CMA HeartBeat February 2020 | Page 21

Gear Review my particular situation. What I found out was, the B&W Biker Bar system quickly and easily secured my motorcycle for the trip to Denver. This unique transport system attaches to the sub-frame of the motorcycle rather than using tie down straps. The advantages are many. Since there are no straps, buckles, or hooks, there is no chance that something might come undone when hitting a large bump in the road. With no straps, the possibility of causing damage to the paint, saddlebags, windshield, fairing, or accessories is essentially eliminated. There is no need to over compress the front forks and you avoid the typical problem of figuring out where to attach the rear straps. The Biker Bar system consists of two parts. The first is a floor mount- ed latching base plate. This plate mounts securely to the floor of the trailer using 5/8” bolts. The plate and associated hardware is low enough that it can be left in the trailer for most applications. If a flat deck or floor is needed, the mounting plate can easily be removed by tak- ing out the two 5/8” bolts. The second piece to the Biker Bar sys- tem is a solid steel bar which mounts to the bike’s tube sub- frame. The bar https://www.bwtrailerhitches.com/product/biker-bar has heavy duty BIKER BAR of the highlights of the 2019 Colorado CMA State Rally was taking part in the parade over the Royal Gorge Bridge – the highest bridge in the United States. Two things come to mind when I think back to that event. First, is how the suspension bridge swayed in the wind under the weight of ninety-eight motorcycles, trikes, Spyders, and Slingshots. And sec- ond, is the fact that out on the bridge is exactly where I was when a lifter failed on my V-twin engine. I managed to get the bike back to Cañon City, but the nearest dealer was in Denver. Thankfully, a fellow CMA member, Todd Hooks, had a trailer at the event for just such an eventuality, and he offered to trans- port the bike to Denver. When I sug- gested getting some tie down straps, Todd said that wouldn’t be necessary since he had the Biker Bar. Now, I’ve heard many a story about biker bars, but I couldn’t fig- ure out how this was going to help in O NE clamps on each end and these are hand tightened to securely mount the bar to the frame. The clamps are neoprene coated to ensure that the frame is not scratched. You just want to make sure that there are no wires or hydraulic lines running along the outside of the frame where you clamp the bar. With the floor plate installed, sim- ply clamp the Biker Bar to the frame of your bike and ride into position so that the two pieces securely latch together. To release, step down on the releasing tab and back out of the latching base plate. A significant advantage to this system is that it can be safely and easily used by just one person. Something to keep in mind is the fact that this system attaches the frame of the motorcycle directly to the floor of the trailer. It is incredibly secure, but it does isolate the motorcycle suspension. The only shock absorbing capabilities will be those provided by the trailer suspen- sion. One limitation I learned recently is that at this time the Biker Bar sys- tem is only available for Harley Davidson models. Retail sales price is approximately $380 and online reviews are excel- lent. I’m still one of those guys who believes that motorcycles were made to be ridden, but having used the B&W Biker Bar, I can highly rec- ommend it for those needing to transport a bike. CMA Mark and Tammy Heid oversee the Rocky Mountain Region as National Evangelist. By MARK Heid