accessories » Bike Lifts

I’m thinking of getting a bike lift to simplify maintenance tasks (with an arthritic hip I’m increasingly struggling with squatting down). I have been looking at the Sealey MC4500, seems a reasonable price, compact and leaves both wheels free to be removed. My only concern is whether the frame mounts are a good match for the RS, clearly with low slung exhaust below the frame, mounts are needed, but might that make the trolley too tall to slide under the bike?
Has anyone experience of the Sealey MC4500 or advice on other suitable (compact) lifts?
Cheers

I went the "other way" for a bike lift, and have had some disappointments and some benefits having done so.

The lift I got was from "Maffra Engineering", which refers to a town in Victoria, so I thought, well, it is locally made, and helps the engineering works people in that town.

Wrong.

It was entirely Chinese made.

I also chose the lift on the basis of my being able to shift it around the garage, if it turned out to be too high, which collapsed, to park a car over so I could just leave it in place.

Well, also a bit wrong.

Assuming that you would remove the front wheel chock as a matter of course, the body of the lift was still too high to fit under my car (s), so I was fairly happy that I got the lift that weighed 130 KG instead of the one that weighed 240 kg. The smaller lift has a claimed lifting capacity of 380kg, which is enough for the RS.

What the seller did not advertise, and which I did not even think to check, was that the lift was way, way to short for any motorcycle outside a scooter. It was at least 28 cm too short to support the RS with the front wheel in the front chock as far as it would go. Sure, it would lift the RS, but the rear wheel was on the ramp, and as a result, the working space under the motor was constructed and the weight bearing capacity of the "clip on" ramp was questionable IMO.

It was too damn large to take it back (I had to hire a van to get it home). So I measured it up, had a steel fabricator bend up 3 mm checkerplate steel with side upturns to match the existing platform, so that it sat inside the main platform. On the steel plate (running fore and aft) I had a central 30 mm steel angle welded in the middle to provide support, and I butted the rear part of the angle against a bolted on 25 mm square section steel tube to the front edge of the main platform to allow the angle to rest against it and provide support.

I then drilled two holes through the rear edge area of the new piece and through the original platform. The weight of the bike sits at the front of the new platform, and if it were to pivot, it would pivot around the front edge of the original platform, so the bolts are in tension.

I then had a friend weld a hinge to the new platform, and I secured the other side to the old platform with bolts. I replaced the original wheel chock which was just gripping the bottom of the tyre, with a larger design that also gripped the front of the tyre up to at least axle height.

To stop the lift "overbalancing" with the weight of the RS now being moved about 28 cm forward, I was happy to find that I had some scrap timber of the right thickness that I could slip under the bottom rails of the lift. Without the timber in place I could lift the back wheels of the platform by putting my weight on the front. With the timber in place, it held securely.

The advantage in using the plate is that the lift folds up to a shorter device, as the new plate folds over and back, and the ramp detaches.

The lift is still light enough to shove around, and it fits in the storage space I have when not in use.

Was it all worth it? Mehh. The remaining pitfall is that I really need a second person, as insurance, to stand by and steady the RS when it goes onto the lift. The idea of the bike falling off is too horrible to think about. However, once it is up, it is easy to work on.

As a matter of safety I have heard horror stories about home workshop lifts failing. Mine is both hydraulic and compressed air. The essential safety step (which was not even given in Chinese) is that you must never trust the hydraulics or the air to hold the bike more than momentarily. If either fails, the lift will drop. If there is any movement before the rollers hit the locking bar, it will shear the bar. You must lift the bike, insert the locking bar, and then lower the lift so that the locking bar is fully loaded.

The second issue for me is that since I lost the R1200RS, I now have a new 1250 with a 3 year warranty, so I may not be using the lift - or I may it is hard to say. I am still waiting for my personal "repairs" to be completed and I have a surgery in a couple of days where the bone doctors are going to try to put my collarbone together properly.

May be too big for your needs, but once you have one, you cannot do without!
Bought mine a few years ago for around £250, they have gone up a bit since.

M&P Lift

Zitat von Boxerboy im Beitrag #1

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I’m thinking of getting a bike lift to simplify maintenance tasks (with an arthritic hip I’m increasingly struggling with squatting down). I have been looking at the Sealey MC4500, seems a reasonable price, compact and leaves both wheels free to be removed. My only concern is whether the frame mounts are a good match for the RS, clearly with low slung exhaust below the frame, mounts are needed, but might that make the trolley too tall to slide under the bike?
Has anyone experience of the Sealey MC4500 or advice on other suitable (compact) lifts?
Cheers

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I have one, bought off Ebay, and does as advertised. I have had many bikes on it; CBX, Hayabusa, Triumph Exploder's, etc. Not risked my K16 though. Have been thinking about selling it and betting one of those moveable lift jobbies.

Thanks Aussie Import, your experience is exactly what I hope to avoid by getting feedback. The lift I am looking at is a compact scissor lift that sits transversely under the engine, rather than a ramp / platform. Well done in making your lift work, that took some reengineering!
I hope your surgeon does as good a fix on your clavical !

Bolusun, Any particular make/model of moveable lift jobbie in mind? What’s the limitation with the M4500 that makes you consider changing it?

My garage is small and I have 3 bikes that just squeeze in there. I have to have a bike permanently on the ramp/lift. I fancy one of these so I can move the bike around when I need too.

Yeah, those ABBA stands are really neat kit, but from what I can see they are not suitable for the R1200RS (I checked on their website).
Will email them to see if that’s likely to change.

When I spoke to them at the show they said it would fit my Busa and CBX with no issues, but not the K16. He thought it was to do with the pivot point of the swing arm. Maybe its the same with the R1200's

The Abba Skylift will take the GS, but not the RS (according to Abba). I will get round to trying it.

It would be interesting to know how it works - if it works, take care of the bike though!

I bought a second hand table that was barely used and love it.

I am sure it is a cheapo Chinese made one but don't care, it's rated to 400Kg and love getting the bike to a decent height to save my ageing joints.

I stayed clear of the short ones which take up less room as I was unsure of safely getting a longer wheelbase bike on there, also make sure the bed is wide enough to take a front or rear stand in case you need to get into stripping one end of the bike out.
The other thing is to look at the lift mechanism, mine rotates through and arc as it lifts / descends which requires more space where as a scissor lift one will lift / descend vertically.

Wouldn't be without mine, love it.

Zitat von Bolosun im Beitrag #5

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. Not risked my K16 though.

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Zitat von Boxerboy im Beitrag #12

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It would be interesting to know how it works - if it works, take care of the bike though!

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