Anybody know of a hitch for our bikes?

[dangerzone2]

Please save the not so helpful comments.
 
Does anybody have or know of a company that's making hitches for our bikes?  Although not the best situation, I'd rather ride a bike with a small trailer than a car.
 
 
edit: this would be for 2-up camping/touring.  My biggest issue is with our inflatable stand up paddleboards.  There's no good way to get them on the bike when 2-up riding. 

[vinnie]

Please save the not so helpful comments. 
Does anybody have or know of a company that's making hitches for our bikes?  Although not the best situation, I'd rather ride a bike with a small trailer than a car.

Not trying to be one of those people that are unhelpful... 
How much gear are you trying to carry with you? Have you considered throwing full luggage on the bike? I traveled across the country and back (3 weeks of camping and living off of the bike) with a 52L top case, two 30L side cases, and a 66L dry bag. I carried a LOT, so I thought it might be worth mentioning. 
 
I have never heard of or seen an FJ with a trailer hitch, though.

[dangerzone2]

This will be for 2-up touring/camping. Yes, I have top and side cases but there's no way we can fit everything.

[limpy88]

There is no company that makes hitch for anything other than crusiers and a few bmws. The are a few company that can make u one. Most require you send in your swing arm to make one but they all have there own trailers that go with them usually. I made my own for one of my bikes.

[vinnie]

This will be for 2-up touring/camping. Yes, I have top and side cases but there's no way we can fit everything.

I don't think I'll ever go to using a trailer for a bike; however, I face a similar issue with my camp gear and having my girlfriend as a passenger.  Let us know what you end up doing

[dangerzone2]

This will be for 2-up touring/camping. Yes, I have top and side cases but there's no way we can fit everything.

I don't think I'll ever go to using a trailer for a bike; however, I face a similar issue with my camp gear and having my girlfriend as a passenger.  Let us know what you end up doing

I'm going to try to hang some bags off of the crashbars for a quick fix.  I'd really like to get a trailer but that seems nearly impossible. 

[kw86er]

I have looked into this a bit. I was tthinking of getting a trailer for my dirtbike to haul stuff up a trail on my property to where I want to build a “ride in” cabin. In short anything is posible but Its not cheap and requires custom fabricating. The option showed above has the trailer attatched to the axle. This adds allot of unsprung weight to the rear of the bike and I have heard complaints about handeling. Another option is to use a goose neck up to the sub frame but the subframe is not designed for this so extra bracing and engeniering may be required.
 
I think the better option for two up caming is to pack like a hiker. Thats what we do. We only use 50L worth of soft bags plus tents and sleeping bags. That will get us through a long weekend. I have no saddle bags or top case. I stack a 20L and 10L Kreiga on the tank and it does not interfere with riding. We have another 20L on the rear rack with bags and tent. Ill see if I can dig up a picture. If we had side bags as well we would be good for weeks on end. Sometimes its just better to pack up the truck so we can bring the dirtbikes, big tent, bbq...

[kw86er]

 

 
This is our two up rig. We have a tent, sleeping bags and inflatable sleeping pads plus clothes and riding layers. I usually rip into the nearest town for food/beer once we are set up. I admit that this is a light rig but if you get a small 2 man hiking tent and good light weight sleeping bags it makes a huge difference. I did 8000KM on a Ninja 300 with a similar rig solo of course.
 

 
At the end of this trip I dropped another 10L off my rig that I didn't need.
 
We are going to do a month long trip in the south (USA) in the spring and will likely not need much more. However we will be trucking the bike to a central location.
 
"edit: this would be for 2-up camping/touring. My biggest issue is with our inflatable stand up paddleboards. There's no good way to get them on the bike when 2-up riding. "
 
It's all about priorities. I like to take my dirt bikes camping but when we are on the FJ, that's what we are doing.

[dangerzone2]

 
This is our two up rig. We have a tent, sleeping bags and inflatable sleeping pads plus clothes and riding layers. I usually rip into the nearest town for food/beer once we are set up. I admit that this is a light rig but if you get a small 2 man hiking tent and good light weight sleeping bags it makes a huge difference. I did 8000KM on a Ninja 300 with a similar rig solo of course.
 

 
At the end of this trip I dropped another 10L off my rig that I didn't need.
 
We are going to do a month long trip in the south (USA) in the spring and will likely not need much more. However we will be trucking the bike to a central location.
 
"edit: this would be for 2-up camping/touring. My biggest issue is with our inflatable stand up paddleboards. There's no good way to get them on the bike when 2-up riding. "
 
It's all about priorities. I like to take my dirt bikes camping but when we are on the FJ, that's what we are doing.

Thanks a lot!  Is your bike at the camping location?  I was looking at having to hike in a few miles for either stand up paddleboarding or camping which would bring up motorcycle gear storage as well. 

[vinnie]

I don't think I'll ever go to using a trailer for a bike; however, I face a similar issue with my camp gear and having my girlfriend as a passenger.  Let us know what you end up doing

I'm going to try to hang some bags off of the crashbars for a quick fix.  I'd really like to get a trailer but that seems nearly impossible. 

Could you post pictures of that, if it works? I'd be interested to see.

[vinnie]

 
This is our two up rig. We have a tent, sleeping bags and inflatable sleeping pads plus clothes and riding layers. I usually rip into the nearest town for food/beer once we are set up. I admit that this is a light rig but if you get a small 2 man hiking tent and good light weight sleeping bags it makes a huge difference. I did 8000KM on a Ninja 300 with a similar rig solo of course.
 

 
At the end of this trip I dropped another 10L off my rig that I didn't need.
 
We are going to do a month long trip in the south (USA) in the spring and will likely not need much more. However we will be trucking the bike to a central location.
 
"edit: this would be for 2-up camping/touring. My biggest issue is with our inflatable stand up paddleboards. There's no good way to get them on the bike when 2-up riding. "
 
It's all about priorities. I like to take my dirt bikes camping but when we are on the FJ, that's what we are doing.

What tent and sleeping bags are you using? That's REALLY compact. I am impressed!

[kw86er]

I use a Recon III sleeping bag and MSR Nook tent. There are lots of lightweight inflatable pads and I also pack a lightweight tarp. Another handy thing to bring is spare dry bags. They work good for separating dirty laundry or ice, beer and food without a cooler bag.
 
I don't bring cooking equipment anymore. I find that by the time you cook and clean up you have waisted allot of riding time. I like to get out before the RV's hit the highway and use the first leg stretch break for breakfast. My girlfriend needs coffee in the AM ASAP so she packs iced coffee to get her till breakfast. You need breaks anyway so I like to buy tacos from the trucks and pick up sandwich supplies or just have a good sit down lunch on a patio. Supper time depends on the situation, if we can build a fire... Allot of times we just get some heathy snacks and barley soup (read: BEER).

[dangerzone2]

I use a Recon III sleeping bag and MSR Nook tent. There are lots of lightweight inflatable pads and I also pack a lightweight tarp. Another handy thing to bring is spare dry bags. They work good for separating dirty laundry or ice, beer and food without a cooler bag.  
I don't bring cooking equipment anymore. I find that by the time you cook and clean up you have waisted allot of riding time. I like to get out before the RV's hit the highway and use the first leg stretch break for breakfast. My girlfriend needs coffee in the AM ASAP so she packs iced coffee to get her till breakfast. You need breaks anyway so I like to buy tacos from the trucks and pick up sandwich supplies or just have a good sit down lunch on a patio. Supper time depends on the situation, if we can build a fire... Allot of times we just get some heathy snacks and barley soup (read: BEER).

I think my itinerary needs to change to something more like this.  Do you happen to be near the bay area and need more people to bother you?

[kw86er]

"Thanks a lot! Is your bike at the camping location? I was looking at having to hike in a few miles for either stand up paddleboarding or camping which would bring up motorcycle gear storage as well. "
 
I camp all over the place. The nice thing about packing light is that most of my gear fits under my tent "porch". I use a Kreiga backpack that I can hook my other Kreiga bags to and get everything that is on my bike in one load. I also don't pack any valuables. If someone takes my bags the only thing of value is the bags themselves. They are kinda pricy however so I usually don't leave them out of sight for too long.
 
"I think my itinerary needs to change to something more like this. Do you happen to be near the bay area and need more people to bother you?"
 
I live in Vancouver BC. I love riding NorCal HWY 36 is one of my favourites. Probably will not be that way again for a couple years.
 
 

[sirepair]

I built a one-wheeled trailer to pull with my ST-1100. I used a 4.80-8 wheel/tire combo along with an axle/hub/bearings, a plastic "Job Box" and wiring all purchased from my local Tractor Supply. I pillaged a bicycle for a shock, found some tapered steering bearings for the swingarm and utilized steel bits that we had lying about the shop.
 
I used a GL1500 drive shaft U-joint that was "opened up" with a die-grinder to allow a greater range of motion.
 
My hitch is a Classic Industries hitch that I added the "receiver" and gussets to. I used a 5pin plug that I wired in to the tail light and the trailer has all LED lighting, including corner markers. Though I have not weighed it, I would guess that the finish weight is about 85-90 lbs.
 
It has worked very well. 80+mph on I40 through the Smokies and triple digits a few times!! I've towed it several thousand miles. Actually wore out one tire on it.
 
I think a through-axle hitch would be the way to go with the FJ, and it would simplify construction.
 
Here are some pictures of my build: