revtothelimit - motorbike forum

I'm getting too fackin old for crawling around on my poor old abused knees while performing even basic spannering. So I've been wondering what you lot recommend to make life a little easier and even more enjoyable.

I currently use a mix of paddock stands and an Abba jobbie.

I've looked at the Abba Skylift which seems a nifty piece of gear and wouldn't take up as much room as a conventional hydraulic ramp,but maybe not as steady/solid either.




What you got/use/want/recommend?

I'd love an ABBA Skylift, it would also help with my positioning of the ZX6R and getting it in and out, but it's not very often i need to.

weeksy wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 4:02 pm I'd love an ABBA Skylift, it would also help with my positioning of the ZX6R and getting it in and out, but it's not very often i need to.

How about you buy one and not like it,then sell it to me for £200.

I've got a thick rug down on the area I move the bikes to work on.

To do little jobs in situ, I've made some mats out of yoga mat folded in half and glued together.
Saves my knees getting hurty.

Skub wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 4:03 pm

weeksy wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 4:02 pm I'd love an ABBA Skylift, it would also help with my positioning of the ZX6R and getting it in and out, but it's not very often i need to.

How about you buy one and not like it,then sell it to me for £200.

LOL i'd be the first i think, everyone else who buys one loves them.

Yorick wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 4:04 pm I've got a thick rug down on the area I move the bikes to work on.

To do little jobs in situ, I've made some mats out of yoga mat folded in half and glued together.
Saves my knees getting hurty.

The Yorkshire Skylift.

Skub wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 4:05 pm

Yorick wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 4:04 pm I've got a thick rug down on the area I move the bikes to work on.

To do little jobs in situ, I've made some mats out of yoga mat folded in half and glued together.
Saves my knees getting hurty.

The Yorkshire Skylift.

I wouldn't trust myself with skylift. The bugger would just fall over

Yorick wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 4:07 pm
I wouldn't trust myself with skylift. The bugger would just fall over

That aspect concerns me a bit too. It seems solid enough in the vids,but....

As mentioned in an earlier thread:

viewtopic.php?p=30641#p30641

For serious work you need a full size table lift. It's not just the working height you need, the ramp also works as a benchtop. As soon as you start putting tools on the floor, all hope is lost.

Skub wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 4:09 pm

Yorick wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 4:07 pm
I wouldn't trust myself with skylift. The bugger would just fall over

That aspect concerns me a bit too. It seems solid enough in the vids,but....

Watching a mate use his Skylift to lift his Aprilia Caponord was a bit disconcerting, especially as he was moving the bike/lift around but it was/is very solid.

I've often thought about getting one but the fact that you can't use them on RHS SSSA (R1150GSA f'rinstance) is a pain.

I use a skylift with my R1200RT no problems easy to used and you can get at the underneath much easier than a bench

I've got this one, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191920885348 ... =28&chn=ps I don't have a lot of room in the garage and its stored on its side when not in use. It is short and narrow, unlike the picture your not meant to rest the rear of the bike on the ramp. With the Le mans on the centre stand and the front whell in the chock the rear of the bike from just behind the stand is floating in the air with the ramp removed. To get the Le Mans on I have a 500mm long bit of 18mm ply which I bolt to the front and support with two car jacks. Wheel the bike on, front wheel onto the ply and then pull back to get it on the centre stand an off the wood.
For the Tuono it is the other way round. The wood goes between the ramp and the bench part and I use an ABBA leveling platform to make the bench wide enough for the ABBA stand to sit on. Pulling the bike formard onto the stand gets the fron wheel into the chocks and the back wheel up in the air off the ply.

exportman wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 3:52 pm I use a skylift with my R1200RT no problems easy to used and you can get at the underneath much easier than a bench

What year is your RT? I assume you've got a LHS swing arm?

Beancounter wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:33 pm

What year is your RT? I assume you've got a LHS swing arm?

Yes its a 2017, I guess it would be a problem with a RHS swing arm.

I've got the same sort of hydraulic bench as GuzziPaul - have also toyed with also getting a Skylift, or one of the similar(ish) ones from Motea since a bought something else from them a few years back and they've been constantly spamming me with discount codes
You can't lift it right up in the air and swivel the bike like you can a Skylift, as it's just a simple short-ish stroke mechanical lift but it's a different price-point than the Skylist too - under €200 delivered to UK with one of their (eurocarparts frequency ) discount codes

This
https://www.motea.com/en/central-stand- ... o-977280-0

I can also recommend thse Halford Floor Mats https://www.halfords.com/tools/garage-e ... 36870.html You can see them either side of the ramp in the picture above. You don't need to drag something around the floor to kneel on and they keep your feet warm as well when on a cold garage floor.
I don't have them where the bike stands normally go but the bench above is sat on them and they do bounce back once removed. I bought another pack recently as I'm WFM in the spare room which has laminate floor. I've got three mats in a " T"at my desk, to keep my feet warm and protect the floor from the wheels of my office chair wheels. better than a rug and they will be transfered to the garage when this ends.

I was lucky enough a few years back to get an ex Police workshop bike lift. They were getting rid because they weren't stamped with their SWL. My theory was if it could take the weight of a fully loaded Pan European it could take my bikes. It lifts the bike on a scissor system operated by a worm drive. The bike sits on the table and enables you to put tools etc on it. It lifts the bike about 3 foot in the air..... The good news was it cost me £100, the bad its very heavy and took some moving.

I made my own a few years back out of Roller Shutter door guides and 16mm road pins. Done a post on it a while back on the Burgmanusa forum.
https://www.burgmanusa.com/threads/home ... ch.172559/

I've got a Sealey hydraulic lift, everyone now and they do a decent discount which makes it very appealing, together with very reasonable delivery charge for something very heavy.

GuzziPaul wrote: Wed Feb 10, 2021 8:26 am I can also recommend thse Halford Floor Mats https://www.halfords.com/tools/garage-e ... 36870.html You can see them either side of the ramp in the picture above. You don't need to drag something around the floor to kneel on and they keep your feet warm as well when on a cold garage floor.

Being a tightwad I recycled the massive bubble wrap from the the bike lift, wrapped it in loads of brown parcel tape and made a poor mans LiLo to lay on in the garage.