M/c Enterprises Kwik-Lift
M/C ENTERPRISES KWIK-LIFT
EVALUATION
A STAND THAT DELIVERS
MOTORCYCLE FRONT-END WORK WAS never meant to be a high-risk, contact sport. But if things go wrong and the bike slips off its stand, it’s possible to find yourself with a wheel in one hand and the full weight of the motorcycle in the other, leaving you feeling like you’ve taken the brunt of the Chicago Bears’ 46 defense.
Rather than hire the Bears’ defensive squad to lift the whole bike while you work on it, though, you can make M/C Enterprises (2897 Palma Drive, Ventura, CA 93001; [805] 654-8899) Kwik-Lift your first-round draft choice. Indeed, this collection of cold-rolled, mild-steel stock is an ingenious device that hoists a motorcycle’s front end by way of a dowel pin inserted into the bottom of the bike’s steering stem. The other end of the pin slips into an adaptor bar, which hinges from a separate crossbar that sits atop a base stand. The steering
stem locates the pin/adaptor bar assembly, and the crossbar/base levers the assembly and the bike off the ground. The base stand requires some initial assembly, but it's an easy, 15-minute task accomplished with hand tools. Plus, the Lift can be folded almost flat for storage.
Using the Kwik-Lift is as simple as feeding William “The Refrigerator" Perry, too. The Lift works most easily if the motorcycle is on its centerstand, but if your bike lacks one, you'll want another person to act as spotter. Either way, the whole process takes about 15 seconds for the uninitiated—with practice you can blitz the front wheel up in 5 seconds—and the Lift supports the bike solidly. And if your bike has a full fairing or chin cowling, M/C’s stand can save you even more time; you don’t have to pull the bodywork and support the bike with a jackstand or a wooden block just to remove the front wheel.
Moreover, the Kwik-Lift is almost as versatile as Perry himself. For instance, the crossbar offers two height adjustments, and one end of the> dowel pin is turned down, allowing it to fit almost any steering stem. In fact, the Kwik-Lift hoisted the front end of every bike in the CYCLE WORLD garage that offered steering-stem access, from a Kawasaki Voyager XII to a Honda Reflex. Unfortunately, the Kwik-Lift can’t be used on Honda’s Gold Wings, Suzuki’s GSX-Rs or on some Harley-Davidsons, because their steering stems are blocked off.
As a result, the Kwik-Lift might seem less than an all-around team player. Plus, its $119.95 price will put it as far out of reach for some riders as an NFL player’s salary. On the other hand, not even the Refrigerator can play every position successfully, and the Kwik-Lift can pay for itself on its first use in the damage it prevents; anyone who's ever had their bike topple off its stand like a sacked quarterback knows that problem.
In short, M/C Enterprises KwikLift provides a stable, easily used platform that takes much of the risk out of doing front-end work. In fact, you could even say that it makes such work a grand stand play. S
