Trailer Tips
Trailer Manufacturers:
ln shopping for a
motorcycle trailer here are a just few important factors to question:
1) ls the company motorcycle oriented and are they riders? Why?
The product we produce must be tested on an ongoing basis to insure the highest
level of safety and quality control. How can a trailer manufacturer honestly
make any statement about how there trailer performs or handles etc. without
properly testing it behind a motorcycle.
2) What type of Warranty is offered on the trailer?
3) lf your trailer is being shipped to you, is the trailer insured for any
possible damages that may occur during shipping?
4) Does the trailer have a VIN number? Although a VIN no.may not be required
for registration in some States, it will be required in others. A no.of trailer
companies opt to have no VIN on the trailer which can become a nightmare at
time of licensing and registration of your trailer.
5) Although it is not monitored by the highway or transport depts., for your
own safety make sure all lighting on your trailer meets all DOT requirements
and includes markers, tail-lights and license plate lighting.
Design :
When designing a motorcycle touring trailer a number of important factors must
be addressed including correct fiberglass construction and design, low body
profile, aerodynamics, tongue length, proper alignment, empty weight,
suspension, lighting and visibility. The result of correct design in these
areas is a trailer that is safe and handles well under a variety of riding
conditions.
In addition to safety and performance, aesthetics including custom painting are
often important factors influencing the choices to be made when purchasing a
trailer. The following is a brief discussion on correct lighting and things to
watch for when having your trailer painted and color matched to your
motorcycle.
Lighting and Visibility:
Proper lighting and visibility is often overlooked when shopping for a trailer.
Visibility is a key safety factor when pulling a trailer and is particularly
important when riding after dark. Your trailer should have separate amber turn
signals and separate red running/brake lights. Marker lights or reflectors
should also be located on the side of the trailer for complete visibility and a
license plate light at the rear of the trailer.
Many trailer companies offer the option of a rear spoiler with a red LED brake
light. When the brake is applied on the motorcycle you then have three red
lights warning drivers behind you of the trailer’s presence. This spoiler light
can also be wired into your running light system. This is an option well worth
purchasing as most folks driving an automobile do not expect to see a trailer
behind your motorcycle.
Custom Color-matching:
Having your trailer painted with custom color matching to your bike is an
option that can greatly enhance the overall appearance of your touring package.
It does, however, bring great challenges to the manufacturer in order to
produce a factory quality finish and color match. While the average painter can
do a wonderful paint job on a car where the body is primarily metal, painting
on a body that is purely fiberglass requires someone that has years of
experience and is familiar with challenges specific to fiberglass painting.
Having said this, an excellent finish can be attained with proper prep work,
sanding, priming, paint application, hours of buffing, and the right painter.
Although proper lighting, ventilation to reduce dust etc. are important when
painting a trailer, the most important factor is the person applying the paint
and his technical abilities when working with fiberglass. We, at badapple inc.,
offer in house paint facilities at our factory to achieve the highest level of
quality control. This enables us to produce one of the best paint finishes in
the industry.
Any trailer manufacturer that produces quality color matching to your bike will
tell you that this too is not as simple as it sounds. Color matching is done in
one of two ways - by using the bike manufacturers paint code, or by visually
producing a paint color that matches the actual paint on your bike. Matching
with paint codes sounds like the simple way of doing this but it does not
always provide an accurate match. There are two reasons behind this. Firstly,
over time the paint on your bike will fade from being exposed to the ultra
violet rays of the sun. So, if your bike is not right off of the factory bench,
a paint code will not reflect this change.
Secondly, the specific brand of paint used in the manufacture of motorcycles is
not generally available to trailer manufacturers. The paints we most often use
are PPG, House of Kolors and Color-Rite. Thus, the codes do not always
translate precisely to those of a different paint manufacturer. For these
reasons badapple inc. has gone exclusively to using a side-cover from your bike
to produce a color match that is accurate. This method along with the help of a
fellow who has an amazing eye for color matching enables us to bring to you
superb color matching that we know you will be pleased with.
Trailer manufacturers make very little profit in providing you with superb
paint finishes and color matching as a result of the high costs involved - but
in the end the resulting product and customer satisfaction attained makes it
worth providing this option for you.
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