Every now and then our motorcycles need some tune up and maintenance and often these small things can be done from home. All you need to do to repair and perform maintenance on your motorcycle at home is a good motorcycle lift. Choosing a motorcycle lift may prove to be more difficult than one would think. There are so many choices and brands available that knowing what to buy can be confusing. There are primarily two different types of motorcycle lifts that people use at home, which are the hydraulic stand motorcycle lift and the table motorcycle lift.

Generally people choose the hydraulic stand lift for an at home motorcycle lift. This style of motorcycle lift is easy to use for the most part and does not take up an excess amount of space in the garage when stored. It is also less costly than the table motorcycle lift. Hydraulic stand motorcycle lifts do take more time to secure the motorcycle in the stand than other motorcycle lifts because you are securing the bike by the frame. Often when you have to remove the tire from the frame to use this type of motorcycle lift it can be difficult to re-balance the bike when you have reattached the tire upon completion of work. It can also be difficult to work on a bike when it is on a hydraulic stand motorcycle lift because the maximum lift height only ranges from 15 to 19 inches. There are certain hydraulic stand motorcycle lifts that have the ability to be extended to a higher clearance, but they are more difficult and time consuming to set up.

Table motorcycle lifts are the style of motorcycle lift that professionals use in a bike shop. This style of motorcycle lift provides safety, stability and an adequate amount of work space for the person doing the repairs or maintenance on the bike. There are a few drawbacks to using a table motorcycle lift over a hydraulic stand motorcycle lift. The table motorcycle lifts take up a lot of valuable space in the garage or basement in which they are stored and they can be rather costly to purchase. Additionally, table motorcycle lifts take more time to set up and securing the bike can be time consuming. Finally, some motorcycle lifts require additional equipment for smooth operation like, scissor jacks and trap doors. This additional equipment can be pricey.

The primary differences between the two motorcycle lifts is ease of repair, cost and size. The hydraulic stand lift is inexpensive and compact when stored, but it is not as comfortable to perform repairs on bikes on this type of motorcycle lift. The table motorcycle lift makes repairs easier because you can lift the bike to eye level, but it is more expensive and takes up a lot of space where it is stored. They both essentially have negative and positive points.