How to Tie Down a Motorcycle in a Trailer (Without Damaging Your Forks)

If you trailer your bike more than once or twice a season, you've probably run into the same problem every time: the straps that came with your trailer, or the ones you grabbed at the hardware store, weren't really made for a motorcycle. They're made for cargo. And a motorcycle isn't cargo — it's a bike balanced on two wheels with forks and suspension that can get compressed, twisted, or damaged if it's tied down wrong.

Search "motorcycle trailer tie down" and you'll find a lot of advice, but most of it still points back to the same two methods people have used for decades: wrapping ratchet straps around the handlebars or triple clamp, or locking the front wheel into a wheel chock. Both work — sort of. Neither is great.

Why the usual motorcycle trailer tie down methods fall short

Handlebar and triple-clamp straps. This is the most common motorcycle trailer tie down system out there, mostly because it's cheap and doesn't require any hardware. The problem is that pulling straps down at an angle from the bars compresses your forks — sometimes hard — for the entire ride. Do that enough times and you're looking at premature wear on your fork seals, and on a long haul it can genuinely stress the triple clamp itself. It also puts the straps right next to your paint, cables, and brake lines, which is exactly where you don't want tension and rub.

Wheel chocks. A wheel chock solves the "where do I even start" problem, but it's bulky, it's one more thing to lift in and out of a trailer, and if you're hauling more than one bike, chocks eat up floor space you don't have. They also don't do anything for stability on their own — most riders still add straps to a chock, which puts you right back to the fork-compression problem above.

A strapless motorcycle trailer tie down system solves both problems at once

Instead of anchoring to the bars or the front wheel, a strapless motorcycle tie down system like Moto Cinch mounts directly to your bike's foot peg. That single change fixes the two biggest complaints with traditional tie-downs: there's no strap pulling down on your forks, and because the mounting point is low and centered on the bike, you often don't need a wheel chock at all.

Here's what that looks like in practice as a full motorcycle trailer tie down kit:

• Anchor points in the trailer. Moto Cinch anchors are available in both L-Track and E-Track. It's a one-time install and it's what lets you move anchor points around for different bikes later.
• The boot, on the foot peg. The Moto Cinch boot clicks onto the foot peg — open pegs (most dirt, motocross, and dual-sport bikes) or closed pegs (most street, sport, and cruiser bikes) each have their own boot to match.
• The cam-action lever, doing the work. Cinch the lever and the bike is locked down. No ratcheting, no guessing how tight is too tight.

Each Moto Cinch unit is built from aircraft-grade aluminum and ATS lab tested to hold over 1,700 lbs, so a two-point setup (one per side) is more than enough hold for a loaded trailer run down the highway — while keeping the forks completely untouched.

Setting up motorcycle trailer tie down anchors and brackets

A few things make the anchor setup smoother if you're doing this for the first time:

• Decide your track type first. L-Track and E-Track use different anchor hardware. Many trailers have track installed already, but not likely at the spacing required for strapless tie downs. E-Track is the strongest fitting when compared to L-Track.
• Space anchors to your peg width, not a guess. Foot peg height and width vary by bike — Moto Cinch MX covers peg heights from 13.5" to 17" and widths up to 2.49", while Moto Cinch Street covers similar heights up to 2.37" wide, which covers most bikes on the road. Measure once and you'll get a consistent angle on the cam lever every time you load. Moto Cinch also offers other models for peg heights lower or higher than the standard model. In addition, optional wider peg boots for those aftermarket pegs are also available.
• Hauling more than one bike? You can fit tighter spacing between bikes than a strap-based setup allows — worth measuring out before you assume you need a bigger trailer. One popular method is to load the bikes side by side alternating front to back, overlapping the pegs. You can squeeze a lot of bikes into a small area.

Which motorcycle trailer tie down system fits your bike

The main thing that determines which Moto Cinch kit you need is your foot peg style, not your bike type:

• Open pegs (most dirt, motocross, dual-sport, and ADV bikes) — Moto Cinch MX
• Closed pegs (most street, sport, and cruiser bikes) — Moto Cinch Street
• Already own one and need the other peg style — conversion kits let you switch a set between open and closed pegs instead of buying a second full kit

Both kits are available for L-Track or E-Track mounting, so you order to match the anchors already in your trailer or truck bed rather than replacing what's already installed.

The short version

A motorcycle trailer tie down doesn't have to be a hassle or damage your forks. Anchor to your trailer's track, mount to the foot peg, cinch the lever — the bike's locked down in seconds, and it comes off just as fast on the other end. Remove the cinches and place in the handy carry bag, leaving your truck bed or trailer free to haul other items.