Post#6 » Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:24 am
The two rails are aluminum to save on weight. They were actually out of a pickup mounting kit, and plasma cut for the front wheel holes. But you can tig weld that together from 1/8" stock plate. The rest is made from 2" square steel stock for the part that goes into the hitch and up under the frame work, and then the frame work is 1x1 L channel for mounting the rails and distributing the weight evenly.
Yes, I can use the inner track / rail without rubbing the window glass so long as the spare tire is removed.
Originally, it was built for trials bikes, so they are of course shorter, and lighter, but handlebars are same width as dirt bikes/enduros.
My friend borrowed it to haul two KTM 525s and went to Baja on dirt roads and it survived (on back of D90 and then on back of early 70's bronco)...but it did get bent from all that weight on the offroad. So I repaired that and made it a bit stronger this time. But I don't use it offroad.
The problem these cause is actually wear to the 2" receiver hitches, it causes them to widen up slightly over time, and get loose play. Over time meaning several years, I use this at least once if not twice a week to go to our local riding club.