Harley Sportster in a Chrysler Mini Van

[ggl205]

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.?

[Speed Limit 1000]

Why not just use a trailer?

[ggl205]

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

[wobblywalrus]

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. 

[Stainless1]

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.

[Stan Back]

I'd think that taking the wheels off a motorcycle would usually shorten the length and the height.

[Stainless1]

Yea but it makes them heavier to move... 

[Elmo Rodge]

Does it have a sunroof? Just trying to think outside the box here. 
Wayno

[mc2032]

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.

[WOODY@DDLLC]

Safer to pick one up in Afghanistan! 

[Queeziryder]

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

[donpearsall]

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

[thefrenchowl]

  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

[ggl205]

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

[ggl205]

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