How To Make A Motorcycle Lift

I’m in the middle of renovating my workshop, and one of my priorities once I get the basic alterations done is—I want a new motorcycle lift. For years, I’ve made do with a junky Canadian Tire lift (which for Americans is the equivalent of Harbor Freight). It was OK when all I worked on was trail bikes and dual sports, but now that I have a couple of heavier bikes in the shed, I want a proper lift.

What a coincidence, then, that the good people at FortNine (including their new host) should release a video showing a DIY Roll-On Motorcycle Lift for $290. If you have searched for a moto lift in recent years, you know that’s a pretty low price. Here’s how FortNine said they did it:

Our ‘Tinker Totter’ uses a simple design adapted from the original concept in the 1940’s Motorcycle Mechanics Handbook from The Armored School in Fort Knox Kentucky.

**Prices in this video are estimated in Canadian dollars**Most of these materials can be found at any hardware store or lumber yard, many viable substitutes exist for each hardware item.

The only item that may be difficult to find is the hinge— Onward™ Permalign™ HingeAny gate hinge that stops at 90 degrees (or 270) and swings freely will work. Find out more in the PDF.

Special thanks to our friends at Global Dimension Engineering for sharing their design for their own adaptation.

You can find the PDF plans for this build here.

Not happy with this design? See a couple of others below: