conversion motor cycle lift to atv lift

[DOUGLAS]

bought this lift last year. i finally finished most of my work on my shop / basement. i got the harbor freight motor cycle lift for $ 299 on sale with the intention of converting it into an atv lift. decided to use stainless for the platform and ramps. drilled through the frame of the lift added 3 peices of 1 x 48 inch inch solid steel to support platform. these are not welded into the frame they are bolted into the sides of the stainless platform with 1/2 inch by 1 inch bolts. on the top side i used 1/4 20 nuts and bolts. about 10 per side. i also had the fabrication shop put slots in the pieces just for added effect. i modified the foot pedal by extending it then added a block under as a leverage point. it works awesome. i was searching around for an atv lift and i decided to try this approch. don't be fooled the conversion was almost as much as just buying an atv lift. i had the parts made then i did the labor to build it. i also cut off 11 inches 1 inch in the front and 10 inches in the back. this is so i can stand it up to clear the floor joists when not in use. i have a low ceiling height the bottom of the joist is 77 inches. the lenght of the lift is now 76 inches. this will keep my floor space clear. i am hoping to install a small harbor freight winch up into the raftes to lift it up and down instead of doing it manualy.

[Skeans1]

Looks good Doug

[The norm]

Nice idea!

[red88r]

Nice job! I also bought this lift for $300 with a coupon. Well worth the money imo.

[Phoenix843]

Cool project and mods to make it work as you intended. I would like to do something like this for my garage in near future but first things first.....wood burner for winter out there. I'm sick of freezing in January/February out there working on my projects.

[huntertools]

Looks good. Shop looks nice also.

[DOUGLAS]

when i first bought it i thought i could use it as is. i soon discovered that in order to even get a 4 wheeler on it the deck height was to high. then i thought i would use 2 x 10 planks on the floor so it would raise the bike up and then just put blocks under the frame of the bike. it was not a practical approach. could have cheaped out and not used stainless but how many times do you convert a motor cycle lift. and the stainless looks awesome. to any who want to buy a lift total cost to me was $ 940. you can buy an atv lift for around that then there is a shipping cost.