Craigslist find, Kendon Standup Motorcycle lift

While perusing the local CL for amusement I came across something I had never heard of.  A guy was selling a standup motorcycle lift.  For a while I have been thinking that it would be nice to have some sort of lift or table when it comes to working on the bikes.  But space is the overriding issue here, I just dont have much of it.  I have sold off some stuff, a very large table saw to make some more room in the garage so I have some space to work on projects.  But the space for a lift table would have been a stretch.  I do have a shed in the back,  but that has a riding mower living in it and its too new to relegate to parking outside under a tarp.

As it turns out, the guy selling the lift lived about 3 miles away, and I was probably the first caller since the ad was only 3 hours old.  I made arrangements to see it after dinner and looked in real nice shape.  From what I can tell, Kendon was the only maker of this type of lift and it looks like they are currently not selling it anymore.  This one is about 12 years old, but looks like it just was just made.  I found a pretty detailed review on one that was probably a newer version as this one didn't have a size/name and didn't use an air assisted pump.  Looking at the photos, this is probably one of the larger versions and should lift the Swing as well as the smaller Vulcan 500 just fine.  And the best part was the price, 250.  The seller was a real nice guy with a Harley in the garage and I told him I was just 4 weeks postop from shoulder surgery, so he followed me home with it in his truck and moved it into the garage for me.  I just had to back out the three wheeler to make a path for it.  That was the first time on that bike in over a month.  Still probably have another month or two before I'll be able to do any actual riding again, but it was still fun.

Here is a link to the Kendon site: https://www.kendonusa.com/product-category/stand-up-lifts/

Pretty good review:

And a few pics in the garage:

Nice find and a very good price. So much better on the back working from a chair or rolling seat compared to the floor or bending low. More than enough for a SW.

Kendon makes good stuff not cheap. Folding trailers are nice too.

Mech 1 twa wrote:

Nice find and a very good price. So much better on the back working from a chair or rolling seat compared to the floor or bending low.  More than enough for a SW.

Kendon makes good stuff not cheap.  Folding trailers are nice too.

No kidding. Yes, pricey, but very nice... I've got one of these for towing duties.
https://www.kendonusa.com/product/single-stand-up-motorcycle-trailer/

I pull it with my little 2018 Ford Focus. It tows nice. It folds and stands up
nicely and fits compactly behind my car so that my car and trailer together
take up no more space than just about any mid-size sedan. No paying for
rental storage space since it is compact enough to keep it in the garage at
home. (during riding season) Winter time it does get put into rental space.
But it fits in there with all 6 of my bikes (and other stuff) so it doesn't cost
any extra to keep the trailer there too.

I went a bit cheaper with a Harbor Freight lift. It takes up more room in the garage but it's a back saver for an old geezer. I've had my previous Goldwing up on it many times, now it mostly only has to lift two friends SWs and my BMW 650GT scooter. Comes in handy once in a while when I work on my power mower or my neighbor's lawn tractor.

The best price I had seen on one of those was about 280-290. One of those would have been fine for my needs as well, except for where to keep it when not in use. The guy I got this one from had one as well, he had rigged up a hoist where he could pick it up vertical and stow it against a far wall when not in use. He also said he had spent some cash customizing it to his needs, but I guess that goes for most things these days.

I did make removable side boards for my HF lift. As it was before that it wasn't safe to load a heavy bike or one with a high seat by oneself. There was a point as the front tire went up the ramp where one couldn't reach the floor or ramp to hold up the bike. With the side boards it was easy to put my Goldwing up in the lift solo. I like the idea of putting it up along the wall but I have cabinets on all my garage walls.

When my second car was a Jeep Wrangler it easily parked over the lift but now that I have a Jeep Liberty with slightly lower ground clearance it barely clears the lift. I have a three car garage so it's not much of a bother to leave the lift in the middle between our two cars. My scooter parks in beside the lift so it all works out okay.

Paul,
Do you have any pictures of your mods you made to the HF motorcycle lift? I'd like to do it to my HF lift.

Here's a link to one picture I posted. The side boards are 1x6 with 4x6 blocks acting as legs. I bolted a piece of aluminum strap to the boards with over hang the edge enough to allow bolts on the far ends of the strap to engage holes in the sides of the lift. That way the boards can't move while loading the lift. I remove the boards once the bike is aboard and before raising the lift. I have some pictures here on the forum somewhere showing the side boards after painting to match the lift and with a strip of nonskid down the middle of the boards to give better footing.

https://www.silverwing600.com/t9576-motorcycle-lifts?highlight=harbor+freight+lift