How best to secure bike in truck bed?

[g8erh8er]

Hey guys, I'm the proud new owner of a barely used 05 YZ 125 and I will be picking it up later this evening.

For those that haul their bikes in their truck beds, what is the best way to secure it?

I have a Toyota Tacoma that has hooks at all four corners of the bed (6 ft). The bike will come with the triangle stand and I think it will fit with the tail gate up if it's placed diagonally. Or, should I just leave the tail gate down?

I'm assuming I can find some tie-downs at Walmart or Autozone, but how many will I need, and where exactly should they be placed? Thanks!

Also, isn't there some trick about bleeding air out of the shocks or something if they will be compressed for a while?

[socal_sierra]

I would reccomend gettin some soft ties with the carabiner style base hooks. They are a lot more secure than standard tie downs.

Like these:

http://www.motosport.com/offroad/productDetail.php?prodId=543931&nav=&sMMY=

In a tacoma i would just put the bike in straight and maybe look into some sort of bed extender. ?

Hook the tie downs to the front two anchor points in the bed, Center your bike in the bed unless youre going to be loading up 2 bikes. With the soft ties they actually loop around the bars and after your tie downs are secured to the bed and your handlebars, you only need to compress the forks about 2 inches. There is no need to bleed the shocks, in fact you dont want to open the air bleeder screws when the forks are under compression.

Hope this helps some..

[g8erh8er]

Appreciate the advice Socal.

Since I must transport it tonight, I'm just going to buy some cheap temporary tie-downs and then get something more appropriate down the road.

So it's only necessary to die down the front portion of the bike?

[Drtbikerider250]

I would reccomend gettin some soft ties with the carabiner style base hooks. They are a lot more secure than standard tie downs.

Like these:

http://www.motosport.com/offroad/productDetail.php?prodId=543931&nav=&sMMY=

In a tacoma i would just put the bike in straight and maybe look into some sort of bed extender. ?

Hook the tie downs to the front two anchor points in the bed, Center your bike in the bed unless youre going to be loading up 2 bikes. With the soft ties they actually loop around the bars and after your tie downs are secured to the bed and your handlebars, you only need to compress the forks about 2 inches. There is no need to bleed the shocks, in fact you dont want to open the air bleeder screws when the forks are under compression.

Hope this helps some..

this is close to how I tie mine in... i have a block that I put between the front tire and the fender to keep the forks from compressing, so i can just tighten the bike down as tight as i want it. without the block, i disagree with not needing to bleed the forks. compressing the forks without bleeding them can cause the seals to leak (not likely on a new bike though). i bleed the pressure when i load the bike, then bleed it again to get the negative pressure off of the forks when i unload.

i agree that the most secure way to tie one bike in is to put it in the center of the bed, but it's easier to see in traffic if you line the bike up in the back of the truck with the driver's seat. the bike can still be secured enough if it is not centered.

Tommy

[motomanmike26]

all you need to do is hook the tie downs onto the bars and put them in the corners of the truck, you only need to have 2 tie downs in the front corners, but make sure you press the forks down a little an u should b good to go

[babyarmholdingapple]

all you need to do is hook the tie downs onto the bars and put them in the corners of the truck, you only need to have 2 tie downs in the front corners, but make sure you press the forks down a little an u should b good to go

I agree, I do this plus I run a locking cable, cant steal it, cant fall out.

[troyfisher123]

When I only take one of my bikes, I put it in diagonally. Far better than straight in. It puts only a small load on the front suspension, and puts minimum on the rear. The whole bike is perfectly stable this way.

It helps that my truck is a step-side 1997 S-10, so the box is tiny anyways.

[g8erh8er]

Thanks for all the replies. Pickup got pushed to tomorrow morning, so I will play around with a few methods to see what works best for me.

Thanks again!

[pdyz125]

i like to tie it down like this even though i cant look in my rear view mirror. i just use the side mirrors.

[pdyz125]

just for the record, i know i need a new rear tire. im picking up one within the next couple days.

[Zendog]

With just one bike in my truck (tundra) I run it the same way but I use a third tie down from the subframe to the back hook area. See the red line in the pic. This way all your gear can be stored on the front left side of the bed and it wont blow out

Now this is a top notch way to tie it down. 2 tie downs diagonally from each other with the bike diagonally placed in the bed. Now run the tie downs from the frame to the corners. You will not load your suspension and the bike will not move. See the blue lines. I know it doesn’t look like it will work but it works great and the bike doesn’t roll

Since we are on the subject there is a trick for carring 2 bikes and closing the tailgate. This works for trucks like a tundra or an american truck with out a 8 foot bed. Both bikes nose first with the wheels turned inside and touching each other. Now kick the back wheels to the sides of the bed. You can load all your gear in the middle, the bikes wont sway and you can shut the tailgate.

Now for the 3 bikes in the back trick. The thing that pisses me off the most is when I see 3 bikes int he back and the middle bike is backwards. Load the 2 outside bikes as usual. now take a bike stand, milk crate, helmet, 2 Phone books, or whatever else that you can find that is about a foot thick and set it in between the 2 bikes and up agaist the bed/cab side of the truck. Roll the third bike in front wheel first and the 1 foot spacers will allow the third bikes handle bars to clear the other bikes. Tie it down.

[rmz757]

with just one bike i throw the bike in diagonally. my front wheel about 6-8 inches from the front drivers side corner of the bed, and the rear tire about the same from the rear passenger corner. then i run the tie downs to the front passenger corner, and the rear drivers side corner. the bike will roll a bit back and forth if you dont put it in cear, so drop er down into 1st, and its good to go.

[howell]

i just throw it in the pick-me-up. tie down the lower part of the bars to one of the bed hooks and wrap a strap around the rear wheel and tie it to the the rear hooks.

how did you get yours home????

also Zendog why dose it make you mad to c a rear faceing bike (props to getting three bikes in like that

[Zendog]

also Zendog why dose it make you mad to c a rear faceing bike (props to getting three bikes in like that

Because it is stupid, and a pain in the ass

[Britincali]

Two straps from the bars hold mine just fine.

[Zendog]

Two straps from the bars hold mine just fine.

show off

[Cougar207]

Zendog, you know if you put the bike in diagonally the other way you could still have almost full use of your rearview mirrior right? ? I always put my front tire right in the center of my (drivers) seat and tighten it down with a block between the tire and the fender, then I swing the back around and close the tailgate. I can look back to my right for the most part and my left rear is unobstructed.

MAtt

[Denn10]

BUY ANCRA TIE DOWNS by far the best ever they will last you more than 10 years without fraying . I had a yota too and i just kicked the back end over against the side and straped her in with 4 tie downs( had mine come loose once NEVER AGAIN LOL)

[cb750]

For one bike, I go diagonal, but with one strap going forward, and one strap going back.

I believe the picture above with the diagonal bike with just two straps going forward shows a dangerous setup. Hard braking will lead the bike to lean forward, and perhaps come loose from the ties. In this case, I run the RIGHT side strap to the back corner, as shown here:

For two bikes, I will usually do them diagonal as well, but facing opposite directions, so I can close the tailgate on my 6ft bed. Again, each bike has one strap forward, and one back, from the bars.

Finally, for three bikes in my truck, I run two forward, as far to the side as possible, and then one facing back, in the middle. The backward facing bike gets 4 straps, two ratcheting to the front hooks, and two standard ties to the back hooks, all from the handlebars, picture here.

One thing people ALWAYS overlook (me too), is what will happen to the bike in the event of a head on collision. Without any strap going backward, or tying the rear wheel down, the bike would theoretically fly forward, still strapped, and possibly come down on the roof or windshield, before ripping off and flying forward away from the crashing truck.

The simplest safety is just to run a tie through the rear wheel and tie it off to the bumper, etc.

[cb750]

Wow, lots of people posting all of a sudden...

Whats wrong with facing the third bike backwards??

Kamal