I am putting a rig together, with a BMW K13OOGT and a Hannigan. I am thinking about a Bunkhouse camper. My questions to the group are,
1. Is this simply too much for the BMW to handle? It has 160 hp, but the torque is only average. The Bunkhouse is about 400 lbs loaded up.
2. Is it better to tow behind the bike, or midway between the bike and the car?
Thank you all for your advice.
Never had a K1300GT however we run an K1200LT with a two seat sidecar and usually towed either our Kwik Kamp or a Zennith trailer. Power was only an issue when we were at altitude in Colorado however the bikes transmission did fail at only 40K
We also ran 3 different Goldwings with this set up starting with a GL1100, put over 200K on these bikes with the sidecar and often the trailer, power was never an issue even with the 1100 nor was reliability.
I like to set the hitch up such that the left side of the trailer and the left side of the bike are even. The further to the right you set the trailer the more yaw effect it has however if you tow right off of the rear of the bike then the trailer sticks out to the left, the sidecar to the right and you are getting a lot wider then I like to be.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
I can't speak for the BMW as I ride a Wing but I 2nd Jay's call on trailer placement. I keep mine even with my saddle bags as well
I always towed a trailer with dirt bikes on it but I too preferred having the trailer even on the left side with the bike.
A friend and I fabricated a hitch for my Gildwing/CSC III. Took it out for a "shakedown" ride yesterday, and it works out just fine.
My first rig was a '76 'Wing with a Spyder sidecar. I made up a hitch much like the one on Tourist's rig. Seemed to tow just fine, but I did notice it more with heavy braking. Nothing to worry about though.
My next bike was a Kawasaki Voyager (Huge bike!), and I made up a hitch for it to pull the same trailer directly behind the bike. The trailer was only about 4" wider to the left than the bike's fairing. Not hard at all to get used to, but it never had any lateral effect on braking or acceleration.
I've pulled an Aspen Classic trailer with my Harley/Hannigan combination all over the country, and if my HD can pull it OK, your BMW should do fine. I built a hitch between the bike and sidecar which keeps the trailer centered behind the rig, much better, for me, than behind the bike. The whole rig was too wide with the trailer behind the bike, stuck out about 18" further than the left saddlebag.
