Bike Down in East Farmingdale? Motorcycle Towing That Arrives Without a Mark

Riders in East Farmingdale 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 East Farmingdale 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 East Farmingdale.

First, you. If anyone is hurt, call 911 before you call us. If the bike is in the road, do not try to muscle it to the shoulder by yourself with an injury; the driver has the strength and the straps to move it. When you call 516-362-5350, say it was a drop or a crash and where in East Farmingdale the bike is, and whether it is upright, on its side, or in pieces.

The driver's first job is to get the bike upright and look at it: fuel leaking from a cracked tank or a sheared petcock, oil from a punctured case, a fork that is bent enough to hold the front wheel crooked, bars that are turned. A bike that is leaking fuel is handled so the leak is stopped or contained before it goes on the deck, and a bike that will not stand because of a bent fork or a collapsed wheel is loaded on a dolly or strapped lying on a padded surface, which is the one time a bike rides on its side.

Where it goes is up to you. Macarthur's collision shop at 170 East Lincoln Avenue handles bodywork and paint; many riders send a bike with frame or fork damage to a motorcycle dealer or specialist for the mechanical work and bring it to us for the paint. If an insurance claim is involved, the shop writes the estimate and the insurance claim repair in East Farmingdale page explains how the claim runs. If the police had the bike towed to a yard, we can collect it from there once the yard releases it to you.

A motorcycle tow from East Farmingdale goes smoothly when the driver knows what he is loading before he leaves the yard, because a sport bike, a cruiser, a touring bike, and a scooter each want a different chock and a different strap. So the call covers the bike by make and model, where in East Farmingdale it is and what it is sitting in, what is wrong with it, and where it is going, with the address and the hours.

Where it is going: your garage, your mechanic, a dealer, a storage unit, or our body shop at 170 East Lincoln Avenue in Valley Stream. Have the address and the hours. Anything unusual: a sidecar, a trailer hitch, a windshield that comes off, a seat that lifts for the battery. The driver would rather know than find out at the deck.

Have the key with you; the bike is loaded with the ignition off and the steering unlocked so the front wheel can go into the chock straight. If you cannot be there, tell us who will be, or where the key is. Whether you ride along in the truck depends on the truck and the situation; ask the driver. The what to tell us section on the towing page covers the call for every vehicle.

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 East Farmingdale 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 East Farmingdale 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 East Farmingdale, North Amityville, and across Suffolk County.