The dreaded breakdown

Hopefully you will never find yourself a long way from home stranded on the side of the road with a problem you cannot fix on site. If you don't have a friend to call on to come get you and your scooter you will most likely have to rely on a "wrecker" to fetch you. In almost all cases it will be a flatbed wrecker (insist on this). God bless them but some of these guys can be rough on your scooter. With all the plastic where will they hook to your wounded bike? You sure don't want them to simply lie it down on its side or try to use the metal hook ratchet straps. How do you avoid this? The answer is foolproof and CHEAP. Buy yourself a set of 4 soft ties. These are nylon straps with loops on each end. Go to ebay and type in "motorcycle soft ties". Attach 2 of them to your handlebars and 2 of them to your rear wheel. Then they can attach their ratchet tie downs to these. You can use your side stand or center stand and using these eliminates any damage to your baby. Ride Often!

carolina wing rider wrote:

Go to ebay and type in "motorcycle soft ties". Attach 2 of them to your handlebars  

Not too sure about that bud, fairly sure there have been reports of damage to plastics & of straps loosening in transit as the handlebars twist when these are fitted to the handlebar grips.
If you are going to use them, then it is definately a good idea to remove the handlebar plastics & fit direct to the 'bars (not trapping any wiring obviously)

I have never seen this myself. Be sure to lock front end and apply parking brake. If the tie downs are all pulled tight there should not be any shift in handlebars or bike for that matter. If your wrecker driver is an idiot or the roads are horrible (or both) I suppose anything is possible. Thanks

This all sounds more complicated than it should be.

I've had a pair of handlebar straps for years, they pack small and are part of the selection of tie down kit I use on car ferries. Whether I decide to use them depends on the lay out of the car deck I'm directed onto, the nearby anchor points or securing cables I can use, and if there's space to use them.

They're just two simple webbing straps sleeved together, and have a pair of soft sleeves sewn to the straps that slip over each handlebar grip.  So one sleeve goes over the left grip, and the other goes over the right grip. You fit a ratchet strap to the loop on each end and tighten them. So the sleeved strap on the left grip is tensioned by the right ratchet strap, and the right by the left.

Even them up and the bars are straight and secure, and the Velcro strap that normally keeps the folded handlebar straps in neat bundle can be used to clamp the front brake on.

Thanks for the advice guys. I've never tried one of those yet but I'm still not too old to try something different.

Meldrew wrote:

This all sounds more complicated than it should be.

I've had a pair of handlebar straps for years, they pack small and are  part of the selection of tie down kit I use on car ferries. Whether I decide to use them depends on the lay out of the car deck I'm directed onto, the nearby anchor points or securing cables I can use, and if there's space to use them.

They're just two simple webbing straps sleeved together, and have a pair of soft sleeves sewn to the straps that slip over each handlebar grip.  So one sleeve goes over the left grip, and the other goes over the right grip. You fit a ratchet strap to the loop on each end and tighten them. So the sleeved strap on the left grip is tensioned by the right ratchet strap, and the right by the left.

Even them up and the bars are straight and secure, and the Velcro strap that normally keeps the folded handlebar straps in neat bundle can be used to clamp the front brake on.

Canyon Dancer strap. Sounds exactly what you described. Attaches to grips, bars. Best way is to attach to upper fork tubes if tie down is narrow enough not to damage any plastic stuff. At bottom fork clamp. i used both when towing new SW home.

Rec. AMA member ship. Free towing plus supports motorcycle community.

Carolina, your initial post is still valid and worthy of consideration.  

After 10 years of membership, Progressive Insurance awarded me with free MC Roadside Assistance.  There are other other MC roadside assistance groups out there.  It's always good to have that help available--peace of mind.  If you have AAA for your car, they will only give you roadside assistance  if you buy a SEPARATE MC policy.  Also, look into MC ambulance chaser attorneys.  Some large groups include roadside help among their members.  Russ Brown attorneys may still be available.  If you join their network and volunteer to help out fellow bikers who may break down in your area (like storing their bike till they get back on the road), you can also be helped accordingly.  

Of course, I haven't yet had to test Progressive's MC assistance on the Swing.  They may step up and say, "Can't help; this ain't a motorcycle."

Thank you for the great advice. I AM a AAA member and was unaware my policy may not cover my Wing. You can bet I'll find out though. Talk about an irritating situation...having the AAA driver say "sorry, I'm going to have to leave you sitting here on the side of the road"!

bikehiker wrote:

Carolina, your initial post is still valid and worthy of consideration.  

After 10 years of membership, Progressive Insurance awarded me with free MC Roadside Assistance.  There are other other MC roadside assistance groups out there.  It's always good to have that help available--peace of mind.  If you have AAA for your car, they will only give you roadside assistance  if you buy a SEPARATE MC policy.  Also, look into MC ambulance chaser attorneys.  Some large groups include roadside help among their members.  Russ Brown attorneys may still be available.  If you join their network and volunteer to help out fellow bikers who may break down in your area (like storing their bike till they get back on the road), you can also be helped accordingly.  

Of course, I haven't yet had to test Progressive's MC assistance on the Swing.  They may step up and say, "Can't help; this ain't a motorcycle."

I have Progressive MC insurance. I paid for the option for roadside assistance. I have had to use it twice. One to transport my Swing to the Honda bike shop, and the other when I got a flat. Just make sure you ask for a flat bed tow truck.