Needing Silver Wing Trailer Hitch

I have a new 2013 Honda Silver Wing Scooter, and I am needing a trailer hitch.  I have had no luck finding anything that will fit on the market.  I came across Dennis' trailer hitch and want to either make one or buy one.  Preferably buy one.  Can anyone help me get in touch with Dennis?

Here is my hitch and trailer project from last year:




I finally got around to building myself a hitch and trailer! It was a fun project. I think the hardest part was getting the correct bends on the 1" pipe for the hitch. The pipe was heavy wall (1/8")
and took a lot of elbow grease to shape. I used a hand bender to mold it and yes there was nashing of teeth! The plate steel is 1/4" for the ball mount and side mounts.


I wanted the trailer to sit low so i made the hitch to sit below the shock center by around 3". I replaced the original shock bolts with 1/4" longer bolts to allow for the extra thickness of the hitch mount. I also replaced the front bolt with a hardened bolt because of the sheer pressure that may come on it!



I originally painted the hitch black but the area around the ball was easily scratched so i found this self adhesive rubber mat at walmart to solve that problem.



The trailer was originally a Harbor Freight 4'x4' trailer. I cut and welded the pieces to the appropriate size i needed. The box came from Lowes. The trailer came in red but i painted it semi gloss black to better match the bike. The trailer came with all the lights and wiring, nothing extra was required except the Lowes cargo box. I like that the box came with a locking lid plus the ability to use an extra lock if required.



I swapped all the trailer bulbs for led bulbs so the electrical system wouldnt be stressed.



The bike required a 5 to 4 adapter for the trailer hook up. The adapter cost around $5 and was easy to install. I soldered the wires to the appropriate colored wires for safety's sake. Theres even a small area to pass the wire through without cutting/drilling the bike!



COSTS:
Trailer= $190
Cargo box= $75
Hitch material= $25
LED bulbs= $15
Misc.= $20
           
 Total= $325

TRAILER SPECS:
Total width= 31" (swing mirrors are 34")
Total length= 62"
Total weight empty= 128.6 lbs
Total tongue weight= 11.8 lbs



I road tested the trailer with my wife onboard for around 400klm's and i would say it pulls without effort! The only time i could feel it behind me was when making sharp turns i.e. traffic lights, parking lots etc. We took it on a road test fully loaded with two suitcases packed with 4 days clothing and footwear, plus a roadside emergency kit, plus two extra open face helmets in case the weather turned nice (cold and raining)......It didnt so we only overnighted and returned home the next day. We gave the trailer two thumbs up! excellent for touring around.

C.Lister would you please click here on this blue link and introduced yourself.  Then you'd get a proper welcome from the forum members.
Dennis no longer comes on the forum and we don't know what has happened to him. But hotwings directions should enable you to make one yourself.
If youplan on doing your own maintenance you'll find you can do anything you need or want with the service manual and help from this forum.
I add the paragraph below for most new members because there's a lot of information in the links and may save you some work.
Here are some links(3 below in blue)that will help you learn a lot about your Silverwing. If you can't find what you need in the links below the search on this forum works good, and if you still need help just ask and someone will do what they can to answer your questions.

Maintenance, Tips and Hints
Maintenance "Pictorials"
Accessories-Modifications

Very tidy, a nice assembly. Ill believe you when you say handling is not affected. Still I wonder if front wheel pressure isn't lighter?

Hooray for harbor freight.

The one thing I didn't like was the size of the trailer license plate. I guess here in Ontario small plates like the ones on motorcycles are not available for trailers so had to stick with the car size plate.

One good deal we get here in Oregon is that any trailer under 1000lb GWV doesn't have to have a title or license.
I was wondering how you keep the hitch from working downward. Is there more to the attachment other than the axle bolts to support the tongue load from the trailer? Also does it rattle? Most hitches are connected to the vehicle's frame which is isolated from the up and down action of the rear wheel. Looks like a nice clean fabrication.

Thank you Paul W. for your post.

The tongue weight of the trailer that I purchased is only 12 pounds when empty, so there is not a lot of downward force to deal with. Dennis’ design also has two bolts on the right hand side to help support this little extra weight. You do bring up a good point though about connecting to the frame to isolate the movement of the rear wheel. I will need to look into how the Harley Davidson motorcycles deal with this issue. Thanks.

Charlie

Yes Paul W. thanks for the post, good pics, thanks for sharing how to build one! .

Sorry hotwings, not trying to denigrate your design, I was just asking about a couple details. As I said it is a nice neat looking build.

exavid wrote:

Sorry hotwings, not trying to denigrate your design, I was just asking about a couple details. As I said it is a nice neat looking build.

It isn't you exavid. Sorry for misleading you. I was just tossing in a little sarcasm for Charlie. I posted the pics and details above with no response, then you ask me a question and the guy thanks you? Go figure! Rant over.
Now to answer your questions, on the right side of the bike the hitch has got an extra hardened bolt to stop the hitch from swivelling to the ground (pic 2). I would think the trailer tongue does travel up and down some with the bumps/dips in the road but the movement is minimal with no change in handling. The trailer runs behind with no rattles. With my wife onboard I have gone 115+ kph on interstate 81 while passing a semi without feeling any sway at all. As stated before the only time I feel the trailer is when leaning into a slow speed turn, seems the trailer wants to upright the bike. I thought about redesigning the trailer tongue to a "swivel" tongue to correct this but wondering if it could just be the torque of the bike fighting the counter torque of the trailer?! The trailer ball mount does not bind on the ball, I can stand beside the bike and lean it almost to the ground and the trailer stays level on the ground without feeling any resistance. We don't use the trailer much so I guess it's not a major deal.

Sorry hotwings if I offended you by not responding to your post.  I also hope not to offend you by saying this, but as designs go, I like Dennis B.'s design better than yours.

exavid asked questions, you didn't.  I was simply responding to the questions asked.  As I stated in my "Introduction" post, I am new to this or any other forum.  So if it is an unspoken rule that I must respond to every post, then being on this or any other is not for me.  If you take offence to this, then maybe I need to rethink being a member of this forum.

C.Lister wrote:

exavid asked questions, you didn't.  I was simply responding to the questions asked.  

Just to clarify it for you, exavids questions were directed towards me. I think you missed that.....anyways all is well....all the best with the hitch.

I know a couple people who have a swivel setup in their trailer tongues. Both are on camp trailers that run around 400lbs so that might make a bit of a difference. It seems a swivel might be a good idea in case the trailer blew a tire or hit a large bump on one side one wouldn't want that torque being exerted on the bike.
I didn't see the second bolt until just now when I looked at your picture full size.
That sure answered the question, with the stiff mount and the 1/4" steel brackets there shouldn't be the slightest problem of the hitch rotating on its mounting bolts. As I said before it's a very nice and clean looking hitch setup. The diamond plate around the hitch is a nice touch. Is that steel or a rubber piece on top of steel there.

hotwings wrote:

Here is my hitch and trailer project from last year:
I originally painted the hitch black but the area around the ball was easily scratched so i found this self adhesive rubber mat at walmart to solve that problem.

Hotwings, I hope I don't offend by answering a question directed to you.        


 You did a beautiful job on that trailer!!! Except for the government "help" with your license plate.    



Paul W., I just reread your post and think I may have misunderstood your question. Hope I didn't mess things up.

It just goes to show how different forum typing is from speaking to each other. With no inflections or body language involved it's so easy to misunderstand each other at times. I love sarcasm and irony but it's difficult to use in writing to insure one doesn't insult someone else or take a joke for truth. Nothing gets messed up really, we just need to elucidate that which we mean. We're all guilty of unclear writing once in a while, me especially.

exavid wrote:

 The diamond plate around the hitch is a nice touch. Is that steel or a rubber piece on top of steel there.

Pic #3.