American Misfit

There are some dirt bike carriers that mount on a hitch, which does away with insurance and the no tow on the manual. The HHR has a class 1 hitch, which supports 200 lbs tongue weight. I don't think a dirtbike (200-250 lbs) could cause that much damage, but what are your comments? Bad idea or go for it?

IgottaWoody

Tow recepticle is mounted on sheetmetal points....not very strong for load that will pull down on the bolts...a good hard bump and you could have extreme forces loading it up.
Just get a small trailer...the dealer can't prove squat , that just maybe your using the hitch for a rear shelf....I pull a 870 lb bike around no problem...though it is an auto,,,,,just be mindful of the clutch.....
And if I remember right the tounge weight is only 100#

87silver

I agree with IgottaWoody. Most with experience in towing would agree that the tongue weight for any trailer should be somewhere between 9 and 15 percent of the gross trailer weight. In the case of the HHR, with a maximum trailer weight of 1000lbs, the tongue weight should be around 90 to 150lbs, but no more than 150lbs. Following this rule, even if there were no trailer to pull, the weight on the "frame" imposed by the receiver should follow suit.

BlackknighT

They are right. I use a tray for lawn mowers & 4 bicycle rack which is not as heavy as your bike. When I installed my hitch I saw that it is VERY thin under there by the "frame" area. When the bolts go through that area to mount the hitch there is no large washers inside the rail to give better stress dispersion (thanks for adding spell check guys & Sindy!).
Mike