Atk Bike Shoe
ATK BIKE SHOE
EVALUATION
THE TIE-DOWN ALTERNATIVE
FACE IT: WHOEVER INVENTED TIE-down straps as a means of hauling dirt bikes around didn't finish the job. Tie-downs can slip, you don't always have a place to hook them, and it doesn't take much to have the straps come off and send the bike flying, producing a neat dent in your truck, along with a matching ding in your bike.
But there is another method of securing your dirt bike for travel: the ATK Bike Shoe. This clever device, which is available through most motorcycle dealers for $89, actually is a large clamp, designed to hold 2 1 -inch front wheels tightly in place. It’s made of flat iron, and it bolts directly into the bed of your pickup, van or trailer. You simply place the bike’s front wheel in the Bike Shoe, pivot a large arm over the top of the tire, and then rotate another arm that clamps the wheel down. No tie-downs, no tugging, no trouble.
The advantages of the Bike Shoe are plain. First of all. the bike doesn't get loose. We've hauled a Bike-Shoed motorcycle through miles of desert whoops, and never had the slightest worry of the bike tumbling over; there's practically no way it can. Second, the Bike Shoe doesn't compress the motorcycle’s suspension, so long trips don't result in sacked-out fork springs. That also means that the bike's suspension can help the machine absorb the impact that results when the truck or trailer hits large bumps. And if you ever leave your bike overnight in the back of an open pickup or trailer, you can lock it up by running a padlock though a hole in the Bike Shoe. That can make for a much better night’s sleep.
But before you sell off all of your tie-downs, you should know that there are disadvantages to the Bike Shoe, as well. Motorcycles might not get loose in its grasp, but they do sway a lot. Between flex in motorcycle tires, forks, and in the Bike Shoe itself, a bike’s handlebar can wind up moving from side to side more than a foot. This can result in a dent in the side of a van, and maybe even in the side of a motorcycle. And if you install a second Bike Shoe so you can carry two bikes, the handlebars will interfere with one another. The solution. if your bed is long enough, is to stagger the Bike Shoes. But in shorter vehicles, you won't even be able to install the Bike Shoes perfectly straight; they’ll have to be at a slight angle, meaning that your bikes will lean to one side.
Of course, if you were to combine the Bike Shoe with a couple of tiedowns, you'd have the ultimate in secure dirt-bike hauling; the motorcycle wouldn't sway an inch. But that seems rather redundant, like having two safety nets. So while there still isn’t a perfect answer, the Bike Shoe is, at least, an alternative answer. And it’s reassuring to know that the question hasn't been forgotten. 0
