Can a MX5 Tow anything?

Caffeine · Postby **Caffeine** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 4:42 pm

Hayman Reese stopped making MX5 towbars many years ago.

My car was the guinea pig for the design and fitment of the Towbars of Woden design. It's still probably the best option. Last I heard cost was around the $300 mark.

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 4:49 pm

Can anyone confirm of they are legal though ??
Am I going to get fined for using one ?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:00 pm

That's a question for RTA.

Every state is different, and to be honest, you're best to ask them direct since whenever a legal question is asked on any forum 90% of the answers are people guessing (the problem is you can never tell which 10% is the correct 10%)

So yeah, speak to RTA

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:01 pm

They haven't made them for years. I'd guess they probably only made a dozen or so in the first place.

booki89 · Postby **booki89** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:57 pm

hks_kansei wrote:
booki89 wrote:I would use it to tow my dirt bike. Do you think it would be safe? I have seen those dirt bike tow bars on eBay.

Would save me buying another car of that's the case! Assuming its safe to do so..

The one above said 400kg load, and 40kg towbar weight.

A dirtbike would be well under 400kg, my CT110 is about 90kg or so, so I imagine a dirtbike would be in that ballpark too. As long as the trailer is under 300kg you should be ok.

The towbar attachments won't work, as the towbar load would be well above the 40kg (100kg of bike, plus the bike holder weight)

What a shame

As something like this would be ideal for the MX

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MO-TOW-Motor ... 3cecf6e3f7

But as you said, I dare say that it would exceed the towbar load.

I do have a three bike trailer, but I am not sure on the weight of it. Just a pain in the ass to drag around a trailer when those things are available! That said, going riding is better then not going at all...So ill have go back to the drawing board.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 11:00 am

booki89 wrote:I do have a three bike trailer, but I am not sure on the weight of it. Just a pain in the ass to drag around a trailer when those things are available! That said, going riding is better then not going at all...So ill have go back to the drawing board.

I've got a similar issue, except my partner has a car with a legal towbar etc, unfortunately the bike holders wont fit it (they all seem to be for the bars with the box-tongue, not the flat tongue)

I'm just going back to plan A, which is to rebuild the bike and then at some stage put the parts onto a frame with ADR tags so I can rego it.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 3:28 pm

I reckon the motorcycle mounted left to right would not be legal- push bikes are light weight. Its attached like a carrier not a trailer and you could see a number of reasons why it would not be legal. Example- overhang at the sides, blocking the tail lights and brake light, weight of the bike and carrier is directly over the back of the vehicle or ball i.e. the ball weight and force is not modified i.e. not made lower by the geometry of a trailer. You would need a 3000KG tow capacity to achieve a ball weight of 150KG and the bike alone is going to give it a nudge- an MX5 would sag and certainly get no where near it. Why would you tow a bike like that with a 4WD and not use a proper trailer?

And another thing- how would the guy open the rear door on the Patrol?

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 3:37 pm

maths are wrong based on 10% of max vehicle tow capacity ( depends on the vehicle and what max the maker warrants- but a tow bar would still need to be rated as well.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 3:40 pm

Mr Morlock, the towbar holders I believe are designed more for dirt bikes and other non-road registration models, which tend to be faiyl lightweight (for a bike anyway)

As far as legality, (some of) the companies manufacturing the racks have had them tested etc and say they are legal for road use. (however, I don't recall seeing them specify all the conditions ie: width, weight, etc)

As for the weight holding of them, I saw one mounted to a car the other week in a car park, and it had some form of extra bracketry that bolted to the car/towbar (as well as the part that went into the tongue), I can only assume it was to allow it to legally/safely take the weight?

booki89 · Postby **booki89** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 5:28 pm

Main reason I would tow it like that is if I'm meeting people there. And it looks a lot more convenient then throwing the bike on a trailer.

Sadly I might have to go back to the option of getting a "practical" car.
Trying to avoid owning two.