I was intrigued by the photos and description of the
Bike-Lift, which is also known as the "Eazy Rizer Big Blue" in the U.S.A. Made by the same company who manufactures the Bike-Grab
wheel chock (see the
wBW review), the Bike-Lift looked like it had everything one could ask
for in a motorcycle lift.
The manufacturer claims that it is adaptable for any type of
motorcycle, and various accessories are available that will allow a "frame
capture"; i.e., the motorcycle's frame can be lifted so that the wheels can
be removed.
The Bike-Lift's (aka Easy Rizer) shape, minimalist design and small footprint
allow it to be stored in a much smaller space than a table lift. Its
wheels give it some mobility, unlike a larger table lift, which is a
semi-permanent garage fixture.
The manufacturer's website has several videos available for
download which demonstrate the product being used as a motorcycle stand for lifting
and working on many different types of motorcycles, including cruisers, sportbikes, and motorcycles using the engine as a stressed frame member.
Special adapters are available that will allow most
motorcycles to be lifted by the frame or engine only, leaving the wheels and
tires free for easy access and removal. The Bike-Lift also features a virtually
unencumbered "360 degree" access to the motorcycle and all its parts.
This is an advantage over a table lift, which prevents full access to
the underside of the motorcycle and which usually will not allow the removal
of both wheels simultaneously. The Bike-Lift also allows "up close
and personal" access to almost every portion of the motorcycle without
having to lean over the surface of a motorcycle table lift.
The Bike-Lift can be configured with four different methods for lifting a
motorcycle, but this is also a cause confusion during the ordering process.
The website has lots of text and photos, but the information is biased
towards marketing the product and should instead be
organized more effectively to describe the product and its options,
including better assembly instructions and and examples of how to configure
and use the product on different types of motorcycles. Also, the
videos show several instances of incorrect or unsafe usage of the product,
seemingly for marketing purposes rather than to provide technical
information that would be useful to owners.
Since we work on many different types of motorcycles in
the webBikeWorld garage, we were very interested in the Bike-Lift's
adaptability to various motorcycle configurations. This may have caused us more
confusion during the ordering process than an owner who would be using the
lift for a single brand or type of
motorcycle, but it's important to carefully study each configuration to make
sure the lift will work with your application. We ended up ordering
just about every option we could think of, and still could use a few more.
It took several phone calls and emails to help us through the process of
ordering and setting up the equipment. The U.S. distributor was very
helpful and answered our many questions.
To make matters even more interesting, there are also two different Bike-Lifts
offered for sale.
The "Original Red" is a smaller capacity version that can be folded and hung
on a wall for storage. We ordered the "Big Blue", which is sort of the
"professional" model, with a higher capacity and, we think, a more stable
lifting base.
Each Bike-Lift must be assembled by the owner prior to use. The
instructions are straightforward and use a combination of line drawings and
rather poor quality photographs as illustrations. It took us about one hour to
assemble the lift and a helper is needed to hold the lifting assembly on to
the main upright while the bolts are secured.
Before lifting a motorcycle, the bike must be held vertical and off the
center stand or side stand. This means that a rear swingarm stand (aka
paddock stand), such as the Steel Horse rear swingarm stand (see
the wBW
review), the Steel Horse front wheel stand (see
the wBW review) or Quasar Industries' own Bike-Grab (see
the wBW
review) must be used to hold the bike upright prior to moving the
Bike-Lift underneath the motorcycle.
The work of lifting and lowering the motorcycle is performed
by an Acme-type threaded rod, which is located on the right side of
the vertical upright in Photo 1 (below). The threaded rod holds the
motorcycle at any distance along its length, and the manufacturer claims
that no locking devices are necessary to hold the bike in place.
The threaded rod is rotated with a 22 mm hex nut on top. A 1/2"
square drive drill adapter is supplied with the
lift, which allows a heavy-duty, high-torque cordless drill to be used
to raise and lower the bike. Our cordless 8.4 Volt drill doesn't have
the guts for this job, so we ended up using a 22 mm socket and a ratchet
wrench to turn the screw by hand. This works well and, we think, is safer because it gives
the operator a better "feel" for what's happening as the bike is lifted and more warning if the bike isn't balanced properly.
The Bike-Lift can be configured to lift different types of
motorcycles by using one of four basic setup configurations:
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Photo 1: Bike-Lift with Beam Mounts attached
to main rail. |
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Photo 2: Single Wheel
Mount on right side of Bike-Lift. |
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Photo 3: Footpeg mounts |
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Photo 4: Motorcycle on
Bike-Lift using engine lifting saddle and Footpeg Mounts. |
Beam Mounts
The Beam Mounts are used for motorcycles with frame rails
that run underneath the engine and where the frame rails are the lowest part
underneath the bike (see photo 1).
The Beam Mounts slide over the main rail of the Bike-Lift.
J-hooks are provided and are used to secure the frame of the motorcycle to
prevent it from tipping.
Many cruisers can use this type of mount, and it's probably
the easiest way to pick up a motorcycle, as long as the bike has the two
frame rails running underneath.
Wheel Mounts
The Wheel Mounts fit in to the ends of the main rail of
the Bike-Lift (see photo 2). The Wheel Mounts slide under each wheel
can be used to " capture" the wheels of the motorcycle and are used in
conjunction with a side stand capture device. The side stand on the
motorcycle is folded out as it would be if the bike were parked, and the
device holds the end of the side stand in place.
This method does not seem to be recommended by the
manufacturer, and as far as we can tell, the side stand
capture device is not listed for sale on the U.S. website. The
manufacturer claims that the the Wheel Mounts have enough clearance to allow
the wheels to be spun around by the operator.
The disadvantages of using the Wheel Mounts are that the
wheels can't be removed once the bike is lifted.
Also, the wheelbase
on some motorcycles may be too long for the wheels to fit inside the Wheel
Mounts, even when they are spread to their maximum length. Also, the 110/90-19"
front tire on our new Triumph Tiger can barely fit inside a Wheel Mount
because of its diameter, so we doubt any tire larger than 19" will work with
this method.
Footpeg Mounts
Photo 3 illustrates the Footpeg Mounts. According to the
representative we talked to at the U.S. distributor, the Footpeg Mounts are
the preferred method for lifting a motorcycle.
The Footpeg Mounts require the use of an engine lifting
"saddle" (shown on right side of the main rail in Photo 3 and the bronze
colored part under the engine in Photo 4) that fits over the main rail of
the Bike-Lift and has three different height adjustments. The saddle
must be located underneath the engine and as close to the motorcycle's
balance point as possible.
The Footpeg Mounts are shown on the left side of the main
rail in Photo 3. They attach to a horizontal spreader and they can be
adjusted in and out for width. Footpeg Mount risers allow adjustment
up and down for height. The U-bolts (also visible on top of the
Footpeg Mounts on the left side of Photo 3) are placed over the motorcycle's
footpegs to prevent the bike from tipping when it is lifted.
The U-bolts shown in Photo 3 were not large enough to fit
over the footpegs of three different motorcycles in our garage. After
several discussions with the distributor, it was determined that they had
sent the wrong size U-bolts, and a larger set was dispatched. Our
advice is to make sure you get the largest size U-bolts with your Bike-Lift.
The distributor mentioned that the Footpeg Mounts are being redesigned to
make them easier to use and to make them easier to adapt to a wider variety
of motorcycle types.
Our rough measurements indicate that the Footpeg Mounts will
fit motorcycles where the distance between the same spot on the right and
left footpegs is somewhere between 14-1/2" to 21-1/4". The Footpeg
Mount risers have a limited height adjustment, and their height must be
coordinated with the engine lifting saddle, so that the saddle starts to
lift the motorcycle just about the same time as the Footpeg Mounts contact
the motorcycle's footpegs.
The engine lifting saddle and the horizontal bar that serves
as a base for the Footpeg Mounts can be located anywhere along the main rail
of the Bike-Lift. This provides some adjustability for the distance
between the balance point under the engine and the footpegs. However,
the central box section arm of the lift that hangs out from the lift's
vertical pillar prevents the engine lifting saddle or the horizontal
mounting bar from sliding past the middle. Our measurements indicate
that the engine lifting saddle and the Footpeg Mounts can be located at a
distance ranging from 6-7/8" to 22" wide. This means that the distance
from the balance point underneath the engine back to the footpegs must be
within this range for the Bike-Lift to work.
If this all sounds confusing, it's because it is.
Although the information on the manufacturer's website makes it look easy,
it took two of us several hours to figure it all out and to get all of these
parts adjusted correctly, not counting the time spent assembling the lift
and the couple of days waiting for the correct U-bolts to arrive. Our
suggestion to the manufacturer is to develop a better description of the
product, how it can be used and clear instructions on how to mount and
adjust all of the various adapters for the different configurations.
After we got everything adjusted correctly, we were able to
successfully lift the motorcycle. Once the correct setup is determined
for any single motorcycle, it takes much less time to get everything mounted
and adjusted the next time the lift is put into service. However, if
different setups are required to lift other types of motorcycles, it may
take some extra time to get everything set up correctly.
There are two other mounting configurations that are also available.
Adapters to fit up underneath the exhaust headers can be purchased.
When used in conjunction with the engine lift saddle, a motorcycle can be
lifted and the wheels are free to be removed. This method is
apparently used in professional repair shops, but takes longer to set up and
requires specific adapters for various exhaust configurations.
There are also special mounts for the BMW R-series, Ducati,
Buell and other motorcycle brands. To make things even more confusing,
it's possible to use variations of the different adapters. For
example, it's possible to use the engine lifting saddle and a single Wheel
Mount to lift some motorcycles. This adaptability allows the Bike-Lift
to work with many different motorcycle engine/frame configurations, but can
make the ordering process confusing for the prospective owner.
Lifting
the Motorcycle
After we finally set up the Footpeg Mounts and got them correctly adjusted,
we were ready to lift the motorcycle. Remember that the motorcycle is
still being held upright at this point by the Bike-Grab, a front wheel stand
or a rear swingarm stand.
The Bike-Lift has two rubber wheels, and it can be easily
moved by grasping the upright vertical column and tilting the unit back.
Once the Bike-Lift is located under the motorcycle and the engine lifting
saddle and the Footpeg Mounts are adjusted correctly and all of the nuts and
bolts are tightened, the bike is ready to lift.
We use our ratchet wrench and 22 mm socket to lift the
motorcycles. It's scary at first to see the footpegs fold up as the
bike is lifted, but if everything is lined up correctly and if the Footpeg
Mounts and the engine lifting saddle both contact their respective sections
of the motorcycle at nearly the same time, the bike should be balanced and
the lift should work.
The Bike-Lift is designed to lift most motorcycles so that
the axles can be brought to waist height. This helps make wheel
removal less strenuous and it also helps prevent operator back strain.
The manufacturer (Quasar Industries, UK) claims that the
Bike-Lift is the "world's safest bike lift", having "rock solid stability".
Although the motorcycles that we have lifted seem relatively stable, they
don't seem as stable as the motorcycles shown on the lift in the videos on
the manufacturer's website.
We can easily get the Bike-Lift to rock back and forth if we
push back and forth on the motorcycle without using much force. We've
been careful and have taken reasonable precautions and we haven't had any
incidents where the bike felt like it was tipping over. But we do
advise caution. We wouldn't recommend any heavy lifting or torque
wrench work with the motorcycle on the Bike-Lift, contrary to the
manufacturer's claims.
Conclusion
The Bike-Lift is an interesting alternative to a motorcycle table lift.
It can theoretically be configured to lift and hold any type of motorcycle.
It allows the operator to get much closer to the work than is the case with
a table lift, because there is no table surface in the way. When
properly configured, it allows both wheels to be removed simultaneously if
required. It can also be stored in a much smaller area than a full
table lift, so it is more suitable for the average garage owner.
The adaptability of the Bike-Lift has a downside, because it
may take some time to understand how to optimize the configuration for
lifting certain types of motorcycles. We're not sure we're ready to
accept the manufacturer's claims that the product will work with every
motorcycle type, but if it does, it's a valid alternative to other methods
of lifting a bike for maintenance or repair.
