How To: Make a cheap Track Day Bike Hauler (relatively speaking) - Page 2

Looks great, I had same idea of just buying a cargo van.  That way I could also throw my bike in and keep the van and my bike at school...
 
One thing I would suggest instead of the skid tape is bed liner....  You can get do-it yourself roll in (which you can spray if you have an air compressor) or get rattle can bed liner.  I put Herculiner in the interior of my Jeep and it is very non-skid and looks great as well!

looks great. i was thinking of the same thing (getting an old van).
 
i have small trailer i could mount my bike to, but me and my buddy with a zx10r are planning on a few track days this summer and we need room for both. a van seems like a terrific idea, especially since there would be room for tool boxes, spare tires etc. hell i could still pull my trailor behind it with a grill, cooler, etc.
 
 

Well sorry for the delay lol but that is the exact thing we used to pick up my 900!  How are you dealing with the sound?  Or maybe ours was just wicked loud as it was a parts van for a local auto place.  Milage sounds about right to me !  That was an expensive 8 hour trip lol.  Hope it serves u well and make sure to get some vids at the track!
 
Garrett

Well, just wanted to make a follow-up post several months later.  The van has largely been a success.  I have sound-proofed/insualted it over the winter - added tool storage etc.

I have had a few issues, blew a radiator hose and had to replace the Throttle Position sensor.  Still far less money than payments on a new/newer vehicle.  The van became my daily driver in the winter weather and it has served me well.  Still have a few things to do to her and I'm making a trip in a few weeks to the track in Hallet, OK.  I'll take pics and post them up when I return.

How about some updated pics of the new mods to the van, i think this was an excellent idea.

yea genious. I know exactly what i am looking for now.....

Was that sarcasm? LOL

Damn dude...that's sick    

best way to get yurself better mpg is tire pressure, clean air filter, fresh oil, new fuel filter, light right foot, and tranny/rear diff fluid really helps make the engine work less which = more mpg... might wanna clean the carb. get a fuel additive for it or somtin.

Nice work.  That's also a pretty decent ramp there for that price.  I paid that much for a little tiny one :(.

quote:

ORIGINAL: OldFatGuy

I didn't want to spend $4K on a trailer and another $35K on a SUV to pull it around, so this is what I did to be able to take my bike to track days and on vacations and such.

1) Find a cheap beater full size van like this one I got off of ebay. I spent $600 on the van, $96 to get it to pass inspection, and $45 on a new battery.




2) Throw in a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood and bolt it down so it can't move around. I'm going to put in some 3M skid resistant tape so that if the plywood gets wet, the tires won't slide around.


3) Buy a couple of Wheel Chocks, some ratcheting tie down straps, and I used eye bolts to create mounting points for the tie downs. I went with the removable Pingle wheel chocks. Determine where the chock should go, and bolt down the mouting hardware that comes with the chock. Here is a shot of the mouting hardware:


4) Here is the first Wheel Chock mounted. As you can see, I initally planned on mounting it further to the outside edge of the van, but some beams running under the floor prevented me from being able to mount my eye bolts there, so I had to adjust the position a little further in. No big deal, just wanted to mention it in case anyone was wondering about the other outline.




5) Pull the bike in and put the front wheel into the wheel chock. I used the Canyon Dancer straps on my 1KRR clipons tp secure the front of the bike in the wheel chock. Here is a shot of the Canyon Dancer and securing the front of the bike in the chock.




6) Once the bike is in and standing on it's own in the wheel chock, put some straps on the swing arm and determine where to put a couple of other eye bolts to use as mounting points for these straps. The pingle instructions said to use the rear straps to also pull the bike into the wheel chock. I know some people have the rear straps pulling on the bike away from the front. I went with the wheel chock manufacturers recommendation on this one as it made sense to me to have it pulling the bike into the wheel chock as a back up in case the front straps failed for some reason.




7) Basically do the same thing on the other side for another bike. If you're only going to be hauling one bike, then center the wheel chock instead of putting it on the sides. Keep in mind to check underneath to make sure any holes you are drilling will not hit anyting important and will be easily accessible. I wanted to be able to get my wife's Shadow in the van as well. We're heading to Deals Gap on Thursday, and we're taking both bikes. Here's a shot with the other wheel chock already mounted as well as all strap mounting points and both bikes in the back of the van. As you can see, I put some of the 3M Skid Resistant tape on the aluminum ramp. I was raining this morning when I started and the ramp was pretty slippery when it was wet.




One tip for using the ramp. There are 6 fingers that lay on the floor of the van and chains to keep the ramp from slipping off. The chains didn't

GREAT IDEA

great pics, glad you enjoyed the trip. i live about 1/2hr from the dragon. awsome ride and excellent veiws. i found best time to ride dragon is on a monday or tuesday morning. less idiots if you know what i mean. p.s. new member here, love the website.

Welcome k5.  Must be nice to ride the Dragon all the time.

That's really cool man I think I am going to give this a try. But hows the insurance on it? I was thinking of going for a trailer/hitch setup but nobody will let me put a hitch on their cars haha, and this looks like more fun. Also will be good for the bad weather. I was going to get a dual sport next but maybe I'll do this first.

thanx Jaybird for the "welcome".  only ride it 1 or 2 times a year. road was made for sportbikes LOL.  but just to much traffic via cars, cops, hogs, hog wannabees, etc. so many roads here in tennessee to enjoy. no need to deal with the dragon(dealsgap).