Dirt bike riders are a passionate group of bikers that will come up with creative ideas to get their bike to the track to ride. The trick is to get the bike here safely and without infringing any traffic laws!
Fitting a dirt bike into a car largely depends on the type of car. With a small pickup truck, you can get your dirt bike loaded on the back. With a hatchback, it may be able to fit in the back, and with a sedan, it might not be able to fit unless you transport it on top of the car instead of inside.
So let’s examine this in a bit more detail to hopefully help you get your dirt bike into whatever you want to transport it with.
Can a dirt bike fit in a car?
No, this is not a joke like the question “How many clowns can you fit in a car”! The question is a very legitimate one that dirt bike riders with small cars may ask. Access to a dirt bike trailer or a large truck to get their bike to the offroad track may not be an option for some people! This may particularly be the case if you are just starting out in the sport.
You may also think that the answer to this problem is that it depends on the size of the car! While this may be true to a certain extent, a small car is not necessarily an insurmountable problem to transport your bike!
You may also be surprised at the answer! There are many innovative solutions to this problem showing that it is a more common problem than you may think.
While a dirt bike may not be able to fit IN most small cars, it most definitely can fit ON a small car!
What Car Do You Drive?
The type of car you have available for the transport of your bike will largely determine the answer to the question and how innovative you have to get! If you find yourself in the position of needing to get your bike transported with a small car, hopefully, this article will get you thinking about the possibilities that are open to you!
If you drive a small pickup truck, you can, with a bit of creative maneuvering, get your dirt bike loaded on the back!
If you drive a hatchback, you may open the back and stand back and scratch your chin while you eye your dirt bike to see if it may fit in there!
Driving a sedan will require even more ingenious methods of getting your bike to your riding location, but, surprisingly, it is possible, even without breaking the law!
How To Fit Your Dirt Bike In A Small Pickup Truck
A small pickup truck is the easiest of the small cars to load your dirt bike into. How easy it will be will depend on the size of the load bin at the back. Not all small pickup trucks have the same size load bin. Don’t try to load the bike on the back without doing the following steps! It is not easy to balance a bike while trying to make it fit!
Using a tape measure, take a measurement from the front of the front wheel to the rear of the back wheel. Armed with this data, measure the back of your pickup to see if it can accommodate your bike.
If the bike will not fit standing straight from cab to tailgate, you have a couple of alternative options you can try.
- Check if the bike will fit diagonally from one corner to the other. If it does, you can quite easily secure the bike in this position.
- If you fit the bike straight on, check how much of the bike will hang out past the tailgate. If the back wheel does not overhang the tailgate, you can transport your bike with the tailgate down, as long as your license plate is not obscured, or the tail lights of your vehicle.
- If your dirt bike does not fit in your truck with either of the above methods, you can take off the front wheel. This may create just the space you need to fit the bike on the back.
There are a few things to remember before trying to get your bike into the back of your truck. The most important thing is to be safe! You don’t want the bike to fall while you are loading it and injure you, or someone else and even possibly damaging the bike. This operation is usually at least a two-person job.
It is best to push the bike up a ramp onto the back of the truck and then maneuver the bike into position. Make sure the ramp is secured to your truck so that it does not slip off while you are pushing the bike up the ramp.
If you need to take the front wheel off, you will need to lift the front-end of the bike during the loading operation. This will require a bit more muscle!
How To Fit Your Dirt Bike In A Hatchback
If you are going to try and fit your dirt bike inside your hatchback, your need to be aware that there will be a certain amount of dismantling of the bike required.
Once again the measuring tape is your friend. Don’t try to dismantle the bike before you take measurements, only to find that it will not fit, even in its dismantled state.
Collapse the back seats of your hatchback to increase the packing space available. You may be tempted to lay your bike on its side to get it in the car. While this may be possible, you need to be aware of fuel, oil, and other fluids that may leak out in this position.
At a minimum, taking both wheels off your dirt bike will be necessary. You can then fit them and the frame into the car separately. However, even this may not make your bike compact enough to fit. The level of dismantling may be more work than it is worth, particularly if your hatchback is a small model.
Dismantling your bike to fit it in the hatchback is going to require you to muscle and manhandle the bike into the back. It can be strenuous and exhausting work and is better accomplished with two people.
If your bike won’t fit inside, it may be possible to transport it on the outside of your vehicle. There are several modern innovations in this regard, similar to the way bicycles are transported using the same type of vehicle. This, however, would require you to purchase the transport mechanism and fit it to your car.
How To Fit Your Dirt Bike In A Sedan
Short of dismantling your dirt bike down to nuts and bolts, it is probably not a practical exercise to try and fit your bike into a sedan.
If your sedan is wide enough, it may be possible to take off the front and back wheels and fit the frame in the back seat, this is going to take some significant maneuvering and you can potentially damage your car or bike in the process.
A more sensible solution would be to invest in a specialized rack that fits onto the tow hitch of your sedan. Your bike can be fitted to this rack, similar to the way bicycles are transported. There are many new products available in this market which are sturdy and robust and made for dirt bikes. This makes the task of getting your bike to the track in your sedan much less of a chore!
Conclusion
Now that you have been armed with the knowledge, and some extra tips, of where and how to fir your dirt bike into your car, depending on which car you have, you can hopefully be off to the track in no time at all!
Just, whatever you choose to do, do so with caution and make sure to have some help in case you need it, which you probably will.
Happy dirt biking!
