Biggest motorcycle/atv you've fitted into/onto your split bus?

[vwuberalles]

[BarryL]

[williamM]

I had some honda 50 trail bikes and it was easy to swing the handle bars and remove front tire for compact transport correct me but thought the 90's and 110- came with a lock down that let the handle bars swing easily

Those were great trail bikes if you didn't want to go real fast- and when the 2 speed rear drive came along it was heaven.
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some days I get up and just sit and think. Some days I just sit.

opinion untempered by fact is ignorance.

Don't step in any!

[Harleyelf]

I rolled a Triumph Bonneville 650 into my '63 after my roommate borrowed and crashed it while I was at work. Had to hold the front cargo door almost closed with a bungee cord. Got pulled over across the street from my home but didn't get a ticket.

If you're willing to remove the front end and rear wheel & fender, nearly any motorcycle can be wedged into a bus. Drive on, drive off is another story.

[RainierSyncro]

Wandered onto this thread from the Vanagon boards. The amount of stuff you can get into a VW is amazing with a little planning. Gutted out the van, used a series of 2x6's in a grid on the floor to keep everything from moving around and used 4 tie downs for each bike. Drove to a bike show in Denver and back with no problems. Used carpet sliders to position the first bike in place.

[AS350driver]

Follow up:

When I started this thread, I was simply looking for first hand knowledge or pics of what kinds of bikes/atv's folks had been able to fit into their split buses. I should have labeled it, "Will a Honda ATC250SX fit easily into a bus?", as that is the atv I was hoping to find, and was hoping would fit. As a kid I had a few three wheelers growing up out in the country on a farm. Some rich relatives loaned me a Big Red one summer when I was about 13, then I saved enough for a Honda 110, of my own, then I got a 250SX and loved it up until the last semester of college, and had to sacrifice it and some other valuables to raise money to graduate on time. I moved out west in 1997 and with my good new job bought a gazillion cc four wheeler to go explore the desert with, but even with 700cc's and despite being the biggest atv in my circle of atv riding friends, it wasn't as much fun as my old 250SX I had to give up. Even in 1997, nice 80's atv's were getting hard to find.

So after getting my split bus going, and having been in Tucson about a year, which has abundant riding opportunities, I decided to search for an off-road toy I could load into my bus, that was still big enough to be viable. Thinking a 250SX would be ideal, I started the search for one, but wasn't having much luck and was considering settling for something else. Like VW splits, millions of Honda atc's were built, but try to find one that survived.

I posted on here seeking advice, and posted a pic of a 250SX as an example of what might fit. Much to my surprise, our own BarryL out of San Diego had one, and was considering selling it. Pics were sent, a very reasonable deal was struck, and I was going to go pick it up in January as he very graciously offered to hold it til I could get time off to go. Thanks to a mishap between a fuel truck and the tailboom of an Astar helicopter I was scheduled to fly the last two weeks of December in Laredo, TX, my work trip to TX got cancelled. Which was great! So what else to do than get an extra day off, fire up the bus and make a marathon road trip from Tucson over to SD and get the ATC early.

So long story even longer, it all went great except the 40-50 mph crosswinds in Yuma, the sand dunes, and up in the mountains across to SD. Got there, the ATC was exactly as represented, and got to meet Barry, who I wish was my neighbor here in AZ. Super nice guy with some awesome buses and other precious metal. He even gave me a few oil bath air cleaners to help me cobble together an OE system. I snapped a few pics during the trip when I wasn't fighting the crosswinds.

Saw this cool old Ford truck in Dateland, AZ

Fighting crosswind and making like 40 mph on the freeway

Sand storm going through imperial sand dunes

Sunset between Tucson and Yuma

Squeezing the ATC in that last few inches...(actually it was quite easy, but we staged a pic lol)

About to head back to AZ

Took the scenic route back east, Hwy 94 from SD through Campo ... more 40 kt winds and cold

So I'm in Yuma for the night and should make it home to Tucson tomorrow.

This is the bus in March of this year, before all metal work and new motor and lots of other new stuff

[67_SO42]

OH MAN!
looks good bud.
Knew you would fit that sukka in there.
Christmas came early for you.
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58 Binz DC #151 "Nacho"
61 Norwegian, bug "Greta"
65 Swedish, Westfalia 400 trailer "Melania"
57 Binz scooter “Micha”

[fig]

This is probably redundant now, but I regularly used to carry a Yamaha XT500 in the back of my slit panelvan. I used a sheet of plywood as a ramp and the bike wedged in diagonally across the back of the bus. It fit so tight I didn't need to tie it down.
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fig
Kaapse Kombi Kult

"Don't make a fuss, just get on the bus ..."

[BarryL]

[plane_ben]

I live in Tucson. Have I met you guys? I drive a green and cream DD panel with full length roof rack. Any of you heading to BBB in January? We could caravan. Right now I think Alex Bodle and myself are going up together.
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I'm at the age were "fuck off", "fuck you", and "fuck it" answer most questions.

[AS350driver]

Small world, Alex is who fixed my bus. I'm off work today, maybe you can show me your bus. I *might* make BBB , but if I do I will be driving up from Yuma because I'll be there for work pretty much all of January.

[plane_ben]

I'm not home until 3PM. But you are welcome to come by. I'm right on the corner of 45th and Mann, south of Golflinks.
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I'm at the age were "fuck off", "fuck you", and "fuck it" answer most questions.

[AS350driver]

Finally got around to building a wood ramp to get the atc in and out of my bus. I shopped around a lot for trifold aluminum ramps but they were too wide or only available online etc etc. So went to Lowes got my lumber and nailed one together in their parking lot

Loading and unloading it is still tricky but I have got it down pretty pat. So I got a few hours of riding in today at Redington Pass. The atc I got from BarryL ran flawlessly.

My bus is in the distance

[Yennek]

I would have taken a picture of it if I knew this tread would exist, but I have fit a 1985 Suzuki LT250R fourwheeler in my kombi. No middle seat, but did have a bay window back seat in it. Back seat was folded flat, with the rear wheels of the quad on top of the seat. Front wheels were up against the bulkhead. Rode a little funny having all that sprung weight in the back, but very manageable.

[pacrat]

Very cool thread! They truly are Sport Utility Buses! SUB's!

[AS350driver]

Unfortunately, despite extraordinary measures to protect it, that immaculate 85 250SX that I bought from BarryL fell victim to the thieves of Tucson. I got to ride it maybe 5 or 6 times.

It took me a while, but I found another decent one and haul it in my 64. Since the 64 had the rear fenders enlarged, and whoever did it did a expert job on it, I’ve thought of getting some big tires or Jackmans back there to make it even more off-road worthy.