Three Great Ways to Lift a Motorcycle - That you don't already know!

Oh monkey! Whether you're a professional rider, an amateur rider, or a weekend rider, at some point it's very likely your bike's going to end up in this position. So picking them up is kind of a key. Now a lot of us have already seen a method where people put their back to the bike. I want to show you something different. This one focuses on the lower body, the straight back, and is a great way to lift the bike solo. So what I'm going to do is find two lock-in points down low where I can lock in and my arms are straight. I'm going to press my chest up against the seat here and what I'm going to do is drive my force or my feet so I'm going straight across the bike. I'm not trying to lift up, I'm trying to go across and that will leverage the bike up. This bike is roughly 600 pounds. Once the bike gets that position, it's very easy to balance it, throw the side stand down, and we're in good shape. Now I have to admit this bike's cheating just a little bit, but because of these large cylinder heads, these boxes, the bike lays over at only a shallow angle. This bike on the other hand, this is an F800 and it lays all the way flat to the ground, handlebars to the ground. So another way to do this particular lift is to not actually have your knees come off the ground. Very good in super loose situations where you have very loose gravel, sand, or mud. Also for shorter riders trying to pick up tall bikes. We use the same exact technique, finding two places down below to lock out so my arms are straight and locked out. My chest is going to press in here, but I'm going to continue pushing into the bike with my chest but without trying to stand up. By doing this, I'm supporting the bike with my body, I keep my back straight, and I use far less energy and far less muscle to get this bike up. That's a great way to pick it up solo, but there's an easier and safer way to do this, and that's if you have a passenger or a partner that can help you out. So this next lift, we're going to put this down and try one more time with a buddy lift. So this lift is called the monkey lift. So what you need is another person. We call them the monkey because of the way that they hang off of the bike. So if you come over here, what they're going to do is they're going to put their feet up on the rim here and grab someplace secure on the bike that's not hot. She's going to hang as far outside the bike as possible. She's creating a counterweight effect here. What is very important for the helper to understand is she's going to remain in this position all the way until she touches the ground with her rear end. Because this lift is so easy, I'm going to use a different lift here and just use the outer handlebar to stand the bike up. Again, keeping my back straight when I lift, she stays straight all the way to the ground. This is the most effective and the safest two-person lift out there.