Gordon R Posted August 22, 2019 Report Share Posted August 22, 2019 (edited) My youngest has quit motocross, but taken up trials riding again. I had been kitting out a four wheel trailer and put tie down points for ratchet straps. Perusing an American site, I came across a device to hold down the bike, using no straps. It consists of a frame fitted to the trailer floor. A square section rod is attached and goes through the footrests. You lean on the bike to compress the suspension,, stick a pin through the rod and release. Welded one up in about half an hour and installed it. My grandson complained about lying on the floor, under the trailer, fitting large washers and locking nuts onto the securing bolts. I told him to stop moaning and speak to me only when he had put the washers, nylock nuts on and had a spanner on the nuts. I then used an impact driver to secure the device to the floor. Photos are not brilliant, but it works 100%. Well pleased. My youngest merely grunted. I know the pins in the frame aren't in the same holes either side - corrected that later. The rods have also been shortened as they were using the very last hole. Edited August 22, 2019 by Gordon R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam triple Posted August 23, 2019 Report Share Posted August 23, 2019 good idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted August 23, 2019 Report Share Posted August 23, 2019 Cracking adaptation of a good idea. Well done Gordon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted August 23, 2019 Report Share Posted August 23, 2019 Very clever and what a smart installation. Kids are lucky to have an engineer on their team Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted August 23, 2019 Report Share Posted August 23, 2019 That really is ingenious. Nice one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted August 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2019 I claim no credit for the idea. I merely looked at it, thought I could make one and did. I did expand the idea, by making the device movable in the floor runners. It will accommodate longer and wider bikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted August 24, 2019 Report Share Posted August 24, 2019 Top marks for that one Gordon 👍. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted August 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2019 A couple of the holes in the cross piece were either off centre, or I drilled in the wrong place. I decided to take it off and weld washers over the holes for a neater job. Two M10 stainless steel bolts held it in place. The first came off in seconds, whereas the other came halfway off and stuck. These were brand new and I have no idea why one stuck. Impact gun failed to shift it - in part because of limited access. In the end, I had to get a two foot breaker bar on the inside and my 3 foot breaker bar on the other end. Nut still didn't move but it sheared the bolt in half. Unusual, but sorted now. If I do another it will have better access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonicdmb Posted September 10, 2019 Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 On 24/08/2019 at 10:16, Gordon R said: A couple of the holes in the cross piece were either off centre, or I drilled in the wrong place. I decided to take it off and weld washers over the holes for a neater job. Two M10 stainless steel bolts held it in place. The first came off in seconds, whereas the other came halfway off and stuck. These were brand new and I have no idea why one stuck. Impact gun failed to shift it - in part because of limited access. In the end, I had to get a two foot breaker bar on the inside and my 3 foot breaker bar on the other end. Nut still didn't move but it sheared the bolt in half. Unusual, but sorted now. If I do another it will have better access. Stainless bolts need a bit of grease or copper slip on. Otherwise they have a tendency to gall under load. I:E using a buzz gun or adjusting legs on a machine under weight. Nice stand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted September 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2019 sonicdmb - thanks for that. I mentioned it to a lad who shoots with us and he said the same. I haven't used many stainless steel bolts over the years - just bought a job lot of many, many nuts and bolts and these were among them. Harsh lesson learned. Having now used the trailer and stand - it works as it should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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