Hauler for two large bikes

[Pfrog]

My wife and I have a Heritage get and an ultra classic, relatively large bikes. I was looking at the octane super light series. Can I haul the two bikes in the 222 or would I need to go with something larger? Also, do people haul their bikes side by side or one in front of the other?

Thanks.

[Husky911]

A lot of what if's here.........End to end will distribute the load better, but will make using any of the trailer without unloading the bikes difficult. Side by side will put 2/3 of your load capacity behind the real axel and might make your tongue weight to light, but you will have full use of the front of the trailer. The length of your haul comes into play here and if your going to ignore the warning stickers and sleep with your bikes.........Load them up both ways and drive around locally on some bumpy and dippy roads and see which way your tow vehicle likes best.......

[rwk5159]

Yes the 222 will haul two large bikes.

For example, I have a HD Ultra and a Honda ST1300, both beastly, large, full-fairing-ed bikes. They fit fine side-by-side in my 222. I could even get my Sportster in backwards by the sink to have three bikes in the trailer.

I believe the pre '17s were only 96" body width. The 2017s are now 102" wide bodies. Big difference that extra 6" will get you with these bikes.

Wall to wall interior dimension is 95-3/4". The electric bed rails take up another inch on each side, but are no issues at all when loading.

I wouldn't worry about weight. The 222 has a heavy tongue weight, empty. The wheels are far back on the trailer, and 1400# of bikes are relatively close to the trailer axles. (The front forks of the bikes will be over the front axle, roughly).


Now....the age old question of this forum, is your truck capable of towing this loaded unit?

[kneeslider]

No, your HD's are to large for a 222. We have squeezed two BMW GS Adventures in our 222, but it was tight even with our taking off the side-cases.

[sennister]

Originally Posted by rwk5159

Yes the 222 will haul two large bikes.

For example, I have a HD Ultra and a Honda ST1300, both beastly, large, full-fairing-ed bikes. They fit fine side-by-side in my 222. I could even get my Sportster in backwards by the sink to have three bikes in the trailer.

I believe the pre '17s were only 96" body width. The 2017s are now 102" wide bodies. Big difference that extra 6" will get you with these bikes.

Wall to wall interior dimension is 95-3/4". The electric bed rails take up another inch on each side, but are no issues at all when loading.

I wouldn't worry about weight. The 222 has a heavy tongue weight, empty. The wheels are far back on the trailer, and 1400# of bikes are relatively close to the trailer axles. (The front forks of the bikes will be over the front axle, roughly).


Now....the age old question of this forum, is your truck capable of towing this loaded unit?

Love the Honda ST. I have owned 3 of them. 2 are the older ST1100 which I still have both. I had a ST1300 for my long distance Iron Butt rides until I was taken out by a car making a left turn. I used to be pretty active on ST-Owners under the same screen name as here.

Back on topic

I agree though. What is the weight on the bikes? I know what a ST weighs and if I wanted to put two of them in a hauler I would be concerned about how much weight is behind the axles. Not sure what the pair of HDs weigh but if I were to guess pretty close to the 700lbs+ of a ST. So 1400-1600 lbs in the back may make it really hard to get at least 10% tongue weight for stability. Sure you can shift heavy stuff forward but what is that going to do to the GVWR of the camper not to mention the tongue weight on the truck? Are you towing with at least a 3/4 ton truck? If not you might need to step up to that. No way my Denali could take that much weight.