hello everyone, newbie here.  I am wanting to buy a Suzuki sidekick 2 door 4x4 [early 9o's] and I want to haul a Honda motorcycle on a hitch mount.  mount and cycle weight in at about 400 pounds.  Am I living a dream here, is the vehicle going to be popping a wheelie on every little bump or is this something I can get away with?  Has anyone done this?  any ideas/suggestions are appreciated.

The truck could pull it fine if you could carry it.

I'm thinking the 2" receivers for these trucks have a max tongue weight of around 350#s, so a 400# bike would probably be too heavy.  In addition, the hitch mounts on these trucks consist of four nuts welded inside the bottom of the frame rails of the truck.  The hitch flanges mount onto the bottom of the truck frame and are held in place with four grade 5 or 8 bolts. 

Personally, before I would attempt to carry anything as heavy as your bike, I would want to heavily modify the hitch with some professionally welded heavy metal plate tabs added to the hitch that extend up the side of the outside of the vehicle frame and then attach to the frame with four additional bolts horizontally through the frame in the newly created holes that are sleeved and the side of the frame plated for additional strength as well so the bolts can't tear the frame metal out. 

Additionally, I'd also probably opt for some stiffer aftermarket springs (like Old Man Emu springs) to compensate for the significant additional load over your rear axle when you are carrying your bike.  Without them, your truck would probably be sagging in the rear significantly.

So could it be done?  I suppose anything is possible.  But you should also consider your personal liability if your hitch fails and suddenly your bike falls off while cruising down the road... and someone runs into it or it runs over someone.  I'll guarantee you the hitch company won't accept any liability for any modifications of their hitch. I don't know if your vehicle insurance would cover your bike repair/replacement either.

It might be better to just purchase a small trailer to tow your bike when you need to.  More of a PITA, but probably a safer option in the long run.  I do like your idea of the hitch mount though.

Thanks for the info, really want to stay away from trailers [just the hassle and added expenses].  some additional thoughts are-- understanding the threat of breakage, if the hitch were welded as well as the added bolts would that help enough?  what if i went to a four door, would it be better able to handle the load?  thought about the added spring strength but what about air shocks?  then i could add or let out when the bike is not mounted [most the time].  thanks again for the help.

Just remove the back and passenger seats and ride it in.