

| Subject: | Re: Motorcycle Hitch for 1985 |
| From: | Gary Lee, Vanagon Racks |
| Date: | Fri, 18 Feb 2005 11:43:45 -0700 |
>> Hanging 200 pounds behind a Vanagon needs to be done with care. As the >> load moves further back, the actual load on the rear axle increases and >> the load on the front axle are lifted. I recently looked into this again. My original setup at: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/gary2a/rack/motorcycle.htm If I were going to do it again, I would make a dedicated carrier which replaces the bumper. I personally do not like the motorcycle carriers which plug into a hitch receiver, at least not on a vanagon. http://www.motojackrack.com/ My idea was as follows; Remove the bumper. Remove the old bumper mount brackets. Use new longer mounting brackets which go 2 1/2 times deeper into the body of the van, using three bolts each instead of two. Build a tray carrier upon the TWO brackets sticking out of the van. This would be far more stable than a single center mounting point, as with a hitch carrier. The downside is that you cannot remove the carrier quickly and you don't really have a bumper. There are also valid issues with hanging weight on the back of the van which is another topic. But, I would have confidence in the motorcycle carrier itself, if built that way. See this page for bumper brackets: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/gary2a/rack/bumper/bumper.htm When I last had a motorcycle, I was using a trailer behind the vanagon and was happy with that. I think the original poster was looking into carrying a lightweight moped, which would be easier than a heavy motorcycle. Gary Lee
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