Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125836
.aGetting you there; keeping you warm and dry . ; Pmdad E"a1aalioD ..---------~-...... t The uFuliback" Trailer By Larry Langley Why would Cycle News test a trailer? Easy. When the trailer has the capability to haul two motor<:ycles. The "Fullback" is unique in that it is small in size (11 feet) but does a number of things. It can haul two motorcycles to a race, and, after unloading, covert to a bedroom which will sleep four ?r five people. In the morning, it converts to a dinette allowing all the people to sit down for breakfast which was cooked outside in the kitchen. Outside? Yes, the kitchen is located on an external side of the trailer. The idea behind this is to allow standing up room for cooking but still allow the trailer to be compact in height. Inside there is only live feet of headroom, not quite tall enough to stand up straight, but still taIl enough to pull your leathers on in privacy. The kitchen comes with a big icebox, stove, cupboards, light, sink and water pump. We had problems with the water pump on our trailer. It had two screws holding it. on and one had stripped out. We never did get the pump to work. We had picked up the trailer right off the factory lot and it had not been dealer-prepped as the trailers you buy should be. They should mount the water pump with bolts instead of wood screws for more strength. The only problem with the outdoor kitchen is being outdoors. Occasionally, you would have to contend with dust, wind, and whatever else. I wo'!ld recommend the optional net little tent which "Fullback" offers. It fits right around the kitchen area closing it off. It sets up easy and I feel it's well worth the extra cost. Keeps the wife happy too. To test the trailer we decided to take it out for a weekend in the desert as we were going to enter an enduro. We loaded my XL-250 Honda in it to test the bike hauling capabilities. The rear door is large enough to get the bikes in and out easily. The trailer will hold ~o bikes but if they are~both 250's or bigger it's a tight fit. If one is a smaller trailbike, no sweat. "FuI1hack" equips its trailers with eyelets for tie-down purposes. However, . the floor does not fold up II. "Smuggler" so you should protect the carpeting with a plastic runner or such. Towing the trailer was a pleasure. The light weight and low profile made towing it over Cajon Pass a breeze. The "Fullback" comes equipped with surge brakes and they worked very well. It should be mentioned that a trailer weighing under 1500 pounds in California does not have to have brakes, but the weight of two bikes inside would tip it over t~e 1500 pounds, so "Fullback" wisely equips them. The ~FulIback" pulled straight WIth no sway. You hardly knew it was there. When we arrived at the site of the enduro, it was easy to set up. I really liked the built-in, fold-down jacks located at the rear of the trailer. They aJ'e easy to put down and level the trailer. It's much better than placing individual screw type jacks under the comers and screwing them up and down. The "Fullback" generated quite a bit of interest at the enduro. Everyone really went bananas over the privale bathroom! It was unexpected in a trailer this size. It's big enough to hold a porta-potty and the privacy fac tor is great. You can also temporarily store equipment there. Another feature I liked was the gas can compartment. It held two five gallon gas cans but does not include a lock as the other doors did. a c Summing up, the "Fullback" trailer, keeping in mind its size limitations, would fit the bill perfectly for a small family with a couple of bikes. Another bike could be mounted on the bumper. It's light enough 'ito tow behind a small car (saving the cost of a bigger tow vehicle) and the convertability features allows it to be used by four or five people. The "Fullback" lists for $1795 which seems high for a trailer of limited capabilities. Information can be obtained by contacting Fullback Industries, 10201 East Artesia, Bellflower, California 90706. Phone (21!l) 867-721!l. The Back Country Riding Jacket We were recently introduced to a new heavy-duty nylon riding jacket designed to supplement or supplant the trnditional waxed cotton Barbour and Belstaff jackets from England. Our interest in such a product was, frankly, heightened by the fact that a large proportion of the contestants at the recent lSDT were wearing nylon or other synthetic riding apparel. If they can live with it in ISDT competition, there must be something to it. Three of the jackets were worn for three days of riding in Baja California, Mexico recently. For a set of varied reasons, Baja turns out to be one of the most demanding tests of any motorcycling component from goggles to engines so we felt this a reasonable way to determine the jacket's suitability for demanding off-road riding. One of the Back Country jacket's most obvious virtues is that the materials and construction are really first class. The. nylon is super-heavy yet light in weight, seams don't unravel or bust out, zippers don't stick, and screwdrivers won't poke holes in the pockets even after bouncing them for three or four hundred miles across Baja. The product does not appear shoddy. The jacket has Velcro closures on the pockets (four), wrists, and the high collar. Everything on the jacket: pockets, zipper, helt and snaps can be worked with riding gloves on, which we tend to think is a prerequisite for any trail jacket. It is a convenient coat. The pockets are much roomier than they look and won't tear off the coat. However, access to the bottom of the top pockets is restricted. The jacket was designed this way (with a smaller top opening in the pockets) so stuff won't bounce out as easily but it proved to be a small annoyance. It might be more of one in an enduro where you're constantly reaching in for your time card. The pockets are angled well and carry lots of garbage comfortably on the hody while riding. There is one inherent drawback in a riding jacket that is completely wind and waterproof as is this one. Perspirati.;>n can evaporate only through openings in the jacket, at the neck, wrists, and front if the zipper is left undone. The best configuration we could arrive at for daytime riding in Baja is with cuffs and collar in maximum open position on the Velcro strip, front unzipped and snapped only twice under the belt. This proved liveable bu t there was still a high level of condensation from body sweat in the upper arms and shoulder area of the jacket, due to the double lining. Surprisingly enough, this was not particularly noticeable while actual)y riding and the jacket proved very comfortable. For riding Baja at night, or general low speed street riding, the same characteristics of the jacket keep you toasty warm with just a jersey underneath. Low temperature characteristics (down to 35-40 degrees F) seem quite good. Comments for improvement focus on detail refinement. The basic design stands as is. The Velcro closure strips should be moved over further on the cuffs and collar (at least for those of us with fat necks) so there is a wider latitude of practical adjustment. The sleeve did not melt when placed against a hot cylinder head. How hot the head actually was, we don't know but this was determined in performing a spark plug change so should be representative. The jacket obviously will get melt holes in it if the temp is high enough. The belt seems too high until you sit down on a bike, then it hits you just about righ l The jacket is lighter and restricts movement less than the waxed collon jackets. For appearance freaks, it looks better than the waxed cotton jackets and stays looking better lo~ger. It is also washable without losing any of its . waterproofing.. You can get lots of colors, too. We wore red, international orange, and navy blue in Baja. The jacket is of U.S. manufacture and therefore less expensive (about $48) than the English-made jackets in this country. The m~t pleasant surprise about the jackets was that they were big enough. A medium actually fit a medium-size person wearing a sweater, etc. The jackets seem amply cut without looking like a North Korean fatigue uniform. The Back Country jacket so far shows no ill effects from its Baja thrashing but we'll provide a progress report after a few more.miles and drip-dry washings.