I just wonder if anyone varries on of these on a bike rack? SWMBO fancies one for scooting from sites to shops

When you say bike rack what exactly do you mean?

If you are thinking of a rack that’s fixed to the rear panel of your MH that’s intended to carry pushbikes then dream on as a Vespa is far too heavy.

If you mean the type that fixes to a towbar then that’s a whole different matter. The very first thing to look at is how much additional weight will be added to the back axle and whether there is sufficient “capacity” available to cope with the additional weight. It’s a little complicated to work out because there is the leverage effect of the distance it’s back from the axle that will increase the loading by more than the weight of the Vespa.

As you can see it’s not a simple question! You need to do a fair bit of research before doing anything.

Andy

The maximum carrying weight on most bike racks is around 60kgs, so for a Vespa that’s a no-no.
Fit a proper carrier at the rear of your van for the weight is the only answer.

P.S. Sorry Andy, you beat me to it !!

Thank you shingi and Andy. Yes, i meant the rack fixed to back of our van. Thought it was too heavy but wanted to make sure 😁
Guess it will have to be an ebike then

E bikes are great! Thieves think so too . We used to remove the battery to carry in the van so make sure you can do something similar. Have fun

Yep, we bought a couple of ebikes shortly after they were launched. Cheap Chinese ones, we have needed to buy a couple of new batteries over the years but they are still going strong. They get used a lot at home as well.

If fitting a bike rack be sure to check on it’s weight bearing capacity, I would have thought 60Kg is highly optimistic! Our bikes weigh 25Kg each with the batteries on them and that’s too heavy to lift onto a high(ish) bike rack (batteries are 5Kg each)

If you have a towbar have a look at the towbar mounted bike racks, they are very good! (And a lot easier to get any bike on or off)

Andy

A word of caution, many towbar mounted bike racks have fairly low weight capacities too. I have a fairly old Thule one that is rated adequately for lighter bikes, but heavier (often cheaper) bikes could challenge its limit. It certainly wouldn’t be within spec with 2x 25kg bikes on it. Removing the batteries of e bikes for transport is a sound suggestion.


Regards,
John

You can of course get properly designed and made racks to fit to the rear of your van for the purpose of carrying motor scooters or motorcycles.
As mentioned you need to make sure your van has the spare weight carrying capacity to do so though.

A very good example although not cheap are the Alko produced ones https://www.sawiko.com/en/bicycle-an...ier-motorhomes

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Just seen on the motorhomer.com site, a used one for sale https://motorhomer.com/threads/al-ko...6/#post-189576

.

...or I could sell you this one.

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