The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Never ceases to amaze me how those guys can handle bikes at those speeds. Making their bikes do un-physics-like things is truly awesome to watch. As great as the Reno Air Races are, I'd still pick MotoGP riders as some of the most talented athletes in the world. Great stuff and thanks for the video!

By the title of this thread, I thought maybe you had something like this in mind...

One of our earlier 170 News includes an article written by one of our Members who cut a street-legal Honda (trail-90?...or trail-70?) at the stem, and patched it together with an electrical connector and short pipe-splice, in order to "break it down" into a small package for carrying aboard a C-170 on trips.
It was a good conversion and certainly stirred the imagination.

I have recollected yet another, earlier 170 News article in which an unmodified Honda was loaded transported in a 170 with the rear seat removed. A loading ramp was used while the right-side cabin door was temporarily removed, and the cycle loaded thru the pax door.

If the aircraft interior can be abused without concern....and if the matter of carrying gasoline-fueled equipment inside a passenger-cabin can be overlooked.....
....... but I cannot personally make those concessions, and I like air conditioning, (and motorcycling on public roads is too dangerous for me to commit to being an organ-donor) .... so I don't mind landing where rental cars are available.

gahorn wrote: (and motorcycling on public roads is too dangerous for me to commit to being an organ-donor)

Better tread lightly, George... There are a lot of dedicated motorcyclists on this forum! (myself included )

It never ceases to amaze me that the typical reaction when I tell someone that I enjoy both riding motorcycles and flying airplanes, it's usually the airplane part that makes their eyes bug out with a "you're crazy!" look. I say that I have no more of a death wish than anyone else.

rydfly wrote:...Better tread lightly, George... There are a lot of dedicated motorcyclists on this forum! (myself included )....

Yeah... I'm ONE TOO! (I just stay skeered...and mebbe that's why I've been so keerful for the last three decades, ...ever since the three motorcycle accidents I've survived.....two cars ....and a deer at 70 mph in the rain!)

(Still got my '34 Harley VLD)

(Haven't found a suitable gas-tank for the project-bike yet....)

gahorn wrote:I have recollected yet another, earlier 170 News article in which an unmodified Honda was loaded transported in a 170 with the rear seat removed. A loading ramp was used while the right-side cabin door was temporarily removed, and the cycle loaded thru the pax door.

If the aircraft interior can be abused without concern....and if the matter of carrying gasoline-fueled equipment inside a passenger-cabin can be overlooked.....

I regularly carry a Honda Trail 70 in the back of the 170 with the rear seat and hat shelf removed. It's street-legal, stays in one piece, weighs 145lb, doesn't require removing front seats or doors, does not need a ramp to put in or take out, does not hurt the interior if you're careful and uses the existing seat attach anchors to secure it. There is a quick drain on the 2 quart gas tank and it refills quickly from the aircraft fuel strainer drain. Just fold down the handlebars and put it in thru the pilot side door. It will accomodate two "standard FAA" people without any difficulty and will run 35mph fully loaded. True, it's not as practical as a rent car but if it's all you need for the particular trip, it works great.

The picture shows the plane loaded for the trip from Anchorage to the 2007 TIC170A Convention in Galveston.

Click to enlarge

The way it's loaded is to move the front seats fully forward, with the handlebars folded down, back the bike up to the pilot's door, lift the rear end up by the shocks leaving the front wheel on the ground, and set the rear tire just inside the door sill. The Trail 70 only weighs 145lb total so lifting the rear end is no problem. Then pick up the front of the bike by the forks and roll it into the plane and set the engine just inside the door sill, leaving the front wheel outside the door. Now, here is the hardest part. Climb into the plane and straddle the bike. Lift, rotate the bike, and move the rear wheel toward the baggage compartment as the front wheel is lifted into the plane. It sounds harder than it is and is a one-person job. Center it up and roll it back to the rear bulkhead.

To secure it, originally, I made small brackets that bolted to the existing rear seat anchors and were drilled to accept hooks for ratchet straps. One strap from each side rear seat attach point to the handlebar and one strap around the frame and engine to the center anchor. When ratcheted down snuggly the bike stands upright and will not move forward. Remember, the seat attach points are stressed for the seat weight plus two 170lb persons. The 145lb bike is less than half the design load.

Later, seat rails were installed to accept C-206 middle seats as rear C-170 seats per the Kenmore STC for C-180/185s. Kenmore gave permission to field approve their STC in the 170 since the fuselage is the same in that area. Additional pieces had to be installed under the floor since my 170 did not have a float kit but a 170 with a float kit already has the additional pieces. Now, I use seat rail tiedown anchors to secure the ratchet straps as mentioned before.

It takes about 5 minutes to load and unload the bike from the plane and I have not nicked-up the upholstery at all in the process.

In a conversation I had with our fellow-Member and forum participant Bryan Ward (cessnabryan at yahoo) about two months ago, I found he has two "minty" CT-70s for sale. I think one of them has the seat off for re-upholstery.

when we had our 170, I modified a mini-bike by cutting it in half and welding remounting flanges on it. We would remove and drain the fuel tank and place it in a sealed plastic bag for fume protection. I made a folding 1/4" plywood piece to protect the rear seat and the two mini-bike halves easily fit on it and were securred by the seat belts. When we arrived at the airport, we would reattach the two halves, attach the handlebars and fuel tank, fill it with avgas drained from the sumps, and it was ready to go. Not really street legal but we did ride it on public roads in rual areas and were never stopped. We both rode on that little mini-bike, but, we were both much smaller and lighter then. I still have the frame from the mini-bike, which I found several years ago, and at one time thought about rebuiding it.

My wife and I use folding bicycles for ground transportation.
Lighter, simpler, less flammable and help keep my gross weight down

gahorn wrote:In a conversation I had with our fellow-Member and forum participant Bryan Ward (cessnabryan at yahoo) about two months ago, I found he has two "minty" CT-70s for sale. I think one of them has the seat off for re-upholstery.

BryanWardCT70.JPG

BryanWardCT70needsseatcover.JPG

I'm petty sure I need one of those! Bryan, if you see this please get in touch with me. I sent an email to the above address but wanted to follow up here too.

Keith
kthgetz at g mail

I'm beginning to see where this is heading. I think I see a cessna 170/ motorbike convention in the future.

Aryana, look at the Kansas City craigslist under motorcycles. Is the 1971 honda trail 70 the color you are talking about?

George, you will note that Bryan's blue bike was so much faster than the red one that it blew the seat cover off, resulting in it needing to be reupholstered Note how cool (and no doubt fast) Aryana's GREEN bike looked