I'm looking for a Waikato engineering firm to build me a motorcycle lift

[pete376403]

You have to be really careful about adding stuff to the chassis of these vehicles - a client had a motor home that turned out not to be compliant because the levelling jacks had been welded to the chassis instead of bolted and the design said they were to be bolted. Lot of drama at COF renewal time - I dont fully understand it but it meant his $300k motorhome was not going to be usable for some time. Not a happy camper.

From my time working at International Harvester - I enquired then why any attachments to the truck chassis had to be bolted or rivetted to the frames rather than welded - the answer was the frames were high tensile steel and the heat of welding would alter the steel enough to make it crack. This was a long time ago so welding techniques might have changed things.

[MarkH]

Well see there's your problem. In America if it can be done it will be done. But in NZ if it can be done but looks too hard you'll get told why it shouldn't/couldn't be done.

Well, the lift I showed on the first post was done in NZ by an engineer and it is on a vehicle that requires a CoF every 6 months - so I'm pretty sure this is something that can be done in NZ.

[MarkH]

Just thinking aloud...
Does putting something like this on the back of the motorhome require certification?
What about insurance? You'd not want it to fall off the back in front of following traffic.

This is why I created this thread, I'm looking for a good engineer that can do this right.

[Laava]

It isn't that small, you can get 7M buses like the Toyota Coaster and 9M buses from Isuzu, Hino, Nissan & Mitsubishi Fuso. My new motorhome is 11M and somewhere over 8 Tonne. The pics I showed from the Burt Munro were from the back of a 9M Mitsubishi Fuso bus, the owner told me that the engineer that built the lift had assured him that the lift would happily carry any motorbike and would be fine with 500kg on it.

How heavy an object can a lift on the back of a motorhome carry? Some of these examples look a LOT heavier than my bike: https://hydralift-usa.com

My bike may be fairly big, but the 1000cc twin motor would be less thirsty than the Cummins 5.9L turbo diesel on the motorhome, so I'd happily take the bike for a ride rather than move the motorhome if it was just a day ride. One example would be while the motorhome is parked in Hamilton I would ride the bike to Morrinsville to visit my dear old mum. To visit Cape Reinga I could drive the motorhome to Kaitaia and stay there, then ride the bike to Cape Reinga during a fine day - way more fun than trying to drive a large motorhome on those roads!

if you are going to cape reinga you would be better off parking in Opua and riding west then up over the maungmukas and then up the beach thru te paki stream. Any other route is simply unacceptable!
sorry, I went off piste a bit there…

[Grumph]

Well, the lift I showed on the first post was done in NZ by an engineer and it is on a vehicle that requires a CoF every 6 months - so I'm pretty sure this is something that can be done in NZ.

The simple way out is to get the same people to do yours.
Yes, it's at the other end of the country - but the paperwork alone makes it worth doing.

Even if the same people make it and someone local to you fits it, the cert papers should still apply.

[onearmedbandit]

Well, the lift I showed on the first post was done in NZ by an engineer and it is on a vehicle that requires a CoF every 6 months - so I'm pretty sure this is something that can be done in NZ.

It was a tongue-in-check comment on the attitude quite often seen in NZ, and backed up by some of the responses here. A lot in this country goes into the 'too hard' basket.

[F5 Dave]

Actually I can see your problem from the pictures and it's a bit arse about face.

You really just need a simple retractable ramp system . First of all clean out any of the shit in the way (beds, kitchens and so forth) so you can get it in the door. You will need a dolly to turn it around unless you have a supplementary door to exit.

When your wife finally shows up at the motel simply ride it in allowing easy serving area and secure parking. Make sure you don't have too much to drink before the bike is safely secured unless you trust her to ride it up a reasonably steep ramp and she can perform the detailing, chain maintenance, tyre pressure etc ready for the next day.

You may need to book several units in a row to ensure parking spaces, but the upside is you can have separate living spaces in case she gets grumpy for 'some reason or other'.
They usually find a reason to complain (instead of getting on with their duties and clean between the spokes thoroughly enough) so sometimes it's best to let them have time to themselves to sob down the phone talking to their sister.

[MarkH]

The simple way out is to get the same people to do yours.
Yes, it's at the other end of the country - but the paperwork alone makes it worth doing.

Even if the same people make it and someone local to you fits it, the cert papers should still apply.

Shit mate, I don't even know who did it. I remember the guy telling me that it was somewhere 1 hour from Invercargill (or was it half an hour). I took a whole bunch of pics and it looks like a straight forward enough design that a good engineer could make the same thing and anyone that can't isn't good enough for me to want them to do the work for me. Getting to the other end of the country, including taking time off work would be very expensive - ain't nobody got time for that!

[HenryDorsetCase]

From my time working at International Harvester - I enquired then why any attachments to the truck chassis had to be bolted or rivetted to the frames rather than welded - the answer was the frames were high tensile steel and the heat of welding would alter the steel enough to make it crack. This was a long time ago so welding techniques might have changed things.

that makes sense (to me at least). I will be seeing the client late this week or next - I am now intrigued and will try to remember to ask what happened. He has definitely been out in the thing since then but he is the guy who would just go "Fuck it" and drive off.

[Laava]

I wonder if it is worthwhile contacting Trikeworks, as they are prob very likely to know someone, being in the vehicle modification business?

[jellywrestler]

Shit mate, I don't even know who did it. I remember the guy telling me that it was somewhere 1 hour from Invercargill (or was it half an hour). I took a whole bunch of pics and it looks like a straight forward enough design that a good engineer could make the same thing and anyone that can't isn't good enough for me to want them to do the work for me. Getting to the other end of the country, including taking time off work would be very expensive - ain't nobody got time for that!

read his post again, Greg is a very clever and very smart engineer and what he said is sage advice. It could be made to measure and shipped north to fit.

[MarkH]

read his post again, Greg is a very clever and very smart engineer and what he said is sage advice. It could be made to measure and shipped north to fit.

Read my post again - I don't actually know who made that bike lift that I have pictures of. Getting them to make it for me would be difficult if I don't know who they are.

[Laava]

I wonder if it is worthwhile contacting Trikeworks, as they are prob very likely to know someone, being in the vehicle modification business?

Actually, firther to that, maybe the best people to approach would be the people that fit wheelchair access lifts to vans etc…
these guys are prob worth an email…http://www.thomasengineers.co.nz/lightvehicle.htm

[jellywrestler]

Read my post again - I don't actually know who made that bike lift that I have pictures of. Getting them to make it for me would be difficult if I don't know who they are.

that would be the easiest bit of the whole challenge I'm sure

[Berries]

There must be enough Southlanders on here to track them down. I will guess that whoever built it has nothing to do with motorbikes but is a farm machinery outfit in Winton and the bike hoist is a modified form of some kind of farming implement.

I would take your photos to a couple of those farm machinery places up your way and ask them before you try general engineering firms. Probably find it is B-1220 lockable feed baler with a piece of steel channel welded to it.