Hydraulic bike lift

[Jez900ie]

Anyone bought one of these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1500lb-680...79809#shpCntId

Certainly a good price. Any comments or reccomendations?

[Mr Gazza]

Yep. A friend of mine bought one ....It's for sale.

[Jez900ie]

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

Yep. A friend of mine bought one ....It's for sale.

Poor quality? Didn't work properly?

[Mr Gazza]

No... He's sold all his bikes.

I looked at it with a view to buying, but to be honest it's really meant for bikes with a cradle frame, or at least a flat sump.

To use it properly on a Monster you will need to have the exhaust off for starters. Then make up some chocks of some sort to support the engine properly.
Besides which, the thing is huge, heavy and very awkward to store.... I gave it a miss.

I think a platform bike lift is a better bet, as it will store flat with the bike on top of it and so not really take up any extra space...

I have managed for a long time with just front and rear paddock stands.

Cue all the Abba stand fans....

[Jez900ie]

Thanks for the info. Big heavy & awkward...

A pair of paddock stands is probably all I really need, and they are also inexpensive on ebay at about 38 for a pair.

[Darren69]

http://www.abbastands.co.uk/

The ABBA stand is a good choice, also inexpensive, a little bit bigger and bulkier than 2 paddock stands much easier and safer to use single handed, no danger of bike falling over.

You can remove wheels, forks, swingarm etc. Which you can't with paddock stands.

If you want to go really posh and have room they do a hydraulic bike lift too.

Agree about the Abba, we use them all the time, only thing I would say is if you use them on a bench, make sure you have a wide one as they do need some width...

+1 on the Abba stands - can't resit a picy

[/url]

[Dirty]

Originally Posted by iMOC

+1 on the Abba stands - can't resit a picy

Indeed

[Flip]

Originally Posted by Jez900ie

Thanks for the info. Big heavy & awkward...

A pair of paddock stands is probably all I really need, and they are also inexpensive on ebay at about 38 for a pair.

Just be aware you do tend to get what you pay for with tools and the like and some of the cheaper stands can be a bit wobbly in the way they bolt together.

Originally Posted by Darren69

http://www.abbastands.co.uk/You can remove wheels, forks, swingarm etc. Which you can't with paddock stands.

Can you remove the swing arm on a Monster with one as I thought they lifted using the swing arm pivot point?

Originally Posted by Dirty

Indeed

Was waiting for something like that from you D!!!

A couple of paddock stands suit me well for most jobs and if you get one that lifts under the lower yoke you can remove front wheel and forks etc. when required no problem and if you have the welded bobbins on your swing arm you can get a rear one with forks which once set make lifting the back up a breeze for things like chain adjustment and lubing.

The back one I have is the original Ducati item that my bike came with when my mate bought it new in '97 but they often come up on ebay and the front one is the same as this from Ghostbikes and has been great fitting both the Monster and my 1965 race bike as it came with a variety of adaptors.

http://www.ghostbikes.com/5064-black...d-(b5064).html

They also sell the front and rear together with either the fork or cup type depending on your need/preference.

Their offerings are here:
http://www.ghostbikes.com/accessorie...addock-stands/

[Darren69]

Yes you can and sorry you're right. You need the alternative fitting kit which uses the foot rest bolts to lift.

Looks like the ideal tool for the job - will add one to my ebay / gumtree watch lists

Mint 916 / 996 btw

I've got one of these & it is really useful for working on my Guzzi but I have not used it on the Monster for the reasons outlined by Mr Gazza. Paddock stands would probably work better, I'm also pretty sure that Stein Dinse stock a work stand/lifter that is similar to but cheaper than the Abba stand, I think it's made by a company called Becker Technik & is priced around 72 euro.

[Darren69]

I think I've seen those Becker stands and nearly bought one and your right they are a little bit cheaper than the Abba stand. But you can use the Abba stand on any bike you might have, for the cost of an adapter kit (£20). I think the Becker one will only work for Ducatis and has wheels, so might not be suitable if you want to use a hydraulic workbench/lift.