My pre winter project.

I am planning to a bunch of things to my bike this winter.

My work area is an 8 x 10 steel storage shed.

The bike shares this shed with the normal stuff like lawn mower, grill window AC units, generator and other stuff you would find in a garden shed.

This does not leve much room for working on the bike.

As it is to get the bike into the shed I have to come in at an angle and then turn the front wheel full right just as it gets to the corner so that the door can close behind the bike. This obviously means that the bike must be stored with the bike on the side stand and the steering full lock to the right. It is impossible to get the bike up on the center stand AND still get the door closed.

So my plan of action for before winter gets here is to build a dolly for under the center stand. The dolly will have 4 swivel casters with wheel locks. I did find that you can buy these from several sources on line but the ones rated to hold the weight of a 1st gen are $200 to $350 plus shipping. They are heavy so shipping will be high.

Mine will be rated to hold 1000 lbs and allow me to move the bike all the way to either side of the available area to get more room for my fat butt to get in there to work on things. I can easily move it to hang out the door to work around the front and then easily slide it back in to close the door when I am done for the day.

It will cost be about $120 in materials to build this.

What ya think?

What is the center 'blue' triangular piece for? To add rigidity to the main 'floor'?

Instead of a flat 'floor' with that blue brace, you might consider two channel irons, (flanges up) one on each side running longitudinally to receive the center stand feet. The channels would locate the feet and prevent the feet from sliding off the edge, while still providing the rigidity you need to keep the 'floor' off the ground? And some gussets outboard of the casters?

In looking at how the center stand is built there can not be a flange on the outside of the left foot. The bar that you stand on for lifting the bike gets very close to the ground when up on the stand, less than 1/2 inch clearance. Using channelsBy having a flat bottom this is not tied to one specific width of center stand, just in case I decide to sell a couple of these.

I don't think that the center rib is needed, none of the commercial units have it, but it would otherwise be a piece of scrap so it is free anyhow, just an extra 5 minutes to weld it in. I also have gussets necxt to the casters (not really visible in this view) that are probably not needed but are also cut from scrap so they will get used anyhow.

All of the commercial ones are stamped out of a single piece of flat stock that appears to be 5/16 or 3/8 thick, with no gussets anywhere. Mine is welded up out of 3/8 plate and angle iron because I can not bend something that thick in my basement, (yet...) but I can weld it.

The top of the "floor" of the dolly will be just 9/16 above the floor, 3/16 clearance under it. So I am hoping that this will not make it to hard to get the bike up onto the dolly. If I have to I will drive the bike up on some pieces of wood to makeup the height difference.

But you did give me some other ideas........

Air up the shocks to make the bike a bit taller to help you get it on the stand.

You might like a light duty one under the front wheel to make it easier to move about......

OK here is revision 2.

Using angle instead of the channel for the cross pieces, this way the ends are still open for the side stand lever to stick out and the verticals in the center will still prevent the side stand from sliding sideways.

It saves about $10 in material by using the same angle iron for all 4 pieces, just need an extra foot of material.

I can always still add some gussets next to the casters if needed. There will be scrap for gussets from the scallops in the 2 parts. The scallops are only there to reduce weight a little, look cool and the fun and challenge of figuring out how to fixture and machine them.

Micarl

I hope that it will not be a real often thing that I am putting the bike up on this dolly. The dolly means major work is getting done.....

The bike goes up on the center stand pretty easy as it is, I am hoping that it will not be an issue with the dolly. As you mentioned I can max the air in the suspension, and/or use a couple of boards under one or both of the tires if needed.

I'll try just the one dolly first before I try to build another for the front wheel. The center stand is so near the CG of the bike that it is easy to push down on the back to raise the front tire to spin it any which way.

I will use a safety strap to lock the center stand in the down position.

I hate being cramped in my work area, you know, spaces so tight that you have to go outside just to change your mind. So, with that in mine, here is an idea for this winter....

http://www.bing.com/local?lid=YN941x16064865&id=YN941x16064865&q=Cudahy+Self+Storage+Cudahy+WI

.....to store everything that isn't motorcycle until you get your projects completed. LOL

your center stand dolly sounds like it will work just fine and for the material price, not bad.

I have one of these from Harbor Freight. It's a tight fit length wise, but it does work.

http://www.harborfreight.com/low-profile-motorcycle-dolly-95896.html

I looked at that one from HF.

But since I will be doing suspension work this winter I need a dolly that can get the weight off the wheels. The HF one would be great for simple storage and being able to move the bike around.

When on the center stand it only takes 50 lbs of weight in the trunk to hold the front wheel off the ground, with an empty trunk the rear wheel is off the ground.

Hope you got a chuckle, but on a more serious note, have you seen this one for your needs.

http://www.kmsdirect.co.uk/magento/index.php/motorcycle-motorbike-motor-bike-garage-mover-skate-wheel-dolly-1250-lb-capacity

That looks just the one from HF mentioned above.

I hate being cramped in my work area, you know, spaces so tight that you have to go outside just to change your mind. So, with that in mine, here is an idea for this winter....

 

http://www.bing.com/local?lid=YN941x16064865&id=YN941x16064865&q=Cudahy+Self+Storage+Cudahy+WI

 

.....to store everything that isn't motorcycle until you get your projects completed. LOL

 

your center stand dolly sounds like it will work just fine and for the material price, not bad.

I'm so tight in there that to change my mind I have not only go outside just to find my mind, but still have to walk to the front of the house to be able t o change it...... then by the time I get back I forgot what the problem was.......

I have tried a few times to talk the neighbor across the ally out of his 4 car garage. His garage is actually closer to my back door than I could build my own. And it is just sitting there empty for the last 6 years........ What a waste......

The turntable would not help me. The dolly above it is basically what I am building. I just can not bend heavy gage metal so I have to weld it up out of pieces. And it will not cost me $200+. I seem to always have more time than money.

Question:

When your all done and you are going to remove the bike from the stand, as you roll it forward, casters are locked, right? now as the rear tire moves forward won't it be trying to climb up the dolly?

Its the logistics of the small area that might work against you. I suppose you could atttach a bungee to something and have it snatch the dolly away when the weight is removed.

Dunno....never used one before.

If you are building one like the one you pictured in your opening post, have you thought about putting a lift bar in the center of your dolly.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=park+n+move+cruiser+model&FORM=HDRSC2

Park N Move has some for larger motorcycles with center stands and some for the ones with only a kick stand. Kinda neat.

Brian

If thee is room for the dolly to start the lift then that is the same spot it will be in when the bike comes down. I think.....

Ken

I did see that one.

That is for bikes with no center stand like a 2nd gen or a Hardly.

I actually do not think it will not work with a bike that has a center stand.

Hey Jeff,

Not trying to poke holes in your idea or be a nay sayer but,, I wonder if confined spaces coupled with trying to get the bike up and down off the center stand might could get ugly... I also wonder if using a regular hydraulic bike lift/jack would be a better pathway.. You could modified one or build to fit exactly your needs.. Just thinking out loud here..

Hey Jeff,

...I wonder if confined spaces coupled with trying to get the bike up and down off the center stand might could get ugly... I also wonder if using a regular hydraulic bike lift/jack would be a better pathway..

yeah that

I was just thinking a dolly with casters and a small hydraulic or scissor jack would work too. Bing in a confined space going straight up & down would be a plus. And probably safer.

Larry

There is no way to get a bike lift into the shed with the bike.

Yes there is a potential for ugly.

Good thing 1st gens have a lot of plastic so they are light weight.......

You could take your snow machine apart and make the shed bigger. :rotf:

I like the 'rent a storage unit' idea. Would give you more room to do things with more pleasure. Buuuuut there is a cost!

You could take your snow machine apart and make the shed bigger. :rotf:

Well that just ain't gonna happen.......

What would you and ol Puc have left to complain about?

I like the 'rent a storage unit' idea. Would give you more room to do things with more pleasure. Buuuuut there is a cost!

That falls back to the original issue of me having more time than money......

And we are not talking enough stuff to justify a storage unit.

Your also forgetting that I LIKE to build things. This sounds like a fun project that will end up useful to me.

Anyone want a free BBQ grill, it is eating up space in the shed and I have not used it in years.

Jeff, what is the height of the casters? We may have some laying around at work that you could have.

The ones that I designed around are 2.5 tall with 2 inch wheels rated for 250 lbs each.

For free casters I can certainly adjust the design.

The ones I picked from McMaster are $14 each and account for almost half of the cost of the project.

I built a dolly for the rewiring project on my 86. I used some 2x4's, some OSB, five casters, and some steel plate under the center stand. The bike is up about 8 inches and that helps with the clutch and stator work. The total investment is about $50.00.