Landracing Forum
Bonneville Salt Flats Discussion => Build Diaries => Topic started by: ggl205 on November 10, 2020, 05:55:15 PM
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I mentioned to Ross Powers (H-D record holder) that I was going to retrieve a 2003 Harley Sportster. I want to haul it back in my 2013 Chrysler mini van but not sure if someone has done this before. Anyone out there who has put a Sportster in a Chrysler mini van and if so, suggestions on what is involved?
As Ross is more eloquent than I, here is how he put it.
?Okay sports(ster) fans. John Goodman is getting a sportster to build into a street tracker (google Phil Little Racing for examples of how to make a girls bike not so girlie). Anyway he is retrieving it in his yuppie hipster van, soccer balls and all. Feel free to give him advice on how to load, tie down, etc. the bike in the back of a dodge van (and no, that's not the swear word checker, it's a dodge van). Donations of bandanas and sleeveless shirts gratefully accepted.?
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Why not just use a trailer?
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A couple of reasons, John Boy. First, I will be going to Ukraine Village in downtown Chicago. No place to park, especially with a trailer. Second, no trailers available to rent. U-haul has motorcycle trailers but would have to rent one in Wichita and dead head it to Chicago. Besides, no MC trailers in Wichita at the moment.
John
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This is something I have a lot of experience with. Not with this particular combination, though. First is to loosen the clamps on the handlebars and to rotate them down so the bike height is reduced. Then an attempt is made to roll it into the van on its wheels. Sometimes the bike is a few inches too long for the bed. The doors on the back are shut as best as can be done and bungee cords are used to keep them partially shut. Some bikes need to be taken apart enough to fit in the van.
Decades ago I put a Yamaha SC-500 scrambler in the trunk of a 68 Plymouth Sattelite to get it to the desert and back. It hung out of the back of the trunk and I could not close the lid.
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Why not just use a trailer?
We are actually doing a test load with Ross's new (to him) about to be race bike tomorrow. Ross and I both mentioned he could borrow trailers... we both have salt veterans that "should" make it but... they are trailers... we've all hauled them across country... sometimes successfully with no trouble... sometimes not so much. :?
I think we will know tomorrow if a Sportster will jump in the back of his mini... or if he will be hauling a couple of potential blown tires or bearing failures to the Windy "loot and riot prone" City.
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I'd think that taking the wheels off a motorcycle would usually shorten the length and the height.
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Yea but it makes them heavier to move... :-D
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Does it have a sunroof? Just trying to think outside the box here. :cheers:
Wayno
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Maybe strap it across the hood like a deer. Most of the time you see harleys parked on the shoulder like road kill anyway. Just saying.
Chicago crime rate
Chicago, IL crime analytics. With a crime rate of 43 per one thousand residents, Chicago has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 23.
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Safer to pick one up in Afghanistan! :evil:
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You could always do what a friend does when he puts a bike in the back of his Audi Station Wagon.
He takes out the standard wheels and puts smaller wooden ones in. Rolls the bike up the ramp and in it goes
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Just rent a U-haul pickup truck. Not that much more cost than a trailer and lots less hassle than taking the bike apart to fit it into a mini-van.
Good luck!
Don
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:-D Just releived......
For a moment I thought GGL205 was goin' to build a Chrysler Mini Van Salt Flats Racer powered by a Sportstser engine and wondered "what class would that be in?"...
Patrick
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Patrick, I can think of one small truck running a Kawasaki motorcycle engine that set records at Bonneville. I have no plans to build a Harley powered mini van but the prospect does sound intriguing.
John
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First, let me thank all who offered up both humor and help. It was a pleasure hearing from you. I would also like to publicly thank Stainless and Ross for all their willing help. Without it, I would still be sucking my thumb.
So, I drove over to Stainless's house and we used Ross Power's Sportster to see if we could shoehorn it into my mini van. Turns out, this was not such a difficult task after all but did take some specialized equipment. Two six foot ramps end-to-end, a 2000 pound electric winch, one person manning the winch button and two people stabilizing the bike as it climbs the ramp. I will have to turn down the handlebars and maybe compress and hold forks to gain an inch or two of vertical clearance but little else. Oh yeah, and it does help to put air in the tires before attempting this. That's about it. There was plenty of head room to clear the upper most part of the van and more than enough length in the van for the bike to fit and still close all doors. Easy peezy.
John
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Oh sure, load my bike like landing a foul hooked carp, just drag it onto the beach.
And does this winch cable make my bike's butt look big?
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John, looks like you all ready reeled in a sportster, no need to go to Chicago now. :cheers:
Sorry Ross. 8-)
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Amazon: Motorcycle Trailer Carrier 2 Inch Hitch Tow Dolly Hauler 800LBS $81.00
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Woody, when we were talking about maybe needing a bit more overhead clearance, Ross suggested that if we left the van outside overnight, there would be a near 100% chance we would gain a few more inches. Then it dawned on me that this will be Chicago and I may not have wheels and tires on the van, come morning. But we would have definitely gained better angle on the ramp (lol). Sooo, hanging that 500 pound beast on the outside would solve many transport problems by not likely having a bike to transport.
BTW, I did take a long look at hitch mounted MC carriers but thought that an awful lot of weight to trust on a butt welded piece of square steel.
John
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Salt:
Now, if only I could convince Ross.
John
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Well we had fun putting it in there... John was worried it would fall over and scratch the bike it we didn't have spotters on both sides...
I was worried it would fall over and dent the minivan... :?
Yes it could have been pushed up the ramp... but we are old
And... I had the winch handy and Linda to push the button. Now John won't worry that it will be a near impossible task.
Ross showed up just in time to drink a beer to celebrate a successful idea and test...
Gotta love it when a plan comes together... :cheers:
On a lighter note... the harley motor in a chopped minivan might make it in gas coupe... can you chop in that class? or would that be comp coupe... time to dig out the rule book
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I'll bet Ross would trade with ya... He'd even go to Chitown to pick up his new scooter...
You did get a good look at the crack bike while we were playing didn't ya :cheers:
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I just finished restoring a "Sportster". At least that what it said on the side before I tackled it. It doesn't drip any liquids . . .
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There was no need to turn the bike into a shortster, it seems.
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the crack bike, where to start. any bolt or nut that isn't stripped is rounded off. the drive pulley is missing all of it's teeth, down to the chamfer on the output shaft. but anything broken or ugly is coming off anyway. i can give that stuff to John for 'spares'.
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Darn......I thought you were powering the van w/ the road oiler engine.
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Darn......I thought you were powering the van w/ the road oiler engine.
Well, the old girl has 140K miles on her so, in a few more years, could be a candidate. Stainless, a wildly chopped, mid engine mini van. Maybe one of your Busa engines or Ross could donate an H-D. Hmmmm...
John
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Years ago I found some Sportster ported and polished intake flow data while looking for similar info for the Triumph. Some more engine dimensions were looked up on the internet and I spent an evening doing calculations.
Excess piston speed and poor head flow seemed to be a limitation to getting good rpm. Shortening the stroke on the 883 while using the same bore reduced piston speed and allowed more rpm. The combo I looked at was for a displacement just under 750 cc. The supplied port flow matched demand a lot better with that destroked engine. Same with the 1200 destroked to be just under 1000 cc.
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WW, I haven?t thought much about hot rodding the 883 and will very likely leave the stock engine stock until the conversion to a tracker is complete. It has been quite some time since I threw a leg over a motorcycle so getting reacquainted again is the priority. After a bit, I may start looking for some decent 1200 heads, pistons and cylinders.
For those who quoted average shootings per day in Chicago; all I can say is Chicago drivers are much more dangerous.
John
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Ah, spares. Brings me back to days of buying or selling race cars with racing spares. These were usually worn out stuff we spent a ton of money on and could not part with after usefulness ended.
John
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Ah, spares. Brings me back to days of buying or selling race cars with racing spares. These were usually worn out stuff we spent a ton of money on and could not part with after usefulness ended.
John
:-D :-D :-D
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So where's the pics of the new HD... and the loading... and the tying down...
or did ya wake up to no wheels on the van cromag
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Still plenty of time to loose parts to the van, Stainless. I don?t leave Chicago until Tuesday.
Loading wasn?t bad but freezing high winds made it harder. That and the narrow alleys, one of which I blocked for about thirty minutes. But the bike is in the van pretty much the way we staged it in Wichita and with a little room to spare. I may go to Harbor Freight tomorrow and pick up a few more ratcheting tie downs.
Ross, it was a good thing I brought your strap to compress forks. Without it, we never would have cleared the van opening. You can see from the picture how far the forks are compressed.
John
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Too bad it fell over.
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Stan, I copy pictures right side up but they post sideways on this forum. I have no idea why.
John
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Camera or phone?
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Being a first time biker, John was asking for some tire tread options/suggestions. I found this tread pattern for an idea. And the color comb might be inline with the street tracker motif he is going for.
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I don't know Ross... John has bicycle proficiency in his past... he might be ok on a girls bike :roll:
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I dunno, Stainless, Ross may be on to something here. At my age, that picture may be more my style.
Stan, I take pictures with my phone, then send them to my e-mail where I use them as attachments.
John