Motorcycle lifts

prmurat · Mar 2, 2011

I have a Kendon for 5/6 years which replaced a larger Chinese lift for Harbor; the Kendon is well built and very sturdy but it is difficult to work on a bike from the start of the rebuild: frame needs pieces of wood to be balanced and it is very difficult to get the bike on its wheels. once the front wheel is on, no more problem. Difficult to roll with a bike on it (specially with rubber mats under it!).
Here is a picture of my current project, now that the Commando is finished.... you can see the 4x6 under the main stand to lift the rear wheel...

(yes Hobot this a real 12 sec 1/4 mile bike!!! :mrgreen: )

Philippe

Tintin · Mar 2, 2011

Peter R said:
I use a homemade lift made out of 40mm square steel sections and a 3 tons hydraulic jack .

Nice and tidy! There are quite a few DIY instructions for this kind of lift, here is one in German.

Tim

openroad · Mar 3, 2011

hudson29 said:
That EasyRiser is certainly compact and it does provide plenty of access to the wheels but does not offer any work surface and looks like the bike would need to be lowered and turned to work on the other side. I wonder how stable it is?

Openroad, what is the make of your wheel around lift? It looks like it has a front wheel lock or vise of some sort?

It's a Harbor Freight, cheapest model with foot pump. I got the front wheel chock there also, nice but the bike still needs to be strapped down for rolling around. A friend told me to get the next better model with air lift, but they wouldn't order at my Harbor Freight and I had to get what was in the store. Used a coupon, they've gone up in price this year.

prmurat · Mar 3, 2011

Tintin said:
Peter R said:

I use a homemade lift made out of 40mm square steel sections and a 3 tons hydraulic jack .

Click to expand...

Nice and tidy! There are quite a few DIY instructions for this kind of lift, here is one in German.

Tim

On eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Motorcyc ... ccessories

I made, while following welding classes at the San Mateo College, a smaller lift with wheels (Harley type?)....Without my time it costed me $35 more than a new one at Kragen just for the metal, jack, wheels... I do not subscribe to the theory "it is better 'cause you did it yourself!" (as a matter of fact my dream is to make enough money to have a mechanic at home, full time, and give him directions towards what I want to be done on my projects.... it will never happen but its good to have a dream!!). The teacher helped me to straighten everything at the end as the dolly was somehow twisted by the heat (Mig welding), I had it power coated and... swore that when I need welding I have professional welders/friends who are doing this everyday and its better to exchange a 12 packs for butter melted like welds than keep the 12 packs and make the mess I did! :?

Philippe

MelloYellow · Mar 3, 2011

Hello all - I bought a Harbor Freight lift, and after using it for one afternoon, realized I should have bought it 10 years ago. On sale, they are less than $400, and have reasonable quality for non-pro applications IMHO.

I strap the bike down and roll it around like Openroad.
You might be able to tilt it vertically to save some space, but it's pretty heavy....

Sorry it's not the Norton, at least it's Brit! :mrgreen:

MelloYellow

sheffieldrich · Jan 9, 2014

tjfisher said:
Hi all I have the ez-riser and I love there is no issues get to anything on the bike and that's from both sides as for stable I set the 71 basket/rust case on it and have broke wrenches before she has moved at all. I would recommend it the only draw back is there is not place to put your wrench but a rolling cart works great for me

Hi mate, I am thinking about buying the Eazy rizer to work on my Mk3, Will the "mounts" fit to the frame when the exhaust pipes and side and centre stands are in place? Can I raise a complete bike?
cheers, Rich (Sheffield England)

ggryder · Jan 9, 2014

I have one of these: -

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/show ... hp?t=59065

One of HF's better efforts and not dirt cheap (but maybe half the price of a Handy Lift, of which it is a copy). It's hard to find, HF seem to keep it a secret (may be too close a copy of the Handy Lift?). Seems well made, sturdy, operates smoothly and I even like the stickers.

swooshdave · Jan 9, 2014

MelloYellow said:
Hello all - I bought a Harbor Freight lift, and after using it for one afternoon, realized I should have bought it 10 years ago. On sale, they are less than $400, and have reasonable quality for non-pro applications IMHO.

I strap the bike down and roll it around like Openroad.
You might be able to tilt it vertically to save some space, but it's pretty heavy....

Sorry it's not the Norton, at least it's Brit! :mrgreen:

MelloYellow

Replace the front wheel clamp immediately. Countless tales of heartache from failing bikes.

http://www.harborfreight.com/motorcycle ... 97841.html

RoadScholar · Jan 9, 2014

SteveMinning said:
I have a Handy Lift (mentioned above) and am very pleased with it. I bought the electric model as I like to work on my bikes early in the morning and didn't want to wake up the neighbors with my compressor starting. So far it's worked out very well. I just moved from Florida to Kentucky (don't ask why) and found the sucker to be very heavy to move though.

+1

Mine is an air lift, but the wheel chock works very well without hold-downs, even with my '03 softail Hardley. I'm almost ready to purchase another lift and it will be a Handy.

Bill.

Johnnymac · Jan 9, 2014

Hi Guys, I bought the Harbor Freight one over Christmas. Works great. It's on sale this weekend for $299!!!!! The front wheel chock is crap and mine was empty of hydraulic fluid when I got it home... but for the price you can't beat it. Fill it up with jack fluid... and voila.

Picture is blurry as heel and my Norton is at a friend's house but you get the idea.

Mark · Jan 11, 2014

Dodgy said:
openroad said:

Click to expand...

Ah....... the ol' dangle the back of the bike from the rafters trick!
(I thought I was the only one :lol: )

gripper · Jan 11, 2014

Peter R do you rely on the hydraulic jack to keep your bike up? I have a similar lift but it has a mechanical lock system to off load the jack. Mine is a little lighter in construction than yours but when I'm lifting the bike, the back end of the floor frame is trying to lift off the ground. Once the pins are in and the jack is off loaded the weight is evenly distributed

concours · Jan 11, 2014

I wanted to buy a US made Handi-Lift... seems they had gone bankrupt a couple months before, (they're back now) and any used one was silly money. I shopped many lifts, Titan, etc., all were Chinese made, although of better size, feature quality, but from a metal fabricators POV, not worth the extra $$$ over the cheapest China lift. I got the Harbor Freight China Cheapie for $299, and the $40 ride in bike stand to mount on it. It works better than I had expected, including my 850 lb. cruiser. I would make the same decision again today, four years and a dozen bikes later. My biggest regret is that I waited all these years to get a lift. JFWIW :mrgreen:

Johnnymac · Jan 12, 2014

concours said:
I wanted to buy a US made Handi-Lift... seems they had gone bankrupt a couple months before, (they're back now) and any used one was silly money. I shopped many lifts, Titan, etc., all were Chinese made, although of better size, feature quality, but from a metal fabricators POV, not worth the extra $$$ over the cheapest China lift. I got the Harbor Freight China Cheapie for $299, and the $40 ride in bike stand to mount on it. It works better than I had expected, including my 850 lb. cruiser. I would make the same decision again today, four years and a dozen bikes later. My biggest regret is that I waited all these years to get a lift. JFWIW :mrgreen:

Hey Concours, which ride in mount did you get? I must replace the crappy one that's on mine. Thanks.

concours · Jan 13, 2014

Johnnymac said:
concours said:

I wanted to buy a US made Handi-Lift... seems they had gone bankrupt a couple months before, (they're back now) and any used one was silly money. I shopped many lifts, Titan, etc., all were Chinese made, although of better size, feature quality, but from a metal fabricators POV, not worth the extra $$$ over the cheapest China lift. I got the Harbor Freight China Cheapie for $299, and the $40 ride in bike stand to mount on it. It works better than I had expected, including my 850 lb. cruiser. I would make the same decision again today, four years and a dozen bikes later. My biggest regret is that I waited all these years to get a lift. JFWIW :mrgreen:

Click to expand...

Hey Concours, which ride in mount did you get? I must replace the crappy one that's on mine. Thanks.

This one: http://m.harborfreight.com/motorcycle-s ... 20provided

Check all your cycle mags, coupon for $39.99 in most of 'em.

contours · Jan 15, 2014

Jeandr said:
Someone on this forum has an Easy Riser (http://www.on-bike.com/) I think that is the best when space is at a premium.

Jean

I have one! I use it in a 10x12 shed without too much fuss. It's quite adaptable. I've worked on both my Norton 850 and much younger Triumph Daytona 955i using a little imagination.

concours · Jan 16, 2014

Be sure to position the wheel chock far enough ahead to: A) allow proper balance when elevated B) wheel over opening C) allow for a bigger, longer bike, should the need arise.

Motorcycle lifts

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