Joined
·
6,306 Posts
Hey folks!
I'm moving into a new house very soon and one of it's best features is a unattached 3 bay ( 2 roll up doors and one bay with a man door) shop/ garage. Finally room for more bikes and some real shop equipment too!
My wife and I want to buy a table type lift, like the ones in a dealer's shop, and I'm looking for advice on good brands, bad brands, brands to stay away from, pitfalls, etc? I've never used one, only a jack, but was always jealous of the ones in the dealerships.
We both ride heavy baggers so this thing has to be sturdy, for 900+ pound bikes I need something that is not a toy. Do I want a wide lift or a narrow one..I saw a few people complain online about it being tough to walk a bike onto a narrow lift since they had no where to put their feet..is that a valid concern?
The shop has a compressor so I am thinking a pneumatic powered one would be nice, I also have electric of course. Manual pump up seems like it might be a chore but maybe I'm wrong about that?
I would want the drop down rear and jack for changing wheels, I already have 2 Condor brand wheel chocks I got a deal on so I figure I'd probably mount one of those on whatever lift I buy, those are great chocks. Are there any other accessories I should be getting with a lift table?
I tried to do some research online and ended up more confused. A co-worker has a harbor freight brand lift, he swears it works fine for his Street Glide but I checked one out in the store and it doesn't look very well built to me. I don't want to go broke (I'm buying the house tomorrow after all, and I still have a bike habit to support) but I also don't want to buy junk which might cause more problems than it's worth. I'd be quite happy buying a used high quality piece of professional equipment if anyone knows a good source.
I'm also considering getting some tire changing equipment too so I can do it all in house, I'm not sure it's really worth it, but it would be nice...
I'm moving into a new house very soon and one of it's best features is a unattached 3 bay ( 2 roll up doors and one bay with a man door) shop/ garage. Finally room for more bikes and some real shop equipment too!
My wife and I want to buy a table type lift, like the ones in a dealer's shop, and I'm looking for advice on good brands, bad brands, brands to stay away from, pitfalls, etc? I've never used one, only a jack, but was always jealous of the ones in the dealerships.
We both ride heavy baggers so this thing has to be sturdy, for 900+ pound bikes I need something that is not a toy. Do I want a wide lift or a narrow one..I saw a few people complain online about it being tough to walk a bike onto a narrow lift since they had no where to put their feet..is that a valid concern?
The shop has a compressor so I am thinking a pneumatic powered one would be nice, I also have electric of course. Manual pump up seems like it might be a chore but maybe I'm wrong about that?
I would want the drop down rear and jack for changing wheels, I already have 2 Condor brand wheel chocks I got a deal on so I figure I'd probably mount one of those on whatever lift I buy, those are great chocks. Are there any other accessories I should be getting with a lift table?
I tried to do some research online and ended up more confused. A co-worker has a harbor freight brand lift, he swears it works fine for his Street Glide but I checked one out in the store and it doesn't look very well built to me. I don't want to go broke (I'm buying the house tomorrow after all, and I still have a bike habit to support) but I also don't want to buy junk which might cause more problems than it's worth. I'd be quite happy buying a used high quality piece of professional equipment if anyone knows a good source.
I'm also considering getting some tire changing equipment too so I can do it all in house, I'm not sure it's really worth it, but it would be nice...