Does anybody use a van?

prawny

Anyone know if you can get bike width ways in a Relay/Boxer/Movano, they're 6 foot across the inside so I think it'd be ok. If so, that's what I'd have. Double bed high up across the back high enough to get the bikes under as a garage then you could keep all the living area completely separate and have it as tarty as you want. Might be a bit big for every day but not massively bigger than a t5 are they?

Edit:

BLING! http://www.convertyourvan.co.uk/racevanconversions.html

Kowalski675

pilch wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

Why not practical?

I race a lot, usually involves driving on rutted tracks or across fields from time to time, the van was lowered as well which didn't help.

I was regularly dinging the body kit, I was paranoid about my wheels - 20" with rubber bands on... also very little traction when its muddy.

It was a SWB and the inside was fitted out as a camper so I had to fit my bikes around the seating, often getting mud and sh1t all over the seats etc - I wouldn't put them on a carrier, too many bikes have been nicked from events that I have been to.

My other half also races now, we are often away at events all over place for weekends and we take the dog with us most times... so 2 people + 2 bikes, dog, kit, food - just didnt work

I guess I could have changed the wheels, taken the body kit off and changed the inside... but that kind of defeated the object so I sold it and bought a trafic hi top LWB, plenty of space and way easier.

Furry muff. The wheels looked smaller than 20s in the pic, I'd guessed they were 18s. I'm really sceptical about external bike carriers too. Every time I see someone with an expensive bike on a carrier I can't help thinking that it would only take someone a few seconds to cut the straps and bugger off with thousands of pounds of bike when they're stopped at traffic lights or stuck in traffic, let alone leaving it unattended, plus in winter their bike will be getting a lovely covering of highly corrosive salt spray.

nicklouse

Kowalski675 wrote:

[ Every time I see someone with an expensive bike on a carrier I can't help thinking that it would only take someone a few seconds to cut the straps and bugger off with thousands of pounds of bike when they're stopped at traffic lights or stuck in traffic, let alone leaving it unattended, plus in winter their bike will be getting a lovely covering of highly corrosive salt spray.

like to see some one remove any of these even without any extra locks before I get them.



and yes you need to service them after just like you had been for a ride.

Kowalski675

prawny wrote:

Might be a bit big for every day but not massively bigger than a t5 are they?

Depends which version you're talking about. I've driven the largest Relay (the LWB one) and that dwarfed a T5. It would be a pain in the arse as daily transport - wouldn't fit in normal parking spaces for a start, and you always have to remember you're driving something way longer than a car.

Kowalski675

nicklouse wrote:

like to see some one remove any of these even without any extra locks before I get them.

Most of the bikes I see on external carriers are secured by nothing more than a couple of rubber or webbing straps, they could be gone before the driver could get out of his car.

and yes you need to service them after just like you had been for a ride.

Riding off road is one thing - corrosive salt spray from winter roads is a different animal completely.

pesky_jones

nicklouse wrote:

like to see some one remove any of these even without any extra locks before I get them.

Is there any straps other than those around the tyres? Surely a stanley would go straight through those in a second. If I were a bike theif, I wouldnt mind going straight through the tyres to cut the straps.

Chunkers1980

Very opportunistic though. You'd at least need a Stanley knife.

When mine are on a rack they get cabled then d-locked via the tow hook, but this is mainly for service stations ect.

prawny

Kowalski675 wrote:

prawny wrote:

Might be a bit big for every day but not massively bigger than a t5 are they?

Depends which version you're talking about. I've driven the largest Relay (the LWB one) and that dwarfed a T5. It would be a pain in the ars* as daily transport - wouldn't fit in normal parking spaces for a start, and you always have to remember you're driving something way longer than a car.

Yeah wouldn't fancy a high roof LWB one for anything other than cruising up and down motorways all day, but a standard SWB one would be good, just wouldn't want to spend 2 weeks living in one.

nicklouse

Kowalski675 wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

like to see some one remove any of these even without any extra locks before I get them.

Most of the bikes I see on external carriers are secured by nothing more than a couple of rubber or webbing straps, they could be gone before the driver could get out of his car.

and yes you need to service them after just like you had been for a ride.

Riding off road is one thing - corrosive salt spray from winter roads is a different animal completely.

hardly.

Kowalski675

nicklouse wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

like to see some one remove any of these even without any extra locks before I get them.

Most of the bikes I see on external carriers are secured by nothing more than a couple of rubber or webbing straps, they could be gone before the driver could get out of his car.

and yes you need to service them after just like you had been for a ride.

Riding off road is one thing - corrosive salt spray from winter roads is a different animal completely.

hardly.

Yes it is - winter salt spray from wet roads is incredibly corrosive (it'll leave permanent tarnishing on ally parts left just a few hours). I've been around the motorcycle world long enough (over 20 years) to see what horrific damage salted roads do - take a look at the underside of your car. There's no way I'd transport a bike on the outside of my car in winter (just like there's no way I'd ever take any of my motorbikes on a salted road - it just destroys them).

Kowalski675

prawny wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

prawny wrote:

Might be a bit big for every day but not massively bigger than a t5 are they?

Depends which version you're talking about. I've driven the largest Relay (the LWB one) and that dwarfed a T5. It would be a pain in the ars* as daily transport - wouldn't fit in normal parking spaces for a start, and you always have to remember you're driving something way longer than a car.

Yeah wouldn't fancy a high roof LWB one for anything other than cruising up and down motorways all day, but a standard SWB one would be good, just wouldn't want to spend 2 weeks living in one.

This is the size I've driven a couple of times - a 600 Bandit looks a bit lost in the back of it, lol.



When you're not used to driving one regularly you really have to be careful to remember you're driving something long - the light steering, clutch, gearbox etc make you think you're driving a normal car, until you turn too early and catch the back end on a gatepost, lol...

prawny

Yeah, that's fairly epic. Turns out a short wheel base one is the same length as an A6. Jobs a good un.