[SCNinja400]

Oh noes not the "Ive toad stuff" defense. Your SUV has a 500lb tongue weight? Where did I say anything was going to break?
You can type 1000 words but the pictures tell me all I need to know. For the purposes of the OP question... youre doing it wrong.
Kawi lists the bike at nearly 370... Im sure you got an accurate weight though...lol

The bike carrier is rated for 400lbs and weighs 51lbs. The bike curb weight is 366, but I have a lighter slip-on and tail tidy so it is closer to 360. 360+51=411. 500 tongue weight s greater than 411 so no matter how many times you reply that isn't going to change. But for the sake of argument let's go with curb weight of 366+51, and guess what, still under capacity.

The bike was transported over 1000k miles on that carrier, so it doesn't matter how many times you respond, that will not change.

Facts don't care if your feelings are hurt.

Yes I have towed stuff and I know the tongue weight and towing capacity of my vehicles. I purchased that SUV specifically for towing my Yamaha Jet boat which is over 3000lbs with the trailer.

 

[Turboblew]

anyone is free to haul however they see fit... but I would using the bed of a pickup or deck of a trailer before a hitch carrier. My buddy carries his dirtbike on the back of a Jeep carrier that has a hitch 30" long. Of course he has access to a world class welder/fabricator. Bike weighs in at 265lbs with a gallon of gas & light battery.

 

[Turboblew]

...
Facts don't care if your feelings are hurt.

so you weighed it on a certified scale or are you guessing again?

 

[SCNinja400]

so you weighed it on a certified scale or are you guessing again?

No, I have no desire to weigh my bike. The Kawasaki published curb weight of 366 is good enough for me to guestimate what my rig weight is minus mods. I am well within the limit now and will be in the future.

You obviously don't like carriers and don't use them so my advise is move on to a topic that you have experience with. The my buddy story is nice but doesn't mean jack **** in my application.

 

[VielenDank]

Thanks for all of the input everyone. My truck has a tow package from the factory. I do not know exactly what the max tongue weight is but I would think it would handle 500 lbs. I made a small wooden step up ramp to put my ramp on. It helps to reduce the angle at the ramp and bed of the truck. I guess I will see how well it works. If it does not work well, then I will probably move forward in getting a carrier hitch. My bike is tracked out, so I would think it is around 320-330 lbs. Not too heavy.

 

[sbk1198]

Thanks for all of the input everyone. My truck has a tow package from the factory. I do not know exactly what the max tongue weight is but I would think it would handle 500 lbs. I made a small wooden step up ramp to put my ramp on. It helps to reduce the angle at the ramp and bed of the truck. I guess I will see how well it works. If it does not work well, then I will probably move forward in getting a carrier hitch. My bike is tracked out, so I would think it is around 320-330 lbs. Not too heavy.

It'd be cheaper to get a curved ramp or take the belly pan off Having both a curved ramp and taking the belly pan off will definitely work unless you have a ridiculous lift kit and oversized tires. Those hitch carriers just look sketchy as **** to me. I know they work, but still....if you already have a truck there's no sense in not using the bed for what it was intended One of these days when I have some time I'm going to come up with some way to put 2 Pitbull TRS plates in the truck so I can load up 2 bikes in there (or a bike and the scooter) without using straps.

 

[VielenDank]

It'd be cheaper to get a curved ramp or take the belly pan off Having both a curved ramp and taking the belly pan off will definitely work unless you have a ridiculous lift kit and oversized tires. Those hitch carriers just look sketchy as **** to me. I know they work, but still....if you already have a truck there's no sense in not using the bed for what it was intended One of these days when I have some time I'm going to come up with some way to put 2 Pitbull TRS plates in the truck so I can load up 2 bikes in there (or a bike and the scooter) without using straps.

No lift. Truck is complete stock except the rear sits higher than a normal 2wd Silverado because the OEM tow package. The top of the tailgate sits at about 36” off the ground. So pretty high.

I have to take the belly pan off, but it almost makes contact with the header too. I would attribute this due to the forks sitting lower in the triple clamp.

 

[sbk1198]

No lift. Truck is complete stock except the rear sits higher than a normal 2wd Silverado because the OEM tow package. The top of the tailgate sits at about 36” off the ground. So pretty high.

I have to take the belly pan off, but it almost makes contact with the header too. I would attribute this due to the forks sitting lower in the triple clamp.

Silverado 1500? I can't imagine it's any taller than my Ram 1500 which is also stock, 2WD with tow package. Mine didn't even touch the belly pan with my ramp when I had AB fairings. With the Norton GP fairings I unfortunately scraped the **** out of the pan the first time I put it in the truck. It went on fine in my driveway, but I guess at the shop where I unloaded it, I must've been on a bit of an incline because when I unloaded it, the pan scrapped the edge of the ramp. But with the pan off it'll work plenty fine.

How much did you lower that front end?? lol Let's see a picture. Or can you measure the amount of fork sticking up above the top triple clamp?

 

[SCNinja400]

This thread reminded me of the upgrades I needed to make in order to transform the El cheapo dirt bike carrier into a proper Ninja 400 carrier. I went to harbor freight and picked up a front wheel lock and bolted it down to the carrier. An extra 13 pounds but this is now a proper Ninja 400 carrier. No more slots for the tires so it slides in and stays standing while being strapped down.

Ready for a Dragon run when the weather improves a bit.

 

[Tracy]

He!! Ya!! 🐉

 

[airhead83]

Nice. I can't tell, does that tow platform tilt on end to place the loading end onto, or close to, the ground? Or maybe you're talented enough to wheelie it up there? .

 

[SCNinja400]

Nice. I can't tell, does that tow platform tilt on end to place the loading end onto, or close to, the ground? Or maybe you're talented enough to wheelie it up there? .

There is a detachable ramp that connects to the carrier for loading and unloading. It is attached in front of the bike intl the pic .

The SUV is low to the ground so loading and unloading is super easy. With the wheel lock I walk the bike up in first gear to overcome the resistance from the lock.

 

[Turboblew]

Nice. I can't tell, does that tow platform tilt on end to place the loading end onto, or close to, the ground? Or maybe you're talented enough to wheelie it up there? .

Theres a ramp fastened to the end...

 

[VielenDank]

Silverado 1500? I can't imagine it's any taller than my Ram 1500 which is also stock, 2WD with tow package. Mine didn't even touch the belly pan with my ramp when I had AB fairings. With the Norton GP fairings I unfortunately scraped the **** out of the pan the first time I put it in the truck. It went on fine in my driveway, but I guess at the shop where I unloaded it, I must've been on a bit of an incline because when I unloaded it, the pan scrapped the edge of the ramp. But with the pan off it'll work plenty fine.

How much did you lower that front end?? lol Let's see a picture. Or can you measure the amount of fork sticking up above the top triple clamp?

It looks to be around 3/4" lowered down in the front. The shop that did the suspension work does all the local racers bikes. The bike did feel really good at the track. Though I think my rear sets were too low. So I raised them the other day.

 

[sbk1198]

It looks to be around 3/4" lowered down in the front. The shop that did the suspension work does all the local racers bikes. The bike did feel really good at the track. Though I think my rear sets were too low. So I raised them the other day.

View attachment 17085

That's not lowered then. That's right around stock height. I've had my front end lower than that when I was experimenting with geometry and had no issues getting it in the truck. If you just remove the belly or get a 8' curved ramp you'll be fine. If you do both of those you will definitely be fine.

 

[VielenDank]

That's not lowered then. That's right around stock height. I've had my front end lower than that when I was experimenting with geometry and had no issues getting it in the truck. If you just remove the belly or get a 8' curved ramp you'll be fine. If you do both of those you will definitely be fine.

Even with the belly removed the bottom of the header makes contact with the ramp/bed. My ramp is around 7’6”

I built a wooden step up to help. Going to test it out to see if it works or not.

 

[51Ninja400]

There is always the back it up to an incline trick to effectively lower the rear of the truck.