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Motorcycle lift table


wickedtwister

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wickedtwister

Does anyone have a motorcycle lift table? I was looking into designing and building one just wondered if anyone had any particular experience with one brand over another.
 
Only reason I'm going to build my own is because I like very sturdy stuff and the lift tables I would consider are really expensive, and I have a lot of the raw material needed left over from other projects.

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wickedtwister

I have a lot of various 2" square tubes 1" square tubes and 1" and 2" angle mostly in 1/8" wall. I don't have any hydraulics parts to do the actual lifting. I also have a good bit of round roll bar material let over.

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Shouldnt be too difficult to put together a typical scissor jack configuration
hydraulic stores are a quite common on the east coast, shouldnt be too diffucult to cobble together

ATGATT... ATTATT, two acronyms I live by.
 

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fooschnickens

Pretty sure the bike shop I frequent uses either Weaver or Handy lifts based on the images I'm finding online. They've had the same ones for at least 10 years and service everything from dirtbikes to cruisers with no issue. The only downside is they run off an air line, but as long as you have a compressor you're golden.
 
 

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wickedtwister

The hydraulics part of the lift is really the part I need to figure out. Either air over hydraulic, electronic hydraulic pump, manual hydraulic pump, or pneumatic (last choice)
 
I like the scissor lift style better but its more complex guess I'll start drawing crap in catia and doing the calcs to make sure my bike doesn't come crashing to the ground.

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pnematic or electric would probably be your best bet depending on your home shop setup
 
What about a post style lift?
ccecad6bd63428811d0bf7f57e165db0.jpg
 

ATGATT... ATTATT, two acronyms I live by.
 

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wickedtwister

I don't like the cantilevered design on those, and I want to be able to move it around the shop as my other projects rotate depending oh what I'm doing. With that I'd have to bolt it to the floor.

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can also be bolted to the wall
Though i think ita more of a storage rack than a aervice lift....

ATGATT... ATTATT, two acronyms I live by.
 

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Sv race shop has a bersig knock off. otherwise a simple fixed height table about 16 inches high with a simple ramp works too. Slap it up against a wall when done.

bannerfans_1095431.jpg
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This is what I had in mind, it's a simple, doable design with no messy hydraulic fluid to have to deal with. I'm not suggesting to buy it, just make your own modeled by it. Some heavy duty caster wheels will make it 'mobile' if you design it right and a decent compressor/50' air line should do nicely. I haven't priced air bladders but they can be found all over the net. Good luck and show pics of whatever you build. 
 
 
http://www.lkgoodwin.com/more_info/pneumatic_scissor_lifts/pneumatic_scissor_lifts.shtml
 
 
http://www.petersenproducts.com/custom.aspx

Beemer

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Never thought of using airbags
Nice idea @beemer
you could probably pick up a set of airbags for a 3/4-1 ton truck for relatively cheap
I think the full 4-wheel setup for a Ram 3500 is around 5-600

ATGATT... ATTATT, two acronyms I live by.
 

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Mine is similiar to the pictured one.
Some points.
Mine has the front wheel clamp with the clamping action in the middle on the bottom. It isn't good enough to make the bike properly stable. The pictured one seems to have a beter design. Eithe way you need to stabilize BOTH the front of the tyre AND the bottom. And some way of lining up the rear wheel once it on the table. Any offline and the bike wants to lean. I have to do it by hand then put the lock straps on. It's a pain and my bikes are light!.
Make sure you have enough room to put a under fork lift or better still incorporate one into the design with changeable pin sizes (and angles?)
Don't forget safety pins incase hydraulic failure. I have 2 pin height positions on my commercial ones.
If you are having wheels make sure that you can lock the table in place. Mine uses separate stops from the wheels. Unfortunately it only has two and I had to make another two to keep it from moving.
Make sure it is transversely extremely stable.
Mine has a ram that is BOTH air and hydraulic so they are available.
Might be something there you can use.

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

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wickedtwister

Thanks for the input guys, while i do want to be able to move it around my shop I don't think I want to keep it on casters when in use. I will have to figure out a why to clamp the front tire. I also need a way to support the bike in case i want to pull the front tire. Incorporating a head tube lift is interesting. I was going to build a bracket to lift the bike from the front frame where it bolts to the motor, but that doesnt help me lift the Z1000.
 
I will have a auto safety lock that will hold the weight of the lift while in use very similar to an automotive lift. I think Ill be able to use up my 2" square tubing for most of it. I think I have 2 or 3 20ft sticks laying in the shop. Just to warn you guys this wont be a fast project and likely be the end of winter before i start on it. I have other house projects that i have to finish first, but i will keep you guys up to date on the design.

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Thanks for the input guys, while i do want to be able to move it around my shop I don't think I want to keep it on casters when in use. I will have to figure out a why to clamp the front tire. I also need a way to support the bike in case i want to pull the front tire. Incorporating a head tube lift is interesting. I was going to build a bracket to lift the bike from the front frame where it bolts to the motor, but that doesnt help me lift the Z1000. 
I will have a auto safety lock that will hold the weight of the lift while in use very similar to an automotive lift. I think Ill be able to use up my 2" square tubing for most of it. I think I have 2 or 3 20ft sticks laying in the shop. Just to warn you guys this wont be a fast project and likely be the end of winter before i start on it. I have other house projects that i have to finish first, but i will keep you guys up to date on the design.
oddly enough today i spoke with a neighbor that runs a moto repair shop out of his garage
he uses a harbor freight flat scissor lift with a cycle gear/trackside front wheel chock bolted to it and uses handlebar/transport straps to immobilize the bike in the case of for work or wheel removal
 
 
Dont know if he's on there yet but apparantly he just picked up an fz09 last week told him about the forum today
 

ATGATT... ATTATT, two acronyms I live by.
 

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Thanks, sorkyah but not my idea really. I've seen them used to lift much bigger/heavier things so they work unbelievably well. I had to suggest it.

Beemer

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http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-motorcycle-lift-68892.html
 
I've got the above lift from Harbor Freight. I got it for a Christmas gift last year, before I got the FZ07, for some other R6es I have. It works pretty well for me. I did have an "extension" made for the front. It wasn't quite long enough to put my bike on and put the bike on front and rear stands. I don't have a brake, so I had a local machine shop bend me some metal to the same dimensions (if I remember right its 1/8" diamond plate) and I welded that on there and braced it with some square tubing. This winter when I went to service my bikes the first thing I did was "service" the stand by greasing it. I think it has 6 grease fittings, and 3 of them broke. They must be the cheapest thing about this lift. If I'd have known that, I'd have just replaced each grease fitting the day I got it with some that I know are good quality. Anyway, other than that, for what I do, this stand/lift/table works fine for me
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