DennisB SW trailer hitchnl?

Dennis, are you still making a trailer hitch for the SW?

Dan,

Dennis has stopped coming here for some reason. He used to be a mod, and then a member, but stopped for some reason. I wish he would come back.

DanB wrote:

Dennis, are you still making a trailer hitch for the SW?

If you're a "hands on" type guy you could make your own like I have. 
Sorry tried to figure out how to post just the link to this post but couldn't figure it out, so I copied and pasted it...........:






hotwingsI finally got around to building myself a hitch and trailer! It was a fun project. I think the hardest part was getting the correct bends on the 1" pipe for the hitch. The pipe was heavy wall (1/8")
and took a lot of elbow grease to shape. I used a hand bender to mold it and yes there was nashing of teeth! The plate steel is 1/4" for the ball mount and side mounts.


I wanted the trailer to sit low so i made the hitch to sit below the shock center by around 3". I replaced the original shock bolts with 1/4" longer bolts to allow for the extra thickness of the hitch mount. I also replaced the front bolt with a hardened bolt because of the sheer pressure that may come on it!



I originally painted the hitch black but the area around the ball was easily scratched so i found this self adhesive rubber mat at walmart to solve that problem.



The trailer was originally a Harbor Freight 4'x4' trailer. I cut and welded the pieces to the appropriate size i needed. The box came from Lowes. The trailer came in red but i painted it semi gloss black to better match the bike. The trailer came with all the lights and wiring, nothing extra was required except the Lowes cargo box. I like that the box came with a locking lid plus the ability to use an extra lock if required.



I swapped all the trailer bulbs for led bulbs so the electrical system wouldnt be stressed.



The bike required a 5 to 4 adapter for the trailer hook up. The adapter cost around $5 and was easy to install. I soldered the wires to the appropriate colored wires for safety's sake. Theres even a small area to pass the wire through without cutting/drilling the bike!



COSTS:
Trailer= $190
Cargo box= $75
Hitch material= $25
LED bulbs= $15
Misc.= $20
           
 Total= $325

TRAILER SPECS:
Total width= 31" (swing mirrors are 34")
Total length= 62"
Total weight empty= 128.6 lbs
Total tongue weight= 11.8 lbs



I road tested the trailer with my wife onboard for around 400klm's and i would say it pulls without effort! The only time i could feel it behind me was when making sharp turns i.e. traffic lights, parking lots etc. We took it on a road test fully loaded with two suitcases packed with 4 days clothing and footwear, plus a roadside emergency kit, plus two extra open face helmets in case the weather turned nice (cold and raining)......It didnt so we only overnighted and returned home the next day. We gave the trailer two thumbs up! excellent for touring around.

Hey Mike,

Sa-weet build! Can you please post close up photos of the right and left side hitch mounts.

Tim

Really nice, what's the fastest you've done pulling it? Highway speeds?

That's one nice looking trailer, kudos to a job well done Mike. hotwings you can blame Tim for giving away your real name.  That's not saying I'll remember it the next time I post.

Nice job hotwings. I'm a wood guy (carpenter 45 years) and don't have any experience welding and bending pipe. But you put me on building stairs or a hip roof and I'm a pro. However, my son is a welder and can probably build me one. Any reason you chose to bend a pipe rather than cut and weld? Like I said, I know wood so forgive what may seem like a dumb question. Also, do you think that the bends in the pipe are as strong or stronger than welded joints?

model28a wrote:

That's one nice looking trailer, kudos to a job well done Mike. hotwings you can blame Tim for giving away your real name.  That's not saying I'll remember it the next time I post.

Considering that Hotwings has been posting here long enough to reach Expert status, and that he has signed some of his posts with his name on occasions, I didn't feel that I was violating any confidences.

However, my apology to hotwings if I've presumed too much familiarity.

Tim

He may have been signing his name two or three time a month and I just don't remember. The only reason I have my name at the bottom of my posts is so I can remember who I am.

I don't know where the name Mike came from  . I have never signed anything with that name-unless the spell check on this ipad did something weird to me and I didn't notice!!!?? My name is Kevin. Anyways you can call me anything , however I will probably respond better to Kevin though .
 Im on the way out the door to work now and don't have time to answer any the above questions (just had time to clear my name  ). Later I can post any answers and different photos that anyone needs of the build!
                               Thanks- KEVIN

Mike...Kevin,  Sheesh! Now you've really confused the collective memory of The Gray Eminences.

But anyway, your posts have been very informative and helpful to us all, and my apology to you for getting your name wrong.

Tim

Psst...it was all Roger's fault.

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

Hey Mike,

Sa-weet build! Can you please post close up photos of the right and left side hitch mounts.

Tim

Sorry Tim, tried to upload pics from my iPad but it doesn't seem to work at the moment!?! Will keep trying.

Deno070 wrote:

Really nice, what's the fastest you've done pulling it? Highway speeds?

I think the fastest i have pulled it was around 115kph while overtaking a semi on interstate 81 with my wife as pillion. Don't really feel it behind me at hwy speeds!

DanB wrote:

Nice job hotwings. I'm a wood guy (carpenter 45 years) and don't have any experience welding and bending pipe. But you put me on building stairs or a hip roof and I'm a pro. However, my son is a welder and can probably build me one. Any reason you chose to bend a pipe rather than cut and weld? Like I said, I know wood so forgive what may seem like a dumb question. Also, do you think that the bends in the pipe are as strong or stronger than welded joints?

I decided to bend the pipe rather than cut and weld because I think it looks a little more factory made rather than my bubblegum welds trying to connect pieces of pipe. If your son is a welder i think you would be fine welding the pipe, however an uncut pipe would be stronger. I bent my pipe with a manual rebar bender at work. The bender handles are 5 feet long and I still struggled to bend it. It was hard to get the pipe to stay on the same "plane", every bend would want to change the "flatness" of the hitch. With a little effort it can be done.

Thanks hotwings. Again, great job. I towed a HF Tagalong trailer with my Goldwing and had to look in the mirror to know it was there as it was so light and hardly noticed it. Not sure yet if I need the extra space but would be nice to have if needed. I've got a friend with one on her SW but never see her tow so I may make her an offer on hers.