Travelling by ferry 2 times soon (Sunday & Thursday), worried that ferry personnel
will damage my bike when they secure w straps.
How do one best secure it w/o damage?
Worries me quite a bit...
I would say two in the front, from the steeringhalves/yoke down on the outside of the fairing.
take some rags with you to put eventually between the straps and bodywork if the angle of the straps is pretty steep.
on the rear, on over the saddle. that should do to compress the suspension and keep the bike down.
I don`t you should worry, the loadingcrew onboard on the ferries are trained and skilled in terms of how to secure all kind of vehicles during a crossing.
I would bring with me some old T-shirts or towels or so in case to put under the straps to avoid wear, if necessary. This means you have to be there while the crew secure your bike and make shure that no straps are layed unfavroable.
I agree with Duc750. Get one of those straps. They go on the handle bar grip, the left goes through the right and the other way too. so the left handle bar strap crosses over to the right, the right crosses over to the left, and when a tie-down is hooked to it, it clears the fairings so there is no rubbing the bodywork. On the back, hook to the passenger peg frames or feed the strap under the side panel to the frame under the seat, check around the tail pipes for rubbing places.
Park between two securing points.
Bike on sidestand.
Strap over saddle, tighten from stand side to pressurize forks.
Gloves between bodywork on both sides.
Strap to apply front brake.
Stops under both wheels.
Personell check alles OK.
Worked well.
Pity the whether in Harzbergen was horrible this week....