Cycle World Goes Cycle Kamping
CYCLE WORLD GOES CYCLE KAMPING
TOURING
Proving You Can Take. It WiTh You
We thought it might be best to begin this report with a small disclaimer, something along the lines of "unaccustomed as we are to trailering . . We've known for some time, of course, that trailers and motorcycles can be mixed successfully, but the usual mixture around here is with the motorcycles on top Of the trailer and the trailer hitched to the back of the van/truck/wagon/whatever. Trailers that travel with motorcycles in front of them, however, are about as rare as unicorns at casa CYCLE WORLD. Although there are a couple of guys on the staff who fancy themselves as tourers, their idea of prepping for a long haul is to fill their pockets with credit cards and snap fresh face shields onto their helmets. Occasionally one of the more zealous rovers will bungee down a sleeping bag and other outdoor paraphernalia for a solo run up the coast. But trailers? Never use 'em, thanks.
We emphasize our inexperience with this area of motorcycle touring in order to illustrate the great strong point of the Cycle Kamp trailer line. The guy who went to pick it up had never towed a bike trailer before, and as a group we viewed the project with some doubt. A motorcycle trailer, seemed to us, was likely to take a lot of the motorcycle out of motorcyclingkeep rider and mount from the oneness that comes on when the road begins to kink.
A clue to the inaccuracy of this notion was delivered by the gents at the Cycle Kamp works in Anaheim, California (1341 Blue Gum St. 92806). When they found out our pickup rider had never towed a bike trailer before, they were at considerable pains to caution him to remember at all times that his machine no longer ended at its taillight; it had grown 103 in. Memory lapses on this score, surprising as it may seem, are one of the most common problems for novice bike trailerists. They pick up their new Cycle Kamp, head out onto the freeway, forget the trailer is attached and make a lane change about 10 ft. too soon. A corollary to this mishap is the motorcyclist who forgets about his trailer and decides to do a little lane-splitting. Units like the Cycle Kamp are commendably compact—our tent camper was 37 in. wide—but this is still much too wide for shooting the gap.
Tony Swan
Once we'd done a little highway time in front of our Cycle Kamp (the CK-2 Cross Country model), we understood the necessity for constantly reminding ourselves that we were towing. The trailer is easy to forget. Although it weighs 220 lb., it's balanced so well—just 34 lb. tongue weight, about as low as you'd care to have it for an effective hookup—that it's almost as unobtrusive as a set of panniers. The trailer stands 33 in. high (excluding the optional luggage rack pictured here), thus affording the rider normal rearward vision, and offers very little response to sidewinds and truck blasts. Properly hitched, it won't inte-fere with your bike's suspension, and it h> leaf spring suspension of its own that seems effective enough. About the only time we experienced any irritating feedback from the trailer was in a succession of stutter bumps or sharply irregular road surfaces. Because these units are intended primarily for pavement use (you wouldn't care to try those 8-in. wheels on a Baja back road), this probably won't be a severe drawback for most users.
Moreover, the trailer's ball hitch allows> the motorcycle to act like a motorcycle. It's a compromise, of course; you can't expect to get down to any peg-scraping. But you can lean into turns and you can negotiate them at a lively pace. Usually the trailer will tell you when you're getting near the ragged edge by beginning to yaw, gently at first, more severely if you press on. We never learned what happens if you ignore all the warnings, but we can't believe it's anything we'd care to experience.
Cycle Kamp's promotional literature is full of prideful references to its hitches, but we feel this is something that could be improved upon. The company formerly produced custom hitches for specific motorcycles, but this system proved expensive and time-consuming so a more universal hitch has been developed for installation at the dealer level (the trailer is delivered to the dealer in kit form). It's fabricated of flat soft steel stock, VA x 'A in., thick enough to handle the load, thin enough to be modified to any bike's suspension. And therein lies the rub—too much flex. The flexibility of the hitch accentuates any yawing at the tongue of the trailer, sending it into the bike's suspension where it translates as wobble. It's a trait that's irritating when it's not actually dangerous. The bolts employed to fasten the hitch to the frame were also soft steel, and it seems likely that excessive flexing could ultimately result in one or more of these shearing, with consequences that might not be pleasant. Also, on our test trailer there were no locknuts or washers to ensure the bolts would remain bolted.
However, all these deficiencies are easily cured, hitch flex by a half-hour (and $10 max.) or so with your friendly local welder, who can fasten in a couple of triangulating pieces that'll do wonders for rigidity, the others by replacement and/or substitution. We recommend Ny-lock nuts, the aircraft type, as a cure for the locknut problem. Cheap and easy to install.
The trailer wiring (for brake-, tailand turn-signal lights) taps into the bike's lighting and signal circuits. There's a handy quick-disconnect plug in the general vicinity of the hitch.
The trailer itself is high-quality colorimpregnated (our test trailer was black) fiberglass riding on a welded steel frame. It is designed to carry 250 lb. of cargo, besides its basic equipment, and is definitely built to last, which is reflected in the $799 base price.
The tent stows under the trailer's pop-up top. The top doubles as tent-top. and is supported by two U-shaped struts at either end. Rigidity—and we're using the term a little loosely—is supplied by canvas straps that criss-cross the tent's sidewalls. There are fold-out wings, supported by vertical braces, that expand interior sleeping space to the size of a king-size bed. Padding material is foam, a tad firm but sleepable. Three adult-size persons—of the consenting variety—could sleep in the Cycle Kamp tent trailer, but generally the third person's space is devoted to overnight stowage of dew-vulnerable items.
There's also a table, with a molded-in support in the center of the trailer bed.
The tent itself seems to be of good quality, made of cordura nylon coated with urethane. It's billed as water repellant and fire retardant and has mosquito netting at door and window.
As the pictures show, we were able to solve the mysteries of erecting the Cycle Kamp tent well enough. We weren't convinced it's something we'd care to tackle ( 1 ) in a high wind or (2) singlehanded. The first item is our biggest concern. The popup top is heavy, and could become a handful in a blow. As for singlehanding, we understand it can be done, but can only reflect on the fact that three of us didn't seem like too many the first couple of times we tackled it. Maybe this is a motorcycle tent trailer joke, but we think not. If you're going to be singlehanding and the idea of trailcring your cargo sounds appealing, you might look into the possibility of one of Cycle Kamp's two utility trailers. Stow your own small tent and other baggage within and whoosh, off you go like some pavement Bedouin.
However, if the minutiae of tent bracing is of only academic interest to you, keep in mind the main point of our exericse, to wit: Motorcycle trailers, the Cycle Kamp unit in particular, are not a hassle to tow on those long voyages. They are not necessarily dangerous in emergency situations. And although they take a bite out of handling, they do not make the motorcycle something less than a motorcycle.
(Left) Doug Richmond having a "cold lunch" in Guanajuato. (Right) Doug exits from the Hotel Hidalgo in Sobrerete. The patio is so large it is now used as a guest's parking lot! (The only way to make sure the bike was there in the morning.)
(Left - Upper) Cameras and motorcycles are the irresistable forces in Central America. "These three lads," says Doug, "came out to volunteer their washing abilities in Flores, Guatemala, and wouldn't clean up the bike until I consented to take their picture." (Right - Lower) Typical rocky road taken in Honduras. "This is the kind of road I like," says Doug. "I leave the pavement to the pavement riders who follow the lines of least resistance. Hodaka really did well in this kind of going."
