Lifting the rear of RT swing arms with a modified HF MC lift - Wanted to share and get feedback.

Brainstorm (I think); why not make a fork lift out of a cheap motorcycle lift to lift the back of an RT without having to crawl around on the ground? This is a workaround I came up with, using a 20 year old Harbor Freight lift I wasn't otherwise using any more.

The trick is to remove the cross pieces from the bottom front of the frame, and the cross pieces on the lift arms, so as to be able to get the lift straddling the wheel to be able to lift directly on the swing arms just aft of the axle.

I had to remove the mudflap from the hitch (it was redundant anyway) and use some scrap 2" angle iron to widen and lengthen the lift platform. The bottom of the frame is a little narrower than the width of the tire, so I can't quite push the modified lift in as far as I'd like, so I'm going to extend the lift platforms a few more inches.

It's not pretty but someone with welding ability could improve on this idea I'm sure. I'll be tinkering some more with it, but just wanted to share and get feedback.

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In these pics, I've extended the two platforms so they reach further under the swing arms. You can see the platforms are offset to the left; that's because the swing arms are also offset from the wheel, to accommodate the belt drive sprocket.

It's actually pretty stable side to side at full lift (I have chocked the front wheels). I wouldn't wrench on it without jack stands or blocks under the rear wheel, but it's definitely in a position now to access the rear shock, the rear wheel and tire, and even easily slide Big Blue or another lift under the frame.

If I were to do something like this again, I would start with a lift that is wider at the base, so that it easily clears the 8-1/4" wide rear tire, and wider at the platforms, so that adapters like mine aren't as necessary.

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Snoking1127 said:

What is the purpose, as it does not appear as a way to remove the rear tire/wheel?

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Good question.

I was looking for a way to get the back end off the ground more readily; the front end is relatively straightforward (ramps, trolley jack under the main frame), but the back end less so, with so many pieces of undercarriage in the way. The ideal spot to lift the rear end is the shock bracket, but that's not so simple to get at, and then you've got a trolley jack in the way while you're trying to put jack stands under it.

Also, trying to use the Big Blue lift at all was a problem, because there's just not enough clearance to get it under the bike and positioned correctly on the rear shock bracket. I couldn't figure out a way to lift the bike enough to obtain necessary clearance that didn't leave a jack or lift in the way of the Big Blue lift itself, before this idea came to me.

All the other methods for lifting the back end (other than the simultaneous 3 ramp method, I think) leaves the rear wheel dangling down, requiring a very high lift of the frame for the wheel to clear the ground, if that is desireable (e.g. for cleaning the wheel, or for storing the bike).

This method provides a very simple, quick, and easy way to lift the back end, including the wheel, while leaving the entire undercarriage clutter-free to work on. It literally takes less than a minute.

Jetfixer said:

I'm not too sure of the practicality of this, but it IS a nice re-purpose for an unused jack! I would be tempted to drill a hole on each side, either in the bottom of the hitch, or the top of the jack, and install some form of a dowel pin in one or the other, to physically capture the bike to the jack to completely prevent it from slipping off side to side.

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My intent is to fabricate a u-shaped "platform" for each lifting arm that will cradle the swingarm, then I won't need to set jack stands if I'm wrenching on it.

Woodaddict said:

He's been talking about better way to air up rear tire. This will do it. All the talk and searching, it was stored away in his garage whole time!!

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Even for me, this would have been overthinking the simple task of airing up the tire!

I wish I had this tool when I was installing the belt rock guard, doing the cat bypass, or even just trying to clean the wheel!

hogmemberisold said:

When you have the rear wheel off the ground your rear jacking point is accessible for a jack stand! That rear shock mount you mentioned to lift by is many times mentioned in the manual to NOT use as a lifting point.

Good going!!

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Thank you for noticing about the rear shock mount not to be used as a lifting point. Strange that Big Blue does exactly that.

safecracker said:

As far as I can tell, you are the first person to do this. Great Idea.

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Thank you. Like other ideas it's not for everyone but some may find it solves a problem or two for them, as it does for me.

Cobranut said:

I really don't see any practicality here.
For checking tire pressure, I just roll it forward or back until I can reach the valve stem.
To lift the front, I put a low profile trolley jack under the center spine at the front end. A couple of jack stands under the cross member or control arms makes it stable.
To lift the rear, I put it at the rear end of the spine. Under the shock mount works as well.
Either method gets the rear wheel up and leaves great access to the axle nut and rear fender bolts, making wheel removal relatively easy.

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Thanks for the response. Please note this is in the RT shop forum, so it may not be as applicable to your ride (an F3-S), which I think is a very different animal in that you don't have a lot of body work obstructing access to the rear wheel.

I found that trying to roll my RT back and forth in limited garage space to be problematic. Also, in the time it takes to roll back and forth to locate the valve stem to the ideal orientation I can have the back end in the air and accessible for that and other purposes.

hogmemberisold said:

I noticed that the first time looking at it and wondered why they did that, probably a little easier for balancing.

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It also makes for a secure lift of the spyder, which is bolted to the Big Blue using U-bolts at the rear shock mount and the right driver floorboard mount. There's really nothing to compare with the Big Blue as far as securely lifting the entire bike 24"+ with the ability to make easy adjustments to height. The problem is in getting the bike up high enough to begin with to enable sliding Big Blue under the bike AND bolting it to the rear shock mounts. My invention makes this process a piece of cake.

hogmemberisold said:

I'm safely lifting the spyder with the adapter I built... Has protrusions to keep it centered on the bike and floorboard arms for side/side balancing.

View attachment 257378

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I noticed that, and it's one of the ideas that got me thinking about how to better utilize my HF lift. One thing led to another...

hogmemberisold said:

I wonder how much weight is on the rear.... something like this may work.... cheap too....

Lift for Swingarm

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That's actually a really good question. I'll figure out how to weigh it with an electronic shop scale I have and respond in the next week or so.