Bought a single motorcycle trailer instead of renting uhaul

[Daschicken]

A cheap vfr 400 popped up on kijiji.ca, $2000 CAN. CHEAP! So my dad sent his canadian friend to go buy it. Now time to go get it, which is an 1800 mile round trip. We had done this once before, renting a uhaul at the beginning of the trip to pick up my cbr 250r. The uhaul "motorcycle" trailer is a real pig, probably weighs 2000 lbs alone and has a nice barn door at the back to catch the air. (Yes we tried to take it off, pretty sure its welded on.)

Here is what the trailer looks like:



On the way up, we got 18 mpg with that empty uhaul trailer...with a mazda cx-5 rated for 32 mpg highway...After picking up the 250, mpg improved slightly, maybe 19 mpg, still terrible. Oh yeah, and I got to see Detroit for the first time in my life. It was ON FIRE. Literally on fire. I think that tells you all you need to know about that city.

Not real excited about doing that again. We didn't have a trailer yet, but were planning to get one in the future. Dad didn't have the money ready to buy one at the moment. So the uhaul almost happened again. Instead I offered to loan MY MONEY to buy a PROPER motorcycle trailer so we aren't stuck getting 18 mpg again. We bought an Ace foldable motorcycle trailer. Tiny little thing that tucks in behind the car nicely. Weighs probably 250-300 lbs. Better yet, it fits inside the car, so no trailer on the way up!

On the way up he got 28 mpg, supposedly going 75-80 mph. On the way back, 29 mpg, slowly at first but later also at 75-80 mph.


Doing some simple calculations, here would be the fuel usage for the two trailers.

Uhaul: 97.3 gallons @ 18.5 mpg
Ace: 63.2 @ 28.5 mpg
34.1 gallons saved

So I single handedly saved 34.1 gallons by loaning my money to buy a proper trailer!

Will update with pics of my new baby viffer when I get home.

[Daschicken]

Here it is! I probably should have taken a picture when it still had the tank and seat/other crap on it. Oh well. Not running right now, no spark.



I'll tell you what, the nice thing about getting a late 80s sportbike is that they had nice fairing coverage back then. Better aerodynamics!

[Daschicken]

Got it running. It had no spark due to a faulty kill switch, carbs had gas so old in them it turned GREEN, TONS of bolts and clamps missing or loose, rusty coolant. It really seems like it was assembled from a box of parts.

Choke still doesn't work, no rear brake, needs new chain and front sprocket(rear already is new), front dual disc brakes are weak, needs a headlight bulb and a side marker bulb. But other than that, it works! And it makes sexy music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_WvFjeSwxU

[M_a_t_t]

You rode around with a camera in the airbox? It sounds great

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by M_a_t_t

You rode around with a camera in the airbox? It sounds great

Better, I put my phone in there! I agree, its the best sound i've recorded yet. I think it even tops my 18,000 RPM CBR 250R.

[Daox]

Very nice! Congrats on getting it running.

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by Daox

Very nice! Congrats on getting it running.

Thanks. While you're here, can you help me get access to the wiki? I pm'ed you a while ago with no response, maybe your inbox was full?

[Daox]

Ah yes, I did get the PM... and forgot about it! Sorry! I will get on it for ya.

[JSH]

Cool bike. Not too many of those around.

I bought a KZ400 on Ebay back when I lived in Birmingham, Alabama. The only problem was it was in Fort Wayne, Indiana. My solution was to rent a Dodge Dakota from Enterprise. $40 a day with unlimited miles. I picked it up at 7 am when the office opened, drove 1250 miles round trip to pick up the bike and dropped off the truck a 7 am the next day. The guy checking the car back checked the mileage, took a double take, and asked "Where did you drive this thing"!

[rnjason]

Impressive bike you got there.