Universal Bike Stand Review |
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 Those nice people at Biker Tidy (that clever clothing and helmet rack) have come up with a whole range of new useful products for the motorcyclist and they kindly sent me one of their Universal Bike Stands to try out. Initially I could not work out if it was going to be any real benefit to me, but now it is hard to contemplate life without it as it has so many uses.The basis is simple, a triangular based stand that you just push your front wheel into and using the bump lock principle the bike remains upright and you can let go. No need to heave a big tourer onto the centre stand! Stable enough to be used on its own on a good level concrete surface, it does have mounting holes to enable it to be bolted down for greater rigidity, which is obviously recommended. However, if you are like me you will want to keep it easily mobile for a variety of reasons and uses. First up on its own it is ideal for checking (and filling) oil levels on sports bikes without a centre stand as the bike remains upright. Also useful if you have one of those devices that enables the rear wheel to spin while you lube the chain, although I would suggest strapping the bike down when doing this! Next up in the back of my van it has proved a god-send. Now I can just roll the bike in and let go while I strap it down in a vertical position. The same use could be applied on a flat back of a trailer or flat back pick-up truck! Lastly I now use it on my work bench where it has proved invaluable for the same reasons above and allowed me to dispense with the silly front wheel clamp, making in a one person operation to secure the bike in an upright position. Here though I admit to having dropped a couple of bolts through to keep it stable as the bike is pushed forward and I always strap the bike down after it is in place for obvious reasons!.  Bolted to the floor or even bolted to a van or trailer, there is a useful tube across the front of the unit to allow a chain to be slipped through before being passed through the front wheel as an additional security measure for your machine. There is some adjustment available on the positioning of the rear cup to tighten the grip on the font tyre or to accommodate different wheel sizes, but I have not found the need to fiddle, the standard setting seeming to fit most machines. Simple and robust and well made with no parts needing lubing and no maintenance, it is actually now an integral part of my motorcycling life and I would happily recommend it to anyone as a useful addition to theirs! Check it out along with some of their other very good ideas at www.bikertidy.co.uk Review by Ian Kerr See YouTube video of the Universal Bike Stand
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