I am interested in towing a Honda Silverwing weighing 550 lbs on a motorcycle carrier on my hitch receiver. Anyone know about or has experience doing this, you're input would be appreciated. I am concerned about suspension,handling,engine, transmission,or other things I've not even considered.

Back in the 90s I carried a Honda 250cc scooter on the front of our bus. Worked well but got a little buggy. I waxed the forward side often and the bugs came off.

Because you have a short Barth, you already have a problem with the tail wagging the dog. By putting it on the front you will even out your weight distribution.

Back in my motorcycle days, I had a hitch that you could "toad" a motorcycle on the back wheel with the front wheel in a sling up off the ground. It worked just like a tow dolly for a car.

That's too much weight for the hitch. Use a trailer.

I infer that you have the modern Silverwing maxi-SCOOTER, rather than the vintage Silverwing MOTORCYCLE. Each is quite wide -- the former because of the plastic body work -- the latter because of the transverse V twin engine. So, either would need to be perched quite far behind the bumper. Your hitch might be rated for 500# tongue weight. But, the torque from that much weight way back is bad.

A number of times, I have seen modern motor coaches with huge, large-displacement motorcycles on the back. HOWEVER, they were NOT hitch mounted. The hydraulic lifts I saw were (I think) mounted directly to the frame.
http://hydralift-usa.com/motorhome-lift-2/
On the other hand, OVERBILT shows theirs in a 2" hitch receiver.
http://www.overbiltlifts.com/electric-lift/

Ask Spartan

I currently have about 4k of our summer trip done with a Triumph Tiger 800 (claimed 465 wet so probably closer to 500 with the bash plate and accessories) on the back of our 25 footer. She travels just fine down the road. Swings a bit if you are not careful. My biggest problem isn't with the rig or the tow it has been with the carrier. About 2k into the trip the front end started bending. Stopped by a Lowes and picked up 2 pieces of 2" angle iron 3' long. Put one on and got lazy thinking that would hold it, the next day it bent back again on the non supported side. Decided that I should use a 6' piece as I only have the 3' piece bolted to the rack frame with one bolt. With a 6' piece I can bolt to both sides. Did that yesterday. Put 300 miles on today thru death valley and over the Sierras to Lake Isabella and not an issue. I should have read the reviews and done it at home. That said a 550lbs bike would be pushing the limits of the 600lbs rack I have. Might not trust it. Remember the rack also weighs about 75lbs.

THANKS FOR THE INPUT. I concur the scooter is to heavy and have now redirected my search for an Aprilia Scarabeo weighing in at 416 pounds.

quote:

Aprilia Scarabeo

How big of a Scarabeo? That seems HEAVY for a small scoot. At that weight I do think you might have issues getting it on and off. Since I have a shoulder that is about as useful as a freezer in the artic I installed a manual boat winch on mine for our trip. My 12 year old cranks it up and I just keep it steady. I do still need to take on and off the front tire chuck as I can't get it over it. Also, one other thing to consider is clearance going up the ramp. I don't have a ton of clearance when going up and I do have quite a bit of ground clearance since it is an on/off road bike.

quote:

Originally posted by benebob:

quote:

Aprilia Scarabeo

How big of a Scarabeo? That seems HEAVY for a small scoot. At that weight I do think you might have issues getting it on and off.

It is NOT a "small scoot"
Scarabeo 500=
* Dry weight: 416lbs / 189 kg
* Length: 89” / 2263 mm
* Width: 30.1” / 765 mm (at handlebars)
* Height: 55.6” / 1411 mm (at windshield)
* Wheelbase: 60.4” / 1535 mm
* Seat height: 30.7” / 780 mm
* Fuel Tank: 13.2 litres / 3.5 gallons

The 'beo is much more like a traditional Vespa shape than maxi-scooters I've had, including Honda Helix, Aprila Atlantic 500, Kymco Xciting, or my current Yamaha TMax 500. I ought to sell it because I hardly ever ride it since getting a convertible coupe car.

Was thinking they had a different name for the big scoots or maybe it was the Atlantic I was thinking of. Only Scarabeos I've seen were the 150cc or so versions and that was why I was asking. Seemed awfully heavy for a 150cc that wasn't formed out of a solid piece of lead! LOL That weight I would suspect you would be a bit better off with the 600lbs carrier then we are but I would still recommend putting some c channel under it. I would also be a bit more concerned about weight bias as bikes are slightly front heavy without the rider, scoots are rear bias even before you put a rider on it. I did remember seeing one of the manufactures said not to put a scooter bigger than 200cc on its 600lbs rack because of the load on the rear.