Mike B. Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Just reading through some of these posts and people generally going for Honda. Must say IMHO I would suggest you go for a Jap, although they are a bit more expensive, they are a lot better than the Chinese ones which I admit look good but don't seem as well made or powerful as the Honda/Suzuki/Yamaha (I've got my tin helmet on ready for the replies to that!!) I ride a Suzuki and it's virtually bulletproof Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Ooops sorry for triple post! Old Age and Red Wine to blame :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Before proceeding with any selection, it would be worthwhile entering your van details in the "Load Distribution Program" on the SVTech site. This should give you a fair guide as to what weight you can or can't hang on the back of your Van. Don't forget to include the Towbar weight. http://www.svtech.co.uk/lda/design.aspx?type=type1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 I suggest you also look at the Yamaha ybr 125 which is a propper bike and looks great and only weighs 118 Kgs. I'm getting the ybr 125 custom which is a retro style street bike in silver grey and looks even better, with alloy wheels and loads of flashy chrome bits, like lights/instruments and also has a rear carrier for the wine from liddls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 You could of course go down the Ezetow trailer type route as Peter has, This gives you a better choice of scooters, and avoids some of the problems towing a small trailer behind a large van. It also eases the overloading problems with the van. Brian B, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted September 29, 2012 Author Share Posted September 29, 2012 Mike B. - 2012-09-28 4:01 PM derek pringle - 2012-09-28 8:26 AM Hi All, Thanks for the responses and information,keep it coming. 1/Mike B; are you saying that if I passed my test in 1970,which I did, to ride a scooter in France at 50cc I would still need to pass a test? 2/ From the information given re the power to carry 2 up on a 50cc I think I would definitely need a larger bike. Generally the bike would not be used in this country [never say never] but the primary use would be anticipated to be France/Germany etc. so any legal pointers greatly appreciated. thanks for the help derek Hi Derek 1) No! If you passed your test for car in 1970 that would give you entitlement to ride a moped up to 50cc with a passenger and is ok for anywhere in Europe 2) If you want a larger bike (ie over 50cc) you can't ride this on your car licence and would have to do CBT including Theory test and 2 module M/C test (1 off road obstacle course and 1 on road observed riding) You must have this as you cannot ride abroad on a provisional licence 3)If you passed your M/C test in 1970 and your licence still shows A group you can ride anything anywhere. Only legal points are Insurance, helmet, breathaliser (if over 125cc) and from next year reflective band in France. You need to carry all docs with you as well. I would suggest you get something bigger than 50cc if you intend to ride 2up though as it has to be restricted to about 25mph to qualify as a moped. Thus you don't have enough Uumph to get out of any predicament. Hope this explains better Mike Thanks for the detail Mike,much appreciated derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted September 29, 2012 Author Share Posted September 29, 2012 Thanks Flicka, Peter and thebishbush, The process starts now in looking at legalities , trailers and bikes. Other half I must say believes at least on seperate elec. bicycles when I fall off she doesn't feel any pain ha. That's 43 yrs years of wedded trust for you hey haha. thanks to everyone derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawcara Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Has anyone got any pictures of their bike/scooter on the Ezetow, other than that on the Ezetow website please? :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Plus the ability to be able to reverse the rig without any problems, as the trailer wheels swivel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Hawcara - 2012-09-29 8:33 PM Has anyone got any pictures of their bike/scooter on the Ezetow, other than that on the Ezetow website please? :-DHere you are. Not my bike , but this is the actual trailer I have bought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Just food for thought, if anyone is thinking of buying a sideloading bike trailer, be carefull if choosing the type that can rotate on the towball. This type can hit the rear of your van on tight cornering owing to the short drawbar on them. Try before you buy is my humble advice. Or go for the ones with swivelling wheels where the towed part is fixed in at least two places to the towbar, or a normal (but more hairy to tow) longitudinal trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 peter - 2012-09-30 9:49 PM Hawcara - 2012-09-29 8:33 PM Has anyone got any pictures of their bike/scooter on the Ezetow, other than that on the Ezetow website please? :-DHere you are. Not my bike , but this is the actual trailer I have bought. Hi peter - your pics are of the Easi-Lift Hydra-Trail, it's a totally different attachment arrangement on the Ezetow trailer. All the "suspension" on the Hydra-Trail is by the cantilever attachment between the towball & trailer. There was a very detailed thread last year on here which linked to MHF forum, regarding the legality of the Hydra-Trail, as the Trailer Construction & Use Regulations stipulate that the suspension must be between the wheels & trailer base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 You are quite correct Flicker, my mistake. The only problem with the ezetow trailer is that the wheels are behind the weight of the bike. Which means that most of the weight of the bike is carried on the towbar. Which is not a good idea. That is why I chose the hydratrail as the weight is directly over the wheels. Plus the fact that the ezetow is £1300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 There are plenty of posts about bearing failure and other problems with the Hydra Trail over on the motorhomefacts website. Potential purchasers need to be aware of the significant problems with hydratrail before buying one. The problems might of course be isolated examples but forewarned is forearmed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 This looks a bit iffy to me and at the price seems quite expensive. I have an Erde motorcycle trailer, available on Ebay brand new around £400 and tows perfectly. It also will 'free stand' if you want to just unhook it off the towball It is self assembly but very quick & easy. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 According to the Ezetow website, the trailer hitch weight is 40 kgs plus 25% of the bikes weight. The example they give :- 200kg scooter 25% = 50 kgs plus 40 kgs = 90kgs total nose weight. The trailer has three hitch points, the weight being on the centre tow ball fitting. Brian B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I was out cycling in Benidorm last winter and followed a UK camper with these jockey wheel style carrier. Well......He had to go so slow over speed bumps, I was riding faster...Just look wrong to me saw loads of proper racks on back of German campers this summer.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 The problem with these short conventional trailers is that they are impossible to reverse. The EZETOW overcomes that problem but only time will tell how reliable they are. Conventional racks are problematic for most of us with 3500 tonne weight limited vans as there is potential for serious overloading to occur. The insurance and other implications of an overloaded van are too horrendous to contemplate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 thebishbus - 2012-10-01 11:10 AM According to the Ezetow website, the trailer hitch weight is 40 kgs plus 25% of the bikes weight. The example they give :- 200kg scooter 25% = 50 kgs plus 40 kgs = 90kgs total nose weight. The trailer has three hitch points, the weight being on the centre tow ball fitting. Brian B.I don't believe that. If the trailer alone imposes a 40Kg load when empty, which is probably almost it's entire weight. How can a 200Kg bike placed on it quite a bit in front of the wheels only impose 50 Kgs. It just doesn't look right to me. Even the optimistic 90Kgs nose weight is way too much, as my towbar has a limit of 60Kgs and in any case it all eats into your payload and rear axle loading. The hydratrail has the machine mounted directly over the wheels so should impose hardly any noseweight at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Only quoting their web site Peter, for clarification you would have to contact them. Brian B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 peter - 2012-10-01 11:13 PM thebishbus - 2012-10-01 11:10 AM According to the Ezetow website, the trailer hitch weight is 40 kgs plus 25% of the bikes weight. The example they give :- 200kg scooter 25% = 50 kgs plus 40 kgs = 90kgs total nose weight. The trailer has three hitch points, the weight being on the centre tow ball fitting. Brian B.I don't believe that. If the trailer alone imposes a 40Kg load when empty, which is probably almost it's entire weight. How can a 200Kg bike placed on it quite a bit in front of the wheels only impose 50 Kgs. It just doesn't look right to me. Even the optimistic 90Kgs nose weight is way too much, as my towbar has a limit of 60Kgs and in any case it all eats into your payload and rear axle loading. The hydratrail has the machine mounted directly over the wheels so should impose hardly any noseweight at all. The only way to identify what noseweight is placed on the towball / towbar is to use a Caravan noseweight gauge. Ezetow's previous owner did this when I was looking & was correct at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 peter - 2012-10-01 11:13 PM thebishbus - 2012-10-01 11:10 AM According to the Ezetow website, the trailer hitch weight is 40 kgs plus 25% of the bikes weight. The example they give :- 200kg scooter 25% = 50 kgs plus 40 kgs = 90kgs total nose weight. The trailer has three hitch points, the weight being on the centre tow ball fitting. Brian B.I don't believe that. If the trailer alone imposes a 40Kg load when empty, which is probably almost it's entire weight. How can a 200Kg bike placed on it quite a bit in front of the wheels only impose 50 Kgs. It just doesn't look right to me. Even the optimistic 90Kgs nose weight is way too much, as my towbar has a limit of 60Kgs and in any case it all eats into your payload and rear axle loading. The hydratrail has the machine mounted directly over the wheels so should impose hardly any noseweight at all. The only way to identify what noseweight is placed on the towball / towbar is to use a Caravan noseweight gauge. Ezetow's previous owner did this when I was looking & was correct at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 What was he measuring Flicka? the noseweight of the trailer? (which I'm not disputing) or the noseweight of the trailer and a motorcycle/scooter? It's the claim that the 'bike on the trailer only imposes a load equal to 25% of it's weight on the towbar. As I've previously stated, the wheels on the trailer are too far back to support 75% of the load. Have a good look at the trailer and it should become clear what I' on about. It doesn't particularly bother me as I've already bougjht a hydratrail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Flicka where are you? I stated that it didn't bother me, but it might be useful information for someone contemplating buying an ezetow system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Hi Peter II did spend about 6 hours with the previous Ezetow owner & examining the trailer. Followed by numerous telephone conversations later, prior to ordering a very modified Ezetow trailer. Unfortunately the trailer didn't materialise due to difficult circumstances (which I won't discuss on a public forum) So you could say in my situation I could have an axe to grind. BUT NO, IMO despite the above, the Ezetow trailer is well designed, well engineeried & very substantially built. Yes - the noseweight measured was for the Ezetow trailer only (not loaded) but the trailer weight IIRC was around the 100kg mark. It's is substantially built & IMHO (not being a qualified engineer) if anything it's possibly over engineered. Although the wheels appear to be to the rear of the trailer, their mounting points are on the central tranverse beam, immediately beneath the loaded M/Cycle or Scooter. So the majority of the "load" weight is taken by the trailer wheels, not the towbar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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