Table/Bench Lift

[PCPeteUK]

With the snow arriving outside and work 'insisting' we work from home today (yeah right, I'm gonna do that!) - bugger I forgot, I always work from home...

Anyway I digress, my mind wandered as it so easily does to what prize toy would I want for my garage if I could afford it?
Well I have decided that my number one improvement would be a table lift. Can any of you with far more experience than I advise on a particular make/model and rough cost that will comfortably lift the GTR without any wobble?

I had a table lift in the early life of my Goldwing but gave it away as it worried me too much when lifting the bike. It had a definite jelly wobble feel to it :)
Thanks, in advance.

[O.C.]

Pete, there are so many lift options available today, mine came from a company called S L Lifts, although I think they may not be in business anymore.

Make sure that whatever lift you purchase that its capable of handling the weight of your bike, also it might be worth considering setting any lift into the floor so that you can wheel your machine straight onto it rather than up any sort of ramp, as the GTR is, as you know, a big lump 

I believe that at the moment Sealey have offers and I know that their quality is good

http://www.sealey.co.uk/PLPageBuilder.asp?gotonode=DoProductSearch&method=mProductSearch&productdescription=&productcode=&category=31&catgroup=249&analysiscode=&requiredresults=16&grouplevelonly=0&fulltext=0

This is another company that advertise quite extensively, but I've no experience of them myself ...good luck, and let us know how you get on

http://kdbenches.co.uk/

[coman37]

Hi PCPete,

    I have one of these and highly recommend them, BUT you need to be confident and reasonably strong to use it.

   you need to get the bike on diagonally so that you can put the sidestand down (unless you get a really wide one). You then need to balance on the ramp while you lift it onto the mainstand (ps take the panniers and topcase off b4 putting the bike on the ramp) Now you can get to work on your bike without knee pains

Coman

[100milesaway]

P C P  My advice would be to try putting the bike ON one before you decide to buy, I actually sold mine when I had put the GTR on it a few times,  I just didn't feel confident enough to consistenly get it right when putting the bike on it . I found it a real balancing act that scared the  out of me, and I just know that over a period of time it would have led to tears .I feel much safer when crawling around the earths crust .

[O.C.]

.I feel much safer when crawling around the earths crust .

Which is not something that can be said when on a 'pink armband' tour 

[zedmeister]

Try these www.machinemart.co.uk.  look under the Motorcycle section.

[PCPeteUK]

Thanks All - appreciate the feedback - will be a while yet before funds allow but at least I know where to look :)

[doebag]

Some of the loading ramps can be a bit steep. I put the tail of the ramp on a couple of decking boards,then have an off cut of flooring board from concrete to decking board. It reduces the  total ramp angle and makes loading less fraught.

[PCPeteUK]

Thanks DoeBag...

[100milesaway]

It was not getting the bike on the bench that did me in, it was getting the bike on the centre stand once it was there  If I had kept mine I think the bike would have gone over and been smashed to bits, or I would have ended up in a  . I still say try before you buy.

[O.C.]

Agreed Geoff, that's why I made the suggestion of letting the ramp into the floor so that its level with the ground, it makes the whole process of putting a bike on and taking a bike off so much easier/safer. Its something that I wish I'd done.

Its one thing pushing a 200Kg bike onto a ramp and quite another doing the same with on weighing over 300Kgs

[Martin#30]

Its one thing pushing a 200Kg bike onto a ramp and quite another doing the same with on weighing over 300Kgs [/color]

Amen to that, it takes two of us to get the GTR up onto my hydraulic ramp and even then, I am sure it is only a matter of time before it gets dropped as part of the loading process. My 180-ish kg race bike is simple in comparison.

It would be significantly easier if it was let into the floor, or if there was a loading ramp at both ends and enough space to push it on and off forwards.

Great things when you do have the bike loaded though. Really helps the comfort levels when working on the bike.

Martin.

[coman37]

Dont forget that if you cut the table into the floor that you will be losing 5-6 inches of the lift height, also access to the "footpump" will be compromised, Not a problem if you get the more expensive comp' air version

Coman

[tommytool]

If you have a concrete floor in garage do what I did. Very accurately mark the floor where the 4 stabilising feet sit. Drill holes big enough for 4x rawlbolt sockets and exchange the feet on the lift for bolts the same thread as the rawlbolt.

Solid as a rock.

[PCPeteUK]

If you have a concrete floor in garage do what I did. Very accurately mark the floor where the 4 stabilising feet sit. Drill holes big enough for 4x rawlbolt sockets and exchange the feet on the lift for bolts the same thread as the rawlbolt.

Solid as a rock.

Makes me feel more comfortable with going this root :) - the 480kg Goldwing was damn heavy to use on my original table lift and I was VERY uncomfortable with using it at height - hence the reason to get rid at that time. However I find the GTR a lightweight in comparison (the major reason to change from the Wing) so a table lift - with all this advise is a serious consideration again.
Thanks all - really appreciated.