I have a 98 S-10 pickup for sale if you're interested. 88,400 miles and only $3000 bucks. Some body dents and the AC doesn't work. Located in Durham, NC.
The truck is easy to load if you do it right.
First, you need a ramp top piece from JC Whitney. Bolt it to a 10-foot long 2x8. Get angle iron from Home depot, and bolt it to the edges of the ramp to make a lip on each side. Then build or buy a wooden step that's half the distance from the ground to the open tailgate on level ground.
The easiest way to load a bike is to walk beside it and feather the clutch while it's running. Walk it right up the ramp, using the step, and then park it in the bed. If the bike is not running, that's not a big deal. Just get a bit of a head start and push it in. With the step you can load it yourself easily -- especially a nice and light CB550 (I've done this with a full dress goldwing parts bike, so it works with even uber heavy bikes).
The angle iron is there for when your're unloading the bike, so it doesn't fall off the ramp as you back it down. It's optional, but it makes unloading a lot less hairy.
When securing the bike you want to tie the frame by the steering neck down to the front pickup tie down points. Don't attach the tie downs to the handlebars or forks unless its the only option. In either case ratchet the tie downs until the bike's front suspension is compressed about half way, and make SURE the side stand is up. You want the bike to ride completely on its own suspension.
I attach rear tie downs only for long trips, but I do usually use a tie down to close the pickup bed as much as it will go.
Note, use only ratcheting tie downs. Cam buckle tie downs aren't worth a dime, they can release quite easily. One little fender bender or a big pothole and your new acquisition is laying on its side denting your pickup bed.
That being said, I've loaded motorcycles into Chrystler mini vans before, and I've disassembled a bike and loaded it into the hatch back of a 1990 Geo Storm to get it home. But the best... I found a CX500 parts bike with a title that was about 300 miles away from home, and at the time I had no truck. But as luck would have it my parents were heading up to Ohio to visit realitives. So I hitched a ride and showed up with a freshly cleaned rack of carbs, a completely rebuilt front brake system, a pair of working coils, and two wheels with good tires. I bought the bike, and took a few hours to field strip it in the guy's driveway. I drove that "parts bike" home under its own power. (the good parts came from a CX500 I already had at home)
Charles.
Charles.
