I think it's a little lower ground clearance than my old GS650G was. LOL! I used this method for my old VTR in the back of my '94 Ranger and it worked great as well.

I use an 8' 2x12, canyon dancer, non- ratchet tie downs (4) and a box for me to step up on. The ramp has a metal plate where it rests on the bed of the truck, a beveled edge on the ground and paint with sand sprinkled in it for non-skid.