How to transport a scooter
How do you transport your scooter and ensure your pride and joy is safe and secure during transit?
As experts, we're here to help.
In an ideal world, transporting a scooter would be as simple as riding the motorcycle to its new destination. However, your bike might not be in total working order; or if you've recently bought a vintage 60s-era Vespa, you might not want to ride it flat-out across the country for several hours.
Sometimes it can be nearly impossible to move a scooter seamlessly from A to B without a van. So whether you're delivering or collecting, we'll show you how to securely haul your scooter without causing any damage to the vehicle, your possessions and - perhaps most importantly - yourself.
Plan your equipment
First things first, before you start moving a scooter, you’ll need specific equipment, including:
Loading ramp
These are useful as they mean there's no heavy lifting, and you can load the scooter by yourself; a suitable ramp will help you get the scooter into the van safely and efficiently.
Ratchet straps
These help secure the bike during transit. Bungee cords or ropes have too much give allowing the scooter to move in the van. One of these ratchet straps should be a soft loop strap.
Chocks
A device that allows a scooter to stay upright when in the van; removal teams will supply their own. We advise you to purchase one instead of making a DIY version.
Canyon dancer bar
This harness is used to secure the handlebars of your scooter during transit and protect them from any damage that could occur.
Transport the scooter into a van
Wheel the scooter, using the ramps, into the van or pickup truck you are using to transport the vehicle. Getting the scooter up the ramp and into the truck is far more manageable and safer if at least two people carry it. For example, if one of you stands in the van, and the other pushes the scooter up the ramp, you can get the scooter in the van reasonably quickly.
If you don't have a ramp, put the scooter behind the open tailgate and lift the front wheel onto the tailgate by grasping the front suspension and lifting the front of the scooter onto the van - note that this will be a two-person job.
Once the front wheels are in the van or truck, the person on the van needs to hold the front handles; the person on the ground should lift the back end.
Tie down the scooter
Once in the van, it is vital to tie down the scooter. If the scooter isn't tied down, it will cause untold damage to both the scooter and the van during transit.
You start by removing accessories, especially if these are expensive and risk being scratched and scraped. For example, if your scooter has a lot of mirrors, you can remove them and place them in the protective sheets.
This stage is also where the canyon dancer bar harness, the tie-down straps and the scooter wheel chock are necessary. First, ensure the canyon dancer bar harness is tied around the handlebars and attached to the tie-down straps. The canyon dancer bar harness may not seem essential to the process - however, this couldn't be further from the truth. The handles are pretty brittle, and attaching the tie-downs directly to them could easily result in a break.
However, you're not ready to drive off yet. To make sure the scooter stays in place, you should wedge the front wheel into a scooter wheel chock. Incorrectly securing a scooter for transit is an expensive mistake; that's why you should leave it to our team of motorcycle delivery professionals.