Randy, a couple of things:
1) Putting a piece of plywood at the front side of the bed
(3/4") where the front tire would rest is advised... When
tying down my bike, I dented the front of the bed (through
a liner)... The wood will spread out the load (vs. the small
contact area of the front tire), and help keep the front of
the bed straight.. I cut a piece for such occations, and kept
it with my tie downs.
2) When tying down the bike, you might want to put blocks
between the tops of the wheel and front fork triple clamp;
top of the rear wheel and sub-frame-- Then tie the bike down
with good motorcycle tie downs-- This will keep the suspension
from compressing , which would cause sag/wear tear on the
springs.. and helps keep the bike 'tight' during transportation.
If you were to tie it down by compressing the bike down without
blocks, you can get the bike to come loose with further
compression in the suspension (speed bumps, sharp turns, dips,
etc.). With blocks, the bike can be held down indefinately,
and the only wear/tear is on the tires (minimal). I've seen
quite a few bikes on their sides (in the bed, and on the road)
from people who didn't use blocks.
If you don't have a ramp, you can either back the truck up to
an embankment to roll the bike onto the tailgate, into the bed,
or your can find a high curb-- put both front tires on the curb,
and load the bike (with the tailgate low to the ground-- this is
more difficult as you will be pushing the bike up hill).
The dealership/shop will have ramps to get the bike out...
If it's a dirt bike, have them load it in backwards when you get
it back... When you get home, Ride it off of the tailgate!!!
I have!! :P
Sam '95 SLT
'99 RT
'93 DR 435s Stage III!! WHOO HOO!!
>
>wheel first. I have a bedliner also and there are cutouts for the
tiedowns
>so use them with a ratcheting strap front and back. make sure you get
it in
>there nice and tight. shake it around before you drive it, make sure it
>doesnt move around. with the short bed we put the bike in at an angle
so
>the back wheel was on one side of the truck and front on the other, and
we
>could close the tailgate no problem. the extra weight was no problem,
it
>hardly sagged and the the ride was more comfortable because of the
weight,
>make it a point to find some speed bumps with the bike in there! dont
>forget it is a truck, dont worry about your bedliner its there to take
>abuse so your bed wont have to ;) ~kevin
>
>I need some help here, please. First of all my name is Randy, I live
in
>Toronto, Canada (no snow yet!! The Dak Gods are smiling on us Canucks),
>I have a 98 Dak Sport CC, with bed liner V6. My friend's motorcycle
need
>some work and she can't drive it to the shop. How would I go about
>putting it in the back of my truck? Or is this not recommended? It only
>weighs approx. 350-400lbs. Also, would I damage or crack my bed liner
or
>would someone recommend a sheet of 1/2 - 3/4 plywood on top of my
>bedliner?
>Any advice would be a great help.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Randy Drew
>fonman@ican.net
>
>
>Kevin
>98 RC V6 5spd Amethest
>
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