canyon dancer

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Smeezo

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Hey guys,

I picked up an 09 fz1 a couple weeks ago and was going to haul it in my trailer this weekend so I picked up a canyon dancer bar harness, last night when I went to strap it, it seemed to bend the bars down a bit with very little tension on the ratchet straps. I was tie-ing down almost straight/perpendicular to the bike,....is this normal. Please share your thoughts, thanks
 
The premise behind the Dancer is that the more it gets pulled "sideways", the more "steady" it is. Once you have it "taught", thats all you need. I also like to have the tie-down points "forward" of the bike, not directly in line with the handlebars. This way it keeps the bike going "forward". Its hard to see in this shot but I don't "cinch down" hard on them at all.

IMG_3168.jpg



Just keep them slightly tight and you'll be fine. Do you use a wheel chock as well?
 
Smeezo said:
Hey guys,

I picked up an 09 fz1 a couple weeks ago and was going to haul it in my trailer this weekend so I picked up a canyon dancer bar harness, last night when I went to strap it, it seemed to bend the bars down a bit with very little tension on the ratchet straps. I was tie-ing down almost straight/perpendicular to the bike,....is this normal. Please share your thoughts, thanks
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Did you really mean to say parallel to the bike - rather than perpendicular?? Parallel from the bars would be almost straight down.
If you do this you are putting maximum force downward on the bars with very little - almost no - sideways stabilizing. If you did it that way and kept tightening and then feeling the stability of the bike - form side to side - you would fell very little stability - and then you would tend to want to crank it down harder - still getting very little stability - but lots of downward force on the bars.
You could conceivably continue this way until something bent or broke -

The straps have to have a significant sideways angle to them - not straight down - in order to get the side to side stability you want - 45 degrees or so - or even more. And you won't have to crank them down as hard to get the stability you need.

This is a simple physics problem --- and I have done tons of that stuff.

I hope you didn't hurt your bike.....


Oh! Welcome to the board!!! You've got an excellent machine!
 
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:welcome: to the site!

The Canyon Dancers, just like Billy said, need to be just snugged up. Once the front suspension starts to compress, you've gone far enough. For added insurance, wrap a tie-down through the front wheel and around the wheel chock to lock the wheel in place.

Tying down the rear? I typically take one long strap and wrap it around the rear tire/wheel and hook it side to side. Not worried about holding the rear down, just keeping it from moving side to side.

Ride safe!!
 
Smeezo said:
Hey guys,

I picked up an 09 fz1 a couple weeks ago and was going to haul it in my trailer this weekend so I picked up a canyon dancer bar harness, last night when I went to strap it, it seemed to bend the bars down a bit with very little tension on the ratchet straps. I was tie-ing down almost straight/perpendicular to the bike,....is this normal. Please share your thoughts, thanks
Click to expand...

Does the bike have bar risers? If so, it is not recommended to use the canyon dancer straps. I use around the forks above the bottom triple clamp.

Welcome and have fun!

MrHix
 
I have been using a Canyon Dancer harness since '97 when I got my CBR600. I don't have ratchet straps and have never noticed mine bending the bars. My tie down points are forward so it pulls the bike toward the cab of my truck.

You may be using too much tension when you're strapping the bike down. Be careful when its tied down - don't turn the key on, I've heard some stories about bikes cranking wide open when strapped down.
 
Smeezo said:
THAnks for the suggestions, moved the tiedown point a little forwards and had excellent results.

IMAG0206.jpg


IMAG0205.jpg
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Looking at your photos of your latest tie down -You could move the tie down anchor spot up to the rail around the trailer and get even firmer lateral support with less stress in the ties. The tie down angle would be greater - which will give you greater side to side support (lateral).

You'll have to check that rail to see that it is securely fastened to the base of the trailer. Welds at the upright supports of the rail would be what you should have for best support - but the metal of the rail and supports looks from the pictures to be pretty substantial.

I'm glad it's working better for you. It looks like a nice trailer for the job.
 
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