Adding Front mounted light motorcycle rack?

[engineer bill]

I'm thinking about having my welder friend build a motorcycle rack (maybe adapting existing hardware) for the front of my Winne Warrior Class A 22EC. I'd be carrying a Yamaha TW200 (about 275 lb) and I'm a little concerned about interfering with engine cooling. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[cosmic]

I put mine on the back. even with the long overhang I still thought it to be safer on the rear. I made a double 2 inch insert welded to the frame rails. Its removable.

[TerryH]

I only have a 50cc, but also on the back. One reason being ease of fluid etc. checks - done more often than loading/unloading scooter. Haven't had a problem yet with it there.
Something you do have to consider with rear rack is visibility of lights, particularly licence plate light.
Terry

[Oz]

Interfering with the cooling... I think it would somewhat.  I'm wondering more about considerations pertaining to the affect on steering and front suspension load?

It's not a large or heavy bike, but I'm thinking that every add-on MC carrier I've seen have been on the rear.

However:

[TerryH]

In my case - rear hitch mounted carrier, ramp, cinch straps are approx. 120lbs. Scooter approx. 140 lbs. Include the extension from the mounting point to the frame - in my case approx. 4' and tongue weight is one thing, but actual weight transferred to the rear axle and tires is totally different.

Adds a definitive and calculable weight to the axle.
 
Consider point of loaded weight to point of  frame attachment.

Consider cantilever action.

For a front mount, I would say, as per Oz, consider possible steering problems, front suspension problems, tire issues, etc.

Front mount-add to this a big block with an automatic transmission where both require maximum cooling, the last thing you want to do is block any possible forward  air cooling entrances.

Trailer hitch and hauling hitch is generally rear mounted. Boat launching, etc. - front will work - not really for a haul situation though.
My opinion only.
Terry

[TripleJ]

I rolled with this setup for a while, probably not much more than 150-200lbs,  but this is also on a chevy 3500 4x4. 



Also ran a few thousand miles with the bikes up front


Never had a problem with either.  Im planning on a front hitch for bikes on the motorhome so I can pull a car or the boat on the rear

[engineer bill]

I've done a little more research, and of course, considered the replies to my original post carefully. My front axle loading is currently about 3950lb with a rating of 4300 lb. Adding the motorcycle and carrier would put me uncomfortably close to (or over) my rating. Also, the bike would no doubt interfer with cooling to some extent.

So...I'm not going to do it. I might add the front hitch receiver some time in the future. That would make it easier to launch my boat and also let me try mounting bicycles on the front of my Winnebago which would be nice. Meantime, I'm looking at rear mount motorcycle racks. One consideration is that my Winne does not have a 2" receiver on the back. Instead it has a fabricated steel contraption the holds a 2" ball-about 18" above the ground. (Way too low.) I'm guessing a previous owner had it made to match a particular trailer.

One other problem with the current setup is that it really impacts the rear "approach angle" of the Winne. So far, I haven't had a problem but I have a vivid memory of hanging my moving truck up on the hitch in a restaurant parking lot driveway back in the eighties. It cost me $500 to have the towing service winch it clear.

Last month, I bought a used Demco Kar Kaddy 4 tow dolly, fixed it all up (why do I keep doing that?), and used it to pull my wife's 2012 Hyundai Elantra all around Northern California. It has surge brakes and I think the total load was about 4200 lb with 400 lb tongue weight. The Winne had plenty of power to pull it up hills but the braking was inadequate. So, we're not going to do that again and the Demco is for sale.


Then, I had a great opportunity to buy a 1991 Suzuki Samurai and a 2004 Yamaha TW200 in a package deal. The Sammy weighs just about 2000lb and I think it will be a great car to tow behind four wheels down. What I'm thinking about now is building a motorcycle rack for the back bumper of the Winne that incorporates a hitch receiver at the end. "Tongue weight" will be the equivalent of about 400lb and gross combination weight will then increase by about 2400lb (a lot less than my previous pull). The only downside to the Sammy is that it needs an auxilliary braking system, like a Brakemaster, to be safe and legal and they cost about $1000 new.

[engineer bill]

Oh and here's the Demco Tow Dolly and the Yamaha TW200.

Nothing set in stone yet. Will be interested in any discussion of this.