I'm aiming to buy an important piece of workshop machinery and would very much appreciate the opinions of any forum members able to offer advice, guidance, end-user and/or first hand experience of the purchase and use of a motorcycle workbench or lift. I've been planning for quite some time to buy an hydraulic bench type lift and so I took the plunge a few weeks ago with a discounted ebay offer on this :- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hydrauli...261093&hash=item42099b0691:g:acIAAOSw2kpdXlO1 Not my finest hour or decision, it must be said. I knew it was going to be a 'Made in China' item but had weighed the cost/benefit argument alongside the rationale that it was never going to get "professional" levels of use so should be OK - particularly since some of the "mainstream" versions from the likes of Sealey, Draper and Clarke appear to be identical and are also commonly regarded as of Chinese origin. Anyway, my purchase has now been returned - let's just say it wasn't very good - and so I started a search for a reasonable replacement. I thought I'd struck lucky when I found this review of lifts :- https://bikerrated.com/gear/maintenance/motorcycle-lifts/ and the best buy recommendation suited my budget and looked good. Unfortunately I struck lucky - then immediately struck out ....... that bench is unavailable anywhere that I can find. Some further searching did uncover these examples which look reasonable but, according to the web site, none of them is currently available :- https://cjautosheywood.co.uk/product/hydraulic-550mm-wide-motorcycle-lift-mb03d/ https://cjautosheywood.co.uk/product/hydraulic-640mm-wide-motorcycle-lift-mb03b/ https://cjautosheywood.co.uk/product/hydraulic-700mm-wide-motorcycle-lift-mb03c/ It looks like the main difference between them (apart from the colour) is that the last example appears to be the only one with a detachable ramp - something that I see as highly desirable if not essential. An initial enquiry to the supplier has revealed that delivery to deepest, darkest Devon will be £90 so the preferred model is just about in the budget range. My quest continued and, during the prolonged bouts of google searching, I came up with what I thought might be a possible, practical alternative to the traditional workshop bench :- https://on-bike.com/ I have to say that this seems to have a number of advantages over a bench - space saving; relative ease of use; great clearance beneath the bike and the ability to safely take both wheels off. I actually 'phoned the company and asked a tech. there if there was anything that could be done on a bench that could not be done on this? According to him the answer is "NO" and I'm having difficulty thinking about a potential task that wouldn't be possible using this ..... engine out, maybe, on some models? ...... but would be possible or easier on a bench. But, perhaps the biggest single 'positive' on the score sheet for this device - it's made entirely in this country! Well, OK, maybe not the biggest - but a biggie, nonetheless. It also has the advantage that it's all mechanical - no hydraulics, so no seals to leak or fail. Disadvantages over a bench? Well, I'm struggling to think of any - other than that I'm terminally messy and I'll be tripping over the tools scattered around the floor beneath the raised bike! Maybe. Having found the EazyRiser, I recalled that ABBA do a similar device - the SKYLIFT :- https://abbastands.co.uk/product-detail.asp?item=sky-lift&pid=44 Perhaps the singular downside of the ABBA is that it needs fittings to be installed on the bike and I might end up spending as much on fittings (I have a few bikes) as I would on the lift itself! SO ....... I think I'm leaning towards the EAZYRIZER, but, for some sub-conscious reason, I remain reluctant to let go of the idea of a traditional lift bench. Your views and any experiences of any of the above devices would be be welcomed so that I can finally reach a decision and lighten the wallet. Again. Thanks in advance!
I had a Clarke hydraulic lift bench which I used for years and thought it was great Had loads of different bikes on it and it was very versatile I only got rid of it because I was struggling to push my 1200 Speedmaster onto it and had ordered a 2020 Rocket which I knew I couldn’t push onto the bench If you bolt them to the floor and have the confidence you can ride your bikes onto the bench I never did Now I’ve got a Tiger with no centre stand and I really wish I had kept the bench
There are many different options out there to consider. I got a Constands lift which is similar to the Abba skylift but doesn't get the bike up in the air quite as high, although it does get both wheels airborne, so removing wheels and working on the suspension is a doddle. I'd like a hydraulic bench too, but to be honest, I don't really need one for the maintenance work I do.
One of these and a couple of billets on timber to fix/triangulate......? Cheaper, flexible and not bike specific.. https://www.sgs-engineering.com/ec1...uY29tIiwgImtsX2NvbXBhbnlfaWQiOiAiUHpLRzNRIn0=
I have the big blue lift and it works well both wheels accessible to work on, different forms of lifting gear for each bike, so easy to keep the lift and just change lifting gear required. I would recommend
Got a Skylift and love it, had a bench lift before but it took up a lot of space that was needed. Once I'd given up racing, where I was working on the bike most weekends and the bench was more useful for what I was doing, I sold it and got the skylift which is ideal for what I want now. It's also handy that you can wheel it around the garage with the bike on it, if you want to squeeze another bike in etc.
I have used a homemade dirt bike stand, I put my bike on a stand by lifting the side panel, it is one of the oldest, and most professional riders are familiar with the style.
