One obvious point..... make sure the front fender isn't touching the bed... you may need a block of wood or something else against the tire to ensure a little space. If you don't have a front fender, or it's small, then you don't have an issue.

joe

 

running a sporster up into the back of a pick-up truck on a piece of wood kinda scares me!
I know my bussy has one of those automatic bike lifts that is a platform that gets pulled by a cable to get his Bigdog on the back of his truck. He has an 8ft box and the tailgate sjuts with nearly 1" of clearance. I would imagine that your back tire will be sitting all it's weight on the tailgate. If that's the case I would reccomend getting a 2x10 so you can have that under your tires. That will allow the weight to be distrubuted more evenly than having a bunch of weight on your tailgate as it's not intended for. Just a thought. Obviously a trailer is the easiest. You can rent a uhaul trialer for like $30 a day.

 

I've made my share of mistakes loading/hauling bikes with pick-up trucks.. Here's a list; 2003 Honda I rode the bike up on an '03 Avalanche 2x8 planks on a slanted driveway, it worked first attempt (beginners Luck!!) 2nd try (No slant) I did'nt gain enough momentum & fell-off as I reached the tailgate! my friends grabbed the bike before it fell on top of me!! Destroyed the gas tank! 2nd try 2007 Harley Lowrider- loaded onto flatbed Trailer & strapped. Strap on one side broke, & the bike fell-off onto the highway! luckly it was 3:30am & little traffic. My next try will be attaching a wench to a rollbar, & mounting a front wheel chock & floor straps to the floor of my 6' bed. You got admire my determination, or stubborness LOL!!!

 

I would never just use 2 straps!
You really should have atleast 4 straps IMO. they should be hooked from the bed directly to the bike. Hooking to the frame not passing through to the otherside of the bed. So that would be hooking from the bed to the bike. Same with the otherside and then same with the back. That would eliminate any failures for a broken strap Ten you would have 3 straps still holding the bike solid. I like overkill and would do 6 myself. 4 as stated and then 2 more than pass through the bike strapped from bed hook to bed hook which would help any back and forth movement. But I'm a freak like that...lol
I am the king of keeping things safe from movement. I have had 6yrs experience with office furniture moving on a box truck. Some of those desks are very heavy and we usually left them on the dollies strapped right to the wall and only used ties that had special knots, not even ratchet straps!!! Never had any problems.

 

I got bored and drew you a picture. I started getting alittle to detailed...lol You can do a lot with paint.....lol The 2 straps that have no hooks on the bottom are the ones for the front. They are how they would appear if you stood at the back of the truck. Ohh, I made the 08 taillights or so I tried...hehe The green rectabgle under the tire is a pressure treated 2x12......lmao Seriously only took me about 25minutes Hope you like

 

Wow.... I think you have too much time on your hands! Of course, I'd like to be out riding, but 27 degrees is WAY to cold for me! Heck, I should be out in the garage moving things around to make room for the Ram!

joe