Fun Project - Pet carrier

[trikebldr]

When I got my first service dog we picked up a bundle of those "smoke" sticks that HVAC guys use to check a house for leaks. We placed them at four points under the bike to watch how the air flowed behind the bike and around a trailer as well as the hitch-mounted carriers. Back in the days when station-wagons had roll-down rear windows, most states mandated that they could not be rolled down while in motion, for good reason. Have you ever noticed that there are no longer any roll-down windows on the rear of any hatch-back type cars? That area just behind any vehicle is a very turbulent area. You can see this in many drag racing videos where the tire smoke swirls all around behind the car as it moves down the track. You can see this action in videos of NASCAR racers as they exit the track after an engine blows and the smoke swirls around the back of the car. You might want to Youtube search some videos about wind-tunnel testing results of various vehicles.
What we found with the smoke sticks was that you have to be at least four feet above the ground at 3 feet behind the bike to be out of the exhaust-fouled air. Basically that puts the kennel back in the major airflow, which is good for the dog, but bad for the aerodynamics of the whole rig! BTW, my latest testing was done on my '83 Voyager 1300 with it's Motorvation Spyder sidecar shown in my avatar pic, both with and without the sidecar.
The smoke "cloud" also almost completely engulfed the kennel when mounted directly behind the bike.
Here's a crazy test method that another guy used in our sidecar group who had the same issue I did. He poured a 2-stroke mix (40:1) of fuel/oil into his Yamaha Venture cruiser in his bike to create a smoke cloud to watch where his exhaust went! It WORKED! Good upper-cylinder oiling for a short while also! Slightly fouled plugs though! There are several other testing methods to do the same thing. I would suggest doing SOME type of definitive testing on your particular rig to verify what you end up with before subjecting your fur-kids to any possible harm.
My dogs have been very important to me since they have been service dogs, so all this research was crucial to being able to safely take them on trips on the bike. I have had a sidecar on all of my bikes since having service dogs, but most, being heart monitor dogs, didn't like riding that far away from me. Having the sidecar has simplified my choice in placement of the kennel. My passenger rides in the sidecar and the trunk area of the sidecar replaces the lost storage of the removed trunk.
I will be interested to see your solution and hear what your research reveals to you. Keep us informed, please.

[trikebldr]

Understand that. I am picking up a trailer for when I take longer trips and am thinking of something that would put them above the turbulence caused by the bike. Who knows, maybe get out the college physics again and do some air flow calculations.

Wanna take a road trip to Kansas City and spend a few days playing around with smoke tests together? Would be fun to do that again! I might even still have some sticks left.

[sgilbert14]

The trip would be fun but, new job and house makes traveling a bit on hold on anything longer than a weekend, The advise on the smoke is great. The pups dogs are rescues that I would not allow to go to the pound so there is no way that I would hurt them. Still, they love to be on anything that moves and I do want to take them with me. That means my #1 job is keeping that safe.....

[trikebldr]

[quote="Lucasind"I did offer 2 retired guys in my neighborhood the same $$$ to run down to Texas and back to get the bike......and they said NO WAY !
[/quote]

To me it wouldn't have been about whether the trip was worth the money offered, but about just helping get a bike to a new owner and getting to finally meet you, anyway. But, those neighbors already know you, so they have less incintive. I doubt the $500 would cover gas and motels, but I do live closer than they do to the bikes starting point. I picked up my '85 Voyager a couple of years ago from a dealer near Forth Worth. Took a friend with me from Oklahoma just for the road trip. Another local friend went with me to Kentucky to pick up my '84 Voyager last year. It's all about the road trip and meeting new friends!

[sgilbert14]

No thank you for the trip. Actually this part is strange "To me it wouldn't have been about whether the trip was worth the money offered, but about just helping get a bike to a new owner and getting to finally meet you, we exchanged a couple chats on pet carriers? hmmmm not sure about what this is about ....

[trikebldr]

That last post was about a quote from Lucasind about the bike he is having delivered from Texas to Ohio. probably should have been put into a new thread. We sometimes take detours from the subject on this forum! Sorry for the confusion!
Any progress on the trailer?

[sgilbert14]

Ok, just was a bid off topic.. anyways, just committed to buying a piggy back pull behind. Of course with winter here testing will be sometime yet but I am thinking of playing around with welding up an aluminum removable frame that would ride above the trailer and see what can be done at that level.. air ducts that would be able the driver for air, good exhaust vents etc..

[sgilbert14]

Got the trailer but will be a bit before I plan on anything.. also, may want to upgrade to torsion axle as it bounced a bit behind the car getting it home.. no milkshake puppies needed on a ride.

[SgtSlag]

Be careful mounting high up: remember the weight limit on the trunk? Too much weight, too high up, will make your bike tippy. Been there, done that. Will never do it again. Remember the load triangle for bikes? When looking at the side of your bike, imagine a triangle, with its base running from axle to axle, and its top corner, rising above the seat. All of your load weight should be inside of the triangle (best situation), or as close to it, as possible. Weight outside of the triangle unbalances the bike.

With this in mind, the best location for the dog carrier, is over the passenger seat. This avoids the fumes issue, as well as keeping most of the dog's mass within the load triangle. Also remember that the animal is not very likely to lie down, motionless, for the duration of the trip! When the dog moves, it will shift the balance on the bike! This could be catastrophic, on two wheels.

That 1300 has a side-car... That changes everything with regards to balance issues. Without the side-car, I doubt the kennel in place of the trunk, would work, due to the load triangle being whacked. That, and the dog shifting position while the bike is in motion.

I'm a dog lover, as well. I just don't see a good way to do it, aside from a side-car, with the dog riding in it, and my wife and I on the seats. Best of luck. Cheers!

[sgilbert14]

Thanks

[trikebldr]

That 1300 has a side-car... That changes everything with regards to balance issues. Without the side-car, I doubt the kennel in place of the trunk, would work, due to the load triangle being whacked. That, and the dog shifting position while the bike is in motion.

I'm a dog lover, as well. I just don't see a good way to do it, aside from a side-car, with the dog riding in it, and my wife and I on the seats. Best of luck. Cheers!

I have two 1300s. One has the sidecar and the other doesn't. That kennel fits both since it was built on a stock trunk mounting system. My dog is 30lbs, and the kennel is actually a bit lighter than the original trunk.

Maybe heavier loads fitting inside that triangle are significant, but the 1300 Voyager is a very heavy bike and adding less than 30 lbs as I did has had no adverse effects. Sure, Zoe moves around, but it doesn't bother my balance at all. It's not like as if a kid were to rock side to side trying to knock the bike over. And, of course, on the sidecar rig, there is no effect at all. On the solo rig the wind against the stock trunk gives me more trouble.

Sorry, Sarge, but this trunk-mounted kennel system works quite well.

[thrasherbill]

My little travel buddy is on'y 6.5 lbs so she rides tethered in to her carrier strapped to the rear seat.

[sgilbert14]

Before I stopped puppy #2 from going to the shelter I was going to get one if these:

but now with 2 it just is not going to work anymore.

[thrasherbill]

Before I stopped puppy #2 from going to the shelter I was going to get one if these:pet carrier.jpg but now with 2 it just is not going to work anymore.

That looks like the Saddlemen bag in the photo. Has anyone on here tried one? Curious if it would mount on the top box luggage rack or if it would be too high.

[sgilbert14]

Not sure. I have seen them and it would sit a bit high but guess it would depend on the size of the dog as well. If they were not 200 a pop I would get, 1 for each dog, and remove the trunk and carry them both. Both my dogs together = 25 lbs. options ??

[thrasherbill]

Exactly why I'm asking Too much $ to spend and find out it doesn't work.

[trikebldr]

My little travel buddy is on'y 6.5 lbs so she rides tethered in to her carrier strapped to the rear seat.

Looking at Bill's single carrier here, it appears that if you had two of these, and mounted them on a narrow piece of plywood that would sit on top of the rear seat, across the bike, with the two carriers end-to-end, they would be well within the overall width of the saddlebags. ???

[thrasherbill]

It would be close to the width of the saddlebags, the carrier is a bit wider than the rear seat.

[sgilbert14]

Still playing around with ideas. I am now considering creating a removable 2 level trailer that I would use when the dogs are with me. The piggy back can unbolt so it would be a solid base. Thinking that maybe a smaller base that would have storage on the bottom and then doggies on the top.That would put them about 3' above the ground and with some creative top venting and a top mounted rear wing ??? So, when I can fond some time, I will cardboard a mock-up and then use a fan and smoke to see how the air flows move around it...

[AVAChmnMike]

I saw a guy years ago at Americade towing a trailer with a Golden Retriever inside (larger dog). It must have been well trained. He had a hole cut out in the top and fashioned a low 8-12" plexiglass windshield. Carpeted inside. Didn't even know dog was in there. Walking into a restaurant in the parking lot and the dog sat up and looked around, then laid down again.