DIY Motorcycle Ramp
February 28, 2010 by Uzi Rider
Filed under What's New?
Have you ever looked at the prices of motorcycle loading ramps for your pickup? They’re pretty pricey aren’t they? Particularly for what you get. I know that I’ve thought about getting one from time to time, but when I see the price tag I start wondering if I really need one that bad. So far the answer has always been no, perhaps because I have a suitable trailer. But what if you could have a really nice one for $50 or less? It turns out that you can, if you’re willing to do a little work. Kent Hartland has posted instructions on Delphi Forums DIY Cruisers Motorcycle Forums. Not only is his solution cheap, it looks to be much better than anything that I’ve seen for sale. If you’d like to see how it’s done, here’s a link to the PDF that will explain it all. Nice design Kent.
Kent,
Thanks for posting these instructions. My ramp works great and is much safer than the 6 ft, one-wheel-wide ramp that I am replacing.
Great write-up. Thank you. If I may offer 2 comments/question.
1) What is the best way to bend the 1/4" thick metal horns? After the horns were attached, I pounded on them with a rubber mallot and ended up splintering the plywood.
2) For the clntch bolts you wrote 1/5" width instead of 1/2" width bolt
Best plans for a ramp I have ever seen. When I drilled the holes for bolting the ramps together, I drilled all four 2×4 rails exactly the same. I then cut 1/2 electrical conduit to go between the rails and secured the conduit with hose clamps. The clamps fit on the conduit on each side and bump against the inside of each rail. When I set the ramps on the tailgate and bump them together I can install a 3/8 inch all thread rod into the conduit and push it thru both ramps. Install a flat washer and nut on each end, hand tighten and the ramps are locked together. I bolt it together in two places. The big advantage is you never have to handle the ramps while they are bolted together. I secure the ramps by hooking a ratchet strap to the conduit and to the bottom of the back bumper. Of the modifications I made, this is the one I like the best because it removes a lot of labor involved in using the ramps.
Thanks to Kent for sharing such a great set of plans.
Spot on with this write-up, I truly feel this
site needs far more attention. I’ll probably be back again to see
more, thanks for the information!