The Yamaha Road Star Warrior Forum

Anyone know who might make a trailer hitch for a Warrior? I'm considering picking up a travel "box" for my dive gear next season. Arrive in style!

A few members have them..........did you try under search?

It would have to be custom made. I've seen a couple on here. A search should reveal, danielson.

(((story of my life, always just a shade tooo late)))

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These are the instructions I used from Aurther. Hitch works great and cost me $50 to have it made at a local fabricator.


I finally got my bike back, and a free weekend to put my hitch on.
What you'll need.
1.... 8' piece 1/4" x 2" steel
1.... 12" x 3" x 3/16" steel
1.... trailer ball
3/4" unibit
Grinder
Metal bladed jigsaw
3/16" & 1/4" drill bit
Paint, I used 500 degree black because it's close to the pipe and I had it left over.
Arc welder or other welder if you are not old school.
Add 4 grade 8 2" x 1/4" bolts, lock nuts, a dozen washers, ball for your trailer, wiring harness, and five quick disconnects for your wiring.

I started with the 8' bar bent on a 14" radius. then cut both ends to to the length I wanted. It's hard to figure the exact distance from the ball to the tire at this point so I eye-balled it. I drilled the four holes to attach the hitch to the swing arm, starting on the flat side.
...Depending on your pipe you will have to remove it. Also place the bolt holes so you can get them in and out with the pipe still on. One of mine, the front one, has to be put in from the inside because the speed star pipe is too close. ...
The belt side has to be bent to the curve of the swing arm. A C-clamp will do that, no problem.
Tack your 3/16 plate on the bar stock while it's still attached the the bike. After it cools remove it and weld as you like. I then welded a support brace on the bottom just to be sure the 3/16 plate wouldn't fail.
Cut and grind the extra plate off or just leave it with square corners. Re-fit and cut more length off the ends because I changed the original bolt locations.

I then put it back on. marked my 3/4" hole for the ball. You can center it on the tire with a T-square or just by eye.
Drill two holes for the trailer chains and paint.
I ran the wiring down past the rear brake reservoir and along the hitch. I have it so I can disconnect the wiring from under the seat so when not towing everything is gone and it's just like it was before.
... I had to add some washers as spacers on the pipe side to clear the axle. 2 in the front, 3 in the back. I didn't want it to be vibrating against it. ...

Update:
My dad wanted to be able to stand on the hitch. He weighs 180#. Well the 1" wasn't enough although it survived my thrashing. I switched from 1" to 2" flat stock for the main 'U' shape. He stood on it no problem.
He is towing about 320# right now with his Warrior and is somewhere in Nevada or Arizona (left Seattle on the 9th {7days ago}). Having a great time. Hitch still working great.

Thanks.

I remembered seeing that one of the guys had to fabricate one. I had hoped I'd get lucky and find a pre-fab. But for $50, I think this is a good alternative in 2" flat stock.

to have some one design one for the warrior would cost around $200 to $250. I found a site that would do it, but it was too much. Total cost for my hitch, with ball and 5 wire to 4 wire signal/brake light converter was about $75, including nuts, bolts and paint.

I would not put a hitch on the aluminum swingarm, uh-uh, no way, every time you hit bump, it'll jar the trailer and put extra stress on the aluminum swingarm. ive gotta a roadstar silverado, but my hitch comes off of the fender stay bolts, If I had a warrior, I would bring the hitch off of the passenger peg bolts and the rear fender stay bolt.

I have a hitch/towbar for mine and it comes off the lower bolt on the frame below the rear foot peg on the left of the frame and the low exhaust bracket bolt on the right side. A plate has been manfactured from 5mm stock to cover both fender stay bolts inside the fender and a support bracket then goes to the towbar/hitch to support it and spread the weight arond the frame.
Must admit, not real fussed on drilling holes in my bike, let alone the swing arm. Just my 2c.

There has been several warriors with the swing arm hitch set up, with 1000's of miles trailing. None of us has experienced any problems. As far as bumps goes, whether you hitch to the swing arm or the frame and fender stays, you'll still jars the trailer. But to each his own. I just liked the looks of this method as apposed to the other.

What does the trailer do to your mileage and performance? A buddy at work wants to ride the entire route 66 next year starting in Chicago. We will ride from Tucson to Chicago so he is figuring about 14+ days. A trailer sure would come in handy for that![]

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Originally posted by flb_78

I would not put a hitch on the aluminum swingarm, uh-uh, no way, every time you hit bump, it'll jar the trailer and put extra stress on the aluminum swingarm. ive gotta a roadstar silverado, but my hitch comes off of the fender stay bolts, If I had a warrior, I would bring the hitch off of the passenger peg bolts and the rear fender stay bolt.

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I completely agree. I plan on making a trailer hitch for mine over the winter and plan to do it off of the fender stays, and passenger peg holes. There is a really good reason that all trucks made have the hitches mounted to the frame of the truck and not the rear axle. It just puts extra stress on all the suspension components and will increase un-sprung weight which is a big no no.

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Originally posted by Dice

There has been several warriors with the swing arm hitch set up, with 1000's of miles trailing. None of us has experienced any problems. As far as bumps goes, whether you hitch to the swing arm or the frame and fender stays, you'll still jars the trailer. But to each his own. I just liked the looks of this method as apposed to the other.

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You are right about how it looks, it does look alot better than the other design but I just dont think that drilling holes in the swingarm is a good idea. Jarring the trailer wont hurt the trailer, its the extra jarring from the trailer, through the hitch, and into the holes drilled in the swingarm would be my concern, the way your hitch is set up, there is NO cushion or suspension for the trailer. Just makes me think of hammering on the swingarm. every other motorcycle hitch ive ever seen has been frame mounted and never on the swingarm. Ive hit some rather large bumps and potholes and had my trailer bounce over a foot off the ground and I can feel it through the bike, I just can imagine what that would feel like mounted to the swingarm.

I have towed my trailer around Oz with the Cook on the back, approx 16,000km.
62Rampsidekick,
Had no problems with power or fuel consumption, was little difference from normal running. However, did have an issue with rear tyres. When you pour the power on with the trailer on the back (mind you it was loaded and I had the cook as well)you can almost feel the rubber peeling off of the tyre, but she still gets up and runs hard. Not too many cruisers could get past even with me towing the trailer.
DFW & flb 78,
I agree with you both on the trailer hitch. Mind you the one Dice has does look good, but I'm afraid that I prefer mine hooked to the frame of the vehicle so that it can maximise the suspension system for stability.
If I can assist in the manufacture of you hitches, with pictures or advise I would be only too happy to help.

Warrior1, if you could post a pic of your hitch, I think that would be great. I'm thinking of making a hitch this winter just so I can bring a little more stuff with me when the Wife and I go camping.