Hitch weight question, hauling 990 adventure motorcycle...

The bike weighs roughly around 500lbs assuming my gas tank is full, the carrier is going to be around another 110lbs. The carrier has a weight limit of 600lbs but from what I understand our hitch is a class III with a limit of 500 lbs? What do I need to do to be able to carry my 990 adventure? The bed is out of the question do to my bicycle rack system over top of it.

How does a distributed weight hitch work? Is it something that is welded on?

Note: Here is the carrier, it's a hauling carrier and not a towing one.

http://www.versahaul.com/vhsportro.php

The hitch is class 4 full specs are in your manual. A weight distribution hitch requires no vehicle modification it uses load bars that run from under the ball mount to the neck of the trailer with chains. It applies an upward force on the hitch shank transferring weight to the front of the tow vehicle. My recommendation would be a small folding motorcycle trailer.

You can do it. I had my 950 Adv on my versahaul on the Raptor. It will sag the rear significantly. I chose to haul mine in the bed, but I know you said that isn't an option for you. I have reserved my versahaul for my 250 dirt bike and other smaller bikes. If you can handle the sag it will work.

---------- Post added at 11:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 AM ----------

I found a bicycle mount that allowed me to carry one motorcycle and at least two bicycles. I love it!

you cant use a weight distribution hitch with that carrier. It needed a special hitch receiver.
My canam 800 LTD in teh back of my Scab with plow and ramps.


Here is a what a weight distribution hitch looks like.

Thanks for the replies guys!

I'll double check the hitch class in my manual, for some reason I thought it was class III but it sounds like i'm good to go if it's class IV because that supports 1000 lbs.

Kurfer said:

Thanks for the replies guys!

I'll double check the hitch class in my manual, for some reason I thought it was class III but it sounds like i'm good to go if it's class IV because that supports 1000 lbs.

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Class 3 would be way to close to towing capacity ('10 scab), and I doubt the bumper changed much between '10 and '11. '11+ Screws have a towing capacity that is higher than a class 3 would allow.

t_j said:

Class 3 would be way to close to towing capacity ('10 scab), and I doubt the bumper changed much between '10 and '11. '11+ Screws have a towing capacity that is higher than a class 3 would allow.

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It really annoys me how hard it is to figure out what class hitch I actually have. I cannot find it anywhere in the manual. I do notice that the decal sticker underneath the truck on the actual hitch does not mention the class but it does say the max tongue weight capacity is 1050 pounds so I'll take that as a yes I am good to go carrying a 600 pound motorcycle using the versa carrier.

Kurfer said:

It really annoys me how hard it is to figure out what class hitch I actually have. I cannot find it anywhere in the manual. I do notice that the decal sticker underneath the truck on the actual hitch does not mention the class but it does say the max tongue weight capacity is 1050 pounds so I'll take that as a yes I am good to go carrying a 600 pound motorcycle using the versa carrier.

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Don't forget with 600lbs on the hitch you only have ~300lbs capacity left for you and your gear (including your other mods: bike racks, etc).

t_j said:

Don't forget with 600lbs on the hitch you only have ~300lbs capacity left for you and your gear (including your other mods: bike racks, etc).

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I'm not sure what you mean by that the only thing going on the hitch is the motorcycle. the gear, side bags and everything else will go in the bed and or cab I will not be on the bike because I'll be driving the truck... Maybe I'm just totally confused by your comment

Kurfer said:

I'm not sure what you mean by that the only thing going on the hitch is the motorcycle. the gear, side bags and everything else will go in the bed and or cab I will not be on the bike because I'll be driving the truck... Maybe I'm just totally confused by your comment

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You have just shy of 1000lbs payload capacity on your truck, you have 600lbs consumed by the bike on the hitch, you probably have 10-100lbs in consumed by your bike racks, the remaining amount ~300lbs is left for you, your passengers, dogs, cats, gear bags, **** mags etc etc.