You want a cheaper motorcycle stand. We all want to get the best possible value when buying anything…totally understandable. There’s three ways to go about this:
- You can purchase the least expensive stand on the market. Harbor Freight sells stands for $50 and you can lift a motorcycle with them. Other companies also sell cheap motorcycle stands, and if you’re going this route – don’t bother going for “premium cheap”. Just get cheap. Why? You’re inevitably going to have an issue…Maybe the stand bends; maybe the wheel breaks; maybe a weld breaks. When that happens, your stand is disposable so don’t buy a $100 cheap motorcycle stand when you can buy a $50 cheap motorcycle stand. If it’s eventually going in the trash, don’t pay extra markup. It all comes from some factory in China and the only difference is how many middle men are marking it up before you buy it. If any of these stands have a warranty, the warranty is not going to cover damage to your motorcycle so keep that in mind.
- You can purchase a stand based on its value. A $200 Pit Bull motorcycle stand is going to cost more up front and that stings a bit. The difference is that it won’t wear out. When you’re done with it, you can usually sell it for 70% or more of what you paid for it. You can also buy the stand used from someone who doesn’t ride anymore and save 30%. Pit Bull motorcycle stands are built like tanks and a 20 year old Pit Bull stand is still stronger and more reliable than a brand new cheap motorcycle stand. They’re also made in the USA so you can call the factory and get parts whenever you need them down the road.
- Build your own motorcycle stand. It’s not the hardest thing in the world to do – especially if you have your own welding equipment and a reasonably adequate metalworking shop. Just make sure you use good materials and are confident in your welding ability because the last thing you want to do is build your own stand and have the bike fall off. If you go this route, be sure to either paint or coat the stand somehow when you’re done. You’ll want at least some level of corrosion resistance.
That’s basically it. Spend less, get less. Spend more, get more. Build it yourself, get whatever your level of skill is capable of. Motorcycle stands are useful tools in any garage where a bike gets stored or worked on. Heck, you can pay for a stand within a couple tire changes if you remove the wheel from the bike to take it to the shop and get tires put on. Dealers charge upwards of $75 to remove the wheel from the bike, so it doesn’t take long to pay for a motorcycle stand in savings alone. Ride safe!