Titan Bulldog Moto Cradle Review

Titan Bulldog Front Wheel Stand Review

Sturdy and well-built motorcycle front wheel stand that is also a front wheel chock that can be used in a garage or on a trailer.

The wheel cradle is very strong and holds the front wheel securely and can be locked in place.

The Titan Bulldog “Moto Cradle” is an evolution of the movable type of motorcycle wheel chock or wheel holder.

We previously reviewed another motorcycle stand of this type, the Smart Chock Front Stand.

The Titan Bulldog Moto Cradle features a similar type of front wheel clamping method to hold the motorcycle upright.

When the wheel is rolled on to the cradle and as the cradle rotates forward, an eccentric squeezes the two halves of the cradle together to grip the front wheel (see our video below for a demonstration).

The Titan Bulldog Moto Cradle is very versatile; the instruction sheet indicates that the stand can be used for tires ranging from 12″ to 22″ diameter, a huge range.

We’ve used it with standard 17″ sportbike tires and the 18″ tire on the old BMW and it works fine.

The manufacturer says the Titan Bulldog wheel chock will hold tires from 70 mm to 140 mm wide, which pretty much limits its use to motorcycle front tires only.

Build Quality and Stand Assembly

The Titan Bulldog is made from square-section tubing, and the parts seem to be very robust; in other words, this stand is sturdy and “built like a tank”, as they say.

The square tubing also means square-shaped rubber feet, with flat bottoms that provide a large surface area to grip the floor. This means that the Bulldog stand stays in place when the bike is pushed on or off.

This is especially important for this stand, because it does take slightly more force to get the front wheel up and over the round-shaped wheel cradle. The round shape helps to hold the bike more firmly because it more closely fits the shape of the wheel; i. e. , round.

It may also be possible to use the stand to hold the motorcycle by the rear tire, but we haven’t tried this.

The stand comes in three sections or assemblies; the base, the front tower with wheel stop and the cradle. I’m assuming that all Titan Bulldog Moto Cradle stands are shipped this way, although the instructions have a parts diagram that shows the assembly of the cradle.

[UPDATE: Confirmed that the stand comes shipped in two boxes. One has the frame and the second has the cradle, front post and tire stop plate. The only assembly necessary is to attach the cradle to the frame (4 bolts) and the front post to the frame (4 bolts) and to attach the V-stop plate to the post.]

The heft of this stand is apparent in its weight: it weighs 33 lbs. fully assembled.

Shipping the stand in sections like this makes it very easy to assemble. The stand also comes with a one-page instruction sheet, which basically instructs the owner to first install the front post, which bolts to the base with four 14 mm fasteners (supplied).

The fasteners, washers and other bits appear to be made from stainless steel; in any case, they’re very good quality and everything fit together perfectly in alignment on our stand. The kit also includes a 6 mm Allen wrench, made in the U. S. A.

A 14 mm socket or wrench is the only other tool needed to assemble the stand. After the front post is installed and the 14 mm hex head cap screws are bolted into the threads on the stand (some semi-permanent thread locker is probably a good idea on all the bolts), the wheel stop is installed.

This simply fits on one of two sets of holes, and it’s attached via a thick pin with a locking pin. We first installed it on the rear set of holes at the top of the post, but moved it to the back set, which brings the wheel stop into a more upright position that seemed more appropriate for a 17″ tire. Apparently, the first set of holes would be used for smaller diameter tires.

[UPDATE: The Excel Group confirmed that the front stop is designed to move between the two positions to fit different tire diameters. The first position is suitable for smaller diameter tires of 16” or less. In that position, the stop helps hold the tire more securely.]

The wheel clamp uses smaller square section curved tubing, and this makes it feel very strong. It holds the wheel (tire actually) very firmly for this type of stand.

The front wheel stop attaches with a hefty pin and has two locations, depending upon wheel diameter.

As the wheel is rolled forward, an eccentric cam on the base of the clamp moves the two halves of the clamp together, gripping the tire. A small hook on the right-hand side of the stand can then be engaged to latch on to a welded-on handle. This prevents the clamp from opening up, making it nearly impossible to roll the bike back off the stand.

One issue we found with this hook is that if the stand is lifted, like it would be to move it around in the garage, the hook will rotate downwards. The stand can then be put on the ground with the right side balanced on the hook. If the owner doesn’t notice this and tries to load the motorcycle, the force will bend the hook backwards about 90 degrees.

We’d suggest two improvements: first, the hook should be placed on the left side of the stand. This would allow the owner to visually check the status of the hook and it would be easier to engage it when necessary. Motorcycles are almost always loaded from the left side, rather than the right.

Also, a small piece of metal could be welded under the hook to prevent it from rotating fully downwards when the stand is lifted. This would keep the hook out of trouble when the stand is moved around.

wBW Video: Titan Bulldog Front Wheel Stand

Conclusion

The Titan Bulldog wheel chock is a very well made, strong and robust unit that works great in the garage or on a flatbed trailer. It’s available in a variety of colors, including blue, red, black, orange and a combination orange and black. It has a two-year warranty.

Owner Comments and Feedback