Bike Lug Collapsible Trailer
Bike Lug Collapsible Trailer
CW EVALUATION
Can you really take it all with you
PICKUPS ARE GREAT FOR HAULING bikes, but listening to your wife com-
plain about having to drive a macho work vehicle isn’t so hot. Trailers are cool, too, until you realize that they make your driveway look like the Clampetts have moved in. How great would it be to have a trailer that fits in the trunk of your car or a corner of your garage until it’s needed? You don’t need a trailer that often, right? You’re a rider, after all.
Oklahoma-based MCAD US has a clever solution in the form of the Bike Lug. This simple, collapsible single-rail trailer fits in the trunk of a large car (or a hatchback with the rear seat folded down) and can be assembled in minutes. The main components that make up the $1095 Basic model (9-foot-long V-section support channel with pivoting coupler, axle, 8-inch steel wheels fitted with biasply tires, and taillights/turnsignals) tip the scales at about 170 pounds. Once assembled, the trailer can carry any motorcycle weighing up to 900 pounds with a wheelbase of less than 70 inches. Front
DETAILS
MCAD US 502 Industrial Rd. Bristow, OK 74010 918/527-0634 www.bikelug.net Price...$1295 Alps A Fits in a (large) car trunk A Portability and compact size mean trailer is only there when you need it A Made in USA Downs ▼ Not as easy to load as convention?1 trailers ▼ More detailed instructions
tire should be no wider than 200mm, while the rear should be less than 260mm. Boss Hosses need not apply, and Gold Wings are iffy, but anything smaller? Bring it on! Literally.
We tested the $1295 Plus model, which comes with 12-inch steel wheels and is expandable to two rails. Parts were shipped to us in numerous cartons, and assembling the sub-components was straightforward, though complicated somewhat by sketchy instructions; a demonstration video would be helpful.
Also, parts aren’t test-assembled at the factory prior to shipping; we had to scrape off some of the powdercoating from the insides of the locking-pin locating holes to establish a proper fit.
Loading a bike onto the assembled trailer is also not as easy as we expected. There is a clever pin arrangement that allows the user to pivot the central channel down to ground level to ease loading, but if the bike weighs more than, say, 500 pounds, it can be difficult to lift the weight off the pin and drop the channel back into its original position. You can load the trailer yourself, but without a ramp and the $150 accessory front-wheel chock (which holds the bike upright so you can tie it down), it can be a backbreaking-or possibly bike-breaking-experience. Practice, however, helps.
On the road, the fully loaded trailer is a bit nnisv but stable at California’s 5 mph legal towing speed. Lack of suspension (shocks are offered for $195) didn’t harm the bike or affect handling, and the bike stayed put, thanks to four tie-down points. Towing the trailer empty, however, not only creates a huge racket but, according to the manufacturer, will damage the trailer. Taking it apart after each use is inconvenient but doing so becomes easier with experience.
For diehard car owners, the Bike Lug will expand your motorcycle horizons. Imagine how many “projects” you could pick up on your way home from work or the number of buddies who will rely on you when their bikes break down or need servicing. That should really give your wife something to complain about. □
