Whip!
Member
I'd been looking at the Harbor Freight lift table. Seems legit for home/hobby use. Capable of lifting my FZ and the dirt bike easy. Runs around $400. Cheaper if you can find it on sale. Not a bad option. But with a big project coming up, I'd rather spend the money on the bike, and working on the ground like a peasant is definitely not an option. I built myself a work bench. For about $100 in materials and a day to slap it together this thing is working out pretty good. I think every biker should have one. I probably over built it a little. Us FZ1 guys could get away with making it a little lighter, but I wouldn't be scared to roll a Harley up on this thing. It's 20" tall. About right for my hight. I can easily get to the top of the bike (lift the fuel tank off), and the bottom. sit on a stool, or take a knee to get the oil drain. way better than laying on the ground. My ramp is short, 6' cut to fit in the bed of my ford ranger. I was worried about clearing the crest on the exhaust, but it rolled right on...With help from my roommate. It was a little steep, I couldn't have done it myself. A longer ramp would be easier, or a running bike you could slip the clutch and walk along.
Some things I would change:
The cross piece for the tie downs is to wide and also to narrow. I made it 4' thinking wider is more stable, I can always trim it down latter. And after bashing my shins several times on the first day, I'm gonna trim it. But already the straps don't clear the fairing. I don't want to make that worse. I think I will trim it to 30" same as the handlebars, and use Canyon Dancer bar harness to tie it down.
I would make the whole thing a little bit wider. I made it skinny to try and save floor space in my little garage. It's a two car garage, but two deep and one wide, long and narrow. But I should have made the bench wide enough to get it on the side stand while I struggle with tie downs and canyon dancers. And a wider base couldn't hurt. It doesn't seem top heavy with the bike on it. Nice and stable. But you never know what kind of drunk idiots come wobbling through the garage..... It's just me, Im the idiot.
I know I didn't invent any thing here. I just like how this project turned out and thought I should share it. Has anyone else done something like this? what are the pros and cons of your bench build. I still kind of want the Harbor Freight Lift, But this is a cheaper solution that I think will work for a long time.
Some things I would change:
The cross piece for the tie downs is to wide and also to narrow. I made it 4' thinking wider is more stable, I can always trim it down latter. And after bashing my shins several times on the first day, I'm gonna trim it. But already the straps don't clear the fairing. I don't want to make that worse. I think I will trim it to 30" same as the handlebars, and use Canyon Dancer bar harness to tie it down.
I would make the whole thing a little bit wider. I made it skinny to try and save floor space in my little garage. It's a two car garage, but two deep and one wide, long and narrow. But I should have made the bench wide enough to get it on the side stand while I struggle with tie downs and canyon dancers. And a wider base couldn't hurt. It doesn't seem top heavy with the bike on it. Nice and stable. But you never know what kind of drunk idiots come wobbling through the garage..... It's just me, Im the idiot.
I know I didn't invent any thing here. I just like how this project turned out and thought I should share it. Has anyone else done something like this? what are the pros and cons of your bench build. I still kind of want the Harbor Freight Lift, But this is a cheaper solution that I think will work for a long time.
