After years of resisting my wife's desire to get a dog, I finally gave in and we got one -- a little female... That was three years ago.

Admittedly, I now carry more pictures of my dog than of my children or grandchildren. She has enriched my life beyond measure. But since then, I've noticed that the wife and I do much less riding together. I guess that means she prefers the dog's company to my own. Can't say I blame her.

Actually, the truth is, the idea of leaving the dog home, while we go have fun, just seemed wrong somehow. We just wanted to be together -- all three of us.

In an effort to include our pup on our rides I looked into many solutions. See Appendix - Other Options at the end of this article, for a description of other options I discovered.

The best solution, at least for us, was a tank-mounted system:

• My pet would be within my view. That way I could keep an eye on her without distracting my concentration.
• I would be free to focus on the road... even if she caught a glimpse of a squirrel or garbage-truck (her sworn enemies).
• She would be tucked safely behind the windshield, and in a carrier; no Doggles (doggie goggles) required.
• She would have enough room to adjust her position for comfort.
• The carrier could be easily altered for warmer or cooler weather.
• The passenger seat is left free for the wife.
• The carrier could be quickly installed and removed, as needed.
• We would be able to use the carrier as a tank-bag for trips where we needed extra storage, and are without the dog.

Unfortunately, however, I could find no existing supplier for such a product. I would have to build one myself.

Note: Try as I might, even after a severals months of search, I could not find a local upholsterer, outdoor gear manufacturer, luggage manufacturer, or pet related supplier interested in developing this idea.

In the end, I decided to purchase a ready made, soft-sided, meshed, airline approved pet carrier. This allowed me to focus my efforts on the challenges unique to my application:

• The carrier must be held securely in place. I did this using nylon strapping and hardware I got online.
• The carrier should sit roughly level on the tank. This turned out to be the most complicated part. I first tried using some simple padding on the tank, but my dog was nervous about her steep angle, and it wasn't very secure. Then I built an upholstered, foam, pillow-wedge to go between the tank and carrier. This looked promising... Then she moved to one side, which compressed the pillow, and the straps came loose. In the end, I built a fiberglass and plywood wedge, shaped perfectly to the tank's contours, and exactly matching the footprint of the carrier.
• My motorcycle's custom paint job must be totally protected from any harm from the carrier/mount. This was accomplished by using padded upholstery material (sold by Home Depot as vinyl shelf liner) to cover my custom wedge. This material has a clinging quality that helps keep the carrier 'stuck' firmly in place, and even looks like black leather.
• The speedometer must be clearly visible. I accomplished this using the speedo display on my GPS unit.

I have not written this article as step by step instructions for every detail. Every dog, every rider size, and every rider's preference is different. So I thought it best to share the procedures and the dimensions I used. That way, you can change sizing, materials, and techniques to fit your needs.

Important Disclaimer: You assume all responsibility for all risks with respect to carrying your pet on your bike. I make no claims of safety for anything written or shown herein. What I feel works for me may not work for you.

10mm wrenches --socket, box, or open-end wrenches for the bolt/nut at the rear of the tank.

Pliers --to get the fuel hose off the tank.

Metal working tools --for fabricating tabs for the tank, such as:

• Dremel or hacksaw
• File
• Sandpaper

Scissors --for cutting out paper patterns, cutting fiberglass mat, and trimming vinyl.

Utility knife or X-acto knife --for trimming vinyl.

Old knife --for cutting and sealing nylon strapping/webbing.

Heat source --for heating knife, such as:

• Torch
• Heat gun
• Hair dryer
• Stove-top

Wood working tools --for fabricating the mount, such as:

• Saw, such as a jig, band, coping, or scroll
• Saw, such as a table, miter, or back
• Clamps, 14", or a 10lb weight
• Contour gauge, if making your carrier for a non-Road-Star
• Sander, such as palm, orbital, belt, or block
• Brad nailer or small hammer, optional
• 1/2" x 18 gauge brads (tiny nails), optional
• Tiny clamps -- Finger size, for gluing the tank tabs. See the Step 3: Modifying the Tank section, later in this document.
• Sandpaper

Cheap paint (or chip) brushes --Qty: about 5 to 10. Bristle (non-foam), 1" to 2" wide. For fiberglass work. (Foam brushes will melt).

Sewing machine --for assembling the nylon webbing. If you do this yourself, the machine -- and especially the needle -- must be heavy duty enough to sew thick, stiff material, such as leather.

Portable work table --for fiberglass lay-up, and other general use.

Plastic cups --for fiberglass lay-up, mixing resin.

Pet carrier --The one I got was a Maxam Pet Club Italian Stone Design Genuine Leather Pet Carrier from Lupet. Its dimensions are: 17-1/2" long x 9-3/4" tall x 10-1/2" wide. The one you get must allow your pet some space to move around -- ideally to be able to competely turn around within the carrier. See photo below.

Polyurethane glue (like Gorilla glue), or construction adhesive (like Liquid Nails).

1/4" plywood or similar --2'x4' (quarter sheet, roughly) for making contour pieces.

Fiberglass materials --I bought two kits:

• Mat -- 8 square feet per kit.
• Resin -- quart per kit. I successfully used polyester resin, but epoxy resin would have made the job much easier.
• Catalyst -- one small vile per kit.
• Spreader/Squeegie -- supplied with kit.

Plywood scrap --to be used as a disposable work surface for fiberglass lay-up, and other general use. Approximately 2' x 4'. Note: This is in addition to the 1/4" plywood listed above.

Thin visqueen (poly/plastic sheet/film, tarp) --about 4' x 6' or larger.

Plastic, kitchen, 'cling' wrap --Only about 15' will be needed.

Masking tape

Padded shelf liner or upholstery material, two rolls of 10'. You'll have some left over, but not a whole roll -- especially if you make a cutting mistake.

Material for strapping the carrier to the tank. Note: I got mine online, from Seattle Fabrics, Inc.:

• 5 to 7 yards of either #X630, #0015, or #7400 Nylon strapping/webbing, 1" wide, black. I got a sampling of all of them. They all worked fine. The #7400 is the softest, but thickest.
• Qty: 2, Gutter Hooks, 5/8" wide
• Qty: 1, Ladder Lock Buckle, 1"
• Qty: 3, Double Adjustable Side Release Buckle, or Streamline Side Release Buckle (if it allows adjustment at one end), 1"

Thread --outdoor, heavy duty, non-rotting thread.

Leash --for holding pet inside carrier. Important for safety. Could be old and/or very short.

3/16" x 2" x 6" (or so) aluminum or steel bar --for fabricating little tabs for tank under-edges, to keep hooks in position.

JB-Weld --(or similar) for gluing the metal tabs to tank under-edges.

Paint (primer), touch-up or rattle-can --for repairing/covering sanded areas under tank.

Caulking, clear --The type for windows and doors.

Our doggie is 15 lbs, 20 long (when lying down, stretched out), 9" wide, and 14" high. She seems to love her Sherpa (Original, Large, 20"x 11.75" x 11.5") Soft-sided carrier, which we use for general travel. But I noticed she often curls up inside, and uses only about 3/4ths of it, so I decided that we could get away with a slightly smaller carrier for the bike.

The idea here, is to balance two, conflicting desires:

• Get a big enough carrier so that the pup is comfy for long rides. Tip: Many (but not all) small dogs and cats enjoy moderate confinement, as demonstrated by their preferrence to hide under furniture when feeling threatened. They do however, need to have enough room to adjust themselves periodically. The longer they are confined, the more important it is for them to be able to move around.
  
• Keep the carrier as low as possible, and as far back as possible, so as to maintain as much rider visibility as possible. Note: I am 5'6" tall, so my angle of vision is lower than many riders. If your torso is taller than mine (long legs don't count) then your visibility will be better.

The store-bought carrier I bought has worked out very well. See the Materials Needed section on an earlier page of this article, for details.

First, I took off the shoulder strap. Then I pulled out the faux sheep-skin bottom board, and unscrewed and removed the feet from the bottom. The sheep-skin bottom board was re-inserted, at the project's completion. The other parts were discarded.

Next, a segment of a leash was sewn to the inside of the carrier. When finished, this leash restrains the pet during loading and allows you to open the carrier top while you tend to other destination tasks, like removing your helmet. It is not intended to allow the pet to sit up above the carrier while riding.

The leash length was determined by measuring the distance in her neck's height between sitting and lying. I cut the leash off to that length, plus 1" for attachment. Then I sewed the leash segment in place. See photo below.

The only remaining modification necessary for the carrier was to sew nylon strapping to its bottom, so that it could be secured to the home-made mount. See the Step 4: Constructing the Straps section later in this article for details.

Tip: Unless you intend to also use your store-bought carrier separately from the bike, you can cut off the carrier's handle grips. Note however, if you prefer to put your pet into the carrier -- off-bike -- these handles can simplify the installation and removal from the bike. It's a matter of personal preference. I left my handle grips on for a while, but eventually cut them off because it got to be a hassle to snap the handles back together for each ride so they wouldn't flop around in the wind.

Designing and building the mount was, without question, the most difficult and time consuming part of the project. There were five goals:

• Create a mount that would hold the carrier very securely, with no possibility of accidental shift or anything.
• Create a mount that would be quick to mount/dismount.
• Create a mount that would hold the carrier roughly level, but as LOW as possible.
• Create a mount that would not endanger ANY part of the tank to scratches, dents, or abrasions.
• Create a mount that would distribute the weight evenly over the entire area so as to minimize pressure points that might result in long-term chrome or paint damage.

The result, shown below, is fabricated from 1/4" plywood, fiberglass, wood strips, glue, and padded vinyl shelf-liner.

To begin building my mount, I first used a carpenter's contour gauge to approximate the tank/dash width-contour every two inches or so. I began just forward of the widest point of the speedo, and continued down to the rear of the tank. Since my gauge was only 6" long, contours were only taken on the left side of the tank, and then reflected for the right side.

Each contour was scanned to my computer, and the results are shown below.

Note: The contours shown above will only fit a Yamaha Road Star with a stock tank. Feel free to copy them to your computer and use them, but please don't distribute them to others. Instead, just refer others to this article. Thanks.

Note: Depending on your computer and printer, you will need to resize the contours up or down to get them to precisely fit your tank.

I then printed to paper, cut the paper along the contours, and transferred the paper lines to 1/4" plywood. See photos below.

Tip: If you've got a 12" (or longer) contour gauge, you could create contour patterns that incorporate both left and right sides together, into a single, unbroken line. Otherwise, I'd suggest not even attempting to match the register of the two halves together into a line. It would be something of a miracle to get them easily matched so your patterns laid onto the tank properly. Instead, I cut the two sides separately, and trial fit each half to the tank. When I transferred my patterns to plywood, I also cut little sheet-metal tabs, and glued the tabs to both plywood halves to achieve a best fit. The plywood contour pieces weren't very pretty, but when the mount is completed they don't show anyway. They're just to strengthen and support the fiberglass pan and the mount's top. See photo below.

If you want your mount to be the same length and height as mine, the front contour piece must be 1.5" tall and the rear piece must be 5.5" tall (and the intermediate pieces are, of course, heights in between), so initially cut all the pieces a bit taller. That way, you can trim to fit after they are glassed into the pan.

Note: Our dog is 20" long, and my waist is 32"-34". I ride with a Corbin, Dual-Touring seat (and sometimes a Looney solo-seat), and the carrier fits very tightly to my belly. In fact, my gut pushes into the top half of the rear of the carrier an inch or two when I turn the handlbars far.

Adjust your dimensions to fit your pet and your belly. Just be sure to keep the carrier back and above your lap enough so that the front of the carrier does not obstruct or hinder your view of the road. The shorter you are, the more critical this factor becomes.

I experimented with a number of materials for the mount's bottom: rigid-expanding-modelling foam, non-expanding foam, and cut styro-foam. In the end, I made the base pan (bottom) of the mount from hand laid-up fiberglass using a kit I got from a nearby auto parts store. I had never worked with fiberglass before, and I quickly learned two things: (1.) The polyester resin has a working time of less than five minutes. (2.) It will eat through many types of plastic -- like styrofoam and plastic cups I used for mixing.

If I were to do this part over again, I would try to find epoxy resin, as it reportedly has a longer working time, and it is friendly with most types of plastic. Plus -- even though the fumes are definitely not good for you -- epoxy resin is low odor.

After doing a trial lay-up on a piece of scrap plywood, I draped a piece of medium weight plastic sheeting ('clear tarp', sometimes called visqueen) over my tank, engine and everywhere the fiberglass might ooze or drip. Then I set up a workstation nearby, consisting of a portable table with a piece of scrap plywood on top, covered with a piece of visqueen. See photos below.

I pre-cut two glass mat pieces an inch longer and and inch wider than my desired base pan size -- plus I cut two, one-inch wide strips for each contour. The length of each strip was equal to the width of the contour piece -- which should be around 10" or 11", if you use the same carrier as me.

I set the pre-cut mat pieces aside on my workstation. Then I mixed enough resin to create the pan and glass-in the contour pieces. I used multiple, plastic, Dixie picnic cups to organize the resin into 6-ounce portions -- the amount I needed for each layer of glass.

Next, I poured one cup of the mixed resin over my first mat piece, worked the resin quickly in to saturate the mat, peeled the wetted mat from the workstation visqueen, and draped the mat over the covered tank -- pushing air bubbles out with the squeegie supplied with the fiberglass kit. Then I quickly repeated this process with another, pre-cut mat and pre-mixed resin-cup.

The result was both encouraging and disappointing. The glass formed a strong, reasonably smooth piece. However, it lacked much definition of the dash area. The problem was the visqueen; It wasn't hugging the contours of the tank well at all.

I needed something that would 'cling' to the tank's every contour, so I decided to try kitchen, food, plastic wrap. I laid down two thicknesses as smoothly as I could, working the wrap to tightly hug every contour, yet not wrinkle up too badly.

When I repeated my fiberglass lay-up with two layers, the fit looked good enough that I continued this lay-up to include my plywood contour pieces. To do this, I used my little pre-cut, 1-inch wide strips of mat to overlap and glass-in the base of each of the little plywood contour pieces. I deemed it unimportant to position each piece precisely where I had measured it. Rather, I just found a best-fit resting place and quickly glassed them in place.

I did, however, attempt to keep each piece roughly vertical, and also to maintain a very straight edge line -- left-sides and right-sides. Then I used masking tape to hold them in place while the fiberglass set up. The first photo below shows a moch-up of how I did this. When I actually laid up the glass, I did not use the scrap, brown shelf liner shown. The other photos show the results.

Important Note: I wish I would have used three, or even four thickness of cling-wrap. I ended up with two little spots where I had stretched the wrap a little too much. The resin leaked or ate through and attacked my custom paint-job :-( .

When cured, the plywood pieces were secure at their base, but still rather delicate. I used caution separating the newly made base-pan from the tank -- peeling it up, little by little.

To begin creating the wedge shaped box portion of the carrier-mount, I trimmed the fiberglass pan to slightly larger than final dimensions. Then I trimmed or 'stretched' the plywood contour pieces to be more precisely aligned -- left-sides and right-sides.

Note/Tip: 'Stretched' means, I cut little extra pieces of plywood, clamped them to the appropriate glassed-in contour piece with tiny clamps, aligned them to my left or right side alignment, marked an alignment-register line on the plywood, and then glued the 'stretch' pieces in place... Not pretty, but plenty strong.

Next, I made side pieces. To do this, you could hold a piece of 1/2"W x 15"L x 12"H wood, length-wise, on the tank's left-side, and mark and cut the pan's contour, then transfer the dimensions to another, identical piece (for the right side). However, instead of using a single piece of wood, I decided to use wood strips, glued and edge nailed together -- built up in place. This allowed me to compensate for imperfections in my contour-piece alignments and such. Also, since the wood strips were about 3/8" thick, the sides were thick enough to allow plenty of belt-sanding to square-up the outside dimensions.

After fitting and trimming each side piece, I glued on the side pieces using polyurethane (Gorilla or equivalent) glue. See photos below.

Then I reinforced the base pan by saturating small strips of fiberglass mat with polyurethane glue, and pressing them into weak or thin looking areas and gaps. Note: I didn't want the base pan to crack or puncture if I accidentally dropped the box one day. Once dry, everything was sturdy enough to trim the top edges of the plywood contour pieces and sides. Then I trimmed the fiberglass base pan flush to the sides of the mount. See photos below.

Next, I fit my 1/4" plywood top piece, which I had pre-cut to about 13" X 19". The fit I wanted was to be flush with the sides, but at least 1.5" longer than the wedge at the front, and at least the total length of the store-bought carrier. Furthermore, I wanted the top to be barely above the speedo at the front, and above my lap at the rear. The top was cut about 1/2" larger than this, on all sides. Once I was satisfied with my fit, I glued my top to the top edges of all the contour pieces and the sides using polyurethane glue. See photo below.

After the glue dried, the mount was very sturdy, and began to look like a real product. See photo below.

I trimmed the top to final dimensions. Then I sanded the top, sides, front, and back using a palm sander, but you could use a hand-sanding block instead. Then I thoroughly blew all the dust off. See photo below.

Tip: Be careful of hand sanding plywood surfaces. A little is OK, but plywood tends to show high/low spots in response to hard/soft wood-grain patterns. It doesn't hurt anything, but it might be enough to show through, and look more homemade.

Next, I brushed on two coats of fiberglass resin (with catalyst) on every surface except the bottom. This was used as wood sealer and waterproofer.

The only steps remaining involved applying the padded, vinyl, shelf liner material.

To do this, I first cut an oversize piece for the bottom. Then I used all-purpose spray-glue on the base pan and the material. Then I worked the material into the contours of the base pan. The two, unavoidable wrinkles were sliced and trimmed. See photo below.

Tip: Do not use any kind of tape (for masking) directly on the vinyl. I found out the hard way that even blue painters tape will stick harder to the vinyl than its strength. In other words, you will tear the shelf liner apart (ruining all your hard work), trying to remove the tape.

After the glue dried over night, I trimmed the vinyl material to fit.

Then I used the same gluing process to wrap a single material piece over the top, down the sides, and around the front and back. It takes a little planning, but it can be done. Tip: The spray glue allows you to reposition your work, as needed. This is a great feature in helping you get the smoothest fit. See photos below.

I used clear, silicone caulking to pin down any stubborn vinyl 'flaps' that refused to stay glued down.

The carrier system is secured to the bike via two, nylon-webbing, straps -- one strap on each side. See photo below.

These straps are secured to the seam lips underneath each side of tank via powdercoated, metal hooks sewn to the strap ends. See the Materials Needed section earlier in this article for details on these "gutter hooks" and other strap hardware.

The strap placement is very important:

• The forward angle of the straps keeps the carrier from sliding rearward during acceleration.
• The downward angle prevents the carrier from bouncing up if a pot hole or unexpected speed bump is struck.

Note: No other straps seem to be necessary since the dash contour, combined with the clingy nature of the vinyl covering on the mount, prevents any possibility of forward movement during deceleration. I conducted a few highly successful parking lot tests consisting of very hard accelerations and decelerations with 20 pounds of exercise weight plates in the carrier, just to be sure.

The gas tank must have 2 little tabs glued underneath, to keep the carrier strap-hooks in position. Otherwise they will tend to slip back, and soon come loose.

It's not difficult to make and attach these tabs. The steps are quick and straightforward:

• The tank must be removed.
• The tabs must be made.
• The spots on the tank must be sanded and prep'ed.
• The tabs must be mounted (glued).
• The exposed steel areas must be painted.

To fabricate the tabs, you'll need two scraps of 1/8" to 1/4" thick steel or aluminum plate. I used aluminum, since it's easier to work. See rough pattern diagram below.

Note: I ground a contour into the angle areas of the tabs, as shown in the diagram above. This helped make the underside of my strap-hooks fit the tabs well. Also, I left winglets at the ends, to keep the hooks from working themselves off the tabs or rubbing against the engine's valve cover.

The left-side tab must be placed at a position along the underside of the tank's seam so that the carrier strap can just clear the fuel petcock. Then make sure you position the right-side tab at an equivelant position along the tank's right seam. See photos below.

I used JB Weld engine epoxy to glue the tabs to the under side of the tank. It's permanency and strength are legendary.

Important Safety Note: If you decide to weld instead of glue, use extreme caution! Fuel fumes, even in empty long-standing tanks, can be violently explosive when subjected to enough heat.

Be sure you use touch-up paint to protect any bare steel. I used rattle-can, Rustoleum, primer paint, but brush-on touch-up paint would work, too. Just be sure it's a paint type made for outdoor, and metal, use. This won't show once the tank is mounted on the bike, so it doesn't have to be pretty. It just has to prevent rust.

Tip: If using spray paint, be sure to expose only the area you want painted. Use masking tape to prevent over-spray from drifting onto a surface which might be visible when the tank is mounted. This is one time where an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.

Important Note: The tabs do not show when the tank is mounted, HOWEVER, you must use extra care when mounting your tank because the tabs ride close to the engine's valve covers. Don't want to scratch anything!

The straps are really the secret to the whole thing. They are made of one inch wide, nylon strapping (see the Materials Needed section, earlier in this article).

The strapping is measured, sewn, and cut to perform two important functions:

• Hold the store-bought carrier to the homemade mount
• Hold both the carrier and mount securely to the tank

There are 4 strap pieces sewn to form a rectangle, slightly smaller than the bottom of the carrier. My carrier dictated a rectangle of the following size: 7" x 13". See diagram below.

Note that fasteners are sewn to the ends of certain pieces. The photos below should clarify which fasteners to sew to which ends. Especially note that I sewed a different type of fastener to the front cinch strap than I sewed to the rear cinch strap. This was done because the front of the mount came so close to the speedo that there wasn't room for a quick-release, side-lock type fastener. The first photo shows the buckle for the front of the carrier/base. The second photo shows the buckle for the rear of the carrier/base.

The straps are cut to length and sewn to each other. These straps wrap around the mount's platform top, and cinch tightly to it. See photos below. The first photo shows the front strap. The second photo shows the rear strap.

In addition, two other straps are sewn to the strap-frame to cinch the carrier/mount tightly to the tank. These must be sewn at a forward angle, roughly at the mid-point of the carrier side (but at the bottom). Be sure to sew these on prior to sewing the strap-frame to the bottom of the carrier. See photos below.

Tip: The straps should be sewn to each other before being sewn to the carrier. Otherwise, the strength of the system will depend too much on the strength of the carrier. It is likely that the straps are far stronger than the carrier. Sewing the straps together first also makes it possible to use a heavy-duty sewing machine, instead of sewing everything by hand.

The way I fastened the strapping to the carrier was to hand sew one long stitch-line around the rectangle, to hold the strapping firmly in place. Then I used epoxy glue to finalize the bond. See photo below.

Finally, this winter or next spring I plan to sew a small, simple, loop strap around each of the four cinch straps. These are used to tuck the strap tails, so they do not flop around in the wind. Currently, I just tuck the strap tails between the strap and the tank. They don't flop around in the wind, but it doesn't look as neat and tidy as it could. See photos below.

The following is a detailed list of other motorcycle carrier options I found, what I found appealing about them, and why I ultimately dismissed them:

Back-Pack

Muttmover Backpack (from Timbuk2, an online retailer).

I have no experience with this item, but it looks pretty good. Seems to have come on the market recently (It's April 6th, 2011 at this writing update). It sounds secure and well ventilated. However, it is only for pets around 15 pounds or less.

Front-Pack

Pet-A-Roo (from Petco stores), Pet-A-Roo (from Pet Smart stores), and others.

This is the same idea as they have for babies. You wear your pet in a sling on your chest. I got one, and used it for two years. It worked pretty well, but I had three issues with it:

• It was not easy to get her to tolerate doggie goggles (Doggles). Note: My rule is: no eye protection, no ride. She accepted this rule because she loves to ride, but would fight them off as soon as we would arrive somewhere. I could tell they weren't very comfortable, and without hands, she wasn't able to adjust them if they slipped off center.
• The front pack made her sit upright. She could not adjust her basic position, and I could see her looking for ways to lie down on trips longer than 20 minutes. Note: I think it's not likely natural (and therefore not comfortable) for these four-legged creatures to spend much time upright.
• It was a bit distracting to my concentration when she would bark or lurch because she caught glimpse of a squirrel, a garbage truck, or another dog.

On the other hand, I did really like being able to easily keep my eye on her.

Carriers Mounted on a Luggage Rack

Road-Hound (from Moto-Pet Carriers), Pet Carrier (from T-Bags), Pet Carrier (from Scootworks.com), and others

These looked quite nice to me. Online photos showed some good, clean designs -- well constructed. In the end however, I had several issues with these:

• I could not see an easy way to make a quick release system. They were made to be semi-permanently mounted.
• I did not want a big box sticking out the back end of the bike whenever I rode solo. In fact, I didn't even want a luggage rack permanently mounted.
• The T-Bag one was designed for animals smaller than my 15 pounder.
• I was uneasy about having my pet completely out of my sight. I might have no clue if she needed immediate attention.
• Some of them seemed expensive.

Booster Type Seat on Passenger Pillion

Beast Rider (from BeastRiders.com), or Pet Carrier (from Scootworks.com)

This is a pretty good idea if you don't have a human passenger. Also:

• These would sit my dog immediately behind me on the passenger pillion, so I could just feel behind me to check in.
• I believe it's a fairly quick on/off system for mounting the carrier to the pillion. Once removed, the bike shows no sign of permanent mounts, or anything.

However, on the down side:

• It occupies the passenger seat area, so this would mean my wife would have to have her own bike -- which she did not want. For us, this draw-back eliminated this option completely. The whole idea was to take wife AND dog, not either/or.
• Doggie goggles would be required.
• They are fairly expensive, in my opinion.

Saddle Bag Carrier

Saddle Dog (from SaddleDogs.com)

While this solution satisfies nearly every desire, the issues that remained were deal breakers for me:

• The saddledog bag is a bit narrow, so our pet would be fairly cramped, and might become over-heated on hot days.
• She could turn her head out to the side, so as to be the widest point of the bike, which just feels too dangerous to me.
• Saddlebag guards would be required, in case the bike was ever accidentally laid down onto her side.
• Doggie goggles would be required.
• It would require all our gear to fit into one saddlebag.

Side-Car

Champion Side Car (from championsidecars.com).

This would be a good solution for dogs too large for other options, and there is a great novelty factor. But it seemed like over-kill for our 15lb mut. Also:

• It would cost thousands of dollars, rather than hundreds.
• It could not be easily or quickly detached for solo riding.
• I could not fit the bike and side-car into our available garage space.
• It would significantly reduce gas mileage.
• It would reduce the joy of two-wheel motorcycling, (i.e. cornering).
• Doggles would still be required.

Ride on.

Questions should be asked in our forum (Use discuss link below). The forum is very active and you stand a good chance of getting your questions answered there. If you would like to leave feedback for the author, or have additional information you think will benefit others, please use the comment section at the bottom of this page.

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DISCLAIMER: This information and procedure is provided as a courtesy and is for informational purposes only.  Neither the publishers nor the authors accept any responsibility for the accuracy, applicability, or suitability of this procedure.  You assume all risks associated with the use of this information.  NEITHER THE PUBLISHERs NOR THE AUTHORs SHALL IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OF ANY NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION OR LACK OF INFORMATION.  Any type of modification or service work on your motorcycle should always be performed by a professional mechanic. If performed incorrectly, this procedure may endanger the safety of you and others on your motorcycle and possibly invalidate your manufacturer’s warranty.

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