Storing a motorcycle lift

I have a small shop but I want to buy a lift. I was going to get the typical Harbor Freight lift, but I would need to store it on end against a wall. Would that be reasonable with the HF lift?

I have one of those and it is heavy, maybe 300#. There is just enough room in front of my wife's car to store it flat.

I have a Handy Lift, and I'd put the weight at ~350+ lbs -- hard to move around on the ground, even with the two-wheel dolly. No way you are going to want to be periodically tyring to pick it up or turn it up on its side.

I also have a cramped garage and needed a lift storage solution. I do not have sheetrock on the ceiling of the garage, so the roof trusses are open. My solution was to pick up a HF electric winch during one of their sales, and hang it ~ 4 feet up in the trusses (where some truss cross-braces meet) from an 8-foot length of 2" pipe which spans four trusses to spread the load. When the lift is not in use, it is winched up to the bottom of the roof trusses. If your garage has a finished ceiling, you could do the same thing with a hole in the sheetrock (trimmed out nicely, of course :thumb).

This thread should be some help to you [url]http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41638&highlight=lifts[/url] Especially the last half of the thread. Gary

I was starting to get excited about the overhead storage idea until I realized that most of the ceiling is taken up by the garage door.

I've thought about cutting a hole in the floor for the lift but that would limit the location.

I may just have to go with a Kendon lift and deal with the extra cost and the limitations of not having a lift that works with the center stand.

Some folks don't store their lift, they just park a bike on it when it's not otherwise in use. Don't know if that will work for you. If I had a little more room in my garage that's what I'd do.

Maybe you could put some ramps on the sides of the lift to drive the car up on...

I have a 4 post car lift, works double duty as a bike lift by using straps. Bonus is, I store my fastback on top & my son's 90 GT underneath!

I'm currently converting a horse barn to a garage/shop. When I poured the cement I left a recess for my Handy-Lift to sit flush so I can place a car over it if need be. Previously I did as others suggested and parked the bike on it.

[QUOTE=Anyname;627992]I was starting to get excited about the overhead storage idea until I realized that most of the ceiling is taken up by the garage door.[/QUOTE]

In my case, it's an HO trainset. It's on a 4x8 sheet of plywood that is above my car.

To: JStrube

Re: Garage Envy

Thanks a lot for screwing up my day. Now I'll be dreaming about garage lifts all day. It's not that I hate you, it's that I hate that you have a garage lift and I don't. And, I do not have any especially cool cars to place on said lift. At least you did not attach any pictures showing off your garage and lift; I can be thankful for that.

So next time you want to brag about your, "Garage Lift,"don't show any pictures that would make me even more envious than I already am. So there!;)

[QUOTE=Daedalus214;628045]To: JStrube

Re: Garage Envy

Thanks a lot for screwing up my day. Now I'll be dreaming about garage lifts all day. It's not that I hate you, it's that I hate that you have a garage lift and I don't. And, I do not have any especially cool cars to place on said lift. At least you did not attach any pictures showing off your garage and lift; I can be thankful for that.

So next time you want to brag about your, "Garage Lift,"don't show any pictures that would make me even more envious than I already am. So there!;)[/QUOTE]

I'll try harder next time! :laugh

[QUOTE=cathdeac;628000]Maybe you could put some ramps on the sides of the lift to drive the car up on...[/QUOTE]

Actually, I built the bikes their own shed. Insulated, heated and no stinking lawn tools, bicycles or other such riff-raff. Unfortunately I should have made it a bit larger. Live and learn.

I don't often do it but I can park my Ford Explorer right over my Handy Lift provided I don't go so far forward that the wheel vice interferes. Can't do it with the Saturn SC1 though.

[QUOTE=Anyname;628270]Actually, I built the bikes their own shed. Insulated, heated and no stinking lawn tools, bicycles or other such riff-raff. Unfortunately I should have made it a bit larger. Live and learn.[/QUOTE]

You should always build it bigger than you first think. :laugh