DIY motorbike turntable - any ideas?

[Dave H.]

Very good point, sump-and-pump (or at least sump-and-suction-hose) and a slope to the floor of the "pit"

The 60ft steerable satellite dish i used to look after used a central pintle bearing and plain rollers on a flat track - it did get fortnightly mopping and re-greasing though :o) and it was nicely motorised, too! I guess that made me think of the central bearing and flat track/rollers. I'll check out prices for grooved rollers (if I can find any...)

suggestions

I suspect that chequer plate, although stronger, could prove slipperier that the grippy paint when the tyres were wet - based on experience with manhole covers in the wet!

The pit would be a bit iffy, as it'll form part of the garage floor rather than being in its own dedicated area - re access to clean and grease, it'd be easy enough to make the top so that parts could be folded upwards.

I guess this could be integrated with the handle for rotating the top, perhaps a spring-loaded rocker and pin that the handle presses on when inserted or swung into position? It could even be operated by putting the sidestand of the bike down on a sprung pad...

Thanks for the suggestions,

-- Dave H. (The engineer formerly known as Homeless)

"Rules are for the obedience of fools, and the guidance of wise men" - Douglas Bader

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

Yes, and I'm getting sick of turning his bikes for him!

[Graeme]

In message , Dave H.

[dennis]

I used an RS 278-7844 turntable to do 3D photography of some large ish products. It would do a M/C or two with ease but its not cheap.

[R D S]

"Dave H." turntable up the end that we could roll the bikes onto to turn them around

Could you modify a childs roundabout?

[Dave H.]

"R D S" wrote... >

Cool, I could see how fast I could get it spinning...

-- Dave H. (The engineer formerly known as Homeless)

"Rules are for the obedience of fools, and the guidance of wise men" - Douglas Bader

[mike]

"Dave H."

Also, not all bikes have centrestands, like my last 2 Suki 650s.

I got very good at chain adjustment and lube with 2 axlestands, but no good for something more ambitious.

(Now got a Guzzi 750, I wouldn't have called the Sukis stiff, but god, does this thing love to scratch and scamper :-))

mike

[MikeH]

Sweeps the garage floor at the same time.

[MikeH]

Why not get a bigger girlfriend? She does seem to be the main problem with most of the suggestions you've had.

[Thomas Prufer]

Yes! and pull the pin in the middle, and scoot around...

Thomas Prufer

[meow2222]

On 15 May, 16:51, "Dave H."

[Owain]

Or get a second girlfriend and they can move the bike together. Maybe she has a sister?

Even better - turn gay. Most of the problem resolves itself, and a bloke could help you built the turntable.

Owain

[steve auvache]

In article , Dave H. turntable up the end that we could roll the bikes onto to turn them around

what is wrong with spinning it on the side stand like poor people with no engineering skills do?

[Mark S.]

I made this little "trolley" when i had my little bike.

It was kept across the back of my garage with the car parked in front, so tipped it upright and pulled it round on the trolley then backed it out.

Mark S.

[SteveH]

Jesus. It was only a 125.

When I had my Fiat Spider in the garage and a TRX850, I used to stick the front of the TRX in the garage, lift the back end off the ground and pivot it in on the front wheel - leaving it parallel with the rear of the car.

The TRX is hardly the lightest bike in the world.... I'm sure it would have been a piece of piss with a 125.

[platypus]

Having thought a little about this, what I believe would best serve your needs would be a sort of wheeled platform. You'd need 4 or possibly 6 braked castors, like this:

one of those sheets of steel plate that they use at roadworks:

would be assembled in such a way that you had a flat structure about

2'x6' with a castor at each corner. As 13mm plate weighs about 100kg/m2, you don't want it any bigger that necessary, and you may need 6 castors.

How it would work: you'd line it up end-on to the direction of approach, and set the brakes on the castors. Then you'd ride the bike up onto it, and put the bike on its stand. Then you kick off the brakes on the castors and drag it around. You'd probably want a loop at either end for a strap to pull it by, and possibly a lever to heave it up against the wall when not in use.

This may seem a little excessive, but it's a workable, heavy-duty solution, even more so if you paint it matt black. Well, that or a trebuchet.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember MikeH saying something like:

the same time.

[Dave H.]

Well, no.2, if I was to pick anyone, would be a close friend of both of us, and is actually even tinier... might get g/f's approval, too :oP

Nah, the g/f can do a bit of mechanicking, even has her own tools (ooer Mrs) - damn sight better ***king, too, in my opinion!

-- Dave H. (The engineer formerly known as Homeless)

"Rules are for the obedience of fools, and the guidance of wise men" - Douglas Bader

[Thomas Prufer]

the same time.

I said air bearing, not hovercraft!

(I think an air bearing takes very little airflow, but couldn't find anything on the net quickly enough to avoid getting bored looking. But the things are called "orifice air bearings", it seems; worth getting one for the name alone.)

Thomas Prufer

[Hog]

Go into B&Q. Believe it or not, I have seen it, they do a lovely turntable bearing and it's only about 10mm thick with top and bottom plates around

150mm predrilled to take fasteners. I guess it's to make revolving kitchen stools or something!