Motorcycles

How to Prepare Your Motorcycle for Towing in Corona, CA

Strip the Loose Gear, Kill the Alarm, and Tell Them What You Ride

Preparing a motorcycle for a tow takes about five minutes: remove anything that can fall off, switch off the alarm or tracker, photograph the bike, and tell the dispatcher what you ride before the truck leaves. That last one matters more than people expect, because a chock that fits a mid-size cruiser will not necessarily hold a chopper's front wheel or a scooter's small one.

A motorcycle is also the one vehicle that cannot stand up by itself, which is why it is the one vehicle where the rigging is worth understanding. Below: what the federal securement rules actually require of the straps and chocks holding your bike, how each type of bike gets rigged differently, and where doing it yourself stops being sensible.

The short version:

Loose accessories are the most common avoidable damage on a motorcycle tow.
Straps attach to the frame or fork legs, never to handlebars, levers or exhausts.
Your bike type changes the equipment, so say what it is when you call.

A Motorcycle Is the One Vehicle That Cannot Hold Itself Up

Everything about motorcycle towing follows from one fact: a bike falls over unless something holds it. A car can be lifted at one axle and dragged; it stays upright on its own and there are structural points designed to take the load. A motorcycle has neither. That is why a wheel lift or a hook-and-chain setup is the wrong tool, and why the right setup is a deck, a chock and straps.

The parts that do the work, and the parts that must never do the work:

A wheel chock — a V-shaped bracket that captures the front wheel and holds the bike vertical while it is strapped down.
Ramps with a non-slip surface and a rating that covers the bike, so it rolls on rather than being lifted.
Straps to the frame or fork legs, usually four of them, one at each corner.
Never the handlebars, brake or clutch levers, mirrors, or exhaust. Those bend, crack or crush under strap tension, and an exhaust in particular is expensive to be wrong about.

Soft loops are the small piece that saves paint. Instead of hooking a metal strap end directly onto the frame, the loop goes round the frame or fork and the hook attaches to the loop, so nothing metal ever touches a finished surface.

What the Federal Securement Rules Actually Require

Securing a vehicle for transport is regulated, not improvised, and the numbers are public. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's cargo securement rules require a securement system to withstand 0.8 g of deceleration forward, plus 0.5 g rearward and 0.5 g laterally — the forces of a hard stop and a fast curve, applied separately.

Three of those rules explain exactly what you should see on the deck:

Chocks are required, not optional. FMCSA states that cargo likely to roll must be restrained by chocks, wedges, a cradle or equivalent means, and that whatever prevents rolling must not be able to come loose in transit. A motorcycle is the definition of cargo likely to roll.
Straps are rated as a system. The aggregate working load limit of the securement system must be at least half the weight of what it is holding — which is why the rating on the straps matters more than how tight they feel.
Edge protection is mandatory. FMCSA requires it wherever a tiedown would be subject to abrasion or cutting where it touches the cargo, and requires it to resist abrasion, cutting and crushing. That is the regulatory version of "use soft loops."

Every tiedown must also be attached so it cannot loosen, unfasten, open or release while the vehicle is moving. In practice that is what the driver is checking on the walk-round before pulling away, and it is worth letting them finish it.

What to Do Before the Truck Arrives

Five things, in this order, and none of them take long:

Switch off the alarm, immobilizer or tracker if you can reach it safely. An alarm that triggers on the deck is a nuisance for everyone and a dead battery by the time you arrive.
Strip the loose gear. Saddlebags, tank bag, phone mount, GPS, tail pack, helmet lock, anything bungeed on. This is the most common avoidable damage on a bike tow, and it is entirely on you rather than the driver.
Note the fuel level. A part-full tank weighs less and sloshes less than a brimmed one.
Photograph it from several angles — both sides, front, rear, and close-ups of any existing scratch, scuff or crash damage. Then walk round with the driver and point those out before loading, which protects you both.
Get yourself somewhere safe and visible, off the traffic lanes, with your phone to hand in case the driver needs to find you.

One more at the far end: inspect the bike again on delivery, against those photos, before you sign anything.

What You Ride Decides the Rigging

The chock, the strap placement and sometimes the deck width all change with the bike. This is the reason a dispatcher asks what you ride rather than just where you are — a truck that arrives with the wrong chock has to come back.

Sport Bikes

Sport bikes combine low ground clearance with fairings that are structural in appearance only. The clearance issue shows up on the ramp, before the tow has started, and the fairings mean strap placement has to reach past the bodywork to the frame or fork legs. A front-wheel chock plus frame straps holds the bike without ever loading a painted panel.

Cruisers

Cruisers are heavier and sit low, so the weight is the planning problem rather than the clearance. The specific trap is the exhaust: on many cruisers the pipes are the most accessible thing to loop a strap around and the worst possible choice, because they bend and crack under tension. Straps go to the frame or the fork legs, and a heavier bike simply means more strap capacity, per the working-load-limit rule above.

Choppers and Custom Builds

Custom frames are where a standard setup runs out. Extended forks, a stretched wheelbase and a non-standard front wheel often mean the bike will not sit in a normal chock at all, and the usual four-corner strap geometry does not apply. If you ride a chopper or a one-off build, say so when you call and describe the front end — that is what lets the operator bring the right chock, longer straps, or an alternative method rather than improvising on the roadside.

Scooters and Lightweight Two-Wheelers

A scooter's problems are the opposite of a cruiser's. Small wheels often will not seat properly in a motorcycle chock, so adjustable wheel straps are commonly used to capture the front tire instead. The step-through frame also means much of what looks like structure is plastic body panel — ask for straps routed to the frame rails rather than over the shell, because those panels crack rather than flex. Mopeds and small electric two-wheelers follow the same rules: easy to load, still need a stable base so they cannot tip in transit.

Trikes and Three-Wheelers

A trike stands up by itself, so the chock stops being the point — the straps are there to stop it shifting side to side rather than to keep it vertical. What replaces the chock question is width. Trikes vary a lot across the rear axle, and a deck or trailer that comfortably takes two motorcycles may not take one wide trike without a wheel overhanging the edge. Measure yours once, write it down, and give the number when you call. Motorcycle towing in Corona covers three-wheelers, but the deck has to be matched to the machine.

Bike Down? Tell Us What You Ride and We Bring the Right Chock.

A truck that turns up without a chock that fits your front wheel is a wasted hour. Give our dispatcher the make, model and type, say whether it rolls, and the right deck and rigging come with the driver. Not stranded right now? Contact Corona Towing Service to arrange a transport instead.

Call (951) 916-3232

Moving It Yourself: Where Each Method Runs Out

Plenty of riders move their own bikes and it works fine. It is worth knowing where each method's limit actually sits, because the failure mode is usually a rating nobody checked rather than a knot nobody tied.

Tow dolly. Lifts the front wheel and leaves the rear on the road. On a motorcycle the rear is normally the driven wheel, turning the chain or belt and the gearbox for the whole trip, and the tire wears the whole way. Short distances and light bikes only, and check the manual before you assume the drivetrain tolerates it.
Hitch carrier. A platform on the vehicle's receiver. The limit is not the carrier's rating but your vehicle's tongue-weight rating, and the bike plus carrier is a lot of weight hanging a long way behind the axle. Suited to scooters and small bikes.
Utility or rental trailer. Workable with a chock, ratchet straps and soft loops, provided the trailer's rating covers the bike and the floor and tie-down points can take a concentrated load rather than a spread one. A trailer rated for a ton of mulch is not automatically rated for 600 pounds sitting on two small contact patches.

Two hard limits regardless of method. A motorcycle should never travel lying on its side — that is how you get fluid loss and suspension damage. And nobody rides in the trailer or the cargo area with the bike; passengers belong in the cab.

Where doing it yourself stops being the sensible option: after a crash, with a locked wheel or seized brake, with fluid leaking, with a custom front end that will not sit in a chock, or when the bike is somewhere you cannot get a trailer to. That is when it becomes a flatbed job, and if it is off the pavement, a winch out and recovery one first.

The Four Things Dispatch Needs From You

Bike first, location second. That order is deliberate — the location decides who goes, the bike decides what they bring.

Make, model and year, plus the type in plain words: sport bike, cruiser, chopper, scooter, trike.
Whether it rolls. A bike that rolls can be pushed up a ramp; one with a locked wheel or seized brake needs a winch.
Anything non-standard — extended forks, low clearance, aftermarket fairings, unusual width on a trike.
Where you are and where it is going, with the nearest exit or cross street.

Our guide to getting fast towing help in Corona goes deeper on the location and documentation side, and the flatbed decision guide covers the same question for cars.

Stuck on a Corona Road: What Actually Shows Up?

On the 91 or I-15 during the weekday commute, free help exists but it is not a motorcycle deck. According to the Riverside County Transportation Commission, the Freeway Service Patrol covers the entirety of Riverside County's State Route 91 and I-15 from SR-60 south to SR-79/Temecula Parkway, running Monday to Friday from 6:00 to 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 6:00 p.m., Friday afternoons from 11:30 a.m., and not at all on holidays.

Two things about that are worth knowing before you rely on it. RCTC does not describe motorcycle-specific handling among the free services it lists, and where FSP does tow, it states the vehicle goes to a location approved by the CHP and that FSP cannot tow to a private repair facility. So even in the best case it is a way off the freeway, not a way to your shop.

Outside those hours, or anywhere off those corridors, the bike goes on a private call. Corona Towing Service answers around the clock and covers Corona plus the surrounding cities — Norco, Riverside, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Lake Elsinore, Chino, Chino Hills, Ontario, Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda among them, with the full list on the service areas page.

Motorcycle Towing: Frequently Asked Questions

Four questions riders ask before the truck is dispatched.

What is the safest way to tow a motorcycle?

On a flatbed or a purpose-built motorcycle trailer, upright, with the front wheel in a chock and soft loops protecting the frame or fork legs from the straps. A motorcycle should never be transported lying on its side, and nobody should ride in the trailer or cargo area with the bike.

Can a motorcycle be towed with a wheel lift or a hook and chain?

No. A motorcycle cannot balance itself, and there is no point on the frame designed to be dragged from. A wheel lift is a good tool for cars in tight spaces and the wrong tool for a bike — the risk is bent forks, a cracked frame, or the bike simply going over. Motorcycles need a deck, a chock and soft straps.

Can I move my motorcycle on a utility trailer or a rental trailer?

Sometimes. You need a wheel chock, ratchet straps, soft loops, and a trailer whose rating and tie-down points can take the bike's weight as a concentrated load rather than a spread one. It is not the right choice after a crash, with a locked wheel, with fluid leaking, or with a custom frame that will not sit in a standard chock.

Do I need to remove my saddlebags before the tow truck arrives?

Yes. Take off saddlebags, tank bags, phone mounts and anything else that can shift or fall during transport, and switch off any alarm, immobilizer or tracker if you can reach it safely. Loose accessories are the most common avoidable damage on a motorcycle tow, and they are the one part of the job that is entirely in your hands.

Sources

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — Cargo Securement Rules — the 0.8 g forward and 0.5 g rearward and lateral performance requirements; the requirement that cargo likely to roll be restrained by chocks, wedges or a cradle that cannot come loose in transit; the rule that a securement system's aggregate working load limit be at least half the weight of the article; the requirement for edge protection resistant to abrasion, cutting and crushing wherever a tiedown touches the cargo; and the requirement that each tiedown be attached so it cannot loosen, unfasten, open or release while the vehicle is moving.
Riverside County Transportation Commission — Freeway Service Patrol — FSP coverage on State Route 91 and I-15, its weekday commute-hour schedule, the free services it lists, and the rule that it tows only to CHP-approved locations rather than private repair facilities.
Your motorcycle's owner's manual is the authority on how it may be transported, including whether the drivetrain tolerates a rear wheel turning on the road. Manufacturer instructions override any general guidance on this page.

Your Bike Deserves a Deck, a Chock and Soft Straps.

Whether it is a sport bike with cracked fairings, a cruiser that will not turn over, or a trike too wide for a standard trailer, one call sorts the equipment before anyone sets off. Tell us the bike and where you are, and we will get it moved upright and unmarked — anywhere in Corona and Riverside County, any hour.

Call Now (951) 916-3232

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