Risk Racing RR-1 Ride-On Lift

Risk Racing
RR-1 Ride-On Lift
I really don't like lifting motorcycles onto stands. I want them to carry me, not me carry them. Over the years I've seen a variety of methods employed to have the stand lift the bike. Risk Racing definitely hasn't taken the simple route.

Its ride-on lift weighs 25 pounds (though it's easy to carry and feels lighter) and is roughly half the length of a full-size bike. The literature accompanying the stand displays a rider riding onto the flattened stand. When the front wheel hits the end flap, it flips the stand up under the engine cradle, and the rider dismounts by standing on the foot lever that raises the stand fully. Any rider coordinated enough to pull that off should easily be able to lift a bike onto a stand.

Rolling a bike onto the stand works fine, though, and after the stand pops up under the engine cradle, only light foot pressure is required to fully extend and lock the stand. A supplied latch pin can lock the stand in the lowered position for travel or in the up position for safer work on the bike. When it comes time to get the bike off the stand, you kick another lever backward with your heel. That works best with moto boots on.

Risk claims the $149-priced lift supports a full-size bike with both wheels off the ground. That isn't true of late-model KTMs though mostly true with other brands. The stand is nicely made and pretty well designed. I like the fact that it lays nearly flat and you can stack other stuff like gear bags on top and it takes little effort to raise up the bike.

The negatives: It takes up a lot of floor space in the bed, it takes a pretty strong kick to lower the stand with bike on it and it works best on firm, flat surfaces and not so well on slopes of any magnitude. I have to admit, when I pull off the track with my tongue in the spokes, I like how easy it is to raise the bike onto the stand, but the other problems are somewhat annoying. I can see that some riders would love this stand, but for the space and cash required, I prefer a sidestand. -Karel Kramer