SONIC. said:I think you'll be fine with the weight, no worse than riding around with a big boned lady on the back
And the CG will be low and no force anywhere but the swing arm pivot, I wouldn't be worried but you never know I suppose!
Do you plan on pulling it offroad or just to the campsite and then unload and ride? I'd go option b
Sonreir said:47.5 lbs is big boned these days?
If that's the case, someone sign me up for some BBWs.
Hurco550 said:Thanks fellas. Nick, anytime. Come up to ohio and you have a free lesson on me haha
I put what I have so far on the scale. The tub, main frame, box and what I have of the hitch that attaches to the bike comes in at 47 lbs. I guess its not as bad as I thought, but im guessing ill have almost that again by the time I finish the trailer (rear suspension and rear wheel)
I still need to weigh what the second wheel set weighs and then cargo in the box. Im guessing if I end up sub 150 by the time she is all said and done loaded, I will be doing well. I doubt that happens though.
This may have to be attempt #1, and end up making a second one out of lighter wall tubing.
.Mr.E said:Nice wheeled purse
I've done a good bit of reading and research on subframe mounted hitches versus swing arm mounted hitches. One thing I can tell you is the parties seem to be as divided as the Ford versus Chevy guys. From the most sensible posts that I have found, they definitely address the unsprung weight issue but generally say that it is the lesser of two evils. There are guys that have set swing arm mounted trailers up and pulled them acrossed big parts of the transatlantic Trail which is largely off road. Now granted they likely didn't have 200 lb in a trailer setup, but the only difference is I don't plan on riding much of any off-road with a trailer hooked on the back. I can't say that it would not be an issue , but I'm guessing at this point I'm going to have to just finish the trailer and test it out. Most of the posts I've read from people with first-hand experience generally say that they forget the trailer is even back there but I think I will just have to find out for myself. There is a pretty good chance that this will be Mach One anyways and I will have to build a second one to improve on all the things that I learn from this one.ridesolo said:Looking at this again...
Aren't you planning to attach the hitch to the swinger? I was thinking about this and started having little alarm bells go off in my head. If you are pulling along 150 to 200 pounds of extra weight that wouldn't be much different than having a rider and the DR should handle that with no problems. AND it's at a much lower center of gravity than a rider or pannier. However, a rider or normal pannier baggage is sprung weight and if you are going to put that hitch connection hanging off your swing arm all your tongue weight as unsprung weight directly on your rear wheel. Is that a good thing? I'm wondering what that could do to your stability and control on rough pavement.
Yep could be. Not sure what exactly ill end up with either, all my numbers are just guessing, but im going to just have to try it out and see at this point. It very well could end up to heavy. If it is, ill re design and make a different one, likely with thinner than .120" wall tubing ect. I also have been around the interwebs enough to know that anyone can claim anything (referring to other posts about pulling trailers behind bikes) and there are guys pulling campers behind street bikes and say they had no issues. Now I know it may be apple's to oranges, because they aren't pulling them behind dr650s, but on a sliding scale it seems like 200lbs wouldn't be so bad behind this one.irk miller said:That Trail Tail is 68lbs. Max fuel it can hold is 20 liters, which is about 30 lbs. Plus gear, I'd guess you looking at no more than 120 - 130lbs.
Hurco550 said:I think I will just have to find out for myself …
stroker crazy said:My curiosity is more directed at behaviour under braking. Things could get interesting during an emergency stop.
Crazy
Hurco550 said:I think everyones concerns are more than valid. As far as the braking, I would tend to be more worried as sonic said with braking in a turn than in a straight line. In my head, brake pads and rotors should be up to the task equally if I had all the gear mounted to the bike vs. a trailer if we are looking at it from strictly a weight perspective.
The kicker in my head is the rotating mass of the rear wheel and stopping it more than the weight itself. We all know what flywheels are for afterall, stored energy and all. There may also be the possibility of having a brake on the rear wheel itself, but that does add a bit of complexity to the trailer, not to mention extra weight as well.
I built the trailer out of the .120" tubing for several reasons.
1.) I had it (I know I know, not a good enough excuse)
2.) My background is in heavy structural fabrication, and I have a terrible tendency to overbuild things that I shouldn't. Its terrible when trying to crossover to the lightweight bike world.
3.) I have tried to bend some .060" wall tubing, and the bender I have access to always kinks it.
The steel plate is 11 ga (or .120" thick) and again, was used because its what I had a sheet of laying around.
also Justin, it will be a single rear wheel. I was thinking about a katana front rim with a shinko 705 (because, you guessed it, I had it laying around) but am still looking into smaller and lighter weight options. The nice thing about the shinko 705 and katana wheel was that I would be carrying an ADDITIONAL rear spare that would fit the rear of the dr, and also, being tubless, if I do get a flat on the trailer tire, a quick plug would suffice vs. dealing with another tube.
SONIC. said:I'm 100% the same way build it from what you've got. If it turns out awesome then do some real thinking and order the correct materials. Same way I work (so I may be biased, but I say it's the right way ha)
I hear you on the tube too, .120 bends like silk on a jd2 bender, .06 not so much. .09 bends well too so that could be a good compromise in the future.
As for the wheel I like the added redundancy. It may look big though I don't know I can't quite picture it. My brain tells me the wheel should be like a 12" or something but I have absolutely no reference point so that's purely a random guess haha