Here are a couple of pics showing my bike mounting method. This eliminates the slapping tie downs, slipping latches, and cut webbing. You cant get the bikes off the trailer with a box cutter in the night, either.
One addition, this year, is a rear "side steady" to take a little of the work off the two mount tabs. Probably not needed, but it keeps the rear of the bike from pumping up and down on bad roads or railroad crossings. I've hauled the A bike a lot of miles, over the last four years, relying on those two tabs; never had a problem of any kind.
The red bike has angle-iron guides, and center ramps for the base. This mount will be transferred to Dans low trailer. It will roll on and off that trailer with a shallow angle ramp. The tire guides help get it positioned for the tab bolts. A BIG positive for this arrangement, is that you only have to get one bolt in for the bike to be stable. Because the tires are between the rails, a single bolt keeps the bike vertical so that one person can go to the other side and rock the bike gently to slip the other bolt into place.
NOTE: I use 1/2" shouldered bolts, with a long shoulder ground to a taper, for those hold down tabs. This allows the smaller thread area to slip through a partially aligned hole. A 1/2" bushing is slipped over the taper area, after the bolt is fully seated. a flat washer followed by a Nylock nut completes the bolt down. The key point is using this tapered bolt method to prevent using too much force or physical strain when loading and securing the bike.
I still prefer the hoist method for my long, low A bike. It just seems so easy, compared to pushing up a ramp.
JimL
