DIY Bike Dolly

[Grimly]

Or, how to turn some scrap into useful stuff.

I wanted one of these... but the price of the heavy-duty ones was too much for my tastes (being a notorious cheapskate, an' all).

So, starting with this...

I ended up with this...

It's just rough and ready, and provides a good starting point to modify subsequent ones from. I'll make another two or three, so that every bike here can sit on one full time.
Cost about 20 quid so far.

 

[JamesWhut?]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

 

[tatu]

Yours is better made and got better castors. What are they from?

 

[Grimly]

Ex-hospital trolley, so well capable of taking the weight. A bloke in the local market has a bin full of them, and moving them very slowly, so I've got plenty of time to get more. Incredibly useful things, once I start thinking about what would be good having a set of them fitted to.

 

[Gorminrider]

Old shopping carts from larger grocery stores have wonderful wheels for this...with ball bearings on the swivels even. very similar to what you show.

 

[Clockeman]

I scrounge thrift stores for tools and bits and pieces and score regularly...seriously you cant have too many screw drivers..I see casters ALL THE TIME...next time I'm buying. Great idea. (Today i got some very cheap seat cushions with very nice, somewhat spendy high density foam which will go on my new seat)

 

[Andrew Vanis]

Even though I have casters and ability and (friend's better) ability to weld, each time I looked at it, the cost/hassle couldn't compete with the $72 they can be had on ebay.

This seller has his own page where they are $69.99 free shipping. I contacted him about a discount if I ordered two shipped to same address and he took a little bit off.

http://econosuperstore.com/index.php?route=product/product&search=motorcycle&product_id=1753

I'll see how they are in a few days when I get them. So far, I noticed that the heavier duty ones have dual wheel casters - likely for easier swiveling.

 

[Gorminrider]

...for what it's worth (nothing, if you have a smooth,clean floor to roll around on), larger diameter wheels are easier to push over rough surfaces-this is because the "slope" of the larger diameter wheel is more gradual than smaller diameter wheels...

ie: ever notice how pushing something on small caster wheel gets stopped by a pit in concrete, or a dropped screw? To the small caster, it looks like a steep cliff to climb over it, but to a larger diameter it is a more gradual slope....the difference is important where the load is heavy (or the "ground" is soft...small casters cut grooves in wood floors quicker too)

 

[Grimly]

Even though I have casters and ability and (friend's better) ability to weld, each time I looked at it, the cost/hassle couldn't compete with the $72 they can be had on ebay.

This seller has his own page where they are $69.99 free shipping. I contacted him about a discount if I ordered two shipped to same address and he took a little bit off.

http://econosuperstore.com/index.php?route=product/product&search=motorcycle&product_id=1753

I'll see how they are in a few days when I get them. So far, I noticed that the heavier duty ones have dual wheel casters - likely for easier swiveling.

The cost of the ones I saw is trivial, but so were the units. Nothing filled me with confidence they would stand the dead weight of a fully loaded GS850, or for very long, if that. The heavier-duty one I saw was considerably more expensive and many times what it cost me to make one.
No brainer.

 

[Andrew Vanis]

Ordered Monday, arrived today. I'm very happy with them. Like them more than the HF whole-bike dolly. It is fun to spin the bikes around in circles. Pushing forward is better pushing on the dolly with one's foot because sometimes you can push the bike off the center stand.

 

[Grimly]

Heh, yeah; that's the kicker. Just wheel it into and out of the desired position like a shopping cart. No sweat and no ten-point turns in the garage.

 

[80GS850GBob]

Nice tip Dave...I'll have to try that. I made a full set of plywood dollys for the old snowmobile so I could move her around, but my 850G isn't nearly as light...steel will be better!

 

[happyman]

Hi Dave,
Would be interested to see any updates on this dolly

Cheers
Ben

 

[Burque73]

Its all I can do to get my 850 up on the center stand without help. Does a dolly make it more or less difficult to lower the center stand? I'd love to be able to turn it in the garage as mentioned.

 

[hillsy]

Its all I can do to get my 850 up on the center stand without help. Does a dolly make it more or less difficult to lower the center stand? I'd love to be able to turn it in the garage as mentioned.

You will need more oomph to get it up on the stand with a dolly underneath.

I'm in the same boat with the KZ13 - can only just get it on the stand now so using a dolly would be back breaking....

 

[Andrew Vanis]

I LOVE my dolly. great for maneuvering the bikes around.

For me it is about the same with or without the dolly. My dolly is the manufactured one that is pretty close to the ground.

re: hard to get the bike on center stand on the regular ground. Interestingly the 81750L is relatively hard to get on the center stand compared to the 83750E/ES that is a breeze.

 

[Grimly]

I'm now on the Mk1a dolly - I took off two of the large castors and replaced them with a pair of 2" ones, as the mounting arms were fouling the sump on the XJ. On my concrete floor it's slightly harder to move around, but still quite ok. Those 4" castors were a breeze, though.
I've developed a quick technique of pushing the bike onto a pair of 3/4" short boards, leave it on the sidestand, go around the other side and kick the dolly under, come back around and put the centre stand down. Up it pops and rolls around the workshop.
I'll shortly be making the Mk2 version, having learned from my mistakes on the Mk1.

 

[Burque73]

I've developed a quick technique of pushing the bike onto a pair of 3/4" short boards, leave it on the sidestand, go around the other side and kick the dolly under, come back around and put the centre stand down. Up it pops and rolls around the workshop..

Sweet! I laid awake last night thinking a technique like that might work. Thank you. I'm shopping for casters!

 

[Grimly]

I think I'll make Mk2 with all 2" castors, so I can put in under from the left side, more easily. Essentially, I'll get closer to copying the commercial units, but stronger.

 

[chuck hahn]

So you're pushing along and the caster gets hung in a crack or rock and the bike comes off the dolly. How would someone "lock" the center stand so this wouldnt happen??