Towing Bike-to-Bike

[ChromeWhore]

Is towing bike to bike legal or is it something we do to get ourselves out of a jam?

A buddy of my was hot doggin it when his belt drive snapped. He was pissed, but I pissed him off more when he asked me to tow him. I told him that I wouldn't do it because I'm thinking the cops would see us and give us a fat ticket. But more important than that I told him that he wasn't f@#king up my bike. I didn't even know where to connect the rope on either bike without tearing up my chrome.

What's your take on this?

I did sit with him on the side of the rode for 1(1/2)hrs until the tow truck arrived..

Thanks,

--CW

[Dennis The Menace]

Some have done it, some have not.  Some had a good experience, others a disaster.  I recall this topic on old HTT last year.

Personally, I might do it a few blocks, real slow, but nothing more.  Both riders have to know wtf they are doing...and, I dont always qualify.  lol

menace

[texaskatfish]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm - Dennis is right (as I recall) there was an extensive thread about bike-towing-bike back on the old HTT.

I don't recall the legalities (or lack of same) being mentioned. I'm clueless what Texas law has to say about this - but I'd bet whether legal or NOT it will greatly depend on the mood of whatever occifer might stop you or see you during a tow situation - Our 'Gracie' has a ball hitch so tiyng there with a nylon choker (preferred), rope, or chain wouldn't be a challenge.

The towEE had darn sure better be a talented rider and I'd never try this at more than 15 - 20 mph tops.......(well mayyyyyyyybe at 25 - 35 if on a wide open interstate shoulder......)

[Tsani]

You could always lock arms, do a side by side deal, but ya both better be on your a game.  I never had a cop bother me for towing a bike. Funniest time was when one of the bros was ridin his triumph when God Lucas said " Up Yours". The only thing thing we had to tow  with was a piece of big ass bungee type rope. Shoot, my pan acted like he wasn't even back there! I totally forgot when a light went yellow and I nailed it.  Heard all kinds of yelling and gave myself a mental "oops". Ithink Cooter damn near died of a heart attack! I made it thru the light fine, but that damn rope stretched and I drugg him thru that intersection! Hey, At least we still laugh about it!

[FXDBI]

Bike towing another Bike........ha ha brothers starter went gave him a pull to start it.  " Tip " don't try and pull another bike up a hill and turn while doing so. ( Don't ask and I wont lie).  Easy to give a pull on level ground , but don't think its something one would want to do for any distance or any speed.  Legal to do? well up in the great white north I have never seen a law saying it is illegal but it sure isn't the safest thing to do.....Bob

[ST40]

Towing's not that bad if you use a little sence.  I never tied the rope directly to the towed bike, though.   If the towee is a good enough rider he should hold on to the rope with one hand.   That way he can always turn loose and just coast to a stop if needed.                Marty

[Desperado]

You didn't leave him.  You waited with him in case something else went wrong (no show on the tow truck) and the handling of his bike which caused the problem in the first place would have been enough for me not to have wanted to attempt a tow in this case.  You did everything that you could/should do for him IMHO.

I carry a MSR liter bottle of gasoline in my saddle bag and 20 feet of rope in my faring glove box to assist stranded motorcyclists.  I once stopped on I-15 in the middle of the Mojave Desert to give a motorcyclist a tow to the nearest exit/gas station (5 miles ?) where he could wait for a trailer in safety and air conditioning.  He was grateful.  His stator was fried, he didn't know it, and he had ridden on his battery until there wasn't enough juice to power the engine.  When I turned on his ignition there wasn't enough power to light the idiot lights.  His problems weren't caused by misshandling his bike.

Don't know about the legality of it, but I wouldn't leave a motorcyclist stranded in the desert in the summer (nobody else was stopping and I didn't have cell phone contact at that point) regardless of the legality.  Would have towed the man and his 11 year old son pushing a Fatboy into Concordia, KS (6 miles away - boy would have been on my Ultra if towing) if my gasoline hadn't solved his problem.

To tow, you can tie the rope onto the lower frame of the FLH's  in such a way to make a yoke such that the rope doesn't touch anything except the frame mounts for the bags. Don't know if this can be done on other models or not. NEVER tie the rope to the towed bike.  Let the rider hold the rope against the left handlebar grip with a gloved hand, keeping his right, brake hand, usable.  You accelerate VERY slowly and evenly as you would with a towing car so there is no jerking.  At the first sign of trouble all the towed rider needs to do is relax his grip slightly to release the tow rope.  He will be tracking slightly to your right so that the rope is straight, so you need to be slightly to the left on the shoulder of the road. Keep your speed below 20 mph.  This works on the open highway where there is usually a shoulder.  I would never try it in traffic so I'd never do it in town.  It isn't needed in town as some other form of assistance is readily available. 

For a SHORT distance in town where manually pushing the bike to get it to a safe waiting point isn't practical, IF the other rider is a good rider and you KNOW it, you can use your right foot on his left passenger's foot peg to push his bike at slow speeds.  Your right leg is in about the same position as when you are using your highway peg only farther outboard.  I have very long legs - 6'6" with all my height in my legs.  Short legged riders probably wouldn't be able to do this safely. You have control and can accelerate left away from his bike if there is a problem.  He is in the far right side of the lane and you have the rest of the lane to get away from him if he starts to wobble toward you.  Again, I would only use this last method for SHORT distances, at just enough speed for bike stability and never in heavy or even moderate traffic - AND only when the other rider was someone that I KNEW to be able to handle his bike very well.  I've only done it once.

Desperado

[bxbutch]

back in the 60s & 70s (im showing my age) when we rode chopped 74s we would straight leg push a bike for long distances (over 50 miles) by pushing the down bike with your right foot on its left rear foot peg most of this was done on flat roads in AZ & CA . If ther was three bikes you could push from both sides once you got up to speed I wouldnt like to try that now on my RK or with my old knees Butch

[northbrun]

Tons of years dirt ridding ans many times towing/being towed has tought me that while it is VERY possible to tow another bike there is only ONE way to do it safely. Tie the tow rope safetly to the tow bike at the rear of the bike away from all wheels, chains etc. The other end of the rope gets wraped around the handle bars of the bike being towed ONCE, then placed under the laft hand of the rider, on the grip. The single wrap offers enough friction so the rope can be held easily between the hand grip and the riders hand, allowing the rider two hands on the bars for max. control (which is much more necessary while being towed. I say the left hand so the right hand is free to opperate the brake if necessary. This also alowes the rider to release the rope easily if anything gets shakey, (and it easily does). Also make shure the rope is strong enough not to break. a broken tow rope Will get cought up in something on the bike being towed causing a very unpleasant experence for the rider. Good luck and hope you dont have to use this advise.

[pan64]

"I didn't even know where to connect the rope on either bike without tearing up my chrome."

By that comment and your user name I guess I wouldn't count on you for more than a polishing rag if I needed one.

[lickidysplit]

when I was a young lad in the seventies and was flat tracking and short tracking and such I never could get stuff started with out pulling it especialy in the cold winter months. It has just always been something we did.I always carry a length of rope in my tool kit for just such emergencys. I have no problem with anyone towing me. I do not care if they are experienced or not because I am still in controll of the situation. I don't care if they run off the road and into the ditches I won't follow. When i am the one doing the towing, I would not expect someone to go with me off a cliff! I think anyone with any common sense at all ( which seems to be a damn rare commodity anymore) would not think twice about towing or being towwed. but I never liked walking while pushing a scoot. the last time I was towwed , a guy stopped and asked if I was having troubles and I just told him it looked like a nice day to take my harley for a walk. He just looked like I had handed him his sign. he asked how fast to go. I told him not to let me beat him there . Its all good . If you don,t like it don't do it. bob

[Evo160K]

The comments about wrapping, not tying, the the rope around the left handle bar are correct.  Also important is to pass the rope along the right side of the headtube then wrap it around the left bar.  Doing this lets the bike be pulled straight as opposed to fighting the bar to keep it going straight.

[kickstart]

I think it's illeagal to  tow a car on the interstate, so the same for a motorcyle.
I carry a rope most all the time on trips just in case someone needs a tow.
Interstate or not, if it needs doin - do it.
Also the towing tips here are all good (bungee cord excepted)

[Evo1]

How would you wrap the rope around the left handle bar on a Electra glide?

[kickstart]

from Manuel

*when drilling hole through fairing to attatch tow rope be cautious of wiring, this may result in serious injury or death

[mrmike]

*when drilling hole through fairing to attatch tow rope be cautious of wiring, this may result in serious injury or death

Also... Disconnect negative side battery cable.

Mike

[panhead_dan]

I've done it but tied the rope to the towed bike by wrapping it around the left rider footpeg and holding it with pressure from the left foot. This keep the pulling force closer to the wheel center height which makes turns go much better. To release, raise yer left foot.
Peg pushing works too but it's tricky and a lot of work.

[ChromeWhore]

Good stuff to know about towing... Some of the towing methods are really creative.

Connecting the bike being towed is pretty easy. It can be tricky to tie a rope to the tower's bike. It seems like tying the rope to the swing arm takes a little thinking though. It would be the "Potty mouth"s to get the rope caught in the spokes. Maybe the fender is stronger than what I know, but I wouldn't tie the rope to it or the back rest. What the hell, you guys provided me with enough options anyway.

Thanks again...

--CW

[ST40]

I would tie the tow rope to the lowest part of my sissybar on my FLH.  Just tie a loop big enough to clear any lights, license plate etc.    The 5/16" bolts fastening it to the fender struts would be plenty strong enough, just no dumping the clutch when taking off.     Marty

[Hammerit-]

Its Scary-Crazy.  Would not suggest it.

Did it once (when I was 20).  The bike will develop a practically uncontrollable wobble at around 20-30mph...you could easily wear out your boots
dragging your feet to stabilize it.  I did.

However...with this said...It got my bike home.

[egstandard]

I've done it. Back in 1988 my friends shovel broke the bolt on the timing plate. It was midnight between Manville and Lusk Wyoming on Rt. 20. In other words, in the middle of nowhere. No cell phones in those days. We each had a cable that we hooked together. Locked mine on my sissy bar and he held on to the other end. It was after 1:30 AM when we got to Lusk. We were greeted at the city limits by an officer with his lights flashing. We told him the story and he got a hold of some 80 year old lady at a mom and pop motel who said she would put us up fpr the night. She even gave us rags to wipe our bikes down in the morning. All this after 2:00 AM. In the morning , we went to some indy who had the parts and drilled out the bolt and we were on our way. It's one of our favorite early Sturgis memories. So yeah, if you can do it safely, go ahead and tow.

[SuperMario]

With all due respect, men, although I have done it once when I was young and stupid, towing bike-to-bike is nuts.  It doesn't matter how good of a rider you think you are!  

[egstandard]

Mario,With Harleys dating back 105 years, I think it has been done safely a time or two. We aren't talking about high speeds here. Then. I agree, that would be nuts. Sometimes though, especially where you don't have cell service, what are you gonna do. Lots of people ride in areas where there is nothing around for miles and sh#$ happens.

[JohnnyM]

A friend of mine ran out of gas less than a block from his house.  He walked home and got his wife to tow him home.  His leg will be out of the cast next week.

[egstandard]

Some people shouldn't even be riding bikes.