It’s been a long time since I did any significant bike maintenance, spending most of my married life riding a bike (when I had a chance!) rather than tinkering.
Times change and now that I have an 850 T4, which may require the gearbox to be removed at some point soon, I’m looking for some sage advice from the forum.
I have limited space in a single garage. I have a reasonable selection of 3/8” and 1/2” sockets, open and ring spanners and a few ratcheted versions. A good assortment of general tools.
In particular I sense my back will complain at some point if I can’t get the bike at a reasonable working height and I feel reducing any physical strain and having the right tools should make the jobs more of a pleasure.
I don’t intend to be working on a pipeline of bikes over the coming years so I don’t really want to spend a fortune or buy something that will dominate the space I have.
Can anyone offer any reasonably priced options and also any more obscure tools that I may need?
Bike lift for sure, be it table type or under frame lift. I gave up restoring bikes in the end as the back pain was crippling. So bike lift and comfy stool def. Good lighting (i ended up with 3 seperate strip lights to cut down on shadows). Big tub of hand wipes as going in the house with dirty hands gets you a bollocking. If your planning on winter work a little electric radiators a god send. Decent (non wobbly) workbench helps too. Hope this helps Mark
I have the slightly smaller Red and happily lifted my old 1100 Cali and Big Breva
It takes a bit of “finessing” compared to a lift table but not bad once you get your eye in
A bike lift is great, but takes up a lot of sapce in a single garage. If you do buy one, watch out as there are 2 types. The Scissor action ones rise vertically, where as the pivot type hinge up and need more length.
I put my litle bikes on the ramp all the time, but actually struggle to get the bigger bikes on and off it so tend to leave them on the floor.
Thanks Don. That’s useful to know. There’s some heft to my 850t4 so I put it in the “bigger bike” category. Is the issue putting yours on stability if the bike getting on?
Thanks for explaining the different types of lift.
Mark, thanks . I’d thought about lighting and upgrading is already being planned. Stool and Wipes - definitely a good one. I can’t creep into the kitchen quietly enough so will definitely get a rollicking!
I have read about a couple of ‘accidents’ so this needs consideration. In at least one case, it falling over onto the person, in other cases, straining something by trying to push it up the ramp and keep it upright at the same time.
The difficulty I find is getting it up onto the centre stand when it is about 6 inches higher than the floor.
This is a scissor type lift. It does have an end ramp that clips on and off. I often remove it when working on a bike to save my shins
Without doubt a bike lift. It also make cleaning the bike easier. Also a Torque wrench if you haven’t got one, machine mart or Halfords are good sources. Halfords tools have a lifetime guarantee.
Oh and Blue workshop roll. Great for hand wiping and cleaning up spills. I also use surgical type gloves. I buy them cheap at Auto Jumbles.
Thanks Don-Spada. The photo helps alot. So you can’t get the lift lower than 6"? I can imagine the difference that makes. A second pair of hands is how you manage it? Looks ideal once on.
Hi Tris, I’ve been looking at the Easy Rizer Red and it does look like a good candidate for my needs. Of course the Retro version is currently out of stock! I was wondering did you opt for the Standard Beam mount? It seems like that should work for my 850 T4…
I’ve just measured the ramp & the deck is 8 inch above the floor level. I need a run up to get my Bonneville up onto it. It can be tricky getting the bike off as the centre stand skids on the deck.
Many years ago, i worked in Motorcycle City as a bike builder & wheeled bikes on & off a ramp all day with ease, but that was a long time ago.
I think I have the same ramp and you do need a bit of a run up. I found having a crate to stand on at the side of the ramp helps on to put it on the ramp but quite risky and better with two people.
Belt and braces, using a engine crane to lift the frame off, also to secure the bike upright. Over the top for a one off use. If you any good with wood you could knock a platform up with timber and ply.
Hydraulic bike lift is a cheaper alternative and in someways better because you will lift the bike by the engine and this will allow you to take the frame off the engine. A ramp doesn’t on its own facilitate this. Note my previous picture with the engine resting on a home made crate.
Possibly overlooked is a decent torch! Maybe with a magnetic base. A torque wrench would be very good to have (these can be quite expensive new, if you go second hand perhaps try to buy one with a recent calibration certificate) and a breaker bar for those tricky stiff bolts!
Mark
. I’d thought about lighting and upgrading is already being planned. Stool and Wipes - definitely a good one. I can’t creep into the kitchen quietly enough so will definitely get a rollicking!
