Pulling a Unigo

Brighteyesue

Brighteyesue

Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
181
Location
Cincinnati, OH
Bike
2006 ST1300
The first weekend in November, I finally got around to taking my (new to me) Unigo trailer out for a test trip. At first, I thought I was gonna get killed. Each time I approached 70mph, the bike/trailer combo went into a severe wobble.
I learned this was ALL my fault :doh1:

Lesson #1 - Tire Pressure. Check tire pressure on all 3 tires BEFORE your trip. My pressure was low on all 3 tires. No wonder it wobbled so badly! I was also reminded that I need to get a right angle valve stem for the rear tire at a minimum. Getting a good seal on that rear tire to air it up can be difficult and aggravating.

Lesson #2 - Load Distribution. Load heavy things low in the Unigo. I had my duffel bag in a vertical diagonal in the trailer which meant the weight was low and high. Not such a great idea. The trailer rode better when I put the duffel on my back seat/tail rack and loaded the trailer heavy low, light high.

Lesson #3 - Dirty Air. Be careful of air fluctuations. Pulling this trailer, the ride is very sensitive to changes in air pressure. Dirty air from 18 wheelers is easy to handle on the ST. However, pulling the Unigo I noticed that I feel the air get dirty much further away from the vehicle than without the trailer behind, and it induces more wobble. In addition, I felt dirty air from larger 4 wheeled vehicles as well. Whereas without the trailer, I never did. There is a fine line between throttling through the air turbulence and just backing off. Mostly I powered through it, but only if I could do so keeping the speed below triple digits. Next...

Lesson #4 - Speed. Once I got the tire pressure right and the load distributed well, I had to see how the highway speeds were effected. I was advised to not go ever 90. Great advice!!! The wobble over 90 is almost as bad as when the tire pressure is low. But I had to test it. :oops:

Lesson #5 - Parking. Until I practice more, I take pull through spots with the trailer. The Unigo is so small and responsive that backing up to park can be tricky, for me at least.

Lesson #6 - Convenience. Ok, I never thought I would want a trailer with my bike or need one. But I have to admit, it is so darn convenient!! Having the Unigo removes the worry of where to put something you may acquire on a trip. It is also handy to open it up and toss in all the gear for me and my friends before we go into a restaurant. In my saddle bags I keep certain things that stay there. Such as tire repair kit, air compressor, extra shield, glove options, etc. So not having to rearrange the saddle bag stuff in order to fit my full face helmet in one side is pretty handy.

Lesson #7 - Visibility. I ordered Multivex mirrors. The Unigo has such a small profile that I could not see it in my mirrors. That is my excuse anyway.

Lesson #8 - Handling. With 3 wheels it does feel somewhat different. Grooved concrete, road snakes of liquid asphalt, bumps, etc... all these you do feel more. However, I think the Unigo does handle pretty seamlessly. It leans when the bike leans. Pretty neat. I simply thought of myself as being in a longer vehicle when passing and threading through traffic.

Lesson #9 - Removal. This lesson was taught to me. When removing the trailer or moving it by itself, use two hands ALWAYS. Since it has only one wheel, it can shift from side to side very easy. Dropping the trailer would not be cool. So use two hands all the time, one on the handle and one on the tow bar.

Admittedly, many of you have oodles more experience that I do pulling trailers and riding period. But I thought I would post this so someone could learn from my (ahem) ignorance.

The Unigo is the first trailer I have ever had, but it is a keeper. It will be going with me for many miles I am sure. :)

Questions?
 
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Thanks Sue! It's interesting getting a first time trailer owners view.
 
I also have a uni-go trailer. I noticed that my license plate was causing more wobble because it's a full size plate and it sticks out on both sides of the little uni-go. I bent the sides of the plate down around the fender on the trailer and that cut down on the wobble allot.

I also learned that the hitch needs to fit very tight and not have any play at all. I few coats of paint solved that problem and now I have almost no wobble at all below 75 MPH. ;)
 
indypup said:
I also have a uni-go trailer. I noticed that my license plate was causing more wobble because it's a full size plate and it sticks out on both sides of the little uni-go. I bent the sides of the plate down around the fender on the trailer and that cut down on the wobble allot.

I also learned that the hitch needs to fit very tight and not have any play at all. I few coats of paint solved that problem and now I have almost no wobble at all below 75 MPH. ;)
Click to expand...

75??!! Your ST will go that slow? ;-) :burnout Guess if would go that slow, the wobble would reduce. Gee, you're so smart :clap2:
 
I've been intrigued by the Uni-go from the first time I saw it. In addition to its other attributes, I like the fact that it looks "right" behind a sport-tourer whereas many trailers look odd behind anything other than a Goldwing or other "full dresser."

For those of you that have uni-gos, where did you buy yours? New from Schoolhouse Motorcycle Acessories, another dealer, or used? I'm a little reluctant to order one from Schoolhouse due to some unfavorable reviews they received, but I wonder if those issues are improving now that they have been up and running a couple of years. Has anyone on this forum ordered a new one within the last 6 months or so?
 
I ordered one on June 11th and hope to see it the first week of Aug. They told me 6-8 weeks but they had an issue with the wheel production. When I spoke to them last week, they reported they are back up to speed. I'll let you know in a few weeks after I receive it.


Gamecock said:
I've been intrigued by the Uni-go from the first time I saw it. In addition to its other attributes, I like the fact that it looks "right" behind a sport-tourer whereas many trailers look odd behind anything other than a Goldwing or other "full dresser."

For those of you that have uni-gos, where did you buy yours? New from Schoolhouse Motorcycle Acessories, another dealer, or used? I'm a little reluctant to order one from Schoolhouse due to some unfavorable reviews they received, but I wonder if those issues are improving now that they have been up and running a couple of years. Has anyone on this forum ordered a new one within the last 6 months or so?
Click to expand...
 
Wobble at speed????? I seem to remember an other thread on the Unigo and one STer described his first exposure to the Unigo was watching a BMW pass him with one at blistering speed (that I remember clearly). I seem to remember that he then purchased one himself and no were was instability mentioned.

I am wondering if the Unigo is like other things i.e. topboxs where they are more stable for some than others?

What have everyone found from experience?
 
Hunter said:
Wobble at speed????? I seem to remember an other thread on the Unigo and one STer described his first exposure to the Unigo was watching a BMW pass him with one at blistering speed (that I remember clearly). I seem to remember that he then purchased one himself and no were was instability mentioned.

I am wondering if the Unigo is like other things i.e. topboxs where they are more stable for some than others?

What have everyone found from experience?
Click to expand...
I also just bought one and had to lower the drawbar one setting or set of holes. My ST was higher than the bike that had towed it before so empty I had a littel wobble but it went away .
I also put 50 LBS in it and it smoothed right out
 
Dalton said:
I ordered one on June 11th and hope to see it the first week of Aug. They told me 6-8 weeks but they had an issue with the wheel production. When I spoke to them last week, they reported they are back up to speed. I'll let you know in a few weeks after I receive it.
Click to expand...

Dalton, have you received your Uni-go yet? I'm anxious to hear about your first impressions. In addition to the questions about dealing with the distributor, this will-it/won't-it wobble question also looms large. I'd like as many opinions as possible before I try to order one.
 
I bought a used Uni-Go to tow behind my 1100. I towed it on a 1500 mile trip. It towed nicely on the Interstates and the curves in NC. I also noted the wobble around semi-trucks at about 75mph. I covered about 75 of those miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville. I rode a little easier than without the trailer, however I was doing the speed limit most of the time. :D :D :D No problems.

There is a threaded hole on the side of the hitch. A bolt is screwed into the threaded hole to tighten against the trailer part of the hitch. This removes the "slop" in the hitch. It is either an 8mm or 10 mm.
 
Ron said:
I bought a used Uni-Go to tow behind my 1100. I towed it on a 1500 mile trip. It towed nicely on the Interstates and the curves in NC. I also noted the wobble around semi-trucks at about 75mph. I covered about 75 of those miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville. I rode a little easier than without the trailer, however I was doing the speed limit most of the time. :D :D :D No problems.

There is a threaded hole on the side of the hitch. A bolt is screwed into the threaded hole to tighten against the trailer part of the hitch. This removes the "slop" in the hitch. It is either an 8mm or 10 mm.
Click to expand...

I didn't realize that was what that hole was for in the side of the hitch. Thanks for the tidbit! :)
 

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