Bike Down in Albertson? Motorcycle Towing That Arrives Without a Mark

Riders in Albertson who have had a bike towed badly know the signs: a fork that is not quite straight, a scuff on the tank from a ratchet hook, a fairing cracked where a strap was cinched over it. All of that comes from towing a motorcycle like it is a car, and none of it happens when the bike rides upright on a flat deck with the suspension loaded by soft straps so it cannot rock. That is the only way Macarthur's drivers do it.

The setup is simple when it is done right. The front wheel goes into a wheel chock on the deck, which holds the bike upright before any strap is on. Soft loops go over the lower triple tree or the frame at the front, never over the bars, the controls, or the instruments, and over the rear subframe or the passenger pegs at the back, never over the seat or the exhaust. The straps are ratcheted down evenly until the suspension is compressed about a third of its travel. The bike is checked from both sides and the straps are rechecked after the deck is raised.

The driver who comes to Albertson has done this on bikes from a 250 to a full-dress touring bike, and he asks about the bike before he leaves the yard so the right straps and chock are on the truck. The motorcycle towing page covers the method in more depth; this page covers what the job looks like when the bike is sitting in Albertson.

A dead battery is the top call, especially the first warm weekend in spring after a bike sat all winter. The driver carries a jump pack with motorcycle leads and can get the bike started if the battery will take a charge; if it is sulfated and done, the bike goes on the deck to a shop or to your garage where you can replace it. A bike that ran out of fuel gets enough to reach a station, the same as a car, through fuel delivery in Albertson; tell us what it burns.

A flat on a motorcycle is a tow almost every time. There is no spare, a plug on a motorcycle tire is a temporary fix most shops will not stand behind, and riding on a soft tire is dangerous. The bike goes on the deck to your tire shop or your dealer. A thrown or broken chain is the same: the bike cannot be ridden, and the driver loads it with the rear wheel chocked so the loose chain does not catch on anything. Electrical faults, a blown main fuse, a kill switch that will not reset, a charging system that let the battery run flat while riding, all go to the shop on the truck.

A bike that will not shift into neutral is loaded with the clutch held or the rear wheel on a dolly, and a bike with a locked front brake or a seized fork is loaded with the front on a dolly instead of in the chock. Say what is wrong when you call from Albertson so the driver brings what he needs, and the breakdown towing section on the towing page has the general version for every vehicle.

Buying a bike you cannot ride home, because it has no plates, no insurance yet, no inspection, or because you do not have a license for it yet, is the most common planned move. The driver picks it up at the seller's address, photographs it before loading, and delivers it to your garage in Albertson. If you send us the title, he confirms the VIN against it before the bike moves. A bike bought from a dealer in another county is the same job with a dealer's hours and paperwork; tell us both and we schedule around them.

Storage moves run both ways: into a storage unit in the fall and back to your Albertson driveway in spring, often with the dead-battery jump on the way out. Project bikes with no running engine ride the same as any other bike, chocked and strapped, and a basket case in boxes rides as freight on the deck. Track days and long rides that start somewhere other than Albertson are a flatbed job with the bike delivered to the start and collected at the end if you want.

Moves beyond the county, into the city, upstate, or out of state, are quoted by mileage and the bike and scheduled rather than immediate; the long distance towing in Albertson page covers how. Local moves within Nassau County, to Atlantic Beach, Baldwin, or Baldwin Harbor, are quoted the same way as a breakdown tow.

Motorcycle tows are flatbed jobs and are quoted like any other flatbed tow, with the bike's size standing in for the vehicle's weight. Distance is the biggest factor: from the bike's spot in Albertson to wherever it is going. A bike that stands and rolls into the chock is the simplest load; a bike with a bent fork, a locked wheel, or a seized chain that needs a dolly or has to ride on a padded surface is a little more work, and the driver tells you so before he starts. A second bike on the same deck is quoted as part of the same job.

Night and holiday calls are priced as such; towing runs 24 hours. Recovery, if the bike went into a ditch or over an embankment and has to be winched or carried up, is priced as recovery. Storage applies by the day if the bike waits at our yard before going to a destination. What we will not do is quote low to get the truck to Albertson and add on the hook. If the job is what you described, the quote is the price; if the driver finds a different job, he tells you the new number before he touches the bike.

The how a tow is priced section on the towing page explains each factor. Same fleet, same pricing for riders in Albertson, Atlantic Beach, and across Nassau County.