A motorcycle that quits or goes down in Cary, NC needs a flatbed, not a hook: WTF Towing loads bikes upright on an Isuzu rollback with a 21-foot bed, straps them at four points, and delivers them to your garage or the shop of your choice, day or night. Call (919) 230-4498, say the word “motorcycle,” and the right truck rolls out the first time.
We are the same Morrisville-based crew that handles towing in Cary, NC for cars and trucks every day; bikes just get the slower, more careful version of the job. Our motorcycle towing page covers the service itself; this post is about how the job is actually done.
Why a motorcycle never goes on a wheel-lift
A wheel-lift wrecker slides a cradle under two tires and lifts that end of a car. A motorcycle has one wheel at each end and nothing to hold it upright, so there is no safe way to put a bike on a wheel-lift. Our Ram 5500 wrecker is the wrong truck for this job, and we won’t send it.
What comes instead is one of our two Isuzu NRR rollback carriers. The bed tilts back until its tail touches the pavement, the bike goes up, and the bed levels out so the bike rides flat on its own tires. The fleet post and our guide to tow truck types explain what each truck is built for, and there are photos of the rollbacks on the job.
Where riders get stranded around Cary
- NC-55 and Green Level Church Rd. West Cary is the way out to the Jordan Lake loops and the back roads around New Hill and Apex, and it is also where the construction is. Gravel tracked out of site entrances is a motorcycle’s worst enemy in a curve, and a low-side here ends with the bike on its side in the grass.
- US-64 and US-1. The highway run toward Apex and the US-1 shoulders between the Cary Parkway and Tryon Rd exits are where chain, clutch and charging problems show up. Our US-1 breakdown guide covers where to stop and how to stay safe on the shoulder.
- I-40, I-440 and NC-540. The commute into RTP or Raleigh is where stop-and-go overheating finishes a bike off; NC-540 has wide shoulders but high speeds, so stand well off the pavement.
- Cary Parkway, Kildaire Farm Rd and Tryon Rd. Signal after signal with left-turners crossing in front of you: the classic left-turn crash. Our after-a-crash post covers the report, the tow and the claim.
- Lots and parking decks. Fenton, Park West Village, Waverly Place and Crossroads Plaza: a side stand sunk into hot asphalt, a bike knocked over by a car door, a battery dead after a week in a ParkRDU lot. In a deck, tell us which level.
We cover Morrisville, Apex and Holly Springs too, and run bikes into Raleigh and Durham when that is where your shop is.
What the driver actually does
Lines the truck up straight. The rollback squares up with the bike and the bed comes down as flat as it will go, because a sport bike’s chin fairing or a cruiser’s pipes will scrape on a steep ramp.
Checks the bike before touching it. Key in, steering lock off, neutral, kill switch off, and on an older carbureted bike the fuel tap, so nothing floods or leaks while the bike is tilted. If the front wheel is locked or the chain has jumped, the bike is dragged up on the winch rather than rolled; if it is in a ditch or soft grass, the winch-out comes first.
Walks it up, never rides it up, on its own wheels, with the winch cable on as a safety line and a hand on the bar and the brake.
Straps it at four points, and only to the hard parts. Soft loops go around the lower triple clamp, the fork legs or the frame, never around bars, levers, brake lines, plastics or the exhaust. The front straps pull the suspension partly down, which keeps everything tight over bumps without bottoming the forks; the rear gets its own pair to the frame or passenger-peg mounts. Side stand up, bike upright and square.
Photographs everything, then unloads in reverse. Photos before the bike is touched and again at drop-off, straps and any existing damage in frame. At the other end: bed flat, straps off one end at a time with a hand on the bike, walked down and set on its stand where you asked.
Sport bikes, cruisers, touring bikes, scooters and trikes
- Sport bikes. Clip-on bars and full fairings leave almost nothing to strap to except the triple clamp and the frame under the tank, and a low chin fairing needs the bed flat.
- Cruisers. Heavy, low and wide: forward controls and floorboards catch the edge of the bed, so the winch does the work and the straps go to the frame, away from chrome.
- Touring and adventure bikes. Tall, heavy and loaded with bags. Pull the luggage before the straps go on; the windshield gets a clearance check under the truck’s light bar.
- Scooters and electric motorcycles. Light and simple, but some electrics have a parking brake or a tow mode that needs the key, so say it’s electric when you call.
- Trikes and sidecar rigs. Three wheels fit on the bed, but a sidecar rig can’t be strapped like a two-wheeler, so tell the dispatcher exactly what it is.
Broke down or went down? What to do, in order
We will ask what kind of bike it is, whether it rolls, whether it has been down, exactly where it is, where it’s going, and whether you have the key (the steering lock and neutral both need it). Then:
- Get yourself out of the lane first. The bike is replaceable. On US-1, I-40 or NC-540, get behind the guardrail, facing traffic. On Cary Parkway or Kildaire Farm Rd, push the bike into the nearest lot if it rolls.
- Kill switch off, then assess. If the bike is down and fuel is dripping, shut the fuel tap on a carbureted bike and stay clear of anything hot. If it simply quit, note any warning lights before switching it off.
- Pick it up only if you safely can. Back to the bike, one hand on the bar and one on the frame, and walk it up with your legs. A dropped touring bike on a slope is a two-person lift.
- Don’t ride a bike that has been down. A bent bar, a cracked lever, a leaking fork seal or a tweaked front end can be invisible until the first hard stop.
- Pin your location and call (919) 230-4498. Say “motorcycle” first so the rollback comes, then ask whether you can ride along.
- Take your own photos, then wait where the driver can see you. The bike, the road, any gravel, the other vehicle if there was one. Then hi-vis on, bags off, key in hand.
The mistakes that cost more than the tow: the pickup-bed rescue with a plank and one strap over the seat, which tips the bike on the first turn; towing a motorcycle on a rope; and riding home “just to see,” when a bike that cut out once on I-40 will cut out again in the middle lane.
What sets the price of a motorcycle tow
We quote on the phone, from things you can describe in a sentence. Distance is the biggest: a bike going from Tryon Rd to a garage in Cary is a different job from one going to a shop in Durham. Time of day counts, because a 2 a.m. call on NC-540 is not a Tuesday afternoon at Park West Village. Then the condition of the bike: upright and rolling loads quickly; on its side in the grass with a locked front wheel takes a winch and more time. A parking deck, a crash scene with police waiting, or a sidecar rig all add minutes, and minutes are what you pay for. Our post on what drives tow prices in Cary covers the rest.
WTF Towing is licensed and insured, USDOT 4241594, MC 1642674, with $1,000,000 in liability coverage; ask the same of anyone who wants to put straps on your motorcycle. Search for a tow truck near you in Cary and this is the one with a bed that fits your bike; what Cary drivers say about us is on our reviews page.
Motorcycle towing FAQ
Can you tow a motorcycle with a regular tow truck?
Not with a wheel-lift. A motorcycle rides on a flatbed, upright and strapped at four points, so every motorcycle call goes to one of our Isuzu rollbacks.
Will the straps damage my bike?
Not when they are placed right: soft loops on the triple clamp, fork legs or frame, ratchets kept off paint, plastics and chrome, and the suspension compressed only partway. Photos at pickup and drop-off are your record.
My bike won’t start in the ParkRDU lot. Jump or tow?
A battery that has sat for a week or two can often be brought back with a jump start. One that sat all winter, or dies again as soon as the engine stops, needs a charge or a new battery, and the bike rides to the shop on the rollback. Our RDU Airport towing page covers airport-lot calls.
Two wheels or four, the line is the same: when your car makes you say WTF, you call WTF Towing. Motorcycle towing in Cary, NC, 24 hours a day: (919) 230-4498.
