What you will need are a hammer, a saws all, or band saw (or in a pinch, a hacksaw will do), a protractor, a few feet of. 2x1 rectangular steel tubing, and a friend that knows how to weld and owes you a favor!

I was lucky enough to find an old steel door frame (I’m assuming that’s what it was) in a scrap pile which was 36” wide and already had the two 90 degree flat bends cut and welded, so part of my job was already done for me.
 

You’ll need to start with an eight foot piece of 2x1 rectangular steel tubing. Lay it out flat on a bench and mark your cuts and angles with a pencil or soapstone.

There are only five bends in the process, but each bend will require two cuts at an angle from each other, leaving one surface uncut. Let’s start with the main cross member bends….
 

Step One and Two
Lay the tubing out flat, and working from the left end, measure to the right 12.5 inches, and make a small mark near the top edge, then measure 36 inches from that mark and make another mark near the top edge. These two marks will be your 90 degree bend points. Using a protractor, mark off a 90 degree upside down “V” from each of those top marks on the wide part of the tubing. The top edge (short side) will NOT be cut. Once these cuts are made, and the tubing bent, you will have created your cross member (the part that holds the bike up) and the legs (one, much longer than the other)

Note: If your bike requires more than 8" ground clearance to lift the rear wheel, you can add to the left measurement above and add an equal adjustment to the right leg in step three.

Click image for larger view

Step Three and Four
Next, we’ll create “feet” for the lift, by bending a portion of the legs up at a steep angle.

With the tubing bent and laid out flat, measure down from the top edge of the cross member and mark each leg at the 8.5” point, then you will need to cut a 105 degree “V” into the flat side of each leg, leaving the bottom (wide) surface uncut. Now bend the tubing up to close up those two cuts, creating the feet that support the lift while the bike is on it.

The longer leg will be used as a handle, providing plenty of leverage to lift the bike and stability, once it’s up. However, to make lowering the bike easy, we’ll add a 30 degree bend in the final five inches of the longer leg. This will help you to grasp the leverage leg while it is laying flat on the floor. Measure five inches from the end of the leverage leg, and cut a 30 degree “V” into the leg, leaving the bottom (wide) surface uncut, then bend the 5 inch “handle” section up to close the gap.

To lift the bike, slide the lift under the frame in an area that won’t damage lines or cables, then simply push the handle down to the floor toward the back of the bike with your left hand while steadying the handlebars with your right hand.

When lowering the bike, make sure the side stand is in the DOWN position, then as you begin to lift the handle of the jack, reach up and grab the front grip and brake lever with your right hand so the bike doesn’t roll forward as it comes down. This is much easier to do than to explain! 

I also added four ¼” hex bolts to the legs and cross member area so the lift will slide on the bolt heads, and rest on the bolt heads while being stored in the upright position. Additionally, you can wrap the cross member in a piece of leather, fire hose, or a split cardboard tube to offer protection to the frame paint on your bike.
 

Quick, easy and light weight lifter for cleaning, maintenance and inspection when multi position is not required