'SwingAway' Dual Purpose 80 mph Motorcycle

Bud · 01-01-2020, 04:28 PM

Is this feasible, an 80 mph dual purpose motorcycle on the back of a B that does not have to be removed to open the doors?

Would anyone like a motorcycle on the back or their B, but don't have one because you would need to remove it in order to open the back doors? If so, I think that I have finally found a solution!?

2+ years ago I tried to find a way to mount a motorcycle on the back of my 05/04 Roadtrek 190P. I could not find a way to open the back doors with the motorcycle in place, never found one and the folks in the business of hitches, ramps, etc. stated that there was no known solution. The lightest motorcycle was too heavy, so I gave up.

Purchased an ebike that would do 35 mph and go up any hill in a hurry. But what I wanted was something like a Yamaha 250 dual sport motorcycle, oh well. Oh well is now 2+ years later and a solution has appeared? I have the StowAway SwingAway Hitch Frame with the ebike mounted and can easily open the back doors. https://www.stowaway2.com/swingaway-hitch-frame

Someone may have guessed it already, an electric motorcycle that 'I think' will work with the existing hitch frame. The motorcycle weights about 205 pounds without battery(ies). The frame holds 250 lbs, so the carrier needs to weigh less than 45 pounds which is very doable I think.

The motorcycle can be purchased as a more on road or off road machine, 2 different motorcycles. If more on road, one or two batteries can be purchased. This is a first class kind of electric motorcycle, Zero Motorcycles. This is the specific more on road motorcycle:

https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-fxs/

Bud

BillsPaseo · 01-01-2020, 06:54 PM

At 293 lbs for the bike plus the weight of whatever you add onto it to hold the bike, you'll be a good bit over the 250 lb rating. There are lots of options for carrying a bike on a receiver hitch, but I haven't seen any that are swing away.

One thing you have to watch out for with carrying a bike on a hitch behind a class B is the rear axle rating. Having the weight of the bike way out there on the back really shifts a lot of weight to the rear axle, and may cause it to be overloaded. The weight effectively ends up being about 18" behind the receiver, where with a trailer the tongue weight is usually only about 5-6" behind the receiver. Plus with a small trailer, the tongue weight will be way less than the weight of a bike on a carrier.

We take two dual sport motorcycles with us, pretty much everywhere we go. We have a 5x8 enclosed trailer that is all aluminum, and only weighs 800 lbs empty. It tucks in really nicely behind the van, with little additional wind resistance, and only drops our gas mileage by about 1.5 mpg. The extra space is really nice, giving somewhere to store the riding gear (helmets, boots and riding jackets take up quite a bit of space) and carry extra gas for the bikes.

I've looked at the Zero bikes, but the range just wouldn't work for us. In a typical day we will cover anywhere from 100 to 250 miles, the Zero's 40-57 mile range just isn't enough (and if you are doing forest roads in the mountains, I'm guessing the range will be a lot closer to 40 than 57). One tank of gas will get us about 160 miles before the fuel low light comes on (we have aftermarket 3 gallon gas tanks on our two Yamaha WR250Rs). Once the fuel low light comes on, we have about 20 more miles to find gas, or we're walking. If I'm somewhere like Death Valley where the gas stations are few and far between, I'll strap an extra 1.5L fuel bottle on top of the tailbag of each bike, which buys us another 20 miles of range.

Our trailer setup weighs about 1800 lbs fully loaded, with about 250 lbs of tongue weight. Trailer has its own brakes to help with stopping that load, and is rated for 3500 lbs.

BillsPaseo · 01-01-2020, 07:07 PM

Here are a couple more shots of the trailer showing the storage shelves in the v-nose and the system we use to carry the bikes (Pitbull Trailer Restraints). Also the 180W solar panel I mounted on the roof (giving us 380W total). The photo of the panel was taken before I sealed up the mounts with Dicor.

Sorry, two of the pics came out sideways when I attached them. They are upright when I view them on my computer.

Bud · 01-02-2020, 01:33 AM

"The motorcycle weights about 205 pounds without battery(ies). The frame holds 250 lbs, so the carrier needs to weigh less than 45 pounds which is very doable I think."

Hi BillsPaseo,

Thanks for the response, but I don't understand. Please see above.

Bud

BillsPaseo · 01-02-2020, 02:59 AM

Bud, I was going by the specs on the Zero website. I didn't think about removing the battery to save weight. Also I was looking at the model with the larger battery, 40 mile range at highway speed rather than 20. Specs say 293 lbs for the 40 mile range, 251 lbs for the 20 mile range. I don't see a spec on either of them for weight without battery.

If you are leaning toward the modular one (20 mile range), take note of the additional cost for a second battery pack - $2900. Without that you would be limited to very short trips...

BillsPaseo · 01-02-2020, 03:05 AM

Bud, you may want to take a look at something like the Luna Sur Ron or the Segway Dirt eBike (both are basically the same bike, same Chinese manufacturer, slightly different options). 40 mile range (at lower speed though), and you can get a pedal kit for it so you don't end up walking if that 40 miles isn't quite enough. Under 100 lbs including the battery, so closer to a mountain bike than a motorcycle...

BillsPaseo · 01-02-2020, 03:18 AM

Also, whether or not that range will work for you depends a lot on your intended usage. Are you wanting it to have a way to make a quick run to the store from the campground, or are you planning on going exploring in the national parks on it, leaving the class B at the campground?

If the latter, I think you'll be disappointed, particularly if you plan to explore the west with it. Most of the national parks out here are huge. We did a loop on the bikes through Canyonlands NP back in October that was 150 miles round trip (100 of that on dirt), no gas stations, no electrical power. And another through Arches NP was about 60 miles. And we've done over 250 mile days in Death Valley NP, where there are two gas stations, but charging an eBike is problematic unless you are staying in one of the campgrounds with full hookups, but DVNP is so huge that a 40 mile range won't even get you from Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Wells and back (50 miles round trip, all highway), much less down any of the actual trails or side roads.

Bud · 01-02-2020, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillsPaseo

Also, whether or not that range will work for you depends a lot on your intended usage. Are you wanting it to have a way to make a quick run to the store from the campground, or are you planning on going exploring in the national parks on it, leaving the class B at the campground?

If the latter, I think you'll be disappointed, particularly if you plan to explore the west with it. Most of the national parks out here are huge. We did a loop on the bikes through Canyonlands NP back in October that was 150 miles round trip (100 of that on dirt), no gas stations, no electrical power. And another through Arches NP was about 60 miles. And we've done over 250 mile days in Death Valley NP, where there are two gas stations, but charging an eBike is problematic unless you are staying in one of the campgrounds with full hookups, but DVNP is so huge that a 40 mile range won't even get you from Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Wells and back (50 miles round trip, all highway), much less down any of the actual trails or side roads.

You have made many good points for anyone reading your posts, thanks.

I first had a 750 watt (1 horsepower) bike with no gears. I was OK with 20 mph, but very slow up a hill. Then a Luna bike with 3 hp and 9 gears. Received the bike, but forgot to order a half twist throttle rather than the standard thumb throttle. It just took a moment or maybe two, and I was off the bike lying in the street about a nanosecond later. An uncontrolled wheelie or whatever they're called. I'm happy with the last bike, but you can't leave the B as you mention and head off to town - too slow.

Not sure I will buy the motorcycle but definitely would have vs an ebike. I emailed to confirm the weights and How Long does it take to install 1 battery and 2 batteries and remove them, have not heard back yet.

The mileage thing is very dependent on usage, big difference in 35 mph and 70 mph, and as discussed here how hills, mountains are handled, throttled?

THE new thing here for me at least is easily opening the back doors with an 80 mph motorcycle attached, kinda like Wow.

BillsPaseo · 01-02-2020, 03:49 PM

Yeah, being able to open the door without having to unload the motorcycle would be good. I've been toying around with the idea of getting a couple of electric mountain bikes once we are retired (still a few years away) that would be under the max weight of the factory bike rack that came with our Paseo. That rack has a weight limit of 80 lbs, and something like the Yamaha YDX-Torc comes in at just a hair under 40 lbs with the battery removed. Our factory bike rack allows use of the rear doors, since the rack is actually attached to the door (but removable - ours is currently in the attic).

For us, this would be for long term touring trips where we were leaving the trailer and motorcycles behind. For example, we would like to do some month long cross country trips for a combination of visiting east coast family and sightseeing.

Bud · 01-02-2020, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillsPaseo

Yeah, being able to open the door without having to unload the motorcycle would be good. I've been toying around with the idea of getting a couple of electric mountain bikes once we are retired (still a few years away) that would be under the max weight of the factory bike rack that came with our Paseo. That rack has a weight limit of 80 lbs, and something like the Yamaha YDX-Torc comes in at just a hair under 40 lbs with the battery removed. Our factory bike rack allows use of the rear doors, since the rack is actually attached to the door (but removable - ours is currently in the attic).

For us, this would be for long term touring trips where we were leaving the trailer and motorcycles behind. For example, we would like to do some month long cross country trips for a combination of visiting east coast family and sightseeing.

You have a very nice solution, enjoyed the pic's.

Had not mentioned it, but I considered the Yamaha 250. I sat on one at the dealership and liked it, felt good and did not really need to ride one. About 2 days later a used one came along on craigslist. I was all set and decided that it would be OK not having access to the back doors with the Yamaha 250 mounted. The deal failed, so I started rethinking and went with an ebike.

Almost 3 years ago, I would not have hesitated, would have easily spent whatever and with 2 batteries. Like yourself but battery instead of gasoline, maybe a third battery strapped on the motorcycle.

Maybe that is not lithium batteries, optimum would be a Pure 3 B + Zero FXS.

mangomike · 01-09-2020, 06:13 PM

Hi
we have to E-base that we carry on the back of our roadtrek 210
I what I look very hard to swing away bike racks
but I missed finding the one that you guys are talking about. It looks like a great solution.
I wound up with a BACKSTAGE my Rocky Mount .... It works well but were right at the top of the weight limit. I think that your swing away might have worked better. Still option I guess.
Thanks for your post
Michael

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