Motorbike wheel chock.

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Tonibe63
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Motorbike wheel chock.

Post by Tonibe63 »

I'm looking for recommendations or ideas for front wheel chocks for transporting our bikes in the back of the van.
Previously we have taken 2 bikes in the back of my Vivaro by strapping them up to the inside of the van walls.
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Now having fitted side windows to the van I am concerned about the handlebars smashing the windows. I did foresee this issue and have retained the cut out steel from the side walls which are fixed to heavy ply which braces against the interior metal frame of van which should do the job but looking at 'belt and braces' solutions
Any experience/ideas much appreciated.
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DavidS
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Re: Motorbike wheel chock.

Post by DavidS »

The roll in ones that clamp are ok-ish but don’t work very well on thin 21” wheels.
We bolted two onto a sheet of ply, slightly staggered to the bars cleared each other. Then strap as before but upright.

Have you got room to bolt two cycle type hairpin ones to the bulkhead. I reckon they would work much better.
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Tonibe63
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Re: Motorbike wheel chock.

Post by Tonibe63 »

I was thinking of getting 2 roll in chocks and strap each bike to the many factory mounting eyes in the floor/side of the van, the chocks will be more of a location device rather than having to fully support the bikes. It does also need to be removable as the van performs many functions ie day/weekend camper, diy materials carrier, 2 bike + tent carrier and also be my daily driver. I do love my vans.
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Re: Motorbike wheel chock.

Post by DavidS »

The trouble with the roll in ones are that they don’t even hold the bike very stable while you strap it down. They are designed for road bikes.
We only used ours a couple of times a year so it didn’t matter much but you could adapt the loop to take the narrow tyres.
Don’t even think about pushing the bike in backwards...it’s fraught with dangers.
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daveuprite
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Re: Motorbike wheel chock.

Post by daveuprite »

Hi Toni. I've loaded more bikes in vans than Fanny Craddock cooked hot dinners. Mostly race bikes with 120/17 fronts but in recent years enduro 21 inchers with knobblies too.

I made my own set up in the van. Basically a solid board with the wheel chocks mounted permanently too it, that then has four bolts running through the board so that the bolt heads stand proud an inch beneath the board . Then drill four holes in the wood-lined floor of the van that correspond exactly with the bolt head positions (do it at one go before anything else obviously so that it all lines up). The board with the chocks mounted to it then slots into the floor perfectly - it ain't going anywhere - but it can be totally removed at any time so you get your flat floor back when you're not transporting bikes.

Then lashing eyes to the left and right, forward of the bars or fork stanchion tops (whichever you prefer) and use ratchet tie downs. You don't need anything else, but you might want a fork-seal saver on the bike so that the forks don't compress.

As for loading, it's so easy. Engine running, first gear, feather the clutch as you walk it up the ramp beside you and straight into the chock, which holds the wheel in place while you sort out the straps. Engine off, leave it in first gear for even more stability. If you're paranoid you can bungy the front brake on too. Job done.

It's not a great idea to ratchet strap bikes to the side of a van because it puts quite a lateral strain on the wheel bearings and shortens their life.

There are clever chocks that will completely 'grab' the front wheel, so that you don't need to use straps. Or there are also these central stands that allow you to clip the footpegs into them - never tried those but PhilInFrance has that set up and it looks good. 24MX always seems to have a good deal on those.

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Re: Motorbike wheel chock.

Post by daveuprite »

So here's my set up for carrying two race /sports bikes with 120/17 fronts. It works perfectly and I've moved it between three different vans now. I even delivered a horrible great 3 tonne Harley for someone once and it slotted in OK. The bulkhead mounted piece is screwed in and stays there permanently while the floor block can be lifted out in a second, as described in my previous post. There are lashing eyes in the corners of the van but you can't see them in this pic.

Image

Obviously for 21 inch knobblie bikes the set up needs to be more like the scaffold tube design which pinches the tyre and holds it firm that way. Same principle though.
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Re: Motorbike wheel chock.

Post by Tonibe63 »

Thanks for the photo Dave.
I've gone for 2 tubular framed hoop type which I will weld to a single length of steel box section at the correct distance apart. There are 4 mounting loops at the base of the bulkhead (for the front straps) plus 2 more on the base of the van walls inline with the seat so should be stable enough using ratchet straps and removable in seconds.
Open your eyes and you see what is in front of you, open your mind and you see a bigger picture but open your heart and you see a whole new World.
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