Im looking for a van to transport my bike (cbr 600) to and from the track and was wondering
What’s the smallest van I can fit a bike into? Im looking at something fairly cheap and the smaller the better.
Ive done the rental van thing most of this year but i might aswell get a cheap-ish van if im going to be doing trackdays at least once a month, maybe more. Dont want to go with the trailer option as ive not got a car anyway.
Ive been looking in particular at the Peugeot expert/citroen dispatch/fiat scudo van because:
i can get one relatively cheap (under £1500). The look just about small enough to squeeze into a car parking space and can be used as an everyday run around vehicle
Just wondering if anyone here has used one of these to transport their bikes and did the bikes go in ok?
other options i was thinking of was a toyota hiace swb which is slightly bigger than my first choice.
Would like to hear what you guys use, particualry anyone with a van that ive mentioned above.
Yes, I had a Citroen Dispatch and could fit my bandit in (just).
It went in on the diagonal without removing mirrors or anything. Easier to park than my Mondeo due to flat back and little front overhang, and fits into underground car parks etc due to being 1900 tall. It is so tight that if you got a bulkhead I’m not sure if the bike would fit.
Cracking van, wish I still had mine. Gearboxes are weak points, everything else usually good. Try to get the 2.0 hdi/jtd (turbo) as the 1.9 is seriously slow and the old 1.9 turbo uses lots of fuel. There’s usually some good ex-Securicor dark blue ones on autotrader.
I was going to suggest pickups as well, but they have a higher loading deck which can be an issue if you are on your own.
I saw a guy at the beach a few years ago using his pickup for transporting a JetSki and he had a mounting mechanism which allowed him to load the jetski by himself. Wish I took photos of it now, really nice way of getting it onto the flatbed.
Smallest I’ve seen being used was a Vauxhall Combo!
It was on a trackday at Lydden & the bloke driving it managed to fit a CB500 diagonally inside by whipping the front wheel out & replacing it with one from a wheelbarrow!
I’ve seen someone use an estate car to transport a TZR250 to & from trackdays too, basically just took the fuel tank & plastics off & laid it in on it’s side.
FWIW the VW Transporter I use can fit two bikes and all the necessary gubbins for a trackday quite comfortably. I wouldn’t like to have to stuggle to fit all the gear in aswell in a small van such as the one you’re suggesting. Not only will you need to load all your gear but if you decide to go to a track without facilities such as Cadwell you’ll need to fit in a genny to power your tyre warmers.
I’ve had no issues with parking, it even goes into multistorey carparks without issue but I do have to add that you need to know the height clearances intimately.
yep its a navara double cab. the rear seats fold upright so can fit all the track stuff in there. usually put most of it in bed with bungees (spare wheels, fuel canisters etc.
i use 3 ramps which i had a fabricator add a tube to the underside of each which i metal bar goes through. makes a big wide braced ramp to take the bike up on
theres a few things on the market that make a barrier that goes around the tail gate so its inclosed too if you want to got that far.
