Suggestions for a bike lift for the garage?

[mjfink420]

Decided I wanted a less stressful loading experience and added removable wings on each side of the table. Gives me a total width of ~45" with the wings on. I wanted to make them removable so that once the bike is up, I can get easier access if I'm really digging into something and don't want to lean over the wings. The last step is to put grip tape along the wings to give myself better footing when I'm on top of the table with the bike.

I attached the wings using cotter pins and built them to "lip" under the main section (so they cannot flip up or out of position when I'm getting the bike up there). Happy to share any pictures/details if anyone else wants to undertake a similar project. With the wings, I've got about 1.5 sheets of plywood in the table (almost a full sheet on the top, 1/2 a sheet for the shelf underneath), about 10 2X4s, ~1/2 a gallon of epoxy, and the wheels... Guessing, but I'd say I'm right around 200 dollars all in cost.

The ramps, for reference, are 36" wide (combined width). The middle runner is a 3K ramp (where the bike goes), the side runners (for my feet) are both 1.5K. Total for the ramps (including the other 3K ramp which I'm not using in this configuration) was 500 dollars (Harbor Freight, 90" arched ramps). I have a few uses for those ramps, so I don't consider them part of the cost of the table, but, if you are going to build something like this and only need ramps to get up there, you'd be in the 700-800 range. I'd strongly consider a lift table if that's your situation, you're getting into the range where build vs buy doesn't make a lot of sense. I have a lot of uses for that table outside of a bike lift and I needed the ramps for another use.

 

[CaptCF]

Today my back is telling me I need to bite the bullet and get a lift one of these days. Spent yesterday afternoon crawling around on the floor doing a tire change on my R1300GS. Sure would have been easier with a lift..

 

[mjfink420]

Today my back is telling me I need to bite the bullet and get a lift one of these days. Spent yesterday afternoon crawling around on the floor doing a tire change on my R1300GS. Sure would have been easier with a lift..

Big part of the reason I did it. Oil changes and tire changes are pretty regular tasks and rolling around on the floor is not much fun. I got a new bike and knew I was going to do some significant work to it (carbon farkles, exhaust, tune, etc) and just figured "now is the time". I just didn't want something totally single purpose, I work on my bikes in my shop, and, if you've ever done any woodworking (my primary use for the space) you know that you can NEVER have enough tables. So I figured I'd give this a shot first, just build something around the height of a coffee table that I could use for lots of stuff; if I hated it for the motorcycle, I could still use it in other projects.

Having spent around 15 hours with bikes up there now, I don't think I'll be getting a lift. Is it as good as a dedicated lift setup? No, especially not if you're going to be working on many different bikes in a day and/or want to adjust the height. But is it better than working on the floor? Yes, MUCH better IMHO. Oil changes and tire changes are vastly improved and given that's a pretty common thing for me to do, I'd say I've accomplished what I wanted the table to do acceptably well.

If you're going to do a lot of this, have the space and the $$, a lift is better in pretty much every way. But if your more "casual" about it (like I am), this could be a good option for some, less expensive and more usable for non-motorcycle tasks.

 

[rawhites]

Hi all - not sure if this thread is still being monitored....I'm looking for a lift under $500. Sadly, the amazing Abba Skylift is out of my price range.

Any concerns with more affordable lifts like this one from Harbor Freight?
https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...00-lb-aluminum-atv-motorcycle-lift-63397.html

Using on an '85 K100 Basic.

Thanks!

 

[omega man]

Hi all - not sure if this thread is still being monitored....I'm looking for a lift under $500. Sadly, the amazing Abba Skylift is out of my price range.

Any concerns with more affordable lifts like this one from Harbor Freight?
https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...00-lb-aluminum-atv-motorcycle-lift-63397.html

Using on an '85 K100 Basic.

Thanks!

Check the Best of Forum mentioned here-

Lots of information in this Best of Forum-

Motorcycle Lifts

This month in the Best of Forum series, I thought I'd bring the topic of motorcycle lifts "up" :D There was a thread started primarily on the lifts sold by Harbor Freight but the thread had some of the other brands as well. As I had just bought a HF Lift, I went looking for this thread old...

forums.bmwmoa.org

OM

OM

 

[rawhites]

Thanks, OM - the link in that thread no longer works (it's been a while since 2009). And I didn't see any mention of the kind of lift I linked to above.

Rob

 

[omega man]

Hi all - not sure if this thread is still being monitored....I'm looking for a lift under $500. Sadly, the amazing Abba Skylift is out of my price range.

Any concerns with more affordable lifts like this one from Harbor Freight?
https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...00-lb-aluminum-atv-motorcycle-lift-63397.html

Using on an '85 K100 Basic.

Thanks!

Sorry about that. I missed the description and the “aluminum” clue.
I find these work-

More for ATV service. As long as it seems to fit what you are trying to do- why not?
I do think it would increase the top-heavy situation. Perhaps if you had open rafters in your garage you could stabilize from above. The worst part of of a bike tip over can be if it falls on the operator.
Good luck.
OM

 

[GTRider]

Hi all - not sure if this thread is still being monitored....I'm looking for a lift under $500. Sadly, the amazing Abba Skylift is out of my price range.

Any concerns with more affordable lifts like this one from Harbor Freight?
https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...00-lb-aluminum-atv-motorcycle-lift-63397.html

Using on an '85 K100 Basic.

Thanks!

Big concerns, looks to me like an easy way to tip the bike and break things. If you watch the sale ads and sign up for their coupon flyers, you can get a better MC lift from Harbor Freight for well under $500:

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-steel-motorcycle-lift-68892.html

I’ve seen that lift go on sale for around $300 or so, with coupon. And Black Friday is just around the corner

Best,
DeVern…

 

[rawhites]

Thanks, DeVern & OM!
Well, if the bike fell over and killed me, I would never hear the end of it from my wife.
So I'll stand pat and hope for a holiday deal on the proper lift!
Rob

 

[kbasa]

10 years on my HF lift table. Would happily buy again. Make sure you have a coupon and spend the moNye to buy the good wheel clamp accessory. I use a chock, but the clamp, which a friend has, works better, especially with big bikes. You don’t have to get up on the table to get them in or out of the chock, which is sketchy.

Make sure you get the little feet squarely in the floor up at the front of the lift, so it sits squarely. If you need your tie downs in a different spot, you can mount U brackets on the table wherever you need them. I have them on the side, usually, but they’re not in this old photo.

I prefer this over one of those small square things because it raises the bike to table height and has plenty of space for tools, drain pans and parts. I added a table on the side, which gave me a nice workspace. No crouching, no crawling on the floor, no laying on the concrete.

That’s our old house, excuse the horrible floor.

 

[drneo66]

Hi all - not sure if this thread is still being monitored....I'm looking for a lift under $500. Sadly, the amazing Abba Skylift is out of my price range.

Any concerns with more affordable lifts like this one from Harbor Freight?
https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...00-lb-aluminum-atv-motorcycle-lift-63397.html

Using on an '85 K100 Basic.

Thanks!

I used the previous model that HF sold like that (two "forks" that went under the sump) on several of my bikes. I used a couple pieces of scrap wood to make sure I was lifting everywhere possible. If you do it slow, have it tied down elsewhere (garage rafters) it's fine for basic things like tires, chain lube (not in your case), etc. I think there's even a link floating around for the perfect dimensions of the wooden box build for the K-bricks

I'd really consider shopping on FB marketplace or Craigslist for a used Handy, HMC Lift, etc. - they come up from time to time at reasonable prices. Once you have a true - get the bike up to working height lift - it's hard to go back to a solution like you linked. Buy once, cry once...

 

[CaptCF]

My back just added one of these to its Christmas list..

 

[drneo66]

My back just added one of these to its Christmas list..

I do still love my HMC Lift (review attached) - been worth every penny

 

[CaptCF]

I do still love my HMC Lift (review attached) - been worth every penny

I am going to have to break down and do it soon. I just don't recover like I used to after a bunch of lying on the garage floor work anymore. Tires and wheels are ok, but I recently had to drop the headers and oil pan on one of my bikes so it was a multi-day affair with a lot of lying on my back under the bike on the center stand and a front pitbull stand. Sure would have been nice to do most of it from the comfort of my stool..

 

[kbasa]

Yep. No more climbing off the ground. Got it right on a table. Even the drain pan.