First Attempt At Building a "Pull Behind" Motorcycle Trailer - Introduction

Tue, October 1st, 2019
Written by Oscar Aguayo
Photography by Oscar Aguayo

Pulling a small trailer with your bike can allow you to make longer trips. Let's see if we can build one!

The Western US offers unparalleled opportunities for long distance trips through some of the most striking landscapes, and Al and me have been exploring it in our bikes for several years. There is something about riding your machine in solitude through vast spaces that appeals deeply to some of us.

I've been travelling in my 1993 Yamaha V-Max for several years and there is nothing like being in control of a machine that can reach dizzying speeds at the smallest twist of my wrist; especially on some remote desert highway. As the distances in my travels get longer, however, I've started to dislike the ring in my ears when I finally pull into a gas station after a couple of hours of pure travel; or the stiffness in my neck and back from the not-that-relaxed posture the V-Max requires of its rider. So, in time, I've come to wish more for comfort than muscle when I travel.

So, after months of research and test-riding some candidates, I ended up buying my very first touring bike: 1998 Honda Goldwing 1500SE (now nicknamed "Dark Wing").

[ click picture to enlarge ]

By now I've been riding it for a couple of months and I love it. Of course, it lacks the punch and nimbleness of the V-Max, but in exchange it abounds in comfort. Simply put: for travelling, the Goldwing is a better fit. I took it on a short camping trip to the mountains East of Salt Lake City, UT in August and the bike felt much better suited than my muscle cruiser.

That short excursion also taught me that, despite the roomy saddles and trunk, camping supplies can require more space; specially when you have reached the age where a sleeping bag is not enough cushion between the hard floor and your bones. My 4 inch thick foam pad wouldn't fit inside the cargo areas, so it had to be attached to the cargo grill. The firewood had to go in the passenger seat because of the same reasons. This is how the whole rig looked like:

[ click picture to enlarge ]

Unacceptable.

The solution is, of course, a "pull behind" trailer. I had the chance to see and examine a few motorcycle trailers while I was shopping around for a touring bike. I've never pulled anything behind my bike so I don't know how that feels but, like anything in life, it has to be a matter of learning, taking precautions and practicing. So, away I went online in search for motorcycle "pull behind" trailers.

Well, they are expensive.

After a few weeks looking everywhere I arrived at the conclusion that the cheapest motorcycle trailer was as expensive as if I build my own one. And between those two options, which one is more fun? ;) So, I am currently in the process of building my own pull behind little trailer for the Dark Wing and have been taking pictures of most of the steps I am going through. My intention is to document my whole process in case someone out there finds it useful.

As a disclaimer, I am delving in several areas outside my set of skills as I build this little trailer. So, (1) my design is very plain, basically a rectangle with wheels over which to mount some sort of weatherproof box; (2) my results can be mediocre since I am only a so-so welder, and only a hobbyist in carpentry and electricity. So, the disclaimer is: This won't be an authoritative guide to trailer building. If you decide to follow it in your own trailer building project, or use any of my experiences; only you are responsible for your results :)

With that out of the way, I'll post the first part of my little project in a few days.

Stay tunned, and happy riding!
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