I'm headed for my second track day in a few weeks and I'm trying to figure out the transportation for my bike to the track. I might be able to borrow a truck from a friend temporarily, but for the long-term I want to be able to tow my bike.

My daily is a '99 Civic Si, but it's really not meant to tow. I know there was a write-up on a guy rigging up his Accord to tow a bike, but I'd like to see other people who have done it also before attempting it myself.

If you've done it, tell me how you did it/do it. If you know someone who has, let me know the same. Thanks in advance

Some motivation for peeps to look



BTW I raised my Civic back up to stock height recently, partially in anticipation of being able to tow

 

I'm not going to lie, I don't see that ending well...

With a civic that I would venture to guess has sub-100 ft/lbs of torqe, I wouldn't do it.

I could imagine someone with an Accord V6 doing it, but not with a civic.

 

When you raised it back up, did you notice the ride is better?

All you need is a hitch and wiring harness. Possibly you cold get away without a wiring harness, but it's not much more expensive. I went through UHaul for my hitch and harness. I paid $215 for everything (install too) and also their $5 lifetime warranty.

With the Civic, you won't be winning any speed contests. And starting from a stop going uphill is an adventure. But it can be done. A friend of mine tows all the time with his Integra. He uses a simple open trailer that doesn't weigh very much.

Passenger cars are usually rated about 1500lbs max for towing. Approximately 10% of that number is the max rating for the tongue weight, which is where the trailer attaches to the ball. As long as you stay within those numbers, you will be ok. Just leave extra time for braking and space for turning.

I know that Harbor Freight sells a cheap open trailer. But you may also be able to find one in your local CL.

And if you decide to tow, whenever you are backing up, just remember to turn the steering wheel opposite of where you want the trailer to go.

 

i tow with my type R
i should have gotten a pic with my 916 out back oh well.
Tows just fine
cursing at 140km/h passing cars/trucks must look funny lol

you should be able to crusie at whatever speed you want. Around town just keep the revs up and it will do just fine

the first time i towed i had to put my Monster a bit sideways on the trailer. it was HORRIBLE towing that way. It was like a sail in the wind.
With the bike dead center on the trailer facing forward like it;s supposed to, made a world of difference

 

Who puts a bike sideways??

Since you (Quiks) are in CA, you can't (legally) travel faster than 55mph. And you aren't allowed to travel past the two left lanes on a freeway.

 

i had no choice wouldn't fit any other way. Fixed that in a hurry lol

 

Friend of my dad's tows two bikes on an open single axle trailer with his 95 Accord. It handles a little iffy over bumps, but power is adequate.

 

After the tow I would just maybe change the oil a bit sooner, and your trans fluid if you are getting close to not changing it in 50k, towing the extra weight will heat up the oil faster and cause it to break down faster.

 

There's some dude on here that tows his bike with his s ! So im guessing you can do it with your civic

 

If my street car wasn't running 12.25:1 compression and pings under normal use, I'd totally tow my bike with it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jasper_db1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If my street car wasn't running 12.25:1 compression and pings under normal use, I'd totally tow my bike with it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Im guessing that compression ration is in your DA ? What are you running ls/vtec with ctr pistons ?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tmkpres &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Im guessing that compression ration is in your DA ? What are you running ls/vtec with ctr pistons ?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sounds like my old setup: '97 Integra RS, LsVtec'd B18B block w/ITR .25 over pistons, B16A2 head and some crazy cams. It only lasted 20k miles before it blew up tho

As for the towing, I'm really considering getting a hitch put on. <TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CivicWagonRUS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Friend of my dad's tows two bikes on an open single axle trailer with his 95 Accord. It handles a little iffy over bumps, but power is adequate.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That gives me a little confidence that it can be done.

I've seen pics of S2000's towing bikes, but never a lowly 1.6 like I have now. Talk about a torqueless beast...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by marmaladedad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Who puts a bike sideways??

Since you (Quiks) are in CA, you can't (legally) travel faster than 55mph. And you aren't allowed to travel past the two left lanes on a freeway.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Haha, don't worry Marm, I doubt I'd go faster than 55mph with that much weight behind me. But thanks for looking out

 

sway a h22 and you'll be set !!

 

Relax.... you can pull it, you'll be fine. I have since picked up a tow vehicle, but a few years ago, I used my integra for an entire season. It's not like the B18 is comparable to a turbo diesel, but it did great. 225,000K miles on the ORIGINAL clutch and it pulled all day long.... gotta love Honda. Just do it... and you'll get better gas mileage than the rest of us. If you have any questions, just ask. I think I threw on a Hidden Hitch and it came with the wiring harness. FYI, I built the trailer, and the teg was rated to tow 1500 lbs.

Good Luck

 

I did a little research on Hidden Hitches and they look pretty solid. A guy over on 600RR.net sells really well-made trailers that fold up for around $400.

I may be getting overly ambitious...but would I be able to tow 2 bikes on a trailer?

 

It's all about weight and obviously tongue weight. 1500 lbs was max for the teg with a 200lb. max tongue weight. Bike placement on the trailer is paramount, and obviously you lose room to play when you cram 2 bikes on a baby trailer. You're reaching for the stars at this point with 2 bikes, trailer, leathers, helmets, tools, tires and 60lbs. worth of track fuel on your Civic's back. Having done it for a summer, I'd advise only 1 bike.

 

I've done it with both my hondas. Shouldn't be a problem for you...

 

Your S2K was my inspiration for the whole thing.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 99_SH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've done it with both my hondas. Shouldn't be a problem for you...





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Sex on wheels, plus it's towing a bike. Can you fix the first picture? The link looks broken.

 

With a D series Civic I'd limit it to one bike, but with that thing I'd tow two. Hell you and four fat chicks seated in there would weigh as much as you and two sport bikes. Just sayin.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mos &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Hell you and four fat chicks seated in there would weigh as much as you and two sport bikes. Just sayin. </TD></TR></TABLE>

What kind of girls are you hanging out with????

I don't even think I KNOW 4 200lb. chics, let alone talking 3 of them into squeezing into the back of a Honda coupe....

But, you do bring up another good point, which is to at least take a look at the load rating on your wheels/tires. That is something I did NOT do prior to towing with the teg, but everything went ok.

 

Well my point was this: two sport bikes are not that heavy.

My friend has a dc and when we're rollin five deep its more than 1000 pounds inside the car. Car does fine. Even to vegas. Like the other guys said get the tongue weight right... the engine wont know the difference between 1000 pounds of passenger and 1000 pounds of trailer. BTW my little red trailer looks exactly like yours. I've had two old 600 pound bikes on it and the trailer did fine.

 

not quite the same, but my 1995 subaru legacy 4 banger hauled my snowmobile just fine, actually better than my ranger did. i pulled a car once with my old celica, had her up to 90 just to see if it'd do it. that was only a 1.6L with around 100 hp, no problem.. you'll be fine with your civic.