X-Ramp... No trailer? No Problem! - Ridefast Motorcycle Magazine

Not everybody has a bakkie at their disposal nor the space for a trailer in a security estate or townhouse complex and more often than not we cannot ride our dirt bikes from our front gates to the nearest bit of veld because of the urbanisation of all our old riding venues. This is where Martin and the team from X-Ramp have identified a need in the market and have developed and have been selling with great success the X-Ramp vehicle mountable bike loading solution…

Initially this system was designed to fit onto the towbar of your vehicle. That had a few limits as to size, weight and quantity of motorcycles that could be loaded. With more development over the years, they started manufacturing units to fit any vehicle from a little entry level hatchback, to a medium or large sized SUV, a bakkie, even a camper if they deem it safe to do so.

However, as perfect a solution as this sounds, you do need to consider the weight and carrying capacity of your vehicle versus the weight of the motorcycle/s that you would like to transport. For example, it would be silly to try and load your 1300 GS Adventure onto a Nissan Micra, you’ll end up doing wheelies all over the place, but a 250cc/450cc dirt bike is easily doable. So, it stands to reason, the bigger and stronger your vehicle the bigger and heavier and more bikes you can load.

So, how does it work?

The towbar mounted unit mounts directly onto your towbar and your tow ball gets moved onto the back of the unit so you can still safely tow a trailer or caravan, pretty simple and self explanatory. Then, and this is a really ingenious system, they have developed a unit that mounts directly onto your vehicle’s chassis at two points and can be quickly and easily removed without any unsightly brackets protruding out the back of your vehicle. If so desired, you can have a tow ball fitted to the back of the unit, but will need to take it to the relevant technicians to have the electrical connections done.

A really cool feature is the fact that the X-ramp unit is a fairly standard and universal bit of kit.If they do not have the relevant mounting kit for your specific vehicle, they can measure and manufacture one for you while you wait and have everything done and fitted to your vehicle within about two hours. The factory is in the south of Johannesburg and just about everything is done in house and on site. They tell us that the X-Ramp can be customised to carry anything from a mobility scooter, E-Bike or a small to medium golf cart and even go-karts.The system is also expandable, which means that you can extend a single bike unit to a two bike unit simply by sliding and locking in another single bike unit.

Martin, the boss man at X-Ramp assures us that all vehicles are all designed to carry a bit of weight in the rear, that’s why bakkies and SUVs have load bins and cars have boots and all vehicles can be fitted with a towbar. Stick within each vehicle’s manufacturer specifications when it comes to load limits and drive accordingly, as you would with a trailer or caravan, and you will be completely safe.

Loading the bikes is quick and easy for just about any able bodied person to do and securing them to the X-Ramp unit is exactly the same process as you would on a trailer or bakkie with straps. At this point X-Ramp doesn’t have a unit for your heavyweight cruiser or grand tourer land yacht, those unfortunately will need to remain on the trailer.