Modern Vespa

For a while now I've wanted an easy way to get the back end of the smallie up in the air to do simple stuff like change a tire, adjust cables, change the shock, do brakes, etc.

Saw a cool lift on the interweb (pic #1 below) but couldn't find one for sale here in the US, so figured I'd probably have make one.

Unfortunately I have no welding equipment or welding skills, so I called Voodoo. Gentleman and friend that he is, he said, no problem, send some pics and dimensions and he'd see what he could do.

So a couple of weeks ago I sent him a crude sketch and today in the mail I received what you see below.

It's INSANELY simple and perfect. Lifting the scoot is a piece of cake. Literally, easier than lifting a piece of cake. (I had some cake next to me when I tried it, and lifting the scoot was easier.)

I'll let Terry explain how he made it. Suffice it to say, it's brilliant. He deserves an of award for creative use of materials and outside the box thinking.

You're a genius Terry. Thanks my friend.

He's not called Voodoo for nothing! Great stuff.

He's a Mad Scientist..

Wow - that's an awesome lift! There is voodoo in the simplicity.

Thanks for the fuss, but I pretty much just built what you had already specced out. But of course kind words do mean a lot and keep me powered up! The good part was when I was studying the two commercial ones available, trying to figure out the best materials to round up, I noticed that the one under the green bike had mandrel bent upper corners, making the top & sides from one piece. Somehow that reminded me of something... Eureka! - it's much like a centerstand, duh.

the one SCG found


a different one from the Smallframe Pages

See how it resembles a stock centerstand? The wheels and bottom tiebar are nice and probably necessary if it's made from common mild steel tubing, but Vespa centerstands are made from stronger alloy steel tubing and are pretty tough and rigid.

I hope this will help anyone who'd like to try making this handy thing themselves. If you have an old centerstand around, you can easily make one if you weld or know somebody who does. You can see my second one below that is designed to be useable on both large & smallframes, even w/ box type muffs. You can add solid or adjustable extensions if your old stand is too short.

You need a 1/2" X 24" threaded pipe for a handle like SCG's. And a 1/2" steel pipe coupling to weld to the centerstand. You will also need to cut the various brackets off & grind down rough edges. I found that welding the coupling on the outside about in the middle of the leg at 90 degrees to the stand and out from the bike 10 -15 degrees for ease of operation allows you to use the stand with either side up. This has got to be good strong weld w/ maybe some gussets added and you could upgrade to 3/4" for extra insurance. This makes a difference with a box type muffler and I will be adding a removable peg & socketed crossbar to slip in over the muffler to bear against the floor bottom. I'll post more pics when I get that figured out.

Fantastic post, giving me ideas for when I start my smallframe, can't wait.

thats great now i can put my brick to eternal rest when i wanna lift my smallie

Ha that's exactly how I used to do it Brother E.

Now ... no more messing around with blocks, bricks, jacks, milk crates, etc. etc.

Just insert handle on lift, place lift under scoot, and push. Bike's up in less than a minute.

I use a block under the centerstand, it's a 2x6 on top of a 1/2 thick section of plywood. I have some 1x2 at the sides of the 2x6 lengthwise to create a "channel" for the legs so they don't fall off. Slap that bad boy on the ground, put down the centerstand, then use a car jackstand at the rear. The bike is so light that it's no big deal to lift the rear. In practice, it's a lot like ebeth's with much better stability / ease on the center stand portion. Height adjustable by the jack stand notches. Easy peasy. But yours is definitely more refined .

One of the best features of the lift is there's nothing behind the scoot ... no jacks, no blocks of wood to bump into or obstruct access. Taking the wheel off is a snap. Unbolt, drop down, slide right out the back. I'm telling ya, it's a game changer.

Now that would be a nice change, moving the jack stand out of the way. Hmmmmmm......

Genius minds never sleep...

You go, Voodoo! Admiring your innovative creation. Simplistic perfection.