Trailer Noseweights (1 Viewer)

[Autoquest]

Can I ask you all what sort of noseweight you get when you tow your motorbike? - I have a very limited payload and have to be very careful on my rear axle weight (1650kg max :Sad

The towbar will come in at around 30kg which will replace the weight of the two bicycles and rack (in fact I make 10kg on the deal) but I can only accept about 20 kg max noseweight before I start having problems!

Are your trailers load adjustable ie: can you move your bike back a bit to keep more weight over the trailer axle? and finally; What trailers are you all using?

TVM

 

[Geo]

Ideal towing nose weights shoul be about 50KG for a trailer, normal for caravan is about 75kg
I would not recommend towing with only 20KG
At some point when reducing the nose weight below the ideal, a situation will come when the effect of the lower weight will show up and the outfit will not feel stable, particularly at the higher end of legal towing speeds. If you also ignore any other stability factors, such as loading, the nose weight will become even more crucial.

Is it the vehicle sagging that is restricting you to 20 KG, if so spring assister's will be reqd,
Or your attempts at remaining withing axle weights, if it the later I would suggest that you are safer going over those limits rather than trying to stay under, 95% of people towing are over the vehicles designed tow weights
Geo

 

[Autoquest]

Thanks Geo

I am trying to stay within my rear axle weight load of 1650kg (Why didn't I buy the MWB:Sad and I can get perilously close to this with a bike rack and two bikes (about 45kgs)

I am toying with the idea of air suspension as well (Dunlop) but this only adds weight to my dilemma.... (I was taught that the correct spelling was 'dilemna' but apparently not!)

I reckon my towbar limit will be in the region of 150kg but I can only dream of putting that much weight on it.....

We have decided to throw caution to the wind and buy a Suzuki Burgman 650 but at 270kgs I need to get the trailer noseweight right - One option might be a twin axle trailer.... We shall see

AQ

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[Forestboy]

I ahve recently bought a new trailer as I've bought a smaller Rv and the Easylifter is no longer practical . Bought this one Link Removed

I looked at loads of trailers before opting for this one. Some were very badly made some were badly designed some were too heavy or too flimsy and some were too expensive. This one is very solid but not too heavy fully adjustable for balance fully galvanised and folds in half so can be stowed under RV when camped if needed. I carry 2 different bikes and have marked 2 settings one for each that took a couple of hours playing around. The bikes are Yamaha FJR 1300 240kgs & Kawasaki Versys 650 165kgs. The trailer is so well balanced the nose weight is within limit yet the trailer can be wheeled around single handed with either bike on even on our gravel drive with no effort at all. It tows perfectly even at high speed I've tested it with both bikes loaded up to 80mph and its rock solid (before anyone jumps in I know 80mph is illegal I was just testing the trailers stability:Blush I fully expect to tow this trailer 20k or 30k miles so it has to be right, I think (hope) I've made a good choice

Attached a couple of photos

 

[Autoquest]

I ahve recently bought a new trailer as I've bought a smaller Rv and the Easylifter is no longer practical . Bought this one Link Removed

I looked at loads of trailers before opting for this one. Some were very badly made some were badly designed some were too heavy or too flimsy and some were too expensive. This one is very solid but not too heavy fully adjustable for balance fully galvanised and folds in half so can be stowed under RV when camped if needed. I carry 2 different bikes and have marked 2 settings one for each that took a couple of hours playing around. The bikes are Yamaha FJR 1300 240kgs & Kawasaki Versys 650 165kgs. The trailer is so well balanced the nose weight is within limit yet the trailer can be wheeled around single handed with either bike on even on our gravel drive with no effort at all. It tows perfectly even at high speed I've tested it with both bikes loaded up to 80mph and its rock solid (before anyone jumps in I know 80mph is illegal I was just testing the trailers stability:Blush I fully expect to tow this trailer 20k or 30k miles so it has to be right, I think (hope) I've made a good choice

Attached a couple of photos

That trailer looks superb - Investigating as we speak...

 

[Neckender]

I tow a Harley Davidson trike, on this mini trailer and there is virtually no nose weight.I can't tell it's on the back.
John. click on image.

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[Forestboy]

Hi John
I've seen quite a few of these in fact there was one parked by us at the Americana. If I had a trike I think this is the way I'd go not sure I fancy towing one of my 2 wheelers this way, although Easylifter have been selling a dolly like this for a long time specifically for 2 wheelers.

Love the trike by the way:thumb:

 

[kickstart]

Hi Ror,
Yes thats a fine looking trailer,I am interested in getting one soon, is the FJR easy enough to get on and off the trailer on your own ?

 

[pappajohn]

I tow a Harley Davidson trike, on this mini trailer and there is virtually no nose weight.I can't tell it's on the back.
John. click on image.

same here:thumb:

i built my own trailer for my burgman and built in 'some' noseweight.

when its loaded i can quite easily lift the front end, i reckon no more than 15/20kg, and i have towed at 70mph (i know, thats illegal:Blush with no problems.

according to the quote below mine is about right....

loaded trailer = around 260kg (burgman weighs around 200kg)

nose weight @ 7% = 18.2kg

NOSE WEIGHTS

The nose weight can be defined as the downforce which a trailer exerts on the towball. While the loaded trailer should be a little nose heavy, and point down slightly at the front, it is essential from a safety aspect that this is not too great

Where to start
The nose weight referred to in the vehicle handbook should be followed, but as a general guideline the recommended nose weight is around 7% of the laden weight of the trailer. Too light or too heavy a nose weight will result in poor towing stability

BTW john....thats a dolly and technically not legal for general towing
but we dont want to start that debate again...DO WE!!!

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[pappajohn]

another observation on this....

if the noseweight should be regarded as 50kg then how do you maintain that weight if towing 'empty' ?:Confused:

i had to go to Birmingham with my 3500kg Ifor Williams twin axle, which has an U.W. of 650kg, to collect a car and obviously the trailer was 'empty' for the downward journey.

 

[Forestboy]

Hi Ror,
Yes thats a fine looking trailer,I am interested in getting one soon, is the FJR easy enough to get on and off the trailer on your own ?

Yes I can load and unload on my own. In fact the trailer is so good I can unload without being hooked up to the tow vehicle which is handy when arriving on site as you can unhook the trailer park the RV then drop off the bike. It takes a bit of practice and I've made up quick release straps but a very easy trailer to live with so far.