BABailey's Rebel 250 Project Pics

Truck Carrier Track

MATERIALS :

- (4) 2x6"x 8'ft Boards
- (4) 2x4"x 8'ft Boards
- (1) box of 3 1/2" galvanized deck screws
- (1) box of 3" galvanized deck screws
- (2) 4" stainless steel eye bolt screws

TOOLS :

- Power Saw (and speed square triangle)
- Power drill (drill bits and #2 phillips driver tip)

MISC ADDITIONAL ITEMS :

- (4) racheting tie downs
- (3) bungee cords
- (1) ford ranger ext cab flareside w/ construction slot bedliner


going down to texas for spring break, i needed a way to carry the rebel in the truck as it is still chancy on snow in indianapolis at this time of year ... two concerns i had were chocking the wheels and avoiding a dented in the middle tail gate (turns out the tailgate was a non-issue as the contact patch of the rear wheel is just inside the main bed area) ... to address both of these concerns, i decided to construct a channel track to support the bike and keep the wheels from sliding sidewise ... the design is simply common homebuilding frame carpentry principles (as are the materials) ... the side cross braces and the diagonals are not screwed in - they are cut to fit and the way they fit creates bracing that prevents the center track from pulling out the back due to the way i have the angled front to back like that (speaking of the side 'Z's) .... the center track itself has screws every 8-10 inches along the side and the front 'post has several screws along all joints as well ... be aware the 2x6 is sized to fit the revel's back wheel .. wider wheels might require a 2x8 bottom piece ... the 2x6 side rails are also sized to clear the low edge of the rebels engine guard and the underslung pipes ... that front post is there for the 2x4 of short leg of the 'L' to narrow the channel for teh narrower front wheel and to also block the front wheel from being able to turn - the bungee cord wrapped around the wheel rim and post locks the front wheel down - it's not going to twist or flop ... and it only works like i did it because the bed liner i have has pre-formed cross brace slots for standard sized lumber .... but it can be adapted to work with whatever your bed is like - as long as you can make an 'A' that braces against secure rear corners and comes to a head against screwed in blocks at the front of the track to brace it from being able to slide backwards you should be fine ...

went to the local honda dealer and used their ramp to load the bike into the truck ... and watched a professional strap it down to get am idea of what the shops do (as opposed to what the online sites and such say - was spot on basically) ... hoping to find a place in texas to help me unload and reload it ... or a school cafe loading dock, or a ditch/berm, or some such ... oh and BTW - the tail end top corners were NOT originally angled like that ... found out that testing on a flat driveway and actually pushing it up an angled ramp are two different things .... lucky we could easily lift the tail of the 315#lbs rebel to hop over the big bump the engine guards made when they hit coming up the ramp ... then i marked and cut down the corners to avoid a repeat next time .... also that rear tire 'plug' stop is simply attached with the two 4" eye bolt screws - and is more a peace of mins after thought just in case .... figured it wouldn't hurt to have the wheels blocked like that and to allow a bungee cord to fasten the track to the truck too - overbuilt redundantcy ..... and the eye bots come out with no tools other than a screwdriver to twirl them out till the block clears .... the plug stop and the kickstand block are made from the ends of the channel track i cut down that were sticking out past the rear of the tailgate ... track is basically a little less that 7 1/2'ft long (lumber was 8'ft) .. and you can see the angle cuts i did on the ends of the 2x4 diaginals on the scraps i used to 'center' the kickstand block with (rafter angle stuff LOL) ...

then after the trip is all done and its time to remove the track from the truck i simply pull up the diagonals and side braces and store them inside the channel of the track itself .... and its a nice compact 10" wide assembly ... i also am sorta hoping it might kinda double as a ramp somehow in texas .. to bridge a gap from tail gate to dock or berm or whatever .... will figure it out when i get there and see if a local texas shop is friendly with their ramp or not .... Also - i emptied the saddlebags just in case of a hard rainstorm and to deter curious hands while it's in the bed overnight here and at food stops etc.. on the way down

- CLICK HERE for DETAILS OF TEXAS TRIP -


Rebel in Texas

Click on this icon logo to RETURN to BAILEY Motorcycle MAINpage





Please contact BABailey at MillenniumRebel@yahoo.com about information on this page