Displaying stacked motorcycles on a garage wall?

[MotoList]

My first post here! I'm looking for a way to get some of my motorcycle collection off of the garage floor and onto a garage wall. I have about 20' of wall to work with, so ideally I would like to have a lift that raises 3 bikes about 4' off the ground, so I can park 3 bikes under those, on the garage floor. I am open to constructing something like a 4 post lift with diamond plate floor and a winch motor to raise/lower the platform. Has anyone seen or built anything like this? Just looking for ideas and thought this would be a good place to start

This is the closest thing I can find, but its $2400 and just for one bike.

 

[Big-Foot]

What do your scooters weigh?

 

[Strouty]

How tall are your ceilings? I would think that it would be less expensive to set up an overhead trolley to lift the bikes up onto a fixed shelf. It wouldn't be as cool, but would work well. Another thought would be to have the shelf 4' deep and then you could make an elevator to raise them to the shelf, then roll them to the other end of the shelf. Also are these long term storage or is it something you need to get at frequently?

 

[MotoList]

What do your scooters weigh?

I could put the lighter motorcycles up top... figure about 350lbs each.

 

[MotoList]

How tall are your ceilings? I would think that it would be less expensive to set up an overhead trolley to lift the bikes up onto a fixed shelf. It wouldn't be as cool, but would work well. Another thought would be to have the shelf 4' deep and then you could make an elevator to raise them to the shelf, then roll them to the other end of the shelf. Also are these long term storage or is it something you need to get at frequently?

I think I like the cool factor of the entire platform raising and lowering by winch The bikes would need to be lowered several times a year for cleaning and starting (and riding).

 

[Strouty]

What are your skills? can you weld? If not it could get expensive quick to have something custom made.

 

[MotoList]

I could probably learn to weld

Quick sketch up:

 

[bgarrett]

I use a duct lift. Some are rated for 800 pounds

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Pick up a forklift for a few grand and have a potable multi use tool

 

[Big-Foot]

My only concern about that lft you showed is hanging that weight on a rather long lever (platform) that will use the strength of the wall studs... 350 is not much, but twice that and I would have some reservations... Being a motorcycle owner with 5 of them, I am in the same boat as you storage wise...

 

[doodah man]

Check out the beginning to this video (the rest is pretty cool too).

Here's a screen shot:

 

[mitchn06]

Interesting clip, i was going to say one could build a "shelf" type structure with a winch, strap the bike down to a rolling platform, hit the button and watch it roll up onto the shelf, this of course may take up quite a bit of space on its own. idk, just an idea i had.

 

[kbs2244]

It doesn’t look like a welding project to learn on.
I would think about pallet racking with some customizing paint job.

 

[NHBandit]

It doesn’t look like a welding project to learn on.
I would think about pallet racking with some customizing paint job.

^^^^^ This. And a cheap forklift.

 

[Ray916MN]

I used pallet racking to store motorcycle off the floor. It is inexpensive and robust enough to handle the weight of any bike. It is easy to lift bikes up on the racking. I use a 4 post auto lift to get my bikes up on my pallet racking. I've been thinking about putting a bike up in the racking I have along a wall and lifting bikes up through the racking with a winch. The beams of the racking are 38" apart and have a ledge so once a bike was lifted up above the height of the beams it is easy to floor underneath them so they can parked for display. The downside of using a winch is you have to load the top bike first and then every bike under it in order, and to get the top bike down, you have to first move the bikes underneath.

Follow my sig link if you want to see more pics.

 

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Check out the beginning to this video (the rest is pretty cool too).

Here's a screen shot:

100% agree with the sentiment.

 

[Fskof]

These photo's were taken at Barber Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama


http://www.barbermuseum.org/our-story.php

 

[Fskof]

What my friend did was he built a loft that ran the length of his garage and was just wide enough to store bikes. this way they are out of the way and has them displayed. I dont have any pics but I will try to take some this weekend.

 

[T VETTE]

These photo's were taken at Barber Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama


http://www.barbermuseum.org/our-story.php

That is different for sure.

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

How would you get them out in a hurry if there was a fire?

 

[iagsxr]

You didn't say what you have for bikes or ceiling height or I missed it.

Eight foot ceilings are not tall enough for two sportbikes.

 

[cide1]

Cruisers are roughly 8 ft long, so you might check the length of the bikes if your hoping to get 3 bikes in 20 feet.

 

[EW57]

+1 on pallet racking

 

[Kevin54]

There is a member on here that just made a lift in his garage by using a crank handle and a frame mount. His lifted up to like 8'.

I know it doesn't help much because I can't remember who it was. He had a short clip showing it in use and he has some V-Dubs stored above on pallet racking. I'll try to find the thread.

 

[Ray916MN]

Here's another approach. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34840&highlight=crank+lift

 

[mdkingsley]

Coker Tire in Chattanooga has a whole wall of bikes in their museum, they used pallet racks like Home depot of lowes uses. It is very cool maybe their website has some pics.

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

How would you get them out in a hurry if there was a fire?

Seriously...if you stack your bikes how will you get them out in a fire?

I have seen several fires where vehicles were destroyed...those that had vintage vehicles the owners could access were saved...the others went up in smoke.

 

[bgarrett]

What my friend did was he built a loft that ran the length of his garage and was just wide enough to store bikes. this way they are out of the way and has them displayed. I dont have any pics but I will try to take some this weekend.

That sounds like the wide shelf around the walls of the Broken Spoke in Sturgis
I like their idea. Then you would need a lift on wheels so you could roll the lift around to whichever motorcycle you want to get down.

 

[bgarrett]

Seriously...if you stack your bikes how will you get them out in a fire?

I have seen several fires where vehicles were destroyed...those that had vintage vehicles the owners could access were saved...the others went up in smoke.

Sam says, "Get a sprinkler system."

 

[Fskof]

Seriously...if you stack your bikes how will you get them out in a fire?

I have seen several fires where vehicles were destroyed...those that had vintage vehicles the owners could access were saved...the others went up in smoke.

If there is a fire the last thing you will have TIME for is removing your bikes, tools and stuff! I have seen a few fires in my life and never seen anyone move things out of a burning building. YOU LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN STUFF! You can always replace your stuff (thats what insurance is for) but you cannot replace a loved one.

Fire prevention would be more important. Have a few fire extinguishers around or a fire sprinkler system.

If your that worried about a fire you might as well sell all of your stuff and move into a fire station.

As for the vintage cars and garage fires most of those fires are caused by owners that dont have a battery shut off switch installed in there vintage vehicles. Ask any professional restoration shop on that subject!

 

[bgarrett]

If your that worried about a fire you might as well sell all of your stuff and move into a fire station.

Did you see the news the other day where the fire station caught on fire???
haha Its a true story but I'm just messing with you.
Is it true about the battery disconnects? I had one but it was so junk that it would lose connection driving down the road. I took it off.

 

[Fskof]

Did you see the news the other day where the fire station caught on fire???
haha Its a true story but I'm just messing with you.
Is it true about the battery disconnects? I had one but it was so junk that it would lose connection driving down the road. I took it off.

The fire station caught on fire...lol well I guess we are all screwed now...lol Where can we hide. I just read that a few insurance companys that insure vintage cars now require you to have a battery shut off switch. It has to do with the old wiring and connectors in these cars are getting old and fragile.

Here is a video with Jay Leno about this subject:

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/colle...knuckles-battery-cut-off-switches/index.shtml

Transport companies are also now disconnecting batteries on the vintage cars they are hauling so this doesnt happen:

Also please use a Halon fire extinguisher because your cheap type ABC extinguisher are a corrosive chemical. You use one of them and your engine or interior will be destroyed.

Some info here:

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/colle...kles-all-about-fire-extinguishers/index.shtml

The end of the video will show you why to get the Halon!

 

[Fskof]

Check out the thread: A DIY 4 Post Storage Lift

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34840

It might work out for you or give you some ideas

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

If there is a fire the last thing you will have TIME for is removing your bikes, tools and stuff! I have seen a few fires in my life and never seen anyone move things out of a burning building. YOU LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN STUFF! You can always replace your stuff (thats what insurance is for) but you cannot replace a loved one.

Fire prevention would be more important. Have a few fire extinguishers around or a fire sprinkler system.

If your that worried about a fire you might as well sell all of your stuff and move into a fire station.

As for the vintage cars and garage fires most of those fires are caused by owners that dont have a battery shut off switch installed in there vintage vehicles. Ask any professional restoration shop on that subject!

Well I have seen three garage fires and two trailer fires when the towing vehicles burned in the last 15 years.

The guys with their bikes chained in the trailer lost them...the trailer that had the bikes readily available were able to get them out into the ditch before they burned.

The garages...one guy had his vintage stuff stacked...and they burned..the guy cried like a baby.

The other two guys were able to get the rolling stock...trucks, a Caddie and their bikes out before the fire got to them.

That is when I learned...anything you value make damn sure you can move it at a moment's notice.

 

[Fskof]

Motolist, if you have the room and the $$$ why dont you get a 4 post car lift lay a piece of plywood down between the two ramps and park the bikes on top of that and raise it up and still be able to park a car or more bikes under it. It could also come in handy for car repairs.
Just thinking out loud and trying to give you some ideas of what I have seen. I hope it helps.

Frank

 

[Fskof]

Well I have seen three garage fires and two trailer fires when the towing vehicles burned in the last 15 years.

The guys with their bikes chained in the trailer lost them...the trailer that had the bikes readily available were able to get them out into the ditch before they burned.

The garages...one guy had his vintage stuff stacked...and they burned..the guy cried like a baby.

The other two guys were able to get the rolling stock...trucks, a Caddie and their bikes out before the fire got to them.

That is when I learned...anything you value make damn sure you can move it at a moment's notice.

I would go a little further and find out What Caused The Fires and prevent it from starting in the first place!

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

I would go a little further and find out What Caused The Fires and prevent it from starting in the first place!

Agreed...but it is like looking the barn door after the horse has left...hindsight is always 110%

The two trailer fires.....the towing vehicles burned..why ???..I didn't hang around to find out...just stopped to help...and was one of the guys getting the bikes out of the trailers.

The garages...one electrical fire, one oily rags, one welding sparks.

All were slow moving fires where the fire extinguishers were inadequate.

All were slow moving fires where valuable stuff was removed before it burned..except the vintage bikes stacked...and I was one of those who got the trucks out.

It did teach me to have a CURRENT insurance rider on all vintage stuff..most of the time it is uninsured or grossly underinsured.

 

[iagsxr]

Love how many threads turn into, yea I don't know either, but you shouldn't do it anyhow.

I was going to make like a 2x2 framework with two vertical uprights. IMO it's going to have to attach to the floor and to the wall. Either that or have some serious feet on it.

Make a shelf with receivers at the back to slide on the vertical 2x2s. I was going to use bearings on edge to take the thrust loads, like they do on livestock trailer doors.

My shelf was going to fold out of the way when not in use so I was going to use cables for diagonal support. IIRC 24" from the wall to the center line of the tires is about as close as you can get = leverage.

Then it's just a matter of a pulley system, like the one that raises and lowers the table on a shop press. Either run it with a hand or electric winch. Or if you want to get a little fancy get a gear reduction motor and some acme thread rod and screw it up and down. If you're going to use cables it needs some sort of safety stop so maybe threaded rod wouldn't be any more work.

This plan all fell apart for me when I realized my garage wasn't tall enough for the bikes I wanted to stack.

My new shop's going to have 14' sidewalls. I'm going to make "bike pallets" that I can strap my bikes to and lift them up on pallet racking with my forklift. With wheel chocks and a base designed so that there's no way that they can get into the mast while lifting/taking down.

If my **** starts on fire they're going to burn.

 

[805gregg]

Bikes are ment to be ridden, not wall art

 

[STANIMAL]

How would you get them out in a hurry if there was a fire?

I will call my insurance agent to tell him the bad news.