A lot of commercial workshops have lifting eyes in the ceiling for the odd bike which doesn't work with an Abba stand and won't take a paddock stand on the front end. My KTM 1190 is a case in point. The Abba stand barely lifts both wheels off the ground and I haven't got a headstock paddock. I had to tie up the handlebars when I removed the front wheel. I think I'd rather do that than put a jack under the engine or the oil sump. Like most bikes these days there are no bottom frame rails to jack against. I'd definitely fit roof eyes if I bought a ramp. I'm surprised ramps don't come with ram props to prevent creep if they need to be left up for any length of time, especially with elf n safety paranoia being what it is. Should be possible to make one.
I Have a handy beam above my bench when needed,eg changing the drive belt on my Buell S1 - which is quite a challenging feat in workshop acrobatics!
The standard lifts have slotted teeth (like earlier photo) or rods that lock the lift - but this means you have a set number of heights (5 to 12 - depending on lift) The newer higher end have dual circuit hydraulics - so 2 cylinders and valves - so that the position is infinitely variable. I do not think either type is bad - but that you definately need 1 or the other to stop the accidental creep - just like using axle stands - not just a jack - when working under a car.
Im just impressed by people's garages - Robarano's is cleaner than my house....id love one but sadly ive got an old mid 40's 'ouse and garage (so the garage is tiny) and ive got half a kitchen in there and 4 bikes..
The Clarke ramp has a 1" thick solid steel bar that you can push through in 1 of 2 heights to lock it in place. Not only prevents it dropping but takes out any wobble due to only being held in the centre by the ram.
I think i need one of these in my life. https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/cml...g6Fo9ZTVL1w5LCUNq7aRDJ1vpHCau1CBoCKDwQAvD_BwE (video at bottom of page)
Wait until Machine Mart do a VAT free offer (regularly) and you can get the 'CML3' Air version for less than the manual one at normal price. Well worth it IMO. https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/cml3-air-foot-pedal-operated-hydraulic/
Yep.... that's my baby.... currently it's got a 998S sitting on it.... bloody heavy to move by yourself. Warning if you try to lift it.... the table comes up, when you lower it it traps your fingers!!!! TOP TIP Lock it in the up position when moving it about... saves the old back.
Yep, mine has this bar. I always release the pressure on the hydraulic circuit before working on the bike. As for foot pedal operated against compressor operated. I went for the foot pedal as I only use it infrequently and it hardly seemed worth the extra expense. If I was lifting bikes multiple times a day, it would have been a different story.
Opted for a Clarke CML3 in the end. Fair price, I thought. Fully manual ... if I don't own an air compressor by now, I don't think I ever will. Hardest part was getting it out of the packing crate. Putting it together was easy. The instructions weren't the best quality but then, they didn't need to be, assembly was fairly intuitive. Looks like the car will fit over the top of the platform as planned, bloody good. Hectic couple of days for this old git so testing out lifting a bike can wait 'til tomorrow. And then .... oh then, maybe the Ti exhaust system goes on the 999s, at long long last. Oh, my pretty pretty : o )
I installed (at huge expenses) a 6m MOT standard inspection pit in my workshop...... it has been used once in anger (to check an exhaust leak on a Polo)..... At that rate I could have paid a Formula 1 driver to check it and I would have saved a fortune. It is current full of mechanical shit I should have thrown away 10 years ago.
