A bike has two contact patches and no parking brake
That is the entire problem, and everything else follows from it. A car sits still on a deck because it has four wheels and a handbrake. A motorcycle does not. It stays upright because of how it is chocked and how it is compressed, and if either is wrong it goes down somewhere between here and where you are going.
Wimberley Towing carries the equipment for this rather than improvising with whatever straps happen to be on the truck. It is a small thing that turns out to be the whole job.
How a bike should be secured
- A front wheel chock. The bike sits in it, so it cannot roll or pivot before it is strapped. Without one, everything after is guesswork.
- Soft straps at the handlebars. They loop the bars, so the ratchet hook never touches the paint, the controls, the lever perches, or the master cylinder.
- Compression of the front suspension. Strapped down far enough that the forks stay loaded and the bike cannot bounce, but not so far that the fork seals spend the whole trip fully compressed.
- Rear tie-downs. To stop the back end stepping sideways, not to crush the bike into the deck.
What we do not do is run a ratchet strap over a fuel tank or a fairing, and we do not lift a bike by the frame with a hook.
What we move
Cruisers and touring bikes, sport bikes with fairings that cost more than the tow, adventure and dual sport bikes coming off a trail, dirt bikes, scooters, and non-runners heading to a shop or a buyer. If it is a trike, a sidecar, or a bagger with hard luggage, say so when you call, because the loading is different and it changes what we bring.
Where the calls come from
Ranch Road 12, Ranch Road 32 over the Devil’s Backbone, and the Highway 290 run are some of the best riding in Texas, which is exactly why they generate breakdowns and drops. The roads are beautiful, the surfaces are unpredictable, and the shoulders drop away.
We cover the roads around Wimberley, out toward Canyon Lake on FM 306, and the Dripping Springs corridor. Call (512) 375-1215 and say up front that it is a bike, because that decides which truck we send.
If you have gone down
Get yourself off the road first. If you are hurt, call 911 before you call a tow truck. The bike will keep. When you do call us, tell dispatch whether it is on its side, whether it will roll, and whether there is fuel on the road, because all three change how we approach it.
Related towing services
Cars with the same low clearance problem go under specialty car towing. If the bike is fine and it is just a flat battery, that is roadside assistance. The full range is under towing services.
Transporting a bike you just bought
Not every motorcycle call is a breakdown. A good number are people who have just bought a bike two hours away and have no way of getting it home, or riders sending one to a shop for work. Those moves are scheduled rather than urgent, and they are easier for everybody if you book them rather than call from a stranger’s driveway.
Tell dispatch whether the bike runs, whether it has keys, and whether anyone will be there to meet us at both ends.
Fluids, fuel, and the deck
A bike that has been down will often be leaking fuel or oil. Say so when you call, because it changes how we load it and where it sits on the deck, and because a fuel spill on a road is a hazard for the next person round the corner rather than just a problem for you.
What it costs
Motorcycle transport is quoted before the truck rolls, and what moves the price is distance and whether the bike rolls. A police authorized tow is charged at the county regulated rate, which is $272 starting in Hays County and $300 in Blanco County. See towing rates.
Call (512) 375-1215. Dispatch answers 24 hours a day, which matters, because bikes do not only break down in office hours.