Towing Bike-to-Bike

[Blazing Saddles]

I've towed a Roadglide with my FXSTC for only about a mile. Everything went well as both of us are very experienced riders. I carry a 15 foot piece of 3/4" flat nylon webbing for emergency towing. The flat webbing makes it easier to wrap around the bars. If you're running high bars you may want to consider wrapping the tow strap lower than the grip.

Blazin'

[FLTRI]

Tons of years dirt ridding ans many times towing/being towed has taught me that while it is VERY possible to tow another bike there is only ONE way to do it safely. Tie the tow rope safely to the tow bike at the rear of the bike away from all wheels, chains etc. The other end of the rope gets wrapped around the handle bars of the bike being towed ONCE, then placed under the left 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 operate the brake if necessary. This also allows the rider to release the rope easily if anything gets shaky, (and it easily does). Also make sure the rope is strong enough not to break. a broken tow rope Will get caught up in something on the bike being towed causing a very unpleasant experience for the rider. Good luck and hope you don't have to use this advise.

Had a close friend and longtime riding partner have his stator crap out and the battery died in the middle of the Mojave. Used your method. Worked great! I would start off easy and slowly bring the speed up to 80+ mph , then he would let go and coast for about a mile. Then we repeated for over 50 miles. Neither one of us are very patient. This, while seeming unsafe, worked for us (we knew what each other's limits/capabilities were) and was much less tedious than crawling along at 20 mph for 50 miles.

PS-We also had a lot of experience towing cars and getting towed (racecars) and knew how to work the brakes on the towee to keep tension on the rope.

[Beave]

Back in ’90 I was traveling with a couple friends on the long way to Sturgis when one of the Shovels lost a pinion shaft near Alzeda Montana.  After a bad experience with a kid and a trailer we decided to tow it behind my Heritage to a friends place in Rapid City.  I had a piece of clothes line I carried for just this purpose.  I tied both ends to my luggage rack and looped it behind the shock on his springer.  The line was pretty weak so we could break it at will.  We broke it three times on our way to Rapid.  After some brews and discussing we decided to tow him back 750 miles to central Kansas.  After all there was nothing but Nebraska in our way. We took two days and made an uneventful trip except one close call with a deere.  I averaged 28 mpg and I finally got that Shovel up to 80 mph.  We stroked the Shovel and he still rides it and I still have the Heritage.

[FLTRI]

Beave,
"tow him back 750 miles to central Kansas"
With another bike??? That beats my story of 80+ Right there. Talk about setting up odds! 
Bob

[panhead_dan]

That was a cool story! I'm lovin this "Potty mouth"!

[Panzer]

Like stories.........you'll this one.....................

I did the tow trick with the clothes line too.
Towed a bud about three miles.
He left slack in the line and it kept getting loose and pounding me when it got tight.
When the line got slack one time, the rope got tangled in my rear wheel.
Now it's tight and getting tighter.

The sudden tension threw be back and I twisted the throttle full bore, trying to hang on.
By the time the rope broke we were both at light speed.
Telephone poles looked like a picket fence.
He flew past me but it was a blur. (I think it was him)
It was like a slingshot effect.

He wasn't behind me, I looked when I came to a stop.
After clearing the rope from the back wheel, I went to his house about 1 mile up the road.

Yup, it was him.
He said at that speed he could coast right up to his garage.
Wow.....what a ride.






Oh........I'm only kidding....."waz" just to make you smile.      
I don't tow....I have a van for limping bikes. 

[mark61]

   How bout using my roadking to trailer my Buell from central Pa. down to Deal's Gap, NC? Could I get away with it? Laws?  Best of both riding experiances!

mark61

[Beave]

I think towing trailers is dangerous, but towing motorcycles,  well that's different. , after all they have their own brakes! 
Here's a shot for the skeptics.  Towing bike to bike is easy when the road's straight and flat, throttle locked at a steady 70 with no traffic.  The clothesline was getting short.