Motorcycle Towing in Detroit: Wheel Chock, Straps, No Chain

In Detroit, a motorcycle gets loaded onto a flatbed with the front wheel locked in a chock and soft loop straps pulling down at an angle from the frame or triple clamp — never a bare chain over the tank or fairing, which can crack plastic and won't stop the bike from leaning sideways in transit.

How a bike actually gets secured on the flatbed

The front wheel drops into a chock that holds it upright on its own, the way a kickstand can't once the bike's rolling up a ramp. From there, soft loop straps — not metal S-hooks, not a chain — run from the frame rails or the lower triple clamp down to the deck at an angle, pulling the front end down just enough to preload the fork. That combination is what keeps a top-heavy bike, balanced on two narrow contact patches, from tipping sideways over a pothole on the way to the shop — not the strap tension by itself.

Why a chain over the frame is the wrong shortcut

A chain slung bare over the tank or the frame is faster to throw on, and it's still what some drivers reach for. It's also the version most likely to crack a fairing, scratch a tank down to bare metal, or load all the restraining force onto one small section of subframe that wasn't built to take a point load like that. A wheel chock spreads the job across the tire and both straps instead of one chain link digging into paint.

How tight should the straps actually be?

Firm, not maximum. The straps are there to preload the fork so the suspension doesn't bounce the bike against the chock over every bump, not to crank the front end down as far as it'll go. Overtighten them and it's possible to blow a fork seal or put a bend in the lower triple clamp — an easy mistake for someone who tows one motorcycle a year and wants to be extra sure it doesn't move. A seal that's just started weeping is a slow leak, not an emergency, but it's an expensive slow leak to have started over a tow that should have taken ten minutes.

Most Michigan riders have never needed this before

Michigan's riding season is short enough that a lot of owners put a bike away for the winter and never call anyone about it — the bike just goes on a trickle charger in the garage until spring. When these calls do come in, they tend to be one of three things: a bike down after a low-speed crash or a slide, a bike that won't turn over on the first ride of the season after sitting since fall, or a private-party purchase somewhere across the 20 communities Detroit Towing covers, where the buyer needs it moved from a stranger's driveway to their own garage without ever being ridden.

None of those three want the same handling. A crashed bike may have a bent lever, a cracked fairing, or fluid on the ground that needs to be worked around before it ever reaches the chock. A no-start after winter storage usually just needs to roll on, dead weight, front wheel first. A private-party move is the easiest of the three — nothing's wrong with the bike, it just hasn't been title-transferred and insured yet, so it can't legally be ridden off the lot.

Does the driver loading it actually know bikes?

It's a fair question, and the honest answer is that motorcycles are a small share of what any Michigan tow company hauls across a full year, Detroit Towing included — cars and trucks make up most calls, twelve months a year, while bikes cluster into a shorter stretch. Detroit Towing sits at five stars across 15 reviews, but that reflects mostly car and truck calls, not bikes specifically. That's not a reason to skip the chock-and-strap method described above; it's a reason to ask for it by name if the truck that shows up looks set up for a car.

What to have ready before the truck arrives

Kickstand up before the bike goes anywhere near the ramp — it will get clipped on the way up otherwise. Keys in the ignition or handed to the driver, not in a jacket pocket somewhere. Anything bungeed loosely to the bike — a tank bag, a helmet hooked over a mirror — comes off before it goes on the ramp; vibration on the flatbed will walk it right off the back. If the bike went down, mention it when you call +1 313-631-1184 so the driver brings extra padding for a cracked fairing or a bent lever instead of finding out at the curb.