Adding a Trailer Hitch to my 125cc Scooter
Вставка
- Опубліковано 23 бер 2018
- I've always wanted to be able to haul larger materials on my scooter but was limited to what could fit on the back seat. I bought a TIG welder so I thought a good first project would be to a custom "quick release" hitch for the back of my Honda PCX125.
So far I've put about 50 miles on the hitch without any problems but I haven't loaded any weight on the trailer.
Here's the TIG welder I bought and love (amazon affiliate):
amzn.to/2IO7QIF
Learn Fusion 360 For Hobbyists and Woodworkers:
$30 OFF COUPON
mikeandlauren.com/learnfusion360
Sign up for monthly income, expenses, and net worth reports!
newsletter.mikeandlauren.com
Help us make these videos:
/ mikeandlauren
Twitter - / mikeandlauren
Instagram - / lauren_moyer
Facebook - / mikeandlaurentv
Check out our blog:
www.mikeandlauren.com - Навчання та стиль
Tons of motorcycles pulling trailers here. Neat project. Never seen a scooter with a flat bed trailer
Looks good Mike! You are a brave soul showing your first welds with a new machine and building anything for a scooter on UA-cam.
No weld comments. However, two recommendations: 1) lower the attachment point, and 2) use a swivel hitch.
Any movement from the trailer is translated well above the center of mass. This has the potential to flip the bike over before you know what's happening.
As for the swivel hitch, the bike lays over cornering, while the trailer remains flat. Therefore, the only way to negotiate a curve us to turn the front wheel, which is not the way a bike is meant to ride and can prove to be very, very dangerous.
Your family needs a husband and father. Please remedy these design flaws before proceeding further Mike!
John Coloe Agree re swivel hitch definitely but the lever point on the mass of the scooter is exactly at the point of the towball. It doesn't matter that the hitch is attached higher to the scooter frame, the force is acting at the ball. The same forces as if the hitch was mounted directly horizontally. Visualise the scooter as one solid piece of steel with a towball attached. The lever length is from the tyre contact with the road to the ball.
The difference with the usual bike trailer hitch is that this one is semi-suspended on the scooter's suspension. Absorbing the pitch will affect the ride.
I’m glad I read the comments! 😳👍🏻
I can only suspect that you'll be the talk of the town with that getup. Love it Mike! Don't forget your helmet. :)
I really need to send this to my brother-in-law, he only has a 49CC scooter, but he is going to be jealous of this.
Nice. I enjoy watching your projects and especially love your fearlessness about trying something out of your comfort zone. One minor suggestion - I would round or angle off the front of that trailer to give you half a chance should the front corner catch something (someone's bumper, corner of a building, etc) while riding. Think triangle shape instead of right angles, hope anything you graze glances off instead of coming to a dead stop.
I'll be doing exactly that in the next video :)
Always a welcome surprise to see a video from you guys!
This is so badass Mike, I would totally do this. You're my spirit animal for sure! The PCX is an amazing scooter!
As always, great work!
That's a cool solution! I need to make a hitch for my 82 Yamaha XJ 750 Maxim. I have a few ideas, different than your solution. My only recommendation would be to put some lights on the hitch bracket as your bracket covers the stock lights. I'd use the same light connector that you use on your trailer! Cheers!
Caught this vid looking for hitch ideas for my Vespa. You didn't do a bad job at all. But using the steel trailer you're already pretty heavy. Northern Tool sells the same trailer but in aluminum that I'm thinking will be my starting platform. Good luck.
Thanks for this idea. Building hitch for my honda pcx150
Cool idea. Your Tig welds will go much better if you grind off the mill scale first. You want shiney bright clean steel when tig welding. You will be amazed at the difference. This step is critical for beginners. Stop trying to weave like that, jody makes it look easy but it takes a lot more practice.
Keep the quality contents bro, keep the nice work 😊😊😀
Please, please oh please reinforce the attachment points of that rear carrier to the scooter subframe. That carrier was not designed for an active load of the trailer pitching & bouncing. When the carrier mounts crack those double (!) safety chains won't stop a runaway trailer.
Getting your TIG on. Nice!
Yup! The plan is to be able to weld aluminum parts from the CNC but it made more sense to make this out of steel.
I love it. I do wonder what your tenants must think with all your crazy projects though!
Yes, i was laughing when you started "stress testing"!
That’s cool!
Grinder guards are for Sissy's..... 🤣
JK. Man, that thing is built heavier than some of the passenger car hitches that I install, nice work! Now I want to try with my grom.
Hi Mike great job.
are you not worried about leaning angles when turning at a little speed?
is the trailer able to pivot side to side?
nice mod.
That’s brilliant 👏
I went on a whim googling “scooter trailer” and glad that there is another loco like me!
Do you think there is a way to rig this up not having to weld? Like a wood alternative? Or buying supplies from any Joe Schmoe hardware store?
Big props
well this is the closet i have seen to build one for my silverwing. thanks. now i have a ideal . the only trouble i see is i haven't used my welder in over a year i hope it still works
You have a Badass scooter like that
I saw the pics of this on reddit yesterday, didn't know it was you.
That is impressive sir. Have you loaded it down and tested performance on your scoot? Interested to know the results in hauling additional weight and the bikes response.
Be careful since this hitch has kind of a high attachment point to your scooter it may want to throw you on the road.
Great idea
Beautiful!
You could also build a tiny tear camper and pull it with your scooter a saw one from an Uruguayan guy . . . The bike was a 125cc. . ..
Looks like my welding. Goobered up chewing gum lol.
How did it work out long-term
Can you do a video on what happened to that USPS truck???
Alex Clark it hit a trailer that fell off a moped.
I’d be extremely worried about those welds over time!!!! You definitely need to clean the mill scale off if you’re gonna tig hot Rolled Steel! But good luck I wouldn’t haul anything too heavy
Can I buy the hitch already made
If so where and how much
Well done sir i have one question could you do it with the yamaha tricity 300cc? sir
id love to buy one for my 150cc moped
Better not push that setup to the limit. I wouldn't like that trailer messing with my two-wheeler dynamics.
That's a brave project though!
I've been hauling a four wheeled farm wagon framed bicycle camper with my electric bicycle put a class one hitch on an added wooden box on the back of my cargo bike... tow bar weighs 8 lbs and there's not much tongue weight to worry about or the results in forklift
Center of gravity for trailer can be lower. & for those who mount theyre hitch point in the center or in front of wheel will further increase stability & control. Scratchig my head for a Grom motorcycle.
I would think the clutch would fail if you had too much weight on the trlr
Why
Try hooking your safety chains in from the bottom of the D ring and out through the top. They won't bounce out that way.
Hai dude, can you work on a light weight model for an electric moped?
Is it still working ?
appreciate the effort - but agree with others on the importance of swivel for all the reasons stated. All MC trailers have them.
Just don’t forget its back there, wide load 😂
Make one that attaches to the back of a bike somehow. Even if it can't pull that much weight it would be very useful for people with ebikes! I dont see them anywhere yet.
Dude that's awesome . Think you may want to patent that...
The only thing that I would do different is put like a stabilizer bar bar going to the scooter shock or wheel I'll show if you hit a bad bump you don't get the backlash and hurt the body of the scooter Please comment back but I like your invention thinking about doing it to mine
Because I want to get one but I am really wanting one that can haul a few things.
Question is, how much can you haul with a Scooter?
is the bike rack plastic
Quality Control 😂
Here at "Mike's Hitch House" quality is our top priority. We'll drop and stomp on your hitch as many times as it takes!
Grade 8 bolts lol. That trailer with any load is gonna outweigh your scooter and cause you to wreck! When you see a big Harley towing a little trailer remember that a road bike is easily 800 pounds. Good luck
cthunter41 I regularly see Vespas here locally, towing advertising trailers. One is a fairly large (6ft high), solid metal framed, double sided video screen. No problem. Just because the Harleys are heavy doesn't automatically mean lighter is unsafe.
Cassette Walkman with that logic does it mean i'm safe towing my 40ft fifth wheel RV with my mom's Kia Optima?
cthunter41 No it means your logic is backwards. Does a 40ton military tank towing a trailer automatically make a Dodge Ram towing a trailer unsafe?
cthunter41 But you go ahead and try it. Just please film it & post it to YT.
cthunter41: definitely right. Motorman would not approve. OMG I can only imagine what he will say. Heck, I don't approve either, but only because I know it will tear my scoot up eventually. Now I'm laughing. But I tip my hat for the work done and the creativity. Easy for all of us to criticize from our kitchen tables.
I'm trying to do this to deliver groceries with
That is the wrong kind of hitch for a motorcycle/scooter. A swivel somewhere in there would be marginally adequate. Official ones are called "Swivel Hitches." The bike needs to lean in a corner with the front wheel counter steering. A two wheel trailer without a swivel will try to counteract the gyro forces, making your ride dangerous.
Secondly, at 140 lbs just for the UNLOADED trailer is beyond dangerous for a little scooter. Your trailer should be made out of aluminum and be as light as possible, given the weight and power of the 125cc scooter. Otherwise, when you get a load on there, you risk the tail wagging the dog and flipping that bike over in an instant. Also, the trailer shouldn't be more than 2/3rds wider than your scooter. So if your scooter is 24" wide, your track should be in the 40" range. Also, there's some trailer math on how long the tongue should be as well. Your trailer appears to be too close, for what you are asking of it.
You have an AC/DC TIG welder now... you can weld Aluminum. You take the wheels, tongue, lights off the trailer you've got and go for it.
I've made two motorcycle trailers so far, and they've both been single wheel design for safety reasons. One with a trailing wheel and suspension arm, utility area in between and low. And the other with more of a wheel barrel design with the wheel under a flat bed cargo deck area.
Oh, and on a side note... you are trying something risky and for the first time, and you DON'T wear a helmet, and film yourself doing it? HAHA!! Even the idiots trying Red Bull stunts wear helmets. Anyway, I know you're in Florida... brain buckets aren't mandatory. (I'll continue the rest of the Brains + Florida joke in my head ;-)
Your effort gets 10 out of 10, however, the results need some'fine tuning'!
Have you looked in to seeing if there is any legal issue towing a trailer with a scooter? I doubt there's any laws that against it. Be curious if a police officer could justify writing you a ticket in any way. Awesome project! Also fun learning a new skill.
I've passed a few cops in the 50 miles or so I've towed this week without any hassle. It does turn quite a few heads. A lot of people taking pictures with their cell phones, so I'm sure it's not going unnoticed lol.
Jesus H the overbuilt and extra heavy everything involved.
You don't see that often!
gcuzwak at least on this continent.
How is this even road legal?
Flordia man doesn't care about street legality ;)
As long as I don't exceed the gvwr of the scooter and my trailer doesn't make up more than 40% of that weight, it's road legal. (Along with working lights, registration, and safety chains etc.)
Wow that's surprising. Such a thing wouldn't be legal here. (You'd have to get it certified, which is probably impossible.)
you need to get the lights working - that bar covering the backlight is actually quite bad for your safety
May want to look into a swivel hitch. www.openroadoutfitters.com/swivel-hitches
Of course that's already a thing. I had this exact idea as a backup plan if I had any issues towing. Thanks for the link.
I have had them on some off road trailers and tow behind skidders for my 4 and 6 wheelers.
I was wondering about that. 2 wheeled vehicles don't turn very well if you're not leaning them. And trailers tend not to like to lean.
Oh this is hilarious
Mike,How has your trailer worked out with 100# or so of cargo on it? Highway speed?I'm thinking of doing something similar so that Thor (my Rottweiler/Australian Shepherd mix - the "cuddlebug") could scoot with me behind my PCX150 from Springfield MO to Fayetteville AR for Bikes Blues & BBQ later this year.I'd need to find a suitable pair of "doggles" for Thor though.Thanks,AB in 65809
The exhaust from the scooter would possibly kill the dog. Every mc trailer manufacturer strongly emphasizes never putting kids or animals in a motorcycle trailer. That's a big dog for a scooter, but you could conceivably get a dog carrier to mount where a top box would otherwise go. Good luck, and don't kill your dog.
pcx my dad's motorcycle 💪
All commercial bike trailers have swivels for a reason. I commend your effort but without a swivel it is very dangerous for you and anyone around you.
Be careful that looks like an accident waiting thappen. I could see that working on a trike but I'm not sure that scooter and trailor schould be used in the same sentence.
Really? I have seen some jackass moves and this one has to be at the top of the list. I got a TIG welder and put some crappie welds down and now I’m going to build something that has a lot of strain and force on it from all directions and pull it down the road. I hope that you have some really good insurance.
That looks way heavy for that scooter
seems too heavy for the scoot....
watch videos from WeldingTipsAndTricks and chucke2009 for great welding tutorials
WeldingTipsandTricks is my go-to.
How does it work does it work good for you I have a 48 by I think 43 or 48 Trailer from Harbor freight and I was wondering if I could do the same thing please comment back
Those poor clutches...
...too heavy
That Tig welding 🗑🗑🗑🗑. Please take your projects to a professional welder to be welded for the safety of all of us
I think I died a little when he showed that weld.
"A grinder and paint make me the welder I ain't"
hector garcia The weak point in this whole setup is the carrier on the scooter. The aluminium was never designed for an active load like the pitching & bouncing trailer. The hitch needs to be directly attached to the rear subframe.
If you need supplies....you don't take the scooter. Very simple. Also, the second thing you welded in life should NEVER be a trailer hitch. EVER. You are putting your own life in danger and everyone else who is unfortunate enough to be behind you. Not cool my friend.
Your destroying, your so called BELOVED scooter! Its NOT designed for that! BUY A TRUCK!