Roadside
Will a regular tow truck damage my motorcycle?
A regular tow truck can move a motorcycle safely, but most of the damage riders report comes from how the bike was strapped, not from the truck itself. Here is what to ask before they load it.
By the 2 Wheels in Common team
Short answer: it can, and when it does, the damage almost always comes from how the bike was secured, not from the truck. A flatbed operator who knows motorcycles will move yours without a mark. A wheel-lift operator improvising with car straps can crack a fairing, bend a bar, or crush a brake line in the first hundred yards. The truck matters less than the person and the straps.
The two kinds of truck
A flatbed tilts its whole deck to the ground, the bike is walked or winched up, and it rides upright on the deck. This is the right tool. A wheel-lift grabs a car’s front or rear wheels and drags it with the other end on the road. There is no safe way to do that to a motorcycle, and an operator who suggests it does not tow bikes.
Some operators run a purpose-built motorcycle cradle or a small enclosed trailer instead. Both are fine. The point is the bike rides upright, on its own wheels, held by straps at the right places.
Where the damage actually happens
Straps. Specifically, straps in the wrong place or pulled too tight.
- Around the handlebars. Common, and the source of most bent bars and crushed cables. Pressure on the bars also loads the front suspension oddly for the whole trip.
- Over a fairing or a tank. Plastic cracks, paint scuffs, and a tank can dent from a ratchet strap that got cranked one more click.
- Without a chock. If the front wheel can turn, the bike can walk out of the straps on the first hard brake.
- Compressing the forks fully. Pulling the front down until the suspension bottoms and leaving it there for an hour is hard on fork seals.
The right way is soft loops around the lower triple clamp or a frame member, a wheel chock or a strap across the front tire, and the forks compressed part way, not all the way. A rear strap keeps it from bouncing.
What to ask before they load it
Ask on the phone, before you give the address. If the answers are vague, call the next name on the list.
- Do you tow motorcycles, and is it a flatbed?
- Do you carry soft loops and a wheel chock, or motorcycle-rated straps?
- Where will you attach the straps? (Listen for triple clamp, frame, or front wheel. Not bars.)
- Will you take it if it does not roll?
- What is the price, flat or by the mile, and what is your radius?
What to refuse
You are allowed to say no. If the truck that shows up is a wheel-lift, or the driver reaches for a strap across your tank, you can stop them and call someone else. A second call-out fee is cheaper than a fairing.
Take a photo of the bike on the deck, strapped, before it leaves. If something is bent when it arrives, that photo settles the argument.
If you can, ride it out
A bike that starts and rolls does not always need a truck. A cracked mirror or a dead turn signal is not a tow. A bike that will not shift, has no front brake, or is leaking fuel is. When in doubt, the shop you are heading to can tell you in one phone call whether it is safe to nurse in.