Do You Need an E-Track Wheel Chock to Haul Your Motorcycle?

You're staring at your trailer or truck bed, trying to figure out how to keep a motorcycle from tipping over on the drive home. Somewhere in that research you ran into "e-track wheel chock" or "motorcycle wheel chock" as the answer — a metal cradle that the front wheel drops into, usually bolted or track-mounted to the floor, with straps running from the handlebars down to the deck.

It sounds like the standard setup because it's the one everyone's seen at a dealership or a buddy's shop. But a wheel chock is a second piece of hardware you have to buy, mount, and find floor space for — on top of the straps you still need. Before you add one to your cart, it's worth knowing what a chock actually does, what it doesn't do, and that there's a simpler way to get the same result.

Why a wheel chock isn't the easy fix it looks like

A wheel chock solves exactly one problem: it keeps your front tire from rolling forward or backward while you strap the bike down. It doesn't hold the bike upright on its own — you're still tensioning straps from the handlebars or triple clamp to the E-track or L-track on the floor, which is the part that actually does the work of keeping the bike from falling over.

That creates a few problems that show up the first time you actually use one:

• It's a permanent floor fixture. Most chocks bolt down or lock into a fixed track position, which means that section of your trailer or truck bed is dedicated to one bike size, all the time — even when you're hauling lumber instead.
• Tire size and width matter more than you'd think. A chock sized for a street bike's tire doesn't always seat a dirt bike or ADV tire the same way, and a loose fit lets the bike rock side to side even with the straps cinched tight.
• You're still wrapping straps around your forks. The chock only handles the front wheel — you're still running straps to the handlebars or triple clamp to keep the bike from falling sideways, which is the same fork-compression and paint-scuffing problem riders have been dealing with for years.
• Loading and unloading still takes a while. Rolling the tire in, checking it's centered, then routing and ratcheting two or four straps is a multi-step process every time, in every kind of weather.

None of that makes a wheel chock useless — it's a reasonable part of the old strap-and-chock method. But if you're searching for one because you assumed it was required, it's worth knowing it isn't, at least not with every setup.

How Moto Cinch skips the chock entirely

Moto Cinch replaces the wheel-chock-plus-strap combination with a single mount point: your bike's foot peg. A boot clips onto the peg and a cam-action lever cinches it down tight. That's the whole system — no chock, no straps around your handlebars or triple clamp, and no tire-sizing guesswork.

• The boot mounts to the foot peg, not the wheel, so tire width and tread pattern never factor into the fit.
• A cam-action lever locks it down in seconds — no ratchet strap to thread, no second person needed to hold the bike upright while you work.
• No wheel chock is needed in most setups, which frees up that section of your trailer or truck bed for other cargo when you're not hauling a bike.
• Minimal fork compression because the system isn't pulling down on your handlebars or triple clamp the way strap-and-chock setups do.
• Everything unclips and packs into the included carry bag when you're done, so your trailer or bed goes back to being open space.

The units themselves are aircraft-grade aluminum and ATS lab tested to hold over 1,700 lbs per unit, so the holding power isn't something you're trading away for the convenience.

Setting it up: what actually matters

Switching away from a chock-and-strap setup goes smoothly if you check a few things first, rather than assuming your bike and trailer will just match up:

• Measure your foot peg height. Moto Cinch units are built for foot peg heights of 13.5" to 17" off the ground — measure before you order rather than guessing from the spec sheet.
• Check your peg width against the right model. Moto Cinch MX covers peg widths up to 2.49", and Moto Cinch Street covers up to 2.37". Aftermarket pegs that run wider have optional wider boots available.
• Match your mounting track to what's already in your trailer or bed. Moto Cinch comes in L-Track or E-Track. A lot of trailers already have track installed, but often not at the spacing a strapless tie-down needs — measure the existing spacing before assuming it'll just bolt up.
• E-Track is the stronger fitting if you're choosing between the two and starting from scratch; L-Track is the more common factory option on enclosed trailers.
• If you run more than one bike style — say a dirt bike and a cruiser — a conversion kit lets you switch a single set between open and closed pegs instead of buying two full kits.
• Do a dry run in daylight the first time, clicking the boots on and cinching the levers before you're doing it in a parking lot in the rain.

Which Moto Cinch system fits your bike

Moto Cinch comes in two main lines, split by peg type rather than bike brand or engine size:

• Moto Cinch MX — built for open foot pegs, which covers most dirt, motocross, dual-sport, and ADV bikes.
• Moto Cinch Street — built for closed foot pegs, which covers most street, sport, and cruiser bikes.
• Not sure which peg type you have, or riding both styles? A conversion kit lets you swap one set of boots between open- and closed-peg configurations instead of buying a second full kit.

The short version

A wheel chock isn't required to haul a motorcycle safely — it's one piece of a strap-based method that still relies on straps around your forks to actually hold the bike upright. Moto Cinch replaces the whole chock-and-strap combination with a boot that clips onto your foot peg and a cam lever that locks it down, so you get a faster load, a clear floor when you're not hauling, and no straps anywhere near your handlebars.