Has anyone ever seen this in person or used one? It looks amazingly simple in it's design and almost too good to be true. I'm wondering how hard it is to get the bike up on it? How stable is it? Can it be taken off the stand with only one person, etc?
I had one (similar) that I used many years back. It was better then using a cinder block like we did 25 years ago, but not nearly as good as some of the lifts available today. It does take some 2-arm force to lift a bike with those. And there had been a couple times that I did it myself. But you're at pretty high risk of dropping your bike when doing so. It's not a simple one handed task, and it should be done with help. The bottom frame rails of your bike can slide on that lift as well, due to the inclined angle. So you need to be careful about and be sure to chock your tire. It can also be a pain in keeping that leverage bar from dragging on parts of your bike during the lift.
IMO it makes no sense to pay $125 for that as opposed to a less expensive Sears lift, etc. They really don't take up that much space, and they're a lot more secure and much easier to use by yourself.
I have a similar concept lift that I use regularly by myself. My friend PapaDoc, who some of you met on the Texas Evo Run, made it for me about 35 years ago. I think he charged me $15 for it and made it out of iron pipe he salvaged from a demolition site. Lots of people used to make them in the day. A mechanic at Glendale CA HD offered to make and sell me one back in the late 70's.
Anyway, I have no trouble lifting any of my bikes with it by myself. It is more stable than the hydraulic lifts, one of which I also have. Note that the one PapaDoc made for me has a lot more leverage than the one shown in the you toobes vid, and it is wider so it will clear the saddle bag rails. I had another one that folded up for storage. It would lift my bike also, but the leverage wasn't as good and you had to really work at it. I think it was a Jammer brand, or whatever company Easyriders was closely associated with.
So, I have a hydraulic lift, the bar-over stand that PapaDoc made, a lift table and more. I actually use the bar-over stand the most, although I have modded the hydraulic lift so that it will lock at just the height to bring my bike level, but with the tires still on the ground.
I use to use ( regularly ) a Duo Lift. It's like a "flexible" parallelogram that lays flat when you slide it under the scooter than use the handle to "open" the lift and raise the bike. The handle then keeps the lift in the upright ( open ) position. I still have it in the gargae and the FXEF sits on it. Here's a picture I copied from the "Interweb"
06-16-2016, 06:36 PM
