Garage manoeuvres

Garages are just too small. Or that's the way it seemed. Modern houses are built with integral garages just wide enough for the average family car and only fractions longer. This left me with a bit of a problem: how to fit both the bike and the car into the garage in order to keep both under cover.

Another problem: my K75S weighs 230 kg, and yet is still a lightweight compared to some bikes with more fairing and more engine. Manoeuvring in a tight space is a risky job which risks an unscheduled tour of casualty. The search for an alternative began.

I had seen references in The Journal to motorcycle turntables. Mike Fishwick reviewed one in the June edition. However, since the only space available in my garage would be either in front of or behind the parked car, there would be a space of half a rotational diameter left unused, with the result that the two would not fit. Ideally the bike would sit parallel to, and right next to, the far wall at the end of the garage.

After a discussion with Mike at the BMW Club stand at the bike show in November, I found exactly what I needed: a Motor-Mover.

How it works

The device is simple in principle. The Motor-Mover is placed behind the rear wheel of the bike, and the brakes on its four castor wheels are locked. You then push the bike rearwards up the steel ramp until the rear wheel is caught centrally between two steel plate guides. Once the bike has been pushed far enough that the wheel rests between the two axles, the large steel plates at the rear of the Motor-Mover sandwich the tyre. The bike is now free-standing. Once the castor brakes have been released, the bike can be pushed freely in any direction, using the front wheel as a guide.

The bike can easily be turned through 180 degrees in the garage by pushing the front wheel into a side wall, using it as the centre of rotation, and pushing the bike's rear end around. Removing the device is simply a matter of locking the castors and rolling the bike forwards and out of the guides. The guide separation is adjustable to suit any tyre or wheel thickness.

Using the Motor-Mover is a little tricky at first, but soon becomes second nature, and it is reckoned to be suitable for bikes up to 400 kg. The only downside seems to be that there is very little ground clearance, so a relatively smooth floor is needed.

The Motor-Mover is made from part-painted, part-galvanised steel and cost £100. At the time of writing it was marketed by MPS.