What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?

I no longer work on any bikes on the floor the best 2 thing I invested in is a bike lift table and a wind up scissor jack that fits perfect on the lift table, wish I invested in these 2 workshop helper 40 years ago, have had both for over 3 years now well worth the money and able to use my stool with the castors to work on the bikes at any level, just makes life so much better.

Ashley
 
^^^
Me too, totally agree but only had them a couple months.

Drained gas from grp tank in anticipation of fitting a freshly painted brand new steel one this later this week, along with steel side panels! Will be a load of my mind to get that done. Also messed around jacking up the bike using the frame rails to take most of the weight off the isolastics. Worthwhile or waste of time?
 
ashman said:
I no longer work on any bikes on the floor the best 2 thing I invested in is a bike lift table and a wind up scissor jack that fits perfect on the lift table, wish I invested in these 2 workshop helper 40 years ago, have had both for over 3 years now well worth the money and able to use my stool with the castors to work on the bikes at any level, just makes life so much better.

Ashley
Click to expand...
I have always wanted a lift table but every time I get the money I buy a bike instead. It's a problem.
 
Recently, I replaced the dead battery with the 6-year-old Yuasa out of my KTM, which had been starting to exhibit signs of weakening, and that's not a good thing with all the hoopy-doo electronic crap. Still has plenty of juice for an all LED, kickstart Norton. Also bled the brakes to get the feel back. All I need to do is hook up the fuel lines and pour some good gas in and it's ready for re-awakening after sitting for a good while.
 
Hey there Rob SS, what kind of scissor jack do you use? Do you have a photo you can post? I have four in fact, that I use to life up my old MG when I want to work underneath. I've also used it on the bike but it feels a little unstable on the bike. Just wondering if it's the same thing that you're referring to. This is a photo of what I have four of.

What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?
 
Starvingphotog said:
Hey there Rob SS, what kind of scissor jack do you use? Do you have a photo you can post? I have four in fact, that I use to life up my old MG when I want to work underneath. I've also used it on the bike but it feels a little unstable on the bike. Just wondering if it's the same thing that you're referring to. This is a photo of what I have four of.

View attachment 102679
Click to expand...
Yep - mine is the same type.
Bloody great invention!
Cheers
 
Big_Jim59 said:
You won't screw it up. Lacing a wheel is one of the most satisfying projects you can do yourself. It takes time, patents and determination to get it as perfect as possible. Take pictures before you start for reference and do not forget to measure the offset. You can do this!!
Click to expand...
Thanks Jim, I just have a few things to do on the bikes and then I'll give it a try. I think I can do it and it seems like a fun project for the winter, the fact that these are used spokes and rim are just laying around there will be no pressure to get it done. I remember a project in auto shop where we had to disassemble a four speed transmission and then put it back together and looking at all the parts on the bench. I thought I would never be able to put it back together, but I was able to do it and it worked like it should. To this day transmissions are one of my favorite projects LOL. Thanks for the encouragement.
 
Starvingphotog said:
Hey there Rob SS, what kind of scissor jack do you use? Do you have a photo you can post? I have four in fact, that I use to life up my old MG when I want to work underneath. I've also used it on the bike but it feels a little unstable on the bike. Just wondering if it's the same thing that you're referring to. This is a photo of what I have four of.

View attachment 102679
Click to expand...
Rob,
That is a great tool. I use mine all the time for multiple tasks,on the floor or on the lift.Great for setting the isolastics,etc.
Mike
 
Jealous of your solution Baz that is just perfect.

OT, and more cost, but the Venom Motorcycle Triple Tree front stand at $87.99 and free delivery is a fantastic bit of kit. I used this to set up the bare frame with a rear support as seen in NormanW's restoration bible. It includes the 14mm plug that inserts up into the triple tree steering tube plus several others for your other bikes. The ease of fork work, front wheel balancing and other work makes the return on this money an outsized investment. But I am mindful of cost, and until I gave it away I used a tilting board wooden bike stand I built myself. Now, a lift from Harbor Freight lets me work on the bike with the primary at chest level and my back is thankful for this. Finally, a rotating adjustable stool finishes the shop furniture.
 
Starvingphotog said:
Hey there Rob SS, what kind of scissor jack do you use? Do you have a photo you can post? I have four in fact, that I use to life up my old MG when I want to work underneath. I've also used it on the bike but it feels a little unstable on the bike. Just wondering if it's the same thing that you're referring to. This is a photo of what I have four of.































































































Thats the same Scissor jack I use on all my bikes and it works great on the lift table the best thing it's compact and doesn't get in the way when under the bike is very stable can be used with or without the sliding arms, the arms fit the frame rails perfect and the best thing is under $100 to buy, I use mine a lot, I don't need a jack that lifts a bike completely off the ground and no need to tie the bike down when it's being used, but I do use my tie downs when the bike is on the lift table, but as I say the scissor jack work perfect on the lift table when you need to do maintenance on wheels or chain just do one wheel at a time.






















































Click to expand...
 

Saw this on YouTube
Ok it's not the best way to go about it ,if I were doing it I'd weld the box instead of bolting it
I would also brace it across the middle and add some wider legs to the base
But I think the idea is sound
Those side lifts are designed to take the weight of the whole motorcycle after all
 
Still too low, I have my lift table that I bought but looking at it I could build one that is made better and stronger but at the moment it's doing the job, the good thing with my lift table you can pump up high or low and has locking bar for both heights, I always lower the lift to the locking bar so there is no pressure on the jack pump, I have known a few people not use the locking bar and left the weight on the jack pump and they have leaking seals in a short time of owning their lift table.
 
baz said:
I built my own
And built it into the floor so it's not in the way
Click to expand...
Baz,
I have always wanted to do what you have done but am wondering how it operates meaning how you get to the pedals for the hydraulics if it uses them.More pictures would be great.
Thanks,
Mike
 
YING said:
Baz,
I have always wanted to do what you have done but am wondering how it operates meaning how you get to the pedals for the hydraulics if it uses them.More pictures would be great.
Thanks,
Mike
Click to expand...
Hi Mike
the aluminium checker plate is hinged
Under the flap there is stored the foot pedal and an extended lever that fits the bleed screw
The bench is a basic one that incorporates a trolley jack
The bench sits in the ground around 8" and lifts approximately 32" from the floor level
The foot pedal that operates the trolley jack has a dogleg so it comes above the floor level
The whole bench is made of 50x30 box section
It has a hydraulic damper fitted to slow it's decent which it needs because of the extra height it needs to lift
Can't do any photos at the moment because I'm not there for a while
 
baz said:
Hi Mike
the aluminium checker plate is hinged
Under the flap there is stored the foot pedal and an extended lever that fits the bleed screw
The bench is a basic one that incorporates a trolley jack
The bench sits in the ground around 8" and lifts approximately 32" from the floor level
The foot pedal that operates the trolley jack has a dogleg so it comes above the floor level
The whole bench is made of 50x30 box section
It has a hydraulic damper fitted to slow it's decent which it needs because of the extra height it needs to lift
Can't do any photos at the moment because I'm not there for a while
Click to expand...
Thanks Baz,
Appreciate your reply but I don’t know what a trolley jack or checker plate is. I am sure I will understand those terms when you get a chance to post some pictures if possible.When the lift is on the lowest level,is it flush with the floor or 8” above as stated?
To set mine into the floor, I would have about a 10” gap along the left side to get to the levers.It is just your basic Harbor Freight model that works just fine but would love to put it in the floor.
Thanks,Mike
 
YING said:
Thanks Baz,
Appreciate your reply but I don’t know what a trolley jack or checker plate is. I am sure I will understand those terms when you get a chance to post some pictures if possible.When the lift is on the lowest level,is it flush with the floor or 8” above as stated?
To set mine into the floor, I would have about a 10” gap along the left side to get to the levers.It is just your basic Harbor Freight model that works just fine but would love to put it in the floor.
Thanks,Mike
Click to expand...
When my lift is at its lowest level it is flush with y floor, a trolley jack is a jack with wheels that you use on a car
Aluminium chequer plate is the aluminium plate you can see in the photo
If you put your harbour freight model in the floor you will lose the lifting height of your bench IE if your bench is 8" high when down you will lose that height
So without extending the arms on your bench it's a bit of a non starter really
 


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