• Welcome to the new B.I.R.D. Forum. Please be sure to read the "New Member / New Registered ? Please Read" thread in the Coffee Shop. This contains some important information. To become a full member ( £5.90 a year ) simply click on your user name near the top on the right I hope you enjoy the new site ................ Jaws ( John )

You'll like this Today I bought

Jaws

Jaws

Corporal CockUp
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Went and got 100ml of colour matched paint for the skirt of the motorhome.. it is badly faded so I could not just buy a rattle cam,,, Cost me £30 but worth it to get a custom made colour
Scurfed back the rear corner that got clipped by someone and filled the damaged area

Tomorrow will be flatting down, a dose if finishing putty and then flatting again.. Might even get the paint on tomorrow
 
slim63

slim63

Never surrender
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JayTee said:
Also contemplating an Abba skylift to replace my hydraulic bench as the bike can be turned around on it in my very small garage and trying to pull it backwards off the bench against the gradient of the drive is getting impossible. Anybody got experience with one?
Click to expand...
The skylift is a good bit of kit but moving a bike round on one isn't as easy as you may think I will try to explain why ....

First of they have small wheels so you really need a really good flat surface to roll it on, if you have carpet or mats down in the garage it makes it so much harder, if its ridged or rough concrete then with something as big an heavy as a bird it still takes real effort

Next they do exactly what they say but what the blurb does not tell you is that just bolting it on and lifting the bike will only lift the rear due to how they fit at the swingarm pivot and bikes having the main weight in front of that, so to lift both wheels it is attached and jacked up a bit then you have to strap the rear wheel down to the stand and jack again to raise the front, you can then spin the whole thing (on a flat surface as above)
All this is easily done with a bit of practice but if you were riding every day and having to turn it around every night its a bit of a faff

I don't know what your fabrication skills are like but if they are decent you can find plans on the net for them or even work it out by looking at one and make your own for about 30 quid and an old bottle jack

Imho a good thing for working on a bike but if the primary idea is just for turning it around one of those dolly's where you put the centre stand on then just lift the front and spin the bike is easier and quicker, again a good flat surface is needed for the same reasons as above
 
JayTee

JayTee

Si vis pacem para bellum
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slim63 said:
The skylift is a good bit of kit but moving a bike round on one isn't as easy as you may think I will try to explain why ....

First of they have small wheels so you really need a really good flat surface to roll it on, if you have carpet or mats down in the garage it makes it so much harder, if its ridged or rough concrete then with something as big an heavy as a bird it still takes real effort

Next they do exactly what they say but what the blurb does not tell you is that just bolting it on and lifting the bike will only lift the rear due to how they fit at the swingarm pivot and bikes having the main weight in front of that, so to lift both wheels it is attached and jacked up a bit then you have to strap the rear wheel down to the stand and jack again to raise the front, you can then spin the whole thing (on a flat surface as above)
All this is easily done with a bit of practice but if you were riding every day and having to turn it around every night its a bit of a faff

I don't know what your fabrication skills are like but if they are decent you can find plans on the net for them or even work it out by looking at one and make your own for about 30 quid and an old bottle jack

Imho a good thing for working on a bike but if the primary idea is just for turning it around one of those dolly's where you put the centre stand on then just lift the front and spin the bike is easier and quicker, again a good flat surface is needed for the same reasons as above
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback Tony.
I want it primarily to work on the bike, my problem is I have a hydraulic bench and an ordinary ABBA stand that I fabricated from scratch ( I copied one) and beefed it up, due to not having a centre stand cause the bikes got an Akropovic 4:1 System I have to drive the bike down the drive onto the bench and into a front wheel lock, ( a decent one that bolts on and off ) tie the front wheel in and Jack the bike up with a scissor jack untill the ABBA stand fits and then lower it down so it’s sitting on the ABBA stand whilst elevated on the bench, I can get at the front end by just strapping down the back end the front swivels up, jobs a goodun.
My problem starts with getting the thing off after I’ve finished, the bike has to be reversed off against the incline of the drive and as a one man job it’s precarious and bloody knackering, and as time goes by this situation isn’t going to improve. My thinking was I could swivel the whole plot around on the sky lift or just back the bike in as I would ordinarily to park it skylift and work on the thing from there, the garage is only 8ft wide so there isn’t room to roll the bench out the way and use the turntable I made from a lazy Susan bearing and a plank some years ago which actually works impressively well (just drive on and paddle it round).
 
ScottyUK

ScottyUK

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I agree with Slim63. I love my Skylift and use it regularly on my bikes but it is a bit of a faff and I wouldn't be wanting to put it on and off on a daily basis.
 
slim63

slim63

Never surrender
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JayTee said:
Thanks for the feedback Tony.
I want it primarily to work on the bike, my problem is I have a hydraulic bench and an ordinary ABBA stand that I fabricated from scratch ( I copied one) and beefed it up, due to not having a centre stand cause the bikes got an Akropovic 4:1 System I have to drive the bike down the drive onto the bench and into a front wheel lock, ( a decent one that bolts on and off ) tie the front wheel in and Jack the bike up with a scissor jack untill the ABBA stand fits and then lower it down so it’s sitting on the ABBA stand whilst elevated on the bench, I can get at the front end by just strapping down the back end the front swivels up, jobs a goodun.
My problem starts with getting the thing off after I’ve finished, the bike has to be reversed off against the incline of the drive and as a one man job it’s precarious and bloody knackering, and as time goes by this situation isn’t going to improve. My thinking was I could swivel the whole plot around on the sky lift or just back the bike in as I would ordinarily to park it skylift and work on the thing from there, the garage is only 8ft wide so there isn’t room to roll the bench out the way and use the turntable I made from a lazy Susan bearing and a plank some years ago which actually works impressively well (just drive on and paddle it round).
Click to expand...
I understand a lot better now mate I have similar problems getting them turned around even on the flat bit outside the shed and that is part of the reason I sold them all off :(

So considering what you have said i would go for it as long as the floor is fairly smooth as previously mentioned and you have the space to spin the long assed bird around (y) I will say the first time you use it you will think wtf is going on the second and third it will click in your head that they work and are stable and safe enough
 
Pow-Lo

Pow-Lo

Make civil the mind, make savage the body.
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Couple of casual shirts and a jumper in case we actually manage to go on holiday on our cruise next year.
 
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