Tie Down Your Motorcycle Simply and Easily

Without Straining Your Front Forks or Handlebars! Tyre Down is THE Answer!

I love how my Duacati Monster fits in my VW Van so easily. But tying it down was a bit of a pain. I hated compressing the front forks for any length of time and wondered about the strain I might be placing on the handlebars.

It is at least three hours from Port Augusta to Adelaide and vice versa and what if I packed the night before for an early start (often done). How much constant compression would the front forks take without affecting them long term?

No don’t get all biker bitch on me and tell me to ride! I would rather do that but these trips are for a week or so and require laptops, briefcases and lotsa clothes, so it’s the van or not at all for the bike. The Adelaide Hills are too sweet to miss when I visit Adelaide, even on business. And besides the R1200GS is the tourer, this is the hotrod, my back tells me so!

An option I saw at the Grand Prix at Phillip Island last year looked promising. It was the Tyre Down system which held the bike down via the BACK wheel! I wanted something simple, quick and easy to tie a bike down with, and of course it had to work! This looked like the goods so I had a lengthy chat to Rob Purcell, one of the company owners.

Once the Ducati arrived the novelty of tying down by the handlebars soon wore off. It was cramped, I didn’t like the idea of bumping the tank as I worked with straps and metal ends. I used the soft handlebar straps which worked OK but still put pressure on the bars and compressed the forks into the Ventura front wheel rack I had fitted.

So I got a Tyre Down device! And review it here.

In this podcast I talk about:

How it fits compared to the website instructions.

Considerations for the Ducati Monster model.

Quality of build.

Ease of use.

Comparison of rear tie down to front tie down.

Would I recommend it?

Here’s some photos showing how it all works for me in the van. Of course it would be easier again if you used a trailer.

Here’s a shot of the empty Van. Notice the Ventura front wheel rack mounted at the front? This helps stabilise the bike really well. I definetely recommend this for the front end. Notice the chains? I talk about those in the podcast.

This is another shot showing the front wheel in the Ventura Rack. Yes, it looks messy but does the job without bolts.

Here’s the Tyre Down left side.

And, here’s the Tyre Down right side. The only contact is a slight touch with the lower pipe on this side. Which I padded for protection. Doesn’t seem to rub, at this stage.

This is how it looks once fitted. I did actually re do it after the photo and straighten the device on the wheel. I know it looks off centre. And it was! I was simply too lazy to take another photo!

Tyre Down Contact: Rob 0397292432
www.kyaracing.com.au

Click below for the Audio Review.

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