BikeTech Page 5

How to squeeze your bike into a cage?
I'm sure this must be an akward question for most of you. Being a biker does not necessarily mean that you always have to bike everywhere. In my part of the world, a summer trip to the South is enjoyable. The return trip in our wet autumn or winter will be less fun. Several options exist: The die-hard biker will take a couple of scarce days off from work and ride the bike back over a thousand mile of highway. Rain and winds will accompany him or her on this boring trip. Alternatives to ship by rail do only exist in summer and at quite high fees. Buying a trailer is a good option, but you then need to find parking space for both your bike and the trailer. For those of us who happen to have a GM minivan I have good news: It fits!

Here are the things you need to do to squeeze your 650GS into a Silhouette (Olds), Transport (Pontiac), Venture (Chevy) or Sintra (Opel). It does not matter very much if you have either the base version or the extended version, because in both cases the space behind the front seats will be sufficient for the BMW, which is only about 2m (6ft8) head to toe.

Key thing you need to realize is that the back entrance of the minivan only has a height of 97 cm (38"). This would be too low for the bike if it weren't for the fact that, behind the back door threshhold, the height actually is 106 cm (42"). If you happen to have another brand of minivan with a size that is equal or better than above numbers I'm sure you'll be able to squeeze it in as well.

You will need:

1. the BMW toolkit, plus a size 15 wrench (European)(toolkit only has a 14).
2. a firm board, about 2.5 cm (1") thick, to use as ramp into the back of the minivan;
3. a friend that can lift about 90 kg (100 lbs) just like yourself. Otherwise you'll need two friends;
4. rope, about 3 m (10 ft), to fix the bike into place once it is inside;
5. blankets and plastic bags to protect the bike and car from scratches.

Actions:

• Empty the tank until there's not much more than the reserve supply left;
• Unscrew the mirrors
  -- option 1: release lower nut or simply unscrew counter-clockwise;
  -- option 2 (preferred): block lower nut from moving using BMW wrench 14 and release upper nut using wrench 15 (see text below);
  
• Remove the windshield (both standard and/or custom)(3 inbus screws);
• Remove the BMW top case mounting bracket (if you have any) (4 inbus screws);
• Remove the heater panel from top of the handlebar (under fork brace)(4 inbus screws);
• Mark the position of the handlebar on the metal clamps so you know the position to move it back afterwards;
• Loosen the 4 bolts that hold the handlebar until the handlebar can be rotated;
• Rotate the handlebar downwards. Take care that the brake and other hoses are able to move freely;
• Tighten the 4 handlebar bolts sufficiently to, later, lift and turn the front of the bike;
• Remove a middle seat and one back seat of the minivan and stack them on the second back seat. Your minivan will now hold only three passengers.

Now place the plank onto the back threshhold of the van. Position the bike with its tail toward the van. Standing on opposite sides of the bike, grab the steer and the back seat handlebar and push the bike up the ramp into the bike. The back part should just fit in, although you may have to lean the bike a bit to its side to do this comfortably or, alternatively, reduce the back tire pressure to 50%. These GM vans have a bike pump in the back, so putting in air once you've taken the bike out is no problem.

One of you will now need to stabilize the bike, while the other one pulls it in from inside the van until the engine protector rests on the back of the van. While the person in the van holds the bike, the other person loosens the safety screw on the front wheel half a turn, unscrews the front axle and removes the wheel carefully from the fork and the brake pads.

While the friend pulls from inside the van, you'll need to lift the front a bit and push the bike in. If you have not rotated the steer sufficiently down you'll have to lean the bike to its side a bit while pushing it in.

Secure the bike using the rope and make sure it cannot move anywhere. You definitely don't want to get the 195 kg (200 lbs) in the back of your neck when you need to make an emergency stop. Use the blankets to protect the tank and other shiny parts of the bike, and the plastic to protect your minivan from the dirt of the bike.

This whole procedure will take about 30 minutes.

In order to take the bike out you'll need to do everything in reverse order and you'll need another good friend and a ramp to help you. Use the screwdriver from the toolkit to carefully push the brakepads apart to move the front wheel back in the fork. Don't forget to also take your helmet and other apparel with you as well as the keys to the bike. Last but not least: Do not forget to recheck the brakes, fluids, and tire pressure before you ride it again.

Everything went very smooth with my bike, except for screwing one of the mirrors back into the handlebar. Lazy as I am, I tried to do this the easy way and simply rotated it clockwise assuming it would tighten itself eventually in the original position. When it did not lock at the right position I rotated it clockwise for another half turn, thereby destroying the thread in the handlebar. Better option is to only loosen the upper nut while preventing the lower one from moving while taking off the mirror. Mounting will then be easier because you can put the mirror in the right position and fasten the upper nut.

Good luck!