by Mike Le Pard - Total Motorcycle - September 11th, 2007 - www.totalmotorcycle.com
Industrial art. A shining example of aluminum sculpture. Utilitarian Craftsmanship to last the test of time.
These statements easily describe the appearance of the Easy Wheeler™ and put it on a pedestal for all to admire. But the Easy Wheeler™ is not destined for such a posh and easy life. It’s destined to live life out on the garage floor amongst all the oils, chemicals and dirt with a heavy motorcycle on top of it.
The main purpose of the Easy Wheeler™ is to easily rotate your motorcycle wheel. Why would you want to do that? It makes cleaning your tires, polishing your rims and spokes a snap, and you can even do chain maintenance easily as well. And those who have no center-stand will appreciate the help with the rear wheel. And if your motorcycle is fortunate enough to have a center stand you’ll still find it helpful with front wheel work.
Indeed the Easy Wheeler™ is built exceedingly strong to take the punishment and last a lifetime. Its solid aircraft grade 6061 T6 aluminum body and solid aluminum contoured rollers with chrome steel double-sealed ball bearings will take a 700+lb motorcycle in stride. It’s also quite compact (L= 17” x W= 10.5” x H= 3”)and light in weight for it’s size (about 8 lbs). It’s waterproof, portable and thanks to it’s smart engineering, no maintenance is required at all. The Easy Wheeler™ even has non-slip feet, which come in handy for those of us with smooth concrete garage floors.
In use I found its ultra-low profile allowed me to push my motorcycle right up and on the first try. It keeps the wheel just 1” from the floor making it an easy push, even on a very tall touring bike that I had to work with. The folks at Easy Wheeler™ (and I as well) recommend putting something under the side stand (a 1-2” thick block/piece of wood works well) so the bike does not lean over too much. Also make sure to use the included nylon strap on the right handlebar and the rear foot peg so when your bike is on the Easy Wheeler™ the front wheel keeps pointing straight out.
The Easy Wheeler™ comes with a stainless steel hex drive on both sides for easy access to turn your wheel. I found you could turn the wheel just fine with your hands, but using a ½ inch ratchet wrench and socket not only make life easier but also made the bike feel more stable (to me) when I turned the wheel. I could also work on the wheel without having to get up. Using a manual ratchet wrench provided the slowest method for turning the wheel, and since the Easy Wheeler™ has a standard hex drive you can speed things up by using a battery powered drill.
If you are lost or need some additional how-to’s, check out the Easy Wheeler™ website. With demonstration “How To” Quicktime videos with titles such as: “How to clean your tires”, “How to clean your rims and spokes”, and “How to clean and oil your chain”, you’ll be a seasoned pro in no time flat. On the website you can even grab an additional copy of the manual, check out their Frequently Asked Questions area and, of course, order your very own Easy Wheeler™ for you or a good friend.
Yes at $299 it’s a pricey little devil but when you consider how well it is built, its usefulness and how long it will last, it’s definitely something you will want to put on your Christmas wish list.
We enjoyed using the Easy Wheeler™ and we know it will be in our garage for years to come. The Easy Wheeler™ also made quite an impression with guests to our garage! As we mentioned in the start of this review it’s quite the work of art and people don’t quite know what to make of it when they first see it.
…And last but not least, the Easy Wheeler™ is not manufactured in an old foreign sweatshop in an undisclosed location; it’s made in the U.S.A.* What more could you want?
* Machined aluminum components are manufactured in Wheeling, Illinois for Midwest Innovative Products Inc. Aluminum anodizing is done in St. Louis, MO. and final assembly is completed in our Waterloo, Illinois facility.
Extras:
The Easy Wheeler™ website:
The Easy Wheeler™ radio Jingle: http://www.easywheeler.com/media/EasyWheelerJingle.mp3
