Hydraulic motorcycle lift

[RogerSB]

Hi,


Have any A10 owners had any experience with using a lift such as this Clarke CML5 (pic attached)?


It's max height is 43cm and lifting capacity is 630kg. Lifting and lowering is operated by foot pedals and the long handle is just for moving it[size=78%].[/size]


I've not the room for a 'permanently in place' heavy bench lift, which would be better, but could manage this but I'm wondering if the lifting platform will fit under the A10 duplex frame. Not the platform height, as that is ok being only 13.5cm when lowered.

[RichardL]

I have one of those. Use it infrequently because, unless you need the front wheel off the ground (as we sometimes do) it's not much better than working at floor level. In my case, my left exhaust pipe is a bit below the frame member so I lay lumber across it's arms to compensate. In any case, it was on sale for $50, so couldn't resist.

Richard L.

[jachenbach]

I had one for a few years. Tried using it a few times and was not at all satisfied with it. Not stable enough. I now have a Harbor Freight motorcycle lift. Not near as nice as the Handi Lifts we had when I was working, but adequate for a home shop. With coupons from motorcycle magazines, they can be had for $299 and worth every penny.

[chaterlea25]

Hi All
I typed a reply but "lost it"

They are a PITA
John

[scotty]

Roger

That thing will fit under your BSA but having owned one I can report they're not the greatest.
I traded mine for a pre unit Triumph front mudguard number plate thingy

If space is an issue you could consider this 3/4 inch plywood box affair that I use.
Two sheets of ply cunningly cut to slot together when needed but easy to take apart and stow when not needed.
No screws used except the ones that attach the thin metal plate on the bench surface.
You do need a long ramp ( I use a piece of scaffold decking) to get the bike up there and an extra set of helping hands but it works a treat.
I saw the idea at http://bbcracing.com/the-box/
There are a few other wood type m/c lift ideas out there on the inter web

On the same topic a guy up the road uses an old hospital bed as a lift/bench 
The bed is fully automatic, raises and lowers at the push of a button,  you can spin it around, lock out the wheels, sit on it while working. rated for 600 pounds apparently.


S

[RogerSB]

Until you buy and try you don't know so valuable info from you all, thank you. It's definitely made me think again.


Golden Flash is running great - and even the 6-spring clutch is performing perfectly! This coming winter I'm planning to take the primary cover off to renew both primary and secondary chains and also the timing cover to check the dynamo belt. No doubt that will escalate into more than I plan so I thought, to make it easier on my 74 year old body, I'd treat myself to a hydraulic lift and make working on my bike a pleasure instead of the normal physical endurance exercise. I originally thought I would buy the lift in the picture I've attached - until I read that it weighs 139kg (21.9 st)!  I only have a single garage, which our car lives in and my GF only just fits in a shed beside it. So unless our car is parked permanently outside a full size hydraulic bench lift  (although I dream of it with a drooling tongue) is really out of the question.


The plywood bench that Scotty brought to my attention is definitely a possibility and I'm going to give that a lot of thought. After use, I could dismantle it and store it inside our garage against a wall. Working on a stool I wouldn't need it quite so high and that would probably make it easier to get my GF up a ramp. I'm also thinking an electric pulling winch, the type with a remote control, mounted at the back of my garage would make that fairly easy and controllable. My wife could even operate the remote control with me controlling the bike going up a ramp.


Any thoughts appreciated.

[RoyC]

I use one of these, worth every penny.
Also have a small hand wind lift that I use on top of the bench lift so that I can raise the bike off the bench.

[JulianS]

Some benches are not long enough to allow the rear wheel to be removed - the stand sits on the removable panel.

Check carefully before being disappointed!

[RoyC]

Some benches are not long enough to allow the rear wheel to be removed - the stand sits on the removable panel.

Check carefully before being disappointed!

When The bike is on back wheel first, the hole is by the front wheel so I use the small hand wind lift to rase the bike enough to remove the rear wheel.
I also have two square lifts but have not used them yet.

[RogerSB]

Thanks Roy, what you have there seems a really good set up, especially with the scissor stand to give you that extra lift when needed. I also considered the Sealey MC135, which looks very similar to your square one, but the lift capacity being 135kg wasn't up to lifting a Golden Flash weighing in at 170kg plus. As I can't accommodate a full size and heavy steel purpose built hydraulic lift and the other types not being that brilliant it appears my best option is to build myself a strong marine ply version to suit my particular circumstances and buy a winch.


Julian - Good One! That's the sort of thing so easily overlooked - until you try it.  When I've been looking at the various lifts over the past weeks I've considered the removable panel to be such a good idea to make removing the back wheel so much easier and never thought where the main stand might be. All this various input from people is so valuable.  I usually remove the front wheel first and with the bike on the main stand lower the forks to rest on a box to allow enough room at the back to get the rear wheel out from under the mudguard.

[Topdad]

I have one of these ,like Richard bought on a "managers special " couldn't get on with it ,bloody dangerous in fact , enter next door neighbour who is a whizz with wood and he built me a workbench that the lift fitted into ,the legs drop when its at full height and the Bezza stayed there quite content all last winter whilst I worked on it ,now wouldn't be without it !

[Butch (cb)]

I use one of these, worth every penny.
Also have a small hand wind lift that I use on top of the bench lift so that I can raise the bike off the bench.

Yep - I have pretty much the same set up at my gaff with those two items. The main lifting table I would not be without, I have stuff up on it pretty much every weekend; probably the result of being blessed with a reasonable sized motorcycle fleet and but poor mechanic-ing skills. 

I can say that the main table lowers enough that you can park a car over the top of it. Or you can turn it on its side up against the garage wall, or park a bike on it.

[terryg]

I've used a car engine crane and 2 strops to raise bikes in order to work on them. One or both wheels off the ground, as necessary.
I'm not saying it's a perfect solution but I used it 'because it was there', using either car wheel ramps or sturdy boxes as supports under the wheels when required.

[KiwiGF]

Here are pics of a home made lift that solves the space issue by making it easy to park the bike on the lift in either flat or raised position, so it takes up half the space in the garage 

This is the mk2 version of the lift. The mk1 version (as bought) had to be improved after it shot off out of the garage during loading of the bike and headed straight for my wife's 1 year old Fiat Panda parked outside 

Luckily the insurance paid for the new bumper, and headlight 

In the mk2 version, 2 of the wheels lift off the ground in the flat position so it stays still whilst riding the bike straight onto it 

[RogerSB]

Thanks for all replies and advice.

Kiwgf, your lift is ingenious - get the bike on it and winch it up and with the platform in the up position it can't go backwards or forwards - brilliant!  I presume the little square cut outs in the top (above each leg) is for easy lubricating and adjusting the nuts for the pivots?

Unfortunately my garage is only just big enough to get my car in and open the car door to get in and out, so a full size bench isn't possible. The original lift I was thinking about, in its advert, said you can park a car over it in its lowered position and that would be great - but my BMW 1 Series has only 140mm ground clearance and the lift's lowered height is 170mm.  

Yesterday I priced up a couple of sheets of 18mm ply and a scaffold plank (£100.00), which includes the timber merchant cutting the sheets to the required size and delivery. The work for me would be to cut all the slots in the sheets.

In addition a WinchMax 3000 (a mains powered winch with remote control) at £139.99 with plans to build one like Scottys (see above). No screws or bolts so it can be collapsed easily and stored as 4 flat sheets inside my garage and up against the wall. It'll cost about half the price of the Clarke CML3 lift I was originally thinking of (shown in one of my posts) and it'll give me a full size 60cm x 224cm working platform that I can customised to my needs and just as importantly 'store it when not in use'.

The electric winch is a bit of a luxury as for a fraction of the price a hand winch would do the job of winching the bike up the ramp but it would need someone to man the winch to pump it, whereas the electric winch with a remote control two people can be with the bike while the winch is pulling it up the ramp.