Bike hoist?
 

How do you lift / suspend your bike(s)?

When you're removing forks or swingarms, most stands aren't an option for sportbikes. I've seen some flat-bottomed stands that work for cruisers and dirtbikes, but sportbikes don't have frame rails below their engines for support.

I've suspended bikes from the rafters of my carport using chains and heavy-duty ratchet straps, which, in hindsight, I realize was pretty stupid. I put the bike up on front/rear stands, weaved the straps through the frame, ratcheted them tight, locked them in place, and removed the stands. I had a bike hanging that way for months.

I'm building a workshop in the empty addition on the back of my cabin, which used to be a living area. I'd mount an electric or turn-crank hoist to the second-story floor joists (ceiling) above, but I don't trust the integrity of the house to support the weight. I could also wheel an automotive engine hoist into the space, but that would be ungainly compared to a simpler mechanism overhead.

I've used an 8ft ladder before. Opened it over the tank and then used straps from the triple suspended by a bar I ran from the step side to the opposing side

I usually suspend the bike from the rafters as well :shrug:

I trust the rafters in my carport. I should not have hung the bike with ratchet straps, however.

Yeah, that can get a bit dicey :lol:

I use chains.

I used my cherry picker and a rachete strap on each side of the frame.

Like this?

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._1943147_n.jpg

Why not ratchet straps? As long as they are strong enough to hold the weight they should be fine

Who needs rafters?

Buncha pussies.

JC

Nah Dawg. Just the front end. Since my rads on are the sides there is a bracket welded to my frame on each side as holding points for my rads. I just put a hook there, then the other hook goes through the hook on the cherry picker then to the bracket on the other side.

Of course I have a center stand to stabilize the rear. I'd put your rear on a choke. If you suspend it like the gsxr, then it's just going to move around on you when trying to take parts on/off and loosen/tighten bolts. Plus his front tire is too close to the picker.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...ls007Small.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...ls027Small.jpg

I have a front and rear stand. Beyond this, not sure what I'd do.

Ratchet straps are fine as long as they are heavy duty enough... I mean some of them have pull strengths several time the weight of a motorcycle. I last hung mine from my stairs at my apt to change my triple clamp, bearings and install the Cycle Cat top triple.:lol: I mean our bikes weigh in at 4-500 lbs, big deal.

I usually tie the wheel to the frame of the cherry picker so the bike doesnt move, its not perfect, but it works well enough. I can also spin the bike around and tie the back wheel to the hoist too. I've never had the luck to lift a bike that was easy to lift, generally i put the straps under both triple trees so that the weight is actually supported by the neck, in the rear the subframe holds it up.

I only ever do this if I need to work on the suspension or wheels, everything else can be done on the ground. The GSXR in my picture was lowered 3 inches and I was putting it back to stock height

Thats what I was thinking, the ones I have are rated for 1000 lbs each, so they should be able to hold 500 lbs spread between 2 of them. I also wont use the pull through ones that I can never get tight, they suck

That's the pull strength of the whole strap. I always worry about the stitching around the hooks and ratchet.

I used a 1,600-pound test ratchet strap as a lanyard while working on my roof this spring. The latch failed and I slid off the house, tearing the ACL, MCL, and patellar tendon in my left knee when I hit the ground. I'd been using it for days without incident when it gave out.

I'll use a ratchet strap to tie something down, but that was the last time I use one to suspend anything of value.

engine hoist with chains here.

Chains go scratchy scratchy.

If youre really worried about weight, they do makes straps that are used to raise BIG sea boatsout of the water.

What gave on it? Did the strap break or did the ratchet let go?

Generally, the force to tie something down isn't much different than that of holding something up...

Was thinking the same thing


Yep but a lack of force could cause the strap to slip. From what he said the latch broke, but did the wheel spin freely, or did the return springs fail? Or was there a lack of tension on the strap and it slid free? Those ratchet straps rely on multiple tension wraps around the cylinder of the strap against itself for strength. The tighter the strap is tied down, the more tension teh strap places on itself

Yea no offense but he obviously did something wrong or they were crappy straps. I've run small cranes and Pettobones lifting items that weighed up to 10,000 lbs and I've honestly never seen a strap break. I'm not saying that it's impossible but breaking over a 400lb bike seems improbable at best.

That's why I'm asking...

I got some straps on their way to breaking, I marked them and wont use them for anything important, like tying down a bike, but I will use them for holding stuff down in the back of my truck.

Generally after a few years of use and neglect the ratchets become beat up and the straps start to develop tears and frays that make them pretty much worthless.

Its very possible that they were damaged before use

I do my own stress test on my ratchet straps before each heavy use. I put one hook at a solid point, then wrap the other end around my pee pee. Ratchet down tight, then I get a boner. If the strap doesn't break then it's good to go.

Yea I'm thinking broken/fail as in they were new or in good condition not...

I was thinking there was a weak point, like fraying, a tear, or a damaged strap

Doesnt take long for a frayed strap to give up. I use these everyday at work. Ive used big name brands and even HF ones. Theyre all about the same and do their job but one slight cut and itll give eventually.

true, but that's no reason not to use them to lift a bike....:idk:

not at all, just take a look at them before use to make sure they are serviceable

Something in the ratcheting/locking mechanism let go. The strap itself was fine. There was tension on the strap at all times; somehow, after three days of being in the same position, it unwound in an instant and down I went. Inspection of the strap after the fall didn't reveal any defects.

It wasn't attached directly to me; I was using it to pin a ladder to the steep incline of my roof. Perhaps me moving up and down the ladder was enough to jostle the strap loose over time. When it let go, there was no warning, and the ladder and I slid off the house like a rollercoaster.

This was one failure among thousands of times I've used ratchet straps without incident. It only takes one, however, to totally fuck up your life (or your bike), so now I just don't take the chance.

Weld bike to cherry picker.

After reading this, I've realized that my post was not helpful. :lol:

So, here it is.

First things first. Attach some screw eyes to your rafters. Don't get the cheap "bent" into a circle eyes, get the one's that are solid. There are two ways to do this. The best way, (if you have exposed rafters) is to drill through the rafter about 1/3 of the way down, and install a nut and washer on the end of the screw eye. That shit ain't going anywhere. If you have sheet rock over the rafters, use the lag type screw eyes. Drill a starter hole 1/2 the diameter of the screw, dip the screw in wood glue, and run it in. The screw should be a minimum of 3 inches long for this method. It's okay to install both screw eyes into the same rafter, but it's much better if you split the load between two.

Right, now you have anchor points.

Buy two "come along's". Get good ones, not the cheap shit. Come along's are far superior to ratchet straps, in that they have nice big handles to pull on while you lift, instead of the stupid little tab thingy.

Now you have to attach the bike to the come along's hook. One inch webbing is good for this, but not just any webbing. You want Tublar Webbing. You can find it online at Amazon, or REI, or anyplace that sells climbing gear. It's not that expensive, and it's strong as fuck. Like, 4000 pounds strong.

Depending on the bike,and what you're trying to do, you can make a cradle loop, or run one webbing sling from either side of the bike to the hook.

Ok, so here's the scary part. You have to tie a knot(s) in the webbing to make this all work. Google "Water Knot". That's the one you want. It's actually one of the easiest knots to tie, and the one that works best with Tublar Webbing.

If you want to get fancy, (and I do...) you can install more screw-eyes, 4 feet to either side of your main anchors. From those, you can run ratchet straps to your bike at 45 degree angles. This will keep the bike from wanting to twist while you break axle nuts.

If you want to get REALLY fancy, buy chain motors instead of come alongs.

Fancier even still, is to wrap the part of the frame you're rigging to, with Teflon tape before installing the strap, (keeps the scuff marks off).

And that, motherfuckers, is how you hang a bike from the ceiling.

JC

If I wanted to get real fancy, I'd buy an electric cable hoist winch and put that shit up there... several eyelets and some pulleys and you could lift just about anything.

Electric winches and chain motors are basically the same idea.

Not sure why you'd need a pulley though.

JC

Reading fail. I read it as 'chain hoists' instead of 'chain motors'...

Pulleys to distribute the load across multiple points of lift... Sure, you could just feed the cable through the eyelets, but I'm gettin' fancy damnit!

I normally tie a "knot" just behind the ratchet just in case personally...:idk:

Speaking of ridiculous overkill when hangin yer shit - I grabbed a pair similar to these on closeout @ Northern Tool:

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-qua...ist-96482.html

I saw they have a heavier (but less slick, w/o the ratchet-lever operation) one on sale for much cheaper:
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-chain-hoist-996.html


I used a ~3ft. 2x2x1/4" wall tube w/ 4x 3/8" threaded rods & a couple pieces of scrap plate to straddle a pair of the 2x10s in my old garage. Oh - and forged 1/2" eyebolts instead of the bent/un-welded ones, like Hay-Zoos said. Silly overkill, but free materials & it was a pristine ZX-11 getting strung-up. :lol:

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...p7-17-05_1.jpg

The cheapies you find @ Lowes/Home Depot will withstand a bunch more if you can tack-weld the end (that can backfire though if done too hot, making them weaker instead) & are *probably* fine for that purpose (3/8" ones anyway, doubled-up) - but I'd just stay away from them.
Same deal with ratchet straps, which *probably* will hold fine - even if heavy & fine for the load, they can still be a pain + a hazard getting the bike back down. I used a pair in the pic a couple times before finding the small hoists, but never liked them even though heavy decent ones. And ditto on tying a little 'insurance' knot with both ratchet & friction straps - when hauling as well.


One very important point - if you're suspending the front w/ the rear on a stand, be mindful of the alignment & have it centered well so it doesn't tend to swing. It can rock off the stand fairly easily, and a little angle will allow it to do so much more easily. Some zip-ties, safety wire, straps etc. securing the stand to the spool/swingarm on both sides is cheap insurance too.


Triple - Bummer & OUCH, that had to be a lousy oh-shit moment!

Honestly.. I wouldn't have the reason to hoist.

Why not just jack it up?

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...Softail002.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...n/Forks003.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...ld/Day5033.jpg


If you say sportbike... I have been waiting for Mud to come over with his for a couple years now... but he's too damn lazy.

That's great if you have a pair of nice flat frame tubes on the bottom to make a stable platform, but antique steel perimeter frames went the way of the do-do on most bikes circa 1985. :nee:

But there have been plenty of guys that have jacked up bikes in the rear, hell with jack stands no less.

Oh, I know - I only keed. A pair of jackstands w/ a bar thru the hollow swingarm pivot + a block under the header-tubes works OK too. But in my experience still more hassle & less secure than suspending, as long as the mounts/lifting-devices are up to par.

You can't just jack up a sports bike. My VFR has it's pipes at the bottom and my ER-6N has it's muffler underneath.


You could use a swingarm stand but that's just more of a risk of the bike tumping over. I'd rather it just tump at ground height than 4ft or more in the air.

He probably didn't loop the strap correctly or didn't have enough rachet turns and it came loose.

I'm not sure why you would hang your bike from the ceiling. Rear stand and a front that lifts via the forks or the lower triple tree should be good enough.

Changing the triple clamps for example....

Removing the engine

Swapping out shocks.

JC

Doing anything that requires bending over to work on the bottom of the bike

It's a different story with a VFR. My way worked just fine. I'll stick with it next time.

Easy there.

OK..the lower is not common, tho.

Nah..save the s the traps to pull out the engine and keep the bike on stands.

Yeah, but the bike on the stands makes it easier. Then you can raise the rear with the straps to your desired height.

Um...ever replace steering head bearings? Hey I've only lifted my present bike once....to replace the triple and bearings after I hit a deer so I agree its not "common" but it is a reason to use straps.:lol:

FYI Triple,


In the future, this may work as well

http://i.imgur.com/To9Z4.jpg

I really want to know why they are smiling?

Sad that something like that is reality that has become this country.


I'm with AL. I don't think I would be smiling if I needed a portable crane to pick my fatass out of a wheel chair.

117 Chubby Chasers dislike this post. :td:

JC