Turn Your Bike Around With a Garage Turntable
From Ian Jackson
Lots of riders find themselves 'space challenged' in garages or parking areas or maybe the driveway slopes too much to trust backing out of the parking area backward. Until now the solution for most has been either to walk the bike back and forth until it's facing the other direction or put it up on the bike lift, spin the entire affair around then let the bike back down. Lots of work.
Ian Jackson has come up with a nifty and very inexpensive solution. It's a turntable (lazy Susan) for your motorcycle.
What You'll Need
2- Pieces of angle iron the same length as your board
1- Turntable Bearing (under $10) available from McMaster Carr. Enter part number 6031K19 in the search box
1- 6 foot x 6" pine board (actual dimension will depend on bike length and width you're comfortable driving onto)
2- (optional) pieces of diamond plate, same width as your pine board to act as a ramp
1 or 2- 8" x 1/2" plywood disks
How To Do It
Assemble all the parts above so the plywood disk is on the bottom followed by the bearing then your plank with the angle iron attached. The plank will work like a teeter-totter, leveling as you drive up onto it.
Not shown above is the second (optional) plywood disk which mounts between the bearing and plank. This disk just provides a surface for your feet and kickstand if you plan to leave the bike on the turntable. Otherwise it isn't necessary as you'll just spin the bike around (sitting on it or standing next to it) and drive back off the platform. Also not shown is the optional diamondplate or steel ramp. If used you will hinge the ramp to one or both ends of the board so it can be flipped up for turning the turntable. Using hooks instead of hinges you could use the same ramp just switch ends.
As mentioned earlier you'll want to make sure the plank is long enough to accommodate the wheelbase of your bike and wide enough that you're comfortable driving up onto it. After use individual parts of your turntable can easily be stored away for next time you need to spin the bike around.