Motorcycle Towing

Upright on the deck, carried, not dragged

Riders fear two things from a tow: a drop off the ramp, and a strap that chews through paint. Both come from the wrong truck or the wrong tie points, so our rule is simple. A motorcycle call gets the right truck for a bike, and it arrives with soft straps and a wheel chock. The bike rides on a flatbed deck, fully off the ground. A motorcycle is never pulled along with a wheel on the pavement, because there is nothing on a bike that can be held that way safely.

The bed tilts down to the pavement. The bike walks up the deck under its own power or by hand, front wheel first, into the chock. The chock holds it standing while the straps go on. Soft loops go around the lower triple tree or the frame, never around painted fairings, chrome, brake lines, or the switchgear on the bars. Four straps pull down against the chock, the front suspension takes a little compression so the bike cannot rock, and the driver walks the bike once more before the bed comes up.

Cruisers, sport bikes, tourers, trikes, and scooters

Each of these loads differently, and dispatch plans for it before the truck leaves Ypsilanti.

Cruisers have the easiest tie points on the road: exposed frame tubes, wide bars, a low seat. Straps stay off the chrome and the pipes.

Sport bikes hide the frame under plastic. The driver ties at the lower fork legs or triple tree up front and at the swingarm or subframe in back, so nothing pulls on a fairing panel. Clip-on bars are never a tie point.

Touring bikes are the heaviest and tallest bikes we load. A full-dress bike with a trunk and hard bags needs the ramp angle managed and the straps routed around the luggage. Locked bags stay locked; just tell dispatch they are on the bike.

Trikes and three-wheelers skip the chock. They get strapped at each wheel like a small car.

Scooters are light, and their small wheels do not seat in a standard chock, so the driver ties at the frame. A step-through parked in a campus lot loads in minutes.

Bikes that do not run: online buys and spring wake-ups

Many motorcycle calls start in a garage, not on the road.

The first is the online purchase: the seller is in Milan or Whitmore Lake, the battery is flat, and the tires are square from sitting. Have the seller meet the truck or leave the key with a neighbor. A locked fork with no key still loads; it just takes longer, and the driver needs to know in advance.

The second is the April wake-up. Michigan riders park bikes in November and pull the cover off the first warm weekend to find varnished gas and a dead battery. A tow beats riding that bike to Ann Arbor on stale fuel. If it lives in a storage unit, give dispatch the gate hours and unit number.

For either one, name the shop, say when it opens, and say whether the key goes in a drop box or a service writer's hand. Closed shop, the driver sets the bike on its stand in their lot or holds until they open, your choice. Same drop-off logic as a light-duty tow, with one difference: a motorcycle never gets left on grass or soft summer asphalt, because a kickstand sinks.

Huron River Drive and the roads west of Dexter

Riding season runs from the first dry week in April to the last warm Saturday in October. Huron River Drive follows the river from Ann Arbor past Dexter-Huron Metropark toward Hudson Mills. West of Dexter and Chelsea, riders string together North Territorial, Dexter-Chelsea Road, Island Lake Road, and the roads around Waterloo Recreation Area. That is where Washtenaw County rides, and where bikes stop.

Addresses are sparse out there, so drop a pin and read dispatch the nearest crossroad. Shoulders are gravel or grass; if the bike is upright, get it well off the pavement. Gravel at driveway aprons and sand left over from winter put bikes down in spring. Deer do it in October. If you ran the tank dry chasing one more loop, that is a fuel delivery, not a tow. If you are hurt, that is an ambulance first, then emergency towing for the bike once the scene clears.

What dispatch needs to hear about your bike

Bikes get more questions than cars, because the answers decide how the driver loads.

• Make, model, and weight class. A scooter, a mid-size standard, and a full-dress tourer are three different loads.
• Kickstand or center stand, and whether it is holding on the surface under it.
• Does it roll? Both wheels turn, chain on, brakes free, steering unlocked.
• Was it dropped? Bent bars, a broken clutch lever, or a cracked fairing change how the driver handles it.
• Is it leaking? Fuel or oil on the deck is a cleanup, not a problem, but the driver wants to know.

With those answers, dispatch quotes a hook-up fee plus loaded miles, with add-ons for holidays and bikes off the pavement. Call dispatch for the quote; the price is confirmed before a truck is sent. We do not bill insurance; you pay us and send the itemized receipt to your insurer. Reach dispatch at 734-985-0010.

Your gear rides in the cab with you

You ride in the cab. Helmet, jacket, and gloves come into the truck, not left on the seat. Take the tank bag, the phone mount, and anything loose. Locked hard bags stay on the bike. Riding two-up, tell dispatch ahead of time; cab seating is limited. At the other end, the driver unloads in reverse, front wheel out of the chock last, and sets the bike on its stand where you point.