Tech Tip Tuesday: Soft Tie Downs

Today’s tech tip is a simple tip to keep the handlebars and paint on your motorcycle or machine from getting scratched by tie downs. Whether your transporting a dirt bike, snowmobile, or road bike, this tech tip will keep your handlebars and tie downs looking good longer through the use of soft tie downs or soft loop straps. As you can see in the photo above, not using soft tie downs can really scratch up your handlebars and control cables after awhile. (it can get a lot worse than this especially if your handlebars are made of steel and will then rust)

If you haven’t used these before, they are simple to use and make securing your bike easier as well. The strap that has the sewn loop on the end goes over your handlebars and then the hook is secured in the loop away from the handlebars (as shown in these two photos). This way the metal hook doesn’t come in contact with the handlebars at all making the hook last longer and keeping your handlebars and tank looking nice and unscratched. These are also useful for attaching the tie down to larger things such as frame rails or roll bar tubing on a side by side or ATV racks where a traditional tie down hook wouldn’t fit.

If you don’t want to spend the few extra bucks for the soft tie down style or want to keep using your old non soft tie downs, you can make a loop out of some strap or webbing and then attach it to your handlebars with a larks head type knot. This way you attach your tie down hook to the loop instead of directly to your handlebars. The only down side is that you have to attach and reattach the loop and the tie down every time you load and unload the bike or machine.

We hope you have enjoyed this tech tip. Do you have a tech tip suggestion? Email us at techtips@gearhead.com and we may feature it in our next Tech Tip Tuesday post.