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Trailer Hitch

If you need to stop rapidly with a trailer it's critical to keep the tow vehicle and trailer in a straight line to avoid jack knifing. That would be decidedly unpleasant on a bike. I suspect the ABS on the scooter would help with avoiding that somewhat since it should help a lot in not allowing the scooter tires to slide out of the line of travel. I've owned a Silverwing and a B650 and believe the BMW to do better in a panic stopping situation with a trailer because its larger tires should give a larger contact patch for better traction.
 
exavid said:
If you need to stop rapidly with a trailer it's critical to keep the tow vehicle and trailer in a straight line to avoid jack knifing. That would be decidedly unpleasant on a bike. I suspect the ABS on the scooter would help with avoiding that somewhat since it should help a lot in not allowing the scooter tires to slide out of the line of travel. I've owned a Silverwing and a B650 and believe the BMW to do better in a panic stopping situation with a trailer because its larger tires should give a larger contact patch for better traction.
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I would never, EVER, recommend towing a trailer behind any bike. And for the people who do I believe it's just a ticking time bomb of an accident waiting to go off. Now this could just be my personal opinion or I could have been the Sales Manager at a dealership and was privi to other owners mishaps.

You decide for yourself. I say riding on 2 wheels is dangerous enough let alone pulling a trailer with one. Before I ever decide on that configuration I'll sell my bike and buy a convertible.


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I've ridden vintage Vespas with sidecar and I'll say the physics involved is unpleasant. When you accelerate it pulls to the right (terribly) and when you brake it pushes you to the left (horribly). If a trailer has any "particular" tendencies I say no thank you kind sir. It will only bite at the worst possible time causing the worst possible outcomes.

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I saw waaaaay too many accidents with trailers where the situation called for firm braking and the trailer swung around and made the situation far worse then it would have been. And from what I could tell many accidents were caused by the trailer, sometimes taking out other riders because of the length of the rig being harder to avoid when crashing.


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I can pack so much stuff in and on my 650GT, I can't imagine really needing a trailer. I might add a top case if I decide to go cross country, but even then I could really get away without that, too.

2up is different, of course, and clearly a top case would be very worthwhile. But 2up and a trailer?? I would have too much stuff going on upstairs to really enjoy the reason for taking a bike in the first place.
 
Yeah man, the storage can be huge. My favorite luggage is a soft ice chest that fits perfectly behind me.

I often have no idea what stops I'll be making or how long I'll be gone when I start out in the morning; just a direction and a potential destination. Have blown past many many "destinations" and just kept riding. The storage gives me tremendous flexibility.

(My golf shoes with glove, tees, and balls go under the seat....just in case.)
 
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